Forbes Best States for Business -North Carolina

In Forbes' annual ranking of the Best States for Business, North Carolina scored high with number four! With the growth of new businesses moving to our state, comes more people.

The Cashiers/Highlands Second Home Communities are within a half days drive or less to many of the major cities in North Carolina, like Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro. As more people move to North Carolina they will be looking at the mountains for an opportunity to escape from the heat and congestion of the big city.

rustic mountain home bathroom

Here are the rankings from Forbes Magazine

No. 4: North Carolina
Business Costs Rank: 4
Labor Rank:14
Regulatory Environment: 2
Economic Climate: 21
Growth Prospects: 11
Quality Of Life: 34

Coming in very close at number five for the best places for business is Georgia. Atlanta, GA is only a 2.5 hour drive which makes our mountain area ideal for quick trips and long holidays.

No. 5: Georgia
Business Costs Rank: 23
Labor Rank: 6
Regulatory Environment: 5
Economic Climate: 10
Growth Prospects: 6
Quality Of Life: 31

read full article

Sources: Moody's Economy.com; Pollina Corporate Real Estate; Pacific Research Institute; Tax Foundation; Sperling's Best Places; Census Bureau; SBA; FBI; Dept. of Education.

see also: Cashiers NC Communities (13)
Cashiers NC future Growth (2)
cashiers nc golf courses (3)

For more information regarding Homes for Sale, Real Estate,Large Parcels of Land and Lots for sale in the Western North Carolina Area call 813-784-7744

Could North Carolina be the next Retirement Hot Spot?

The Herald Tribune reported today that Florida is no longer a top destination for retirees. Will North Carolina be the next best place to retire? We think so. In fact, most of the homeowners in the Cashiers/Highlands areas are originally from Florida. If you've been to our area you'll quickly notice the migration once you start talking to the locals.

Read more about why people are relocating to the North Carolina Mountains

Here's the report from the Tribune....

Thirty years ago, if someone was a retiree making a move across state lines, there was better than a one-in-four chance the move would take them into Florida. But that percentage has declined steadily.

Fishkind and Associates, a prominent Orlando economic consulting firm, regularly displays a chart that shows Florida's share of the 65-plus retirees on the move declining by about 20 percent from 2000-2010 to 2020-2030. But as the total U.S. population over 65 swells during those ensuing years, Florida still catches a good ride, says founder Hank Fishkind.

"The pool of potential people who can move goes from 8 million to 16 million, so even if our share comes down by 20 percent, which would be huge, the number of movers who move here would actually increase," he said.

But others have much different takes.
Bill Haas is a sociologist tracking boomers from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. With backing from the Institute for the Future of Retirement, he is slicing and dicing a new data set from the U.S. Census Bureau called the "American Community Survey" that is giving Haas fresh geographic inputs to work with each year.

"The numbers are taking us away from Florida," Haas said, citing steady declines in the state's retiree market share from a 1980 peak. While his full study on the mailbox economy has not yet been published, some of his key findings already have appeared on the Web. They show that Florida, while still the top receiving state for those 60-plus, "continues its downward trajectory," Haas said.

Florida hit a high of 26.3 percent of all movers 60 and older in 1980. In 2000, the number had dropped to 19.1 percent, and then to 16.6 percent in 2006, Haas' posted findings show.
The state's share of the pie got squeezed down to 13.2 percent in 2006, Haas told the Herald-Tribune last week after crunching the numbers.

The theory goes that, after a while, places that have been high-intensity migration sites for retirees, like California in the past and now Florida, lose their attractiveness, Haas said. "That theory would leave us to believe that Florida, which had 25 percent of all older migrants going to it, is becoming less and less attractive."

Emulating the mindset and accent of an interviewee, Haas intones: "'I left New York City and moved to Miami and now both of them are too busy and have too many problems.'"



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For more information regarding Homes for Sale, Real Estate,Large Parcels of Land and Lots for sale in the Western North Carolina Area mailto:info@carolinapg.com or call 828-226-8837

Statistics show more people are leaving Florida

Statistics show more people are leaving Florida


TAMPA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- It's after 5 p.m., but Atlas Van Lines agent Bob Glenn is still taking phone calls at his moving company, Atlantic Relocation.
Most of the quotes he's fielding these days are to destinations like Texas, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. This is great news for the Real Estate Markets in these areas.

He says it is part of a new trend where more residents are moving out of the Sunshine state than moving in. "It's the first time it's been flipped. Usually there's more people coming into Florida," Glenn notes. The times, they are a-changin'. A migration study released by Atlas Van Lines shows the reversal started in 2006. It got worse in 2007, as the company moved 7000 households out of Florida, compared to 5800 moving into the state. A big part of the problem is a real estate market in crisis, and a lack of opportunity.

