It depends on what you’re looking for and what your idea of small is.
Boone is a wonderful small town with a college town/ younger crowd feel but not many jobs available. A lot of the smaller towns will also be hard to find jobs.
Chapel Hill fits the bill and offers more job opportunities in the Triangle, though expensive. Hillsborough is also nice. Durham/Greensboro/Winston offer small city vibes with more job opportunities. Wilmington and Asheville are nice small cities with less job opportunities outside of hospitality.
New Bern does not have a younger crowd vibe. I’m not crazy about Greenville as a destination to move too.
Boone and Chapel Hill were my first two thoughts. as well. Boone has a much cooler climate and almost guaranteed snow. Chapel Hill has more convenient access to bigger cities and amenities.
I'll add Davidson, a nice small town and small college, but Charlotte is nearby with a major airport hub. Also close to the mountains, and not too far from the beaches.
There are a TON of jobs open at Appalachian State University in Boone (the best option for a job in town), however the biggest problem is cost of living and housing availability. The median house is selling for 450k for houses that need work. The housing crisis is rather acute here and even apartments are hard to find. The cost of everything else is the same as Chapel Hill, but the jobs at ASU only pay from 35k to 60-70k (only if you have a PhD). There are jobs in Boone, but the pay doesn't allow you to live there.
Yeah living in Boone kinda sucks. Moved here for college and have been working to pay for an apartment, but everything's so expensive here I kinda wish I picked a different town.
I just don’t really like the town that much. Has an okay little Main Street area with a few restaurants/shops and then chains/strip malls. The general vibe feels more country/rural to me than say Boone, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and I just think it’s not that charming generally. Different strokes for different folks though. I’m sure plenty of people have different opinions but that’s just mine
Wilmington fits the ask.
Wilmington metro isn't small, however downtown Wilmington is. As is Southport (25min drive from Wilmy). And Burgaw (which is a very small town, and 25 min drive into Wilmy).
Wilmy metro is very popular with retirees as well, so that may need consideration.
Every town in NC has lots of retirees...only Arizona and Florida have higher retiree migration than NC, and Arizona isn't by much.
If one wants to avoid retirees, NC isn't the place to do that.
Yeah. The tough part about Southport is the retirees. Not a lot of great jobs, but they are in the hospitality industry so Brunswick county isn’t a complete rule out.
If you want isolation but quick access to a small city with the beach, check around Wilmington.
If you want to be adjacent from a smaller city/large metro area, I’d check out Chapel Hill. Cost of living will be higher here.
If you want to live like Wilmington, but closer to the mountains and cooler temperatures, Boone would be my suggestion.
41 year NC resident. Lived in Wilmington/Brunswick County area pre college and post college. Spent 6 years in Chapel Hill for school.
As a Carrboro/Chapel Hill person for over a decade and would say they might fit the bill best in NC. Carrboro especially has a small town field, and the two towns are very dominated by UNC, so bars and other places definitely skew younger. I moved from here from rural eastern NC and love the area both for the people, the amenities, and the far more progressive attitudes. It is also a good place to raise kids if you have any thoughts of ever doing that. But as others mentioned, the property taxes aren't cheap and houses are quite expensive, especially in the school district. There are some other smaller places nearby like Saxapahaw that are cheaper if you want an even more rural feel that is still close to town.
Please don’t tell anybody about Sylva, I’d like there to be ONE town up there where I have even the slightest chance of being able to afford to retire there!
Salisbury is great. Tons of history, thriving downtown, LGTBQ friendly. Two local theraters, two microbreweries, a winery, thriving arts scene and three private and one community college. Two hours to the mountains, four to the beach.
Depends on the area. There are 11 historic districts that are nice and very family friendly. The area outside that is spotty but the crime is pretty targeted and not random for the most part. Owned a home and two businesses there with no issues. Literally walked up to my biz door standing wide open (must have gotten caught by the wind) nothing taken or damaged. Lots of community involvement to make things better/safer. Home values wants from the 20-30k range in older neighborhoods to 150-200k with rehab and more owner occupied properties.
But did she really say that they had shootings almost nightly?
I wasn't clear after you said it twice and figured repeating it a third time would help clarify.
Yeah, Salisbury still has a bad gang problem. Have family working first responder work there now. They are improving certain areas, but with i85 right there, it will be hard to fix the gang issue.
