North Carolina a state with 81 selected active retirement communities

81 Selected Listing of Active Retirement Communities

In North Carolina

General:

North Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the Southern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte. North Carolina is now ranked as one of the top 3 leading States for Green Technology, Bio-Chemical Engineering, Medical Sciences, and Computer Engineering through the long-range research and development programs of Research Triangle Park (RTP), UNC Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State.

The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills, approximately 6.4 miles (10.3 km) south of Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. It is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2009, the population was estimated to be 9,380,884 (a 16.7% increase since April 1, 2000). Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of Native Americans of any state east of the Mississippi River.

North Carolina has quietly become one of the most popular states in the country for retirement. Not everyone wants to move to Florida: North Carolina is blessed with a varied topography, from seacoast to mountains; an equable, four-season climate; and a choice of social settings ranging from quiet small towns to booming and vibrant cities. Add in the wide array of cultural and recreational choices, and North Carolina is virtually a microcosm of America.

Geography:

North Carolina consists of four main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds--Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States.

Mountains-- One of the most popular retirement destinations in the United States today was once the part of the nation that nobody wanted. The Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina--the Blue Ridge, Great Smokies, and Black Mountain ranges--were the county's original high frontier, a forbidding barrier to westward expansion and a sparsely-settled and impoverished region. But that began to change after the midpoint of the 20th century, when highways, leisure time, and disposable income brought visitors to the high country in droves. Many fell in love and stayed...while others vowed to come back.

Whereas Florida's original attraction was its warm, sunny winter weather, the Appalachians offer the opposite: they're cooler in summer by about 15 degrees over the surrounding lowlands. Add in the fact that in winter they're a prime destination for skiers, and the recreational possibilities in the area rival those of any other area in the country. The cultural attractions have recently caught up as well, led by the city of Asheville, which offers a sophisticated arts and restaurant scene as well as serving as the center of traditional mountain culture--bluegrass music, clog dancing, and the unique crafts that thrived in the area's long isolation.

Asheville is also home to the Biltmore Estate, built by George Washington Vanderbilt in 1895. It remains to this day the largest private home ever built in America...and is still owned by Vanderbilt's descendants. Now, however, it is open to the public, and tours of the house and grounds are among the most popular attractions of the area.

Foothills-- North Carolina's Foothills region is the part of the Piedmont closest to the Appalachian ranges in the western part of the state. It shares many features in common with the Piedmont region--even its name (Piedmont is nothing more than the French for "foothill")--but also with the Mountain region to the west, making the Piedmont something of a hybrid area.

Some of the states largest urban areas are located here, including the largest city, Charlotte, to the south, and the "Triad" of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point farther north. Between them is a land of rolling hills and small towns. Some of them, such as Lexington and Thomasville, developed into major manufacturing centers for furniture and textiles during the 19th century. Another, Mount Airy, became world famous through its fictional avatar: Mayberry, Andy Griffith's affectionate tribute to the town of his birth.

Piedmont--North Carolina's Piedmont region is a broad, upland plateau lying between the coast and the Appalachians far to the west. It is usually considered to start at the fall line--the point at which the numerous rivers drop suddenly in waterfalls or rapids from the plateau to the coastal plain. Because this once represented the limit of waterborne traffic upstream--and because of the opportunities for exploiting the rivers for power at this point--the fall line developed into a densely settled region of prosperous towns and cities. It's no accident that the state's capital, Raleigh, is located in this region.

The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area--also known as the Research Triangle--is the most densely-settled area in the Piedmont, and the cultural and economic heart of North Carolina. Here, three important universities were established within 25 miles of each other: the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and Duke University in Durham. The presence of the universities influenced everything from local culture to jobs to population patterns, and the area remains one of the most popular in the state for new residents.

Farther to the south, Fayetteville is home to the Army's Ft. Bragg, and to Pope Air Force Base. The land around Fayetteville is mostly rolling farmland dotted with small towns, and retains much of the flavor of the old rural South.

Coastal-- North Carolina's coast remains largely undeveloped in comparison with the rest of the Atlantic coastline. The 300 miles of barrier islands and broad sounds are home to only one city of considerable size (Wilmington). Most of the coast is overseen by the state's Division of Parks and Recreation, which has prevented commercial and residential overdevelopment, and kept the beaches accessible to the public. Still, the area is extremely popular, and teems with tourists during much of the year. It is also beginning to fill up, as more and more affluent home buyers push up housing prices.

The area has a long chapter in the history of America. This is the part of the United States that saw the earliest European settlement, and it is here that the "Lost Colony of Roanoke" was founded in 1585. The coastline was of immense economic and strategic importance throughout the Colonial era, and was fought over in the Revolution and the Civil War. Later, it became the site of the world's first powered airplane flight, at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk.

Wilmington is the urban heart of the area; but even here the pace is noticeably more laid-back than other coastal cities. Other towns of note include Elizabeth City, New Bern, and Jacksonville, home of the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune.

Climate:

The geographical divisions of North Carolina are useful when discussing the climate of the state.

The Coastal Plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which keeps temperatures mild in winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C); the average daytime winter temperature in the coastal plain is usually in the mid-60's. Temperatures in the coastal plain rarely drop below freezing even at night. The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all.

In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that are usually in the mid 50's, and temperatures often drop below freezing at night. The region averages from 3--5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6--8 inches in the Raleigh--Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for sleet and freezing rain. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year.

The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the low 40's and upper 30's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (-9 °C) or lower on winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14--20 in (36--51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the Blizzard of 1993 more than 50 inches (130 cm) of snow fell on Mount Mitchell over a period of three days. Additionally, Mount Mitchell has received snow in every month of the year.

Severe weather occurs regularly in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years, several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly strike the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often.

Demographics:

The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2009, estimated North Carolina's population at 9,380,884 which represents an increase of 1,340,334, or 16.7%, since the last census in 2000. This exceeds the rate of growth for the United States as a whole. The growth comprises a natural increase since the last census of 412,906 people (that is 1,015,065 births minus 602,159 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 783,382 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 192,099 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 591,283 people. Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina passed New Jersey to become the 10th most populous state. The state's population reported as under 5 years old was 6.7%, 24.4% were under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

African-Americans make up nearly a quarter of North Carolina's population. The state has a rapidly growing proportion of Asian Americans, specifically those of Indian, Vietnamese descent; these groups nearly quintupled and tripled, respectively, between 1990 and 2002, as people arrived in the state for new jobs in the growing economy. Recent estimates suggest that the state's Asian-American population has increased significantly since 2000.

There is a high concentration of Scots-Irish in western North Carolina. A concentration of Welsh (usually included with others from Britain and Ireland) settled east of present Fayetteville in the 18th century. For a long time the wealthier, educated planters of the coastal region dominated state government.

North Carolina has the largest American Indian population of any state on the East Coast. The estimated population figures for Native Americans in North Carolina (as of 2004) is 110,198. To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders. Those tribes are the Coharie, Eastern Band of the Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Sappony, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and Waccamaw-Siouan.

North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country.

North Carolina is an at-will employment state, meaning employees in the private sector may be dismissed without prior notice or reason.

Taxation:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Rlstate3.htm#NORTH%20CAROLINE

Cities with Active Retirement Communities:

North Caroline Costal--19