Where to relocate in SE? - a luxury - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

03-10-2005, 06:02 PM

I'll be having a very rare luxury in the not too distant future - I have
to relocate from the midwest to within 2-3 hours drive of Atlanta. My wife
likes Asheville, NC - that's the upper range distance wise. So we get to
pick where we live to some degree. (I'll have to drive to NE Atlanta 1x-3x
per week).

What I'm looking for: - an impossible combination maybe:

-Nice enough scenery. Small town, rural, midsize city, etc doesn't matter
much.

-Reasonable riding in the vicinity. For me, that means not too hilly (I'm
big and have minor knee troubles).

-Near enough to a midsize city for my wife to
be employed in her particular nursing specialty

Any suggestions as to areas I should consider?

Thanks in advance.
/F

03-10-2005, 07:29 PM

Frank Drebin <fdrebin@earthlink.net> wrote in
news

an.2005.03.11.02.01.04.469698@earthlink.net:

> I'll be having a very rare luxury in the not too distant future - I
> have to relocate from the midwest to within 2-3 hours drive of
> Atlanta. My wife likes Asheville, NC - that's the upper range distance
> wise. So we get to pick where we live to some degree. (I'll have to
> drive to NE Atlanta 1x-3x per week).
>
> What I'm looking for: - an impossible combination maybe:
>
> -Nice enough scenery. Small town, rural, midsize city, etc doesn't
> matter much.
>
> -Reasonable riding in the vicinity. For me, that means not too hilly
> (I'm big and have minor knee troubles).
>
> -Near enough to a midsize city for my wife to
> be employed in her particular nursing specialty
>
> Any suggestions as to areas I should consider?
>
> Thanks in advance.
> /F
>

Congradulations, nice part of the country. However let me warn you that
depending on where in Atlanta you are going to and where in Atlanta you
are coming from matters a whole lot. you can easily soak up an hour and a
half sometimes getting from the northern burbs to the airport area. Lake
Lanier or Hartwell areas are nice.
van

03-10-2005, 07:49 PM

"Frank Drebin" <fdrebin@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news

an.2005.03.11.02.01.04.469698@earthlink.net. ..
> I'll be having a very rare luxury in the not too distant future - I have
> to relocate from the midwest to within 2-3 hours drive of Atlanta. My wife
> likes Asheville, NC - that's the upper range distance wise. So we get to
> pick where we live to some degree. (I'll have to drive to NE Atlanta 1x-3x
> per week).
>
> What I'm looking for: - an impossible combination maybe:
>
> -Nice enough scenery. Small town, rural, midsize city, etc doesn't matter
> much.
>
> -Reasonable riding in the vicinity. For me, that means not too hilly (I'm
> big and have minor knee troubles).
>
> -Near enough to a midsize city for my wife to
> be employed in her particular nursing specialty
>
> Any suggestions as to areas I should consider?
>
> Thanks in advance.
> /F

Anderson, SC!

Anderson is a rapidly growing small town. Shopping and dining are coming
along nicely. At the same time, you can hop on the bike and in a couple of
minutes you're out in the country in any direction. To the south it's
pretty flat. To the north it gets hilly fast. Take your pick.

For your wife, there's a wonderful hospital system in Anderson ... It's
called ANMED. The Greenville/Spartanburg area is just a very short way up
the interstate. Downtown Atlanta is a 2 hour drive.

This general area is called the Upstate of South Carolina. It's a very nice
area. Lots of lakes and beautiful countryside. And if you feel up for a
big challenge, just 45 minutes north of Anderson you can tackle Caesar's
Head which is a fair approximation of Alpe de Huez. It's about a 6 mile
climb with an average gradient of 7%. Beyond that you're into the Blue
Ridge Mountains.

As for Asheville, you're not gonna find much flat riding there. You're in
the mountains there -- or in the major foothills at the very least. And
you're really pushing the outside of the range as far as getting to Atlanta.
The drive down to I-85 from Asheville is worse than it looks when it hits
the Greenville area.

You need to look at Anderson, SC.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

03-10-2005, 08:01 PM

>
> Anderson, SC!
>
Hmmm, was there once on business long ago. I didn't look at it from this
perspective at that time though.
Can a mere mortal afford to live on or near a lakefront on one of the
lakes west of there? With 2 kids in college at the moment it's something
I need to consider.
How is the mosquito population in that part of the world? Where I'm at
right now it's not too bad actually.