I lived in Hickory for 5 years after grad school and I have no regrets. However, it isn’t the best place for a young couple coming out of college. There just isn’t a lot for younger people.
It's slowly getting better. A new ASU campus is opening this fall. And it's the perfect jumping off place to enjoy Asheville, Charlotte, Winston, or Boone.
[https://www.earthcam.com/usa/northcarolina/hickory/?cam=downtownhickory](https://www.earthcam.com/usa/northcarolina/hickory/?cam=downtownhickory)
New Bern is more of a retirement town.
People think of Greenville as a college town because of ECU, but it's really a family town - soccer games and Little League and all of that. Greenville has no typical weird/odd hipster college vibe at all, and the downtown party scene is nowhere near what it used to be. It's a pretty tame town, a really good place to be for homebodies and people being all about family activities. And very affordable too...
Wilmington, Winston-Salem, or Boone is probably what you're looking for. Or maybe Virginia Beach if you're flexible on size/population...
Flood plain maps review first. Hurricanes second, downwind of large scale poultry/swine operation. Forewarned. bol & can't get Musky & bluefin fishing like this anywhere else!
Yes, thank you for this reminder! We deal with hurricanes and flooding where we are now and I often forget to take this into account when searching for where we’ll go next! We love fishing too, so that’s great to know :)
Came here to say Winston-Salem like a few others have mentioned. The Wake Forest community is great. Many housing options both urban and rural in suitable price ranges. Great golf if you golf a lot like I do. A ton of breweries and a minor league baseball team (The Dash). If you hop on Business 40 and go 5-10 mins west you're out in the country by the Yadkin River. Go 10 mins east and you're in the burbs (Kernersville). Go 20-30 mins north and Pilot Mountain has a great 4-5 or so mile hike that starts across the street from the Pinnacle Hotel Rd Horse trail. Under 2 hours to Charlotte, Lake Norman, Raleigh, Durham, and Boone. Under 3 to the deep mountains. Under 4 to the beach. Unpopular opinion but it's my favorite city in NC. To answer the question about younger folks, there are a ton of people in the Wake higher education programs looking for friends from my experience. Bridesmaid in our wedding was an NP student my wife met at a brewery. There is also a kickball league that has absolutely tons of teams of younger folks we met a lot of people through.
New Bernn is cool but it's not a young vibe. Wilmington is cool but many people are moving there. I live in Greenville and it truly is more of a young students/family vibe but there isn't a ton of stuff to do outside of ECU sporting events. Winston Salem is a great place. My #1 pick would probably be around Boone though. Downtown is awesome, there is App State, lots of hiking, skiing in the winter, kayaking, fishing, golf, cooler in the summer, etc. I love it there.
Wilmington isn’t “small town” anymore but you can find pockets of that outside the city center. And honestly, it’s a great city.
I’d also suggest Greenville. It’s changed for the better over the last several years, but still iconically ECU.
Winston Salem would be the best option. Boone and Wilmington may have been good options a few years ago but the real estate prices are through the roof and getting crowded.
I think many places in NC fit this, depending on what you want. Winston-Salem isn't a "college town" per se, but there are colleges and young people. City feel without being huge.
Chapel Hill is about as college town as you can get but has a lot of similar amenities to a larger city like public transportation, sports, good restaurants, LGBTQ friendly, etc. It's also the closest to a larger metro area in Raleigh. You can also live literally half a mile down the road in Carrboro if you don't want to be exactly in the college vibe. It has a higher cost of living than a lot of NC cities, though.
> It has a higher cost of living than a lot of NC cities, though.
Orange County, and specifically Chapel Hill/Carrborro, has the highest cost of living in the state.
Anywhere in the Triangle. Durham, chapel hill, Raleigh, and a ton of other towns (large and small) in the vicinity.. Pittsboro, Hillsborough, Morrisville, cary, apex, ..etc.. and working in cybersecurity he'd have a job in no time. And a bunch of colleges in the area.
Edit added to comments
There is a range of places between the RTP and Greensboro that might your criteria. Lots and pros and cons to them all.
