Living near the AT - where?

[Praha4]

living closer to the AT is my next goal, I've been stuck in Florida long enough. The summer heat, humidity, and bugs are too much for me after too many years here. Forget about hiking down here anytime in the summer unless you enjoy misery in the heat and being food for chiggers, ticks and mosquitos. We should have let Spain keep this miserable swamp and alligator infested state.

I'd like to hear WB members' suggestions on good towns/cities to live in ...within a half day's drive of the AT, where housing costs are fairly reasonable < $750/month (rental- apartment, condo, small house) for 2 people. My objective is to find a small 1BR apartment, condo or a small house that would be a nice base camp for hiking trips.

My selection criteria are in this order:

1. distance to AT
2. cost of living/housing
3. distance to major city/transportation hub

I'm open to just about any state along the trail, new england, mid atlantic, southern mountains. I've been looking at Asheville, NC area, Erwin, TN, Dahlonega, GA, Roanoke, VA, and Boston, MA. trouble with Boston is I think cost of housing is going to be way over my budget.

[Bloomer]

Look in the area around PA. The area around where I am now Lebanon / Jonestown is cheap and with pleny of rentals. harrisburg, PA is the closest major city (20 miles). Southern PA around the AT is expensive and not many rental. although, any small town in the state will offer you reasonal cost of living (cheaper rent). Central PA seams to be the cheapest. Great hub to travel any where on the east coast. I live 5 miles from the AT and I81.

[chief]

living closer to the AT is my next goal, I've been stuck in Florida long enough. The summer heat, humidity, and bugs are too much for me after too many years here. Forget about hiking down here anytime in the summer unless you enjoy misery in the heat and being food for chiggers, ticks and mosquitos. We should have let Spain keep this miserable swamp and alligator infested state.

Oh good, one less whiner on the Gulf Coast. See ya!

[Lone Wolf]

Damascus, Va.,,,,,,,,,,

[Slo-go'en]

Berlin, NH - just don't expect to find a job around here..(but I guess that's true of most anywhere now days)

[Serial 07]

base camp for hiking trips? damascus should rank right up there...i rent a 3 bedroom house for $550...

[DeerPath]

Take a look at Linden, VA. and the Front Royal, Va area. The AT is just a couple miles away and the Shenandoah River passes thru Front Royal the "Canoe Capital of VA". Shenandoah Nat. Park-Skyline Drive, Geo. Washington Nat. Park, G.Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Great Meadows Park and a few others are close by. And Harpers Ferry, Home of ATC is about 25 miles.

It's a great area, and I travel there a few time a year to see my sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

[10-K]

Unicoi County, TN - anywhere.

Every day I wake up and can't believe how fortunate I am to live here. I live in downtown Erwin and I can walk a side trail up the mountain and be standing on the AT in one hour.

Asheville is 1 hour south, Johnson City is 20 minutes north. There are about 1,645 AT trailheads you can drive to within 2 hours. This is an AMAZING place to live, I'm telling you.


Then there are Pisgah National Forest and Cherokee National Forests which have more trails than you can shake a trekking pole at.

Home prices are very, very reasonable (we moved here from a beach town), county taxes are low, and TN does not have a state income tax.

If you need a local realtor recommendation I can hook you up. The guy we used coordinated finding homes within our specs, setting up viewings, etc. while we were living 400 miles away - great guy to work with.

[Praha4]

Oh good, one less whiner on the Gulf Coast. See ya!

actually the winters down here aren't bad (Nov-Feb), it's the other 8 months of the year I can't stand anymore after 31 years down here in this cesspool.

after that comment, I'll be rooting for LSU tonight!

[The Cleaner]

Greeneville TN...Home of former US President Andrew Johnson...17 miles to Allen Gap,about 30 miles to either Erwin TN or Hot Springs NC....several NPS sites of Andrew Johnson in town..2 USFS campgrounds in the county&connector trails up to the AT plus about 60 miles of trails in the Cherokee National Forest in Greene Co. also.....

[SawnieRobertson]

Sugar Grove, Virginia , , , perfection!--Kinnickinic

[mikec]

I live in Manassas, VA. We're about 55 miles east from where the AT crosses VA55 at Linden. Lots of places to live and there are jobs to be had thanks to Washington, DC and the federal government being about 30 more miles to the east. I used to live in Front Royal, VA (3.5 miles east of the AT) and commuted to DC. You live well but the commute is hell.

[Cookerhiker]

Western Maryland - about 2 hours from the AT, closer to Monangahela National Forest in WV with great hiking, cool summers, good winter sports e.g. cross country skiing. Cumberland was recently named one of the top 10 small towns for retirement when considering housing affordability. It lies between two long-distance cycling trails - Great Allegheny Passage to Pittsburgh, C&O Canal to DC. Far enough from cities so that traffic, noise, crime, congestion etc. not an issue but DC is 3 hours in one direction, Pittsburgh less than 2 hours in another for airports and other big city amenities. AMTRAK service in Cumberland. Frostburg State University in Frostburg has cultural events e.g. concerts, plays as does the Allegheny Arts Council. Other hiking trails nearby: Allegheny Trail, Laurel Highlands Trail, Tuscarora Trail plus smaller ones.

