BrianL

Im looking at some places in KY, TN, NC, VA area. Specifically: Louisville, Knoxville, Nashville, Richmond, Roanoke, Raleigh, Durham, Asheville. Im looking a city that is progressive-ish, like Portland but without all the holier than thou-off the deep end types. Things that would be important for me are a good economy (better than Michigan at least), good schools in the city (dont want to live in suburbia ever again), active and interesting culture, good food, nice scenery (mountains, lakes, rivers etc) and proximity to outdoor activities like skiing, hunting, fishing, and camping. If you know anything about these places, feel free to enlighten me, or tell me about a city not listed. I'd would be moving with my wife, and 2 month old daughter, and plan to stay for the duration and raise my family there.
Ian-Want to expand on that a bit? Tell me something about knoxville?

Ian

Knoxville

carolinaguy611

Hi Brian,
I can answer for Raleigh, Durham, and Asheville. I live in Raleigh and vacation in Asheville pretty regularly, so let me give the breakdown on each city.

Raleigh and Durham can pretty much be lumped together. They're 20-30 miles apart and constitute two legs of what's often termed The Triangle (named after the Research Triangle Park in the area) along with Chapel Hill and Cary. I'd suggest substituting Chapel Hill for Durham in your search as, while Durham's getting nicer, parts of it still have a fairly high crime rate. Chapel Hill is fairly liberal (it and neighboring Carrboro are often nicknamed The People's Republic) and, to my knowledge, has good public schools. The higher education scene can't be beat as it's home to North Carolina State, Duke, and the University of North Carolina. There are lots of lakes nearby (Lake Johnson, Falls Lake, Shelley Lake, Jordan Lake) as well as the Neuse River near Raleigh and the Eno River near Durham. Both cities have good food and an upcoming emphasis on local foods. If you're a hockey fan too, you benefit from the fact that the Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh and there's a lot of youth/adult leagues around. In terms of active culture, there's lots of running and bike shops around and a pretty extensive greenway network around Raleigh. The area is also home to a winery, several breweries and a few other wineries in a short drive. The economy out here is still fairly strong, with an emphasis on RD, biotechnology, and state government.

Asheville, NC is a tourist hot spot. VERY liberal (I've often heard/seen it compared to the Berkeley of the East), not sure how the schools are, though. In terms of higher ed, it's quite a bit behind the Triangle, being home to only a branch campus of UNC. The culture is very active, awesome food out there, and VERY nice scenery. Asheville's up in the mountains and there's quite a bit to do out there in terms of outdoor recreation. It's also home to Biltmore Estate, which is a simply amazing, must-see place. A few breweries and wineries are out there as well. I love vacationing in Asheville, but I think if you're talking about a place to live, I'd recommend the Triangle. More to do, more jobs, and it's just more of a bigger city. You have an international airport, Amtrak service up and down the East coast, and each city has its own identity. Raleigh's downtown is growing/becoming more of an it place, the NC Museum of Art often hosts outdoor concerts and movie showings (both documentary and art films as well as major motion pictures), and in general I think it's just a great place to raise a family.