"Nowadays it seems [with] the cost of homeowners insurance and property taxes, young families and seniors on fixed incomes, can't seem to afford it anymore," Glenn says.
The Atlas migration study mirror findings recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The agency says Florida slipped from the fourth fastest growing state in the country, to the 19th. It also had growth below the overall average in the south. But make no mistake, the Sunshine State is still growing by leaps and bounds, according to the same census data.

see also ....
Top Dream Towns NC (2)
Traveling to North Carolina (4)
Vacation and Second Home Mountain Communities-NC (8)


For more information regarding Homes for Sale, Real Estate, and Land and Lots for sale in the Western North Carolina Area mailto:info@carolinapg.com or call 828-226-8837

Where and Where NOT to Retire-Real Estate Trends NC

Many seniors have found themselves disappointed when they retire to a new area, even one they used to love for vacations. Retirees are increasingly turning against the traditional retirement haven, Florida. Some find the heat too brutal in the summer. Plus, the state is home to so many elderly that the early bird buffet culture can make people feel older than they are.

Clearwater, Florida: Too Many Fellow Seniors This Tampa Bay area hamlet has the highest percentage of seniors of any city in the United States.

The 2000 Census found 21% of Clearwater’s population was 65 or older, the highest of any city of 100,000 or more. Floridians as a whole are 17.6% seniors, compared with 12.4% for the United Sates as a whole. With 3.6% of its population 85 and up, Clearwater also has three times the national share of that age group.

The graying of Florida is just one reason many retirees from the Northeast sometimes abandon their first retirement destination for somewhere mid-way up the coast. These “half-backs” are increasingly turning to the Carolinas, fleeing the bland culture, extreme weather, and high real estate and homeowner’s insurance prices of Florida.

The 'Half-Back' Retirement
Many northerners retire to Florida only to find it too hot, clogged with traffic, too expensive and a cultural wasteland. But they don't want to go back to winters, so they go halfway back, retiring in the Carolinas, where both temperatures and property prices are milder.


For more information regarding Retirement in North Carolina, The best mountain communities, Real Estate, and Lots for sale mailto:info@carolinapg.com or call 828-226-8837

Let's talk about the Weather!- Cashiers, NC

My friend from Atlanta came up for a few days.

Horseback riding at Arrowmont, Lake Glenville

She was quite disappointed in the weather in Atlanta...............

"When I left your house Sat morning, it was 71, I got home, it was 93!!! Well, guess how hot its going to be today????? Ready for this 101! What is that about?"

If you live here you already know this. This is for the Floridians....The town of Cashiers, NC is 3,500 ft above sea level and the high elevation causes a 10-15 degree drop in temperature.

People who have lived here in Cashiers/Highlands NC area a while are used to the "always nice" weather. In fact, its the topic of conversation at most local markets and antique shops. Nice weather! Isn't it just gorgeous today? Why, Yes. Life is good.

Today was the hottest day of the summer and it was a scorching 86 degrees! I heard some complaints about it at the grocery. I actually noticed the humidity in the air for the first time. My hair was about an inch longer today because of it. 86 degrees! That's comparable to November in Florida.

All the heat just pours out and hits you in the face.

The norm here is 70-80 degrees on a summer day. What? my hair looks good? That's exciting for a woman in her late 30's.

"I just tell them they don't know what hot is until you've lived in Florida."If you've lived there your whole life like I did, then you know you never get used to the heat and humidity. I would always say that "when you open the door to your car in August it's like opening your oven door."

Being in the mountains is a whole different experience. If you haven't been here, I promise you won't be disappointed!

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Famous names in golf are flocking to WNC to build new golf course communties

Famous names in golf are flocking to WNC to build new courses

Tom Fazio in Linville, Tryon and Cashiers. Jack Nicklaus in South Asheville, Lake Lure and Highlands. Arnold Palmer in Balsam, Etowah and Polk County. Phil Mickelson in Cashiers. Gary Player in Upstate S.C. near the N.C. line. Tom Kite in Watauga … All of a sudden Western North Carolina has become a mecca for famous names in the game of golf who have built or are planning to design golf courses.

It was just a few years ago that this area, while boasting a significant number of layouts by famed architect Donald Ross, was shy in numbers when it came to 18-hole layouts by some of the more famous architects and players who had moved into the field of golf course design.

Nicklaus built Elk River Club in Banner Elk more than 20 years ago, Palmer designed Cullasaja Club in Highlands almost two decades ago and Fazio produced Wade Hampton in Cashiers and Champion Hills in Hendersonville, and that was about it.

But that’s all changed as WNC becomes more and more desirable as a retirement and second-home golf community.

On the assumption that all projects are completed, within a couple of years at least a dozen new designs in WNC with famous names attached will be available for the high-dollar, private-club set to enjoy.


see also:
Golf Course News, North Carolina
Sapphire Mountain Golf Club
Golf Course Communities
Cashiers, Highlands & Franklin Golf Courses
Sapphire Valley Golf Course



For a list of Golf Course Communities in the Western North Carolina area contact info@carolinapg.com or call 828-226-8837