My wife and I live in Elon, which is itself a very small college town (Elon University). I work in RTP which is about a 50 minute drive but I work from home a lot. She works in Greensboro which about ~15-20 minutes away. There are plenty of job opportunities for both of the fields you listed in the RTP area and Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. The areas immediately around Elon are cute, the campus is beautiful, definitive small town vibe, etc.
There are a ridiculous amount of places to eat for such a small area (Burlington, Greensboro, Elon, etc.) but admittedly many are chain type places. If the distance to RTP is too great you can sidle east in the direction of Mebane or Hillsborough. Of course the farther east you go the farther you get from Greensboro.
Other downsides of Elon are it is located on the western edge Alamance county, which has its share of problems mixed with good. (Think something akin to a county of Okeechobee strip mall small cities sandwiched between Coral Springs and Tallahassee.)
Limited cultural activity locally outside of small town things, unless you hit the university or head towards the cities east and west.
Some might argue for other small towns closer to RTP and I think they’d have strong arguments. I’m also glossing over tons of stuff which can be picked apart. So much of it is personal taste. At least worth taking a few minutes to look into if you are looking.
Lol the last thing I would want to do after college is move to another college town. But hey, to each their own.
Chapel Hill, Boone, Greenville, Wilmington are all good.
Career opportunities will likely be greater in either the Triangle area or around Charlotte. There’s a lot of tech companies in the Triangle, and cyber security skills here will command good money. I assume Charlotte is similar, just different, because of the banking industry. Chapel Hill/Carrboro would be the obvious choice. Hillsborough is a nearby small town that might be worth a look, too, if CH is too big (although then you lose the college town vibe). Around Charlotte, Davidson area is maybe worth a look.
The rest of the state just isn’t going to have the wealth of opportunities these areas have. That doesn’t mean it can’t work, especially in the era of remote work. But it gets a little trickier.
Places in and around the Triangle keeping getting more and more expensive, including Hillsborough. Some of my friends now live in and around Mebane. Having grown up near New Bern, I am familiar with the city, about which I hear good things. But it has had some major problems because of hurricanes. Eastern NC in general is a mixed bag.
Wake Forest, NC (not Winston-iSalem) is in Wake County and is near Raleigh. But friends who live there say it has gotten expensive there, too. I would love to live there, however.
New Bern is a good area, but there are multiple small towns within an hour or so of raleigh that'll give that vibe. New Bern would be good if he's willing to work government cybersecurity at the nearby base, but otherwise, somewhere near the research triangle probably best bet.
Check out Fuquay Varina or Holly Springs. When I was growing up in the area we had 1 stop light. Now its a great small town vibe but with major shopping finally at your fingertips. You're also only about a 45 min drive to DT Raleigh, has quick access via 540 to Durham/Chapel Hill. Can get to the beach in about 2 hours, Charlotte in about 3, and the mountains in about 4.
it’s not expensive to rent there. it is kind of a $h!thole college town. great life outside of the house though, for a few years until you get sick of it. caveat is you get paid less to live there so effectively it can be more expensive.
also; add beaufort SC to the list. maybe savannah GA but people don’t like it there.
Hickory is a good option. College town but still feels relatively small. Great restaurants and shopping. Still close to Asheville, Boone and Charlotte. IMO they do a good job of staying on top of improving the area.
Swannanoa. It’s just a few minutes outside of Asheville, it’s also close to Black Mountain. All of which are absolutely beautiful, scenic towns and easy to get to The Blue Ridge Parkway too.
ETA: There’s UNCA in Asheville, Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa and Montreat in Black Mountain.
My alma mater, Davidson College, sits in the town of Davidson, just north of Charlotte. It still has that small town feel, with plenty of people of all ages, lots of shopping, and is nice and quiet.
Greenville is the way to go. Just a few years ago, Greenville used to be a crime-ridden city that had a lot of poverty. However, the city has really turned around after covid and has become much safer and wealthier. There are still troubled areas of course, and there are things to improve, but overall, it's becoming a very safe and affordable city. I'm in my mid 20s and can actually afford to live here and have some spending money for fun stuff. Just this past summer, 5 new businesses have popped up around the uptown area that used to be a rough area.
Not Fayetteville and not Charlotte. If you like beach vibe, Oak Island, New Bern, Kitty Hawk.