If it sounds like I miss it, that's because I do.

[Cedar Tree]

I have a house for sale or rent in Marion, VA.

http://www.royaloakrealty.com/?p=1430

It is inside Hungry Mother State Park.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hun.shtml

It is about 10 miles from the Trail Crossings at Atkins (81) and Mount Rogers Ranger Station (16).

As for transportation hub, there is Tri-Cities Airport near Bristol about an hour away, and Roanoke about 1.5 hours away.

Twenty miles from Damascus and the Creeper Trail.

Cedar Tree

[Spirit Walker]

Pennsylvania is a good option. We moved here a year ago. Housing in Chambersburg or Shippensburg is very inexpensive, especially compared to NY, Virginia and Maryland. (Gettysburg, State College or Philadelpha is higher, but western PA is even cheaper.) Weather is good, with four full seasons. You can hike year around, which is a necessity for me. You can reach all of the AT in PA in less than 3 hours and it's only about 2-3 hours from here to the Shenandoahs. There are a lot of really nice backpacking trails in northern and central PA - Donut Hole, Black Forest, Quehanna, Susquehanna, West Rim, etc.

[Smooth & Wasabi]

Do you need to work and how close you need to be to how big a city? Do you want serious winter? New England has a higher cost of living even before you add some of the extra costs like heat and snowtires/4x4. But I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the AT corridor, I love the seasons and winter activities. I live about 45 minutes from the AT near Rutland, 1 hr 45 min to the ADK high peaks, 3 hours to the Whites. I am a little far from transportation hubs, an hour and a half gets me to Burlington VT or Albany NY. My mortgage for a small house on ten acres overlooking the Green Mountains and Long Trail is in your price range. It is certainly possible to find a similar situation Somewhere in Maine or NH as well just expect the housing prices to go up going south or in the popular resort communities. Of course real work is tough to find and you have to deal with the relative distance to major towns and cities. If you don't want or need 5 months of winter I'd go with 10Ks advice

[Praha4]

I'm reading all the responses and really want to thank everyone who has responded so far, some great towns and great advice from all of you, and a lot to look over and think about. I may be in touch with some of you with questions on your areas mentioned here. A couple questions always come to the top in the search, how big a city to live near, how far from a city, and how much real winter is tolerable, like you get in New England. A search like this really requires some "boots on the ground" research, meaning some travel to these areas, there's a limit how much can be done on the internet looking at chamber of commerce webites and real estate agent websites.... I really wanted to hear from hikers here at WB, much appreciated, any other tips are welcome.

[Bearpaw]

You can get a house dirt cheap in Hampton, TN, with Dennis Cove and the Watauga Lake portions of the AT within 10 minutes away (and a 1-mile blue-blaze to the AT within town limits). You won't find much work, and the town seems to be losing another business or two each year, but you'd have a 10-minute commute to Elizabethton or 30 minutes to Johnson City. Just a thought. And one my wife and I have considered seriously.

[peakbagger]

Are you looking to work or retire? Berlin/Gorham NH has lots of rentals and small houses can be bought cheap. The job market is tight currently especially for your age due to past layoffs by local employers which left a group of 55 to 65 year old folks trying to string together jobs until they can retire. There is major construction project that will ramp up next spring which could impact rents somewhat but generally landlords are looking for long term renters versus construction folks. There is always seasonal tourist work, but its low pay. Many of the local unemployed would rather collect unemployment and work under the table than to do seasonal work. The local newspaper is on line berlindailysun.com. When looking at rents make sure to facotor in if they are heated, it can be a considerable cost as the building stock is older and poorly insulated, although there is a firm that is guttting older buildings in Berlin and rebuilding them to the latest energy standards. There are no sales taxes or income taxes in NH, although there is a room and meals tax on restaurant meals and hotel rooms.

From Gorham you have access to the Mahoosucs in the "backyard"and the whites and you can walk to the AT. The area has major services, like a hospital and a Sup[er Walmart, although the food selection at Walmart is lousy. The closest major city/transportation hub is Portland Me which is 90 miles. North Conway/Jackson/Bartlett area is 35 miles south. The only public transport is a bus route that connects up the area to Manchester NH and Boston.
There are four seasons and from late October to April there can be snow on the ground. If you dont like winter sports, like snow showing, cross country skiing, down hill skiing or snowmachining, its not your place. There is a bug season that usually lasts a month and the local black flies during this period can be legendary. Another issue to consider is the length of daylight. The area is around 45 degree latitude, therefore the daylight during different times of the year changes significantly, In the dead of winter, there isnt much more than 8 hours of daylight versus summer we can get close to 18 hours. Some folks have a touhg time getting usefd to the shorter daylight in winter.

[Monkeywrench]

... trouble with Boston is I think cost of housing is going to be way over my budget.

Yeah, when I saw "< $750/month" for housing and "Boston" in the same sentence, I almost choked laughing. The average studio apartment here costs $1000 - $1400 per month. The upside is, it makes life on the trail seem awfully cheap!