Looking for thoughts/ recommendations on moving to the lake lure, NC area. I currently live just outside Baltimore have since I retired from the Navy a few years back. The ex and my son in Nc at Lake Gaston. It’s quite a drive on my weekends, there and back twice is 1k miles. She’s looking to find a new job because of issues at the current school district. She’s been interviewing and was offered a job near Lake Lure. She’s never lived away from home other than a few weeks while we were married, so this may not happen. But it would double my drive and I can’t do it. And being closer to my son would be ideal. I had been trying to wait out the retirement of either the Richmond or the Hampton Roads guy, this makes it moot.

So I’m contemplating a move, preferably to that area next year. Or at least somewhere inside the Asheville, Morganton, Spartanburg triangle. She may end up living nearer Asheville, but the outdoor opportunities around chimney rock seem pretty good, and it’s close enough little man could come over during the week. The only downside may be finding work. I have no degree, but my current job hired me based on military experience with electronics. I repair medical imaging equipment. So far nothing open in my company, even in Charlotte. But a competitor with a worse rep for employee treatment (and who recently did a round of layoffs) has openings in Asheville. If I had an associates In electronics I could likely get a job at the Asheville va as a biomed. I can’t finish that in the 7 months I have left. Maybe I should start anyway.

I thinK I remember we have members in the Boone area, not sure about Lake Lure. Just looking for thoughts on it. My brain is fried right now and I know this is kind of a rambling mess of jumbled thoughts. I finally had things worked out to get closer and this.

We live in Marion, NC which is about 40 miles E. of Asheville and about 35 miles W. of Morganton. I'd stay out of Asheville as one time they were promoting themselves as the "San Francisco of the East", and Buncombe Co. as the cost of living is high there. The Lake Lure/Chimney Rock from what we've seen driving thru is nice, but we've been on the main roads there and haven't been off the side roads.

Morganton is in Burke Co. and is an up and coming kind of town. They have done a lot to update their town and attract people.

There is a lot to do around here, and a few of good wineries if you're into that. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Lake James is much nicer than Lake Lure.

My SIL lives in Hendersonville, just south of Asheville, Spartanburg is 45 mins south...if you find something don’t live in A-ville....

I spent a couple of years working in the Spartanburg area (now I'm down by Augusta). Upstate SC and NC are great areas for outdoors stuff! You might consider Spartanburg/ Greenville area, as I understand the economy is doing well in spite of everything, so jobs might be easier to find. I think I'd prefer SC over NC from a tax perspective, although I'm not overly informed on that. I just know NC charges annual property tax on vehicles, which annoys me. If I could get a project back in the upstate, I'd definitely go.

Johnson City TN is close by too so that could be an option as well as Knoxville TN which is about 2 hours away. There might be more opportunities for work there then in the NC mountains.

It's beautiful country and a nice area. It is COUNTRY though, so not a lot of big stores or anything close. We would vacation with my grandparents on Lake Lure.

I don’t mind country, I don’t have a social life and I don’t go out. I basically work and sit at home. I shoot some and fiddle with the Jeep. That allows me to afford weekends with my son and to make sure he has the life I couldn’t as a kid.
I hadn’t considered TN, may need to add that to the list. A 2 hour drive would be far better than I have now, I should probably be looking further out.

I would look on the SC side, personally. Greenville seems to have a lot of opportunity in the last decade and has really stepped itself up to a really nice place. Somewhere between Greenville and the state line.

On the NC side, Brevard is a nice little town but I think cost of living is going to be higher, generally, in NC over SC. Black Mountain and Montreat are lovely, as well, though probably not cheap to live in.

I live in Morganton. It’s a nice town, about an hour to Charlotte and Asheville, and Lake Lure as well. Rutherfordton is a nice town too, and it’s a little closer to Lake Lure.