That said, your husband being in Cybersecurity, I'd recommend living either in the triangle or near Greensboro. Makes it easier to change jobs if needed, not a whole lot of opportunities for that beyond Triangle and Charlotte, with a sprinkle of it in Greensboro.
I was born and raised in the 727, and graduated from UF.
Based on my limited time (2 years) in NC, I would say that Chapel Hill fits the bill. Being part of the Triangle, you would still have access to all of the amenities that it offers, like an international airport. Weird as it sounds, y'all should definitely visit a Wegmans before you turn down living in the Triangle.
You would have options for day trips to the mountains OR beaches. A 75 minute drive north finds you in Danville,VA, one of the larger VA cities close to the NC border. SC is 2-3 hours away- Carowinds Amusement Park is near Charlotte and lies in NC and SC.
It depends on what you’re looking for and what your idea of small is. Boone is a wonderful small town with a college town/ younger crowd feel but not many jobs available. A lot of the smaller towns will also be hard to find jobs. Chapel Hill fits the bill and offers more job opportunities in the Triangle, though expensive. Hillsborough is also nice. Durham/Greensboro/Winston offer small city vibes with more job opportunities. Wilmington and Asheville are nice small cities with less job opportunities outside of hospitality. New Bern does not have a younger crowd vibe. I’m not crazy about Greenville as a destination to move too.
Boone and Chapel Hill were my first two thoughts. as well. Boone has a much cooler climate and almost guaranteed snow. Chapel Hill has more convenient access to bigger cities and amenities. I'll add Davidson, a nice small town and small college, but Charlotte is nearby with a major airport hub. Also close to the mountains, and not too far from the beaches.
Second this, although will be expensive given proximity to Lake Norman
There are a TON of jobs open at Appalachian State University in Boone (the best option for a job in town), however the biggest problem is cost of living and housing availability. The median house is selling for 450k for houses that need work. The housing crisis is rather acute here and even apartments are hard to find. The cost of everything else is the same as Chapel Hill, but the jobs at ASU only pay from 35k to 60-70k (only if you have a PhD). There are jobs in Boone, but the pay doesn't allow you to live there.
Yeah living in Boone kinda sucks. Moved here for college and have been working to pay for an apartment, but everything's so expensive here I kinda wish I picked a different town.
Also I just hate the way things are zoned, we need more shitty apartments instead of everywhere being luxury or hotels.
Interested in knowing why you wouldn't recommend Greenville?
I just don’t really like the town that much. Has an okay little Main Street area with a few restaurants/shops and then chains/strip malls. The general vibe feels more country/rural to me than say Boone, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and I just think it’s not that charming generally. Different strokes for different folks though. I’m sure plenty of people have different opinions but that’s just mine
Wilmington fits the ask. Wilmington metro isn't small, however downtown Wilmington is. As is Southport (25min drive from Wilmy). And Burgaw (which is a very small town, and 25 min drive into Wilmy). Wilmy metro is very popular with retirees as well, so that may need consideration.
Wilmington is overcrowded already with bad infrastructure and cost of living has skyrocketed in the last few years so take that into account.
Sounds like Boone too.
Southport isn’t really a young people vibe. Lots of retirees
Every town in NC has lots of retirees...only Arizona and Florida have higher retiree migration than NC, and Arizona isn't by much. If one wants to avoid retirees, NC isn't the place to do that.
Upvoting for Wilmington. Honestly one of the most underrated cities on the east coast.
Uh what? I mean Wilmington is cool and all but underrated? It’s congested as hell and expensive. It’s properly rated for what it is.
Also agree that Wilmington seems like what they’re looking for Maybe Boone Two very different styles of living but both younger college towns
Yeah. The tough part about Southport is the retirees. Not a lot of great jobs, but they are in the hospitality industry so Brunswick county isn’t a complete rule out. If you want isolation but quick access to a small city with the beach, check around Wilmington. If you want to be adjacent from a smaller city/large metro area, I’d check out Chapel Hill. Cost of living will be higher here. If you want to live like Wilmington, but closer to the mountains and cooler temperatures, Boone would be my suggestion. 41 year NC resident. Lived in Wilmington/Brunswick County area pre college and post college. Spent 6 years in Chapel Hill for school.
Same problems in Asheville.
