14. North Carolina
Happy Juneteenth!
Recently, I’ve held the thought that if I could move anywhere in the US, maybe North Carolina would be a nice place.
I’m not 100% why that is. Maybe it’s just vibes really. But there’s something about North Carolina I’ve always liked, and I tend to always hear great things about the state.
Asheville, NC
The only part of North Carolina I’ve really been to is Asheville and the Smokey Mountain Area. And wow is that place something. Asheville is a city among the mountains. There’s really nothing like it of its size. It stands out as being a really progressive town in a notoriously backwoods region. All of this made it really painful to see Hurricane Helene devastate the city a few years ago. It’s hard to believe a town in the mountains long away from the coast could be so massively damaged by a hurricane of all things. Regardless, it’s a really special place, and I look forward to a visit again.
North Carolina might be the prettiest part of the Appalachians because you are able to get so deep into the mountains in a way that you feel surrounded by them. It’s the kinda feeling that makes you feel small because all you can see are dense forests as far as your eyes go. I know I’ve said there’s a lot of places I want to take a trip to soon, but I think the absolute first is going to drive up the Appalachian corridor starting in western North Carolina. It’s been over 15 years since I’ve been there and I don’t think I appreciated enough the two times I went there when I was a kid. I need to go again.
Raleigh, NC
As for cities, I haven’t really been to Charlotte outside of my aforementioned trip to the airport from my South Carolina ranking. It was completely dark so I can’t really say here or there. But I do tend to hear great things about Raleigh and Durham. That’s definitely a place I want to go out of my way to visit. Something about college towns just offer a better environment than most other places. I think it’s because when you have a whole bunch of broke college students without cars, it forces the town to be more affordable and walkable, and having a place where so many people work in education lends itself to a culture of exploration.
Outside of all that, I do hear that North Carolina does lose its prettyness a little as you go east. But eventually you get to the Outer Banks and everyone starts talking about how pretty it is again. I have some family members with a home there, so maybe I’ll get to experience it someday.
All of this just proves to me that North Carolina is at the very top of states I want to return to for a visit. If I made that list, it would be in the top 5 for sure.
