1."I like it here. Your lakes don't have alligators!" Testimonial on why she wants to move to North Carolina from Sammi Dietrich, age 8.
Sammi and her sister Lexi were our guests at a cookout recently. As Sammi roasted marshmallows over an open fire and tasted her first s'mores, we talked about her family's plan to move to North Carolina. I believe that secretly, many adults love living here in the mountains for the same reason. Our wildlife doesn't usually eat our residents.
2. Four seasons of mild weather
I've lived and traveled all over the country and this Southern tip of the North Carolina mountains has some of the mildest year-round weather I've ever experienced. I sit on our porch 12 months a year, enjoying the changing scenery. We get snow that sticks on the ground about 3 times a year and a week or two of hot weather in the summer, but the rest of the year the climate is mild. Our fall foliage show is one of the best I've ever seen and lasts well into November. You can always find daffodils starting to bloom in mid-February and the golfers and hikers are out.
3. Low taxes and low insurance rates
For most Floridians who move here, the entire year's property taxes and homeowners insurance bills on their home here are equal to about two months of what they were escrowing in Florida.
4. Good Schools
North Carolina has the oldest honors program in the country for gifted high school seniors - Governor's School. It's a 6 week program, free of charge, which gives 2 students chosen from each school district in the state the opportunity to do intensive study in one of 12 areas of specialization at a college campus. My son was one of the two students chosen from Cherokee County this year, and for him it was an opportunity to interact with some of the brightest kids in the state.
Murphy's schools are well ranked in the state and the class sizes are small. And there's one more plus. Because we're considered a rural area, I've been told that the best students from Murphy actually have an advantage when they apply to major universities looking for students from all areas and economic levels.
5. Mosquitoes don't fly this high
We have very few mosquitoes in the mountains - mostly in the lowlands near the ponds and creeks. Very few people screen in their porches. We often leave our French doors open in the summer and other than the occasional fly or bee, the only problem we ever had was trying to get a confused hummingbird away from the 2 story wall of glass in our Great Room. You can sit outdoors for hours in the evening enjoying the cool breezes.
Come for a visit and and you may never leave. That's what I did. And now I look forward to helping YOU find your dream getaway here in the mountains!
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