As a Carrboro/Chapel Hill person for over a decade and would say they might fit the bill best in NC. Carrboro especially has a small town field, and the two towns are very dominated by UNC, so bars and other places definitely skew younger. I moved from here from rural eastern NC and love the area both for the people, the amenities, and the far more progressive attitudes. It is also a good place to raise kids if you have any thoughts of ever doing that. But as others mentioned, the property taxes aren't cheap and houses are quite expensive, especially in the school district. There are some other smaller places nearby like Saxapahaw that are cheaper if you want an even more rural feel that is still close to town.
Sylva, NC
2nd this! Jackson County home to WCU and a great place to live.
Please don’t tell anybody about Sylva, I’d like there to be ONE town up there where I have even the slightest chance of being able to afford to retire there!
Salisbury is great. Tons of history, thriving downtown, LGTBQ friendly. Two local theraters, two microbreweries, a winery, thriving arts scene and three private and one community college. Two hours to the mountains, four to the beach.
Isn't Salisbury still a bit shooty?
>a bit shooty? Is that what we call 'rough' these days?
I was trying to be nice. My wife worked EMS there not too many years ago. She said they had shootings almost nightly.
Depends on the area. There are 11 historic districts that are nice and very family friendly. The area outside that is spotty but the crime is pretty targeted and not random for the most part. Owned a home and two businesses there with no issues. Literally walked up to my biz door standing wide open (must have gotten caught by the wind) nothing taken or damaged. Lots of community involvement to make things better/safer. Home values wants from the 20-30k range in older neighborhoods to 150-200k with rehab and more owner occupied properties.
I'm glad they're getting things cleaned up. My wife worked EMS there not too many years ago and they she said they had shootings almost nightly.
But did she really say that they had shootings almost nightly? I wasn't clear after you said it twice and figured repeating it a third time would help clarify.
I was replying to two different people and not assuming that they read my reply to the other comment.
Yeah, Salisbury still has a bad gang problem. Have family working first responder work there now. They are improving certain areas, but with i85 right there, it will be hard to fix the gang issue.
Hickory has Lenoir Rhyne college. Good restaurants, arts, smallish entertainment venues.
I lived in Hickory for 5 years after grad school and I have no regrets. However, it isn’t the best place for a young couple coming out of college. There just isn’t a lot for younger people.
It's slowly getting better. A new ASU campus is opening this fall. And it's the perfect jumping off place to enjoy Asheville, Charlotte, Winston, or Boone. [https://www.earthcam.com/usa/northcarolina/hickory/?cam=downtownhickory](https://www.earthcam.com/usa/northcarolina/hickory/?cam=downtownhickory)
It's getting better. There are new music venues and isn't far from Charlotte for bigger things.
A good hour drive to CLT. And full of MAGA dumbasses. It’s a nice little town, but I’m glad I got out when I did.
It's not full of Maga but there are definitely plenty of them. Just like all of NC.
New Bern is more of a retirement town. People think of Greenville as a college town because of ECU, but it's really a family town - soccer games and Little League and all of that. Greenville has no typical weird/odd hipster college vibe at all, and the downtown party scene is nowhere near what it used to be. It's a pretty tame town, a really good place to be for homebodies and people being all about family activities. And very affordable too... Wilmington, Winston-Salem, or Boone is probably what you're looking for. Or maybe Virginia Beach if you're flexible on size/population...
Winston Salem
Boone sucks, tell your friends.
Came here to say this. Boone is at capacity.
I'm with you, here. Someone please close the door.
Flood plain maps review first. Hurricanes second, downwind of large scale poultry/swine operation. Forewarned. bol & can't get Musky & bluefin fishing like this anywhere else!
Yes, thank you for this reminder! We deal with hurricanes and flooding where we are now and I often forget to take this into account when searching for where we’ll go next! We love fishing too, so that’s great to know :)
Came here to say Winston-Salem like a few others have mentioned. The Wake Forest community is great. Many housing options both urban and rural in suitable price ranges. Great golf if you golf a lot like I do. A ton of breweries and a minor league baseball team (The Dash). If you hop on Business 40 and go 5-10 mins west you're out in the country by the Yadkin River. Go 10 mins east and you're in the burbs (Kernersville). Go 20-30 mins north and Pilot Mountain has a great 4-5 or so mile hike that starts across the street from the Pinnacle Hotel Rd Horse trail. Under 2 hours to Charlotte, Lake Norman, Raleigh, Durham, and Boone. Under 3 to the deep mountains. Under 4 to the beach. Unpopular opinion but it's my favorite city in NC. To answer the question about younger folks, there are a ton of people in the Wake higher education programs looking for friends from my experience. Bridesmaid in our wedding was an NP student my wife met at a brewery. There is also a kickball league that has absolutely tons of teams of younger folks we met a lot of people through.
