High Country North Carolina

The name given to the mountain region of North Carolina implies many things, and gives you endless ideas of what the region is. However, the term High Country shouldn't necessarily imply that living in the area is unreachable.

The main areas of the High Country or the most desirable areas are: Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Boone, Foscoe, Valle Crucis, and Vilas. The "higher" end areas are those of Banner Elk and Beech Mountain along with Blowing Rock and Foscoe close behind. The housing market in these areas are booming and are expected to continue on the up rise as time goes on.

Here is a chart to show the county population by area to give an idea of what I am talking about:

COUNTY April July Growth 2000 2005 Amount %

WATAUGA 42,693 42,934 241 0.6
(County as a whole)
BEECH MOUNTAIN 297 323 26 8.8
BLOWING ROCK 1,365 1,370 5 0.4
BOONE 13,470 14,130 660 4.9
SEVEN DEVILS 112 121 9 8.0
(Foscoe Area)
(Thank you demog.state.nc.us for this information) This info was taken from demographics for the year of 2005.

As you can well imagine these numbers have increased over the last two years. With the building of new construction along the lines of homes and businesses. The area is becoming the area to be in North Carolina for education, business, and family.

For starter homes or first time buyers the areas of Deep Gap, Vilas, and Zionville are your best bets for value and for property size. Moving into those areas you can purchase nice homes with land for reasonable prices from low $90's to the $125 thousand range. The closer in you get to Appalachian State University, the ski areas of Banner Elk and Beech Mountains, and the well-desired zip codes of Blowing Rock and Foscoe (also known as the Grandfather Community) the higher the average price for housing or property will become. New homes in those areas can run anywhere from the low $140's to well over $400 thousand range. The same goes for existing properties and land.

If you are interested in moving to or relocating to the High Country area some wonderful sites to keep a close eye on are those of local papers such as the Watauga Democrat (www.wataugademocrat.com) The Mountain Times (www.mountaintimes.com) and The Blowing Rocket (www.blowingrocket.com). Some other very useful tools are the sites for HomesandLand (www.homesandland.com) on this site select the map option, then click on North Carolina, to reach the High Country area click central, then choose Boone. You can then narrow your search to price range, area, and amenities.

Of course, schools are very important to most when thinking of a move. The area school system sites are as follows: for Watauga County Schools (www.watauga.k12.nc.us) for Ashe County (www.ashe.k12.nc.us) and for Avery County (www.averyschools.net). The area is also home to top rated Appalachian State University (www.appstate.edu). There are also numerous private schools for parents or caregivers interested in the private school structure.

Regardless, if you come for a visit to the area, or you are relocating to the region, the possibilities are truly endless. The High Country has endless possibilities and is certainly a wonderful way of life, no matter the section you choose.