Thanks for the pointer.
/F

03-10-2005, 08:22 PM

"Frank Drebin" <fdrebin@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news

an.2005.03.11.04.00.45.599016@earthlink.net. ..
>>
>> Anderson, SC!
>>
> Hmmm, was there once on business long ago. I didn't look at it from this
> perspective at that time though.
> Can a mere mortal afford to live on or near a lakefront on one of the
> lakes west of there? With 2 kids in college at the moment it's something
> I need to consider.
> How is the mosquito population in that part of the world? Where I'm at
> right now it's not too bad actually.
>
> Thanks for the pointer.
> /F

Anderson has changed so fast, if you were there long ago, you wouldn't know
it now.

Hartwell Lake west of town is pretty diverse. You can find areas where
there are trailers on lakefront land or you can find homes up to $1 million
.... maybe more. You can also find everything in-between. The lake is quite
large. Above Hartwell is Lake Keowee where all the rich Yankees have moved
in and built some very pricey developments. This is near Clemson (and
Clemson University) which is 20 minutes north of Anderson ... another nice
area you might consider, but one that's a good bit hillier for riding. If
you go a little south of town you have Lake Succession and Lake Russell.
Lake Succession is the po-man's lake. It's older and most of the lake
properties are old, small and dingy. Lake Russell has yet to be developed
much at all. That'll probably change soon.

If you're content to live near the lake and not directly on it, I'd say it's
wide open for you on Lake Hartwell. I have a brother-in-law who's a
handyman. He just does odd jobs for a living. He doesn't make much. But
he lives within sight of the lake in a neighborhood of cozy little homes in
the 1,500 sq. ft. range. Across the road in one direction, the homes go to
$350,000. In another direction, they go above that.

Cost of living in this area is quite low relative to most of the rest of the
country. $150,000 can buy a very nice, 3-bedroom home. I sold a 3,300 sq.
foot home on a golf course right in town for only $215,000 last year. It
wasn't exactly new, but the folks who bought it were in from Scottsdale, AZ
and they thought it was the deal of a lifetime.

Bob C.

03-10-2005, 08:28 PM

Ooops ... didn't answer the mosquito question. I'm a tasty tidbit to
mosquitos everywhere. They just love me. I haven't been bothered here any
worse than I have anywhere else I've lived (mostly midwest ... Oklahoma,
Indiana, Chicago).

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)
"Frank Drebin" <fdrebin@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news

an.2005.03.11.04.00.45.599016@earthlink.net. ..
>>
>> Anderson, SC!
>>
> Hmmm, was there once on business long ago. I didn't look at it from this
> perspective at that time though.
> Can a mere mortal afford to live on or near a lakefront on one of the
> lakes west of there? With 2 kids in college at the moment it's something
> I need to consider.
> How is the mosquito population in that part of the world? Where I'm at
> right now it's not too bad actually.
>
> Thanks for the pointer.
> /F
>

03-11-2005, 06:36 AM

Charlotte, NC

03-11-2005, 07:51 AM

Second that. Anderson is near Lake Hartwell, one of three beautiful
manmade lakes in the area (the other two are Lakes Keowee and
Jocassee). Clemson is nearby also.

My parents live in Greenville, SC, which is probably at the outer edge
of your perimeter. But if you don't mind driving 3 hours to get to the
northeast fringes of Atlanta and want a small city instead of a large
town, don't overlook Greenville/Spartanburg.

Another possibility is Athens, GA.

03-11-2005, 08:06 AM

Athens is a really neat place and has an awesome cycling scene. The
countryside surrounding Athens is gorgeous! And you're much closer to
Atlanta.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)
"Gnarlito" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1110556298.067808.219510@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Second that. Anderson is near Lake Hartwell, one of three beautiful
> manmade lakes in the area (the other two are Lakes Keowee and
> Jocassee). Clemson is nearby also.
>
> My parents live in Greenville, SC, which is probably at the outer edge
> of your perimeter. But if you don't mind driving 3 hours to get to the
> northeast fringes of Atlanta and want a small city instead of a large
> town, don't overlook Greenville/Spartanburg.
>
> Another possibility is Athens, GA.
>

03-11-2005, 09:12 AM

I live in SC and can say with reasonable confidance there are quiet
roads just about everywhere in the Carolinas. Ashville, which I like to
think of as the "san Jose of the Southeast", while situated in a very
beautiflu area may be a bit too hilly for you, however. as it's situated
in the Blue Ridge mountains.

As a general rule, the terrain starts flat at the coast, and gets
progressivel hillier as you go inland towards the mountains. Most of it
is rural.

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
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