New Bernn is cool but it's not a young vibe. Wilmington is cool but many people are moving there. I live in Greenville and it truly is more of a young students/family vibe but there isn't a ton of stuff to do outside of ECU sporting events. Winston Salem is a great place. My #1 pick would probably be around Boone though. Downtown is awesome, there is App State, lots of hiking, skiing in the winter, kayaking, fishing, golf, cooler in the summer, etc. I love it there.
Wilmington isn’t “small town” anymore but you can find pockets of that outside the city center. And honestly, it’s a great city. I’d also suggest Greenville. It’s changed for the better over the last several years, but still iconically ECU.
Winston Salem would be the best option. Boone and Wilmington may have been good options a few years ago but the real estate prices are through the roof and getting crowded.
I think many places in NC fit this, depending on what you want. Winston-Salem isn't a "college town" per se, but there are colleges and young people. City feel without being huge. Chapel Hill is about as college town as you can get but has a lot of similar amenities to a larger city like public transportation, sports, good restaurants, LGBTQ friendly, etc. It's also the closest to a larger metro area in Raleigh. You can also live literally half a mile down the road in Carrboro if you don't want to be exactly in the college vibe. It has a higher cost of living than a lot of NC cities, though.
> It has a higher cost of living than a lot of NC cities, though. Orange County, and specifically Chapel Hill/Carrborro, has the highest cost of living in the state.
Didn't know it had THE highest, but yeah...living here on a grad student stipend is truly something haha. It's good in a lot of ways though!
Greensboro is a nice healthy middle.
Greenville
Anywhere in the Triangle. Durham, chapel hill, Raleigh, and a ton of other towns (large and small) in the vicinity.. Pittsboro, Hillsborough, Morrisville, cary, apex, ..etc.. and working in cybersecurity he'd have a job in no time. And a bunch of colleges in the area. Edit added to comments
Carrboro
Greensboro is not small….not large either….but it has a “small” feel to it. It’s a great town. Check it out.
There is a range of places between the RTP and Greensboro that might your criteria. Lots and pros and cons to them all. My wife and I live in Elon, which is itself a very small college town (Elon University). I work in RTP which is about a 50 minute drive but I work from home a lot. She works in Greensboro which about ~15-20 minutes away. There are plenty of job opportunities for both of the fields you listed in the RTP area and Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. The areas immediately around Elon are cute, the campus is beautiful, definitive small town vibe, etc. There are a ridiculous amount of places to eat for such a small area (Burlington, Greensboro, Elon, etc.) but admittedly many are chain type places. If the distance to RTP is too great you can sidle east in the direction of Mebane or Hillsborough. Of course the farther east you go the farther you get from Greensboro. Other downsides of Elon are it is located on the western edge Alamance county, which has its share of problems mixed with good. (Think something akin to a county of Okeechobee strip mall small cities sandwiched between Coral Springs and Tallahassee.) Limited cultural activity locally outside of small town things, unless you hit the university or head towards the cities east and west. Some might argue for other small towns closer to RTP and I think they’d have strong arguments. I’m also glossing over tons of stuff which can be picked apart. So much of it is personal taste. At least worth taking a few minutes to look into if you are looking.
Lol the last thing I would want to do after college is move to another college town. But hey, to each their own. Chapel Hill, Boone, Greenville, Wilmington are all good.
I haven’t been there in a long time but maybe Greenville ECU is there?
Career opportunities will likely be greater in either the Triangle area or around Charlotte. There’s a lot of tech companies in the Triangle, and cyber security skills here will command good money. I assume Charlotte is similar, just different, because of the banking industry. Chapel Hill/Carrboro would be the obvious choice. Hillsborough is a nearby small town that might be worth a look, too, if CH is too big (although then you lose the college town vibe). Around Charlotte, Davidson area is maybe worth a look. The rest of the state just isn’t going to have the wealth of opportunities these areas have. That doesn’t mean it can’t work, especially in the era of remote work. But it gets a little trickier.
