Hickory is a good place to raise a family, in my opinion. We moved here in '92, had two children go through the Catawba County School system (middle school and high school). We were pleased with the school system - Newton/Conover School System is also very good.

There are many towns around Hickory to look at - Conover, Maiden, Newton - even Lincolnton and Morganton (though I can't comment on the schools, etc. there).

We don't have the traffic here (like you in Atlanta!), and I think it's less here than in the Concord area. I think we have low crime here, we have always felt safe here, at home, driving at night, etc.

In fact we like the Hickory area so much, that when we started our business it was based in Atlanta for a while, we even built a house in Atlanta, and then decided that Hickory was where we needed to be.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce in Hickory and they will be able to send you any information that you may need.

And by the way, I am not a native of NC...I was born and raised in New England....so I am a "big city girl." So if I can say that I absolutely love where I live (aside from wanting to live in Vegas....but that is another whole story...), in my opinion, you should look at Catawba County also.

Good luck!

Harrisburg is a good choice in the Charlotte area. Also, I would consider Union County.

My best advise would be Mooresville, NC. Considered one of the top school districts in Greater Charlotte, low Iredell County Taxes, on Lake Norman, Home of NASCAR, low crime, and affordable housing. I would recommend looking at homes on the Lakeside. My children go to Lake Norman Elementary and will be going to Brawley School Middle School in a few years. These schools are considered schools of excellence and I have been impressed with the eduction they have received.

In addition, Mooresville is now home to Lowe's Corporate which will eventually have 6,000 employees. Lowe's is funding a new 10 million YMCA which will be state of the art.