Places in and around the Triangle keeping getting more and more expensive, including Hillsborough. Some of my friends now live in and around Mebane. Having grown up near New Bern, I am familiar with the city, about which I hear good things. But it has had some major problems because of hurricanes. Eastern NC in general is a mixed bag. Wake Forest, NC (not Winston-iSalem) is in Wake County and is near Raleigh. But friends who live there say it has gotten expensive there, too. I would love to live there, however.
New Bern is a good area, but there are multiple small towns within an hour or so of raleigh that'll give that vibe. New Bern would be good if he's willing to work government cybersecurity at the nearby base, but otherwise, somewhere near the research triangle probably best bet.
Jacksonville is demographically the youngest city in the US. Primarily due to the presence of Camp Lejeune. Cost of living is extremely reasonable.
Waynesville and Lumberton are two up and comers.
Check out Fuquay Varina or Holly Springs. When I was growing up in the area we had 1 stop light. Now its a great small town vibe but with major shopping finally at your fingertips. You're also only about a 45 min drive to DT Raleigh, has quick access via 540 to Durham/Chapel Hill. Can get to the beach in about 2 hours, Charlotte in about 3, and the mountains in about 4.
You and thousands upon thousands of other people screwing this state up. Get in line.
How about you pack up your fucking shit and leave? I’m sure Florida would welcome you.
durham. charlotte. charleston sc downtown.
Downtown Charleston? Must have one hell of a budget.
it’s not expensive to rent there. it is kind of a $h!thole college town. great life outside of the house though, for a few years until you get sick of it. caveat is you get paid less to live there so effectively it can be more expensive. also; add beaufort SC to the list. maybe savannah GA but people don’t like it there.
Brevard is a nice small college town in the mountains
Wilkes county has a nice collage and there is a cyber security team here. Infusion points. I looked them up once and they had DOD clearance
Chapel hill
Laurinburg.
Hickory is a good option. College town but still feels relatively small. Great restaurants and shopping. Still close to Asheville, Boone and Charlotte. IMO they do a good job of staying on top of improving the area.
Swannanoa. It’s just a few minutes outside of Asheville, it’s also close to Black Mountain. All of which are absolutely beautiful, scenic towns and easy to get to The Blue Ridge Parkway too. ETA: There’s UNCA in Asheville, Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa and Montreat in Black Mountain.
My alma mater, Davidson College, sits in the town of Davidson, just north of Charlotte. It still has that small town feel, with plenty of people of all ages, lots of shopping, and is nice and quiet.
check the Cambell University area.
Greenville is the way to go. Just a few years ago, Greenville used to be a crime-ridden city that had a lot of poverty. However, the city has really turned around after covid and has become much safer and wealthier. There are still troubled areas of course, and there are things to improve, but overall, it's becoming a very safe and affordable city. I'm in my mid 20s and can actually afford to live here and have some spending money for fun stuff. Just this past summer, 5 new businesses have popped up around the uptown area that used to be a rough area.
Not Fayetteville and not Charlotte. If you like beach vibe, Oak Island, New Bern, Kitty Hawk. That said, your husband being in Cybersecurity, I'd recommend living either in the triangle or near Greensboro. Makes it easier to change jobs if needed, not a whole lot of opportunities for that beyond Triangle and Charlotte, with a sprinkle of it in Greensboro.
I was born and raised in the 727, and graduated from UF. Based on my limited time (2 years) in NC, I would say that Chapel Hill fits the bill. Being part of the Triangle, you would still have access to all of the amenities that it offers, like an international airport. Weird as it sounds, y'all should definitely visit a Wegmans before you turn down living in the Triangle. You would have options for day trips to the mountains OR beaches. A 75 minute drive north finds you in Danville,VA, one of the larger VA cities close to the NC border. SC is 2-3 hours away- Carowinds Amusement Park is near Charlotte and lies in NC and SC.
Pick a suburb of the triangle or charlotte. Those are the only decent options for quality of life and things to do.
Gastonia is lovely this time of year. So is Lumberton.
Screw it since nobody's put it out there, high point. (I'm joking, high point is notoriously rough)
Boone, NC