Tourism in North Carolina accounts for over 190,000 jobs across the state, from the Outer Banks through the midlands and into the mountains, making it one of the most vital industries year after year in the state. Visitors spend more than $18 billion (yes, that’s a “b” on that number) in the state, contributing greatly to our tax revenues, to the tune of over a billion dollars a year.

So… tourism is still doing okay, but how’s the general NC economy doing? This question is significant for those from out of state who may be contemplating purchase of vacation property or would dearly love to relocate here – many from states with economies worse off than ours, who would like to get jobs or start new businesses. Columnist Michael L. Walden of the Raleigh area News and Observer wrote about the state of the state’s economy on the 9th of July.

Walden notes that North Carolina’s unemployment rate is the nation’s seventh highest, and will likely go higher before the year is out. A quarter million jobs have been lost in the state since the recession began, and property values have been sinking. While that’s bad news for old timers, it’s pretty good news for those in the market! And it’s not all bad news. Recessions provide opportunities for change that NC’s people are quite adept at taking advantage of, so we may come out of this one better off than we were before.

Tourism will still be a major industry, and serves to help protect our abundant natural resources because those are why people come to our state. We don’t cut the tops off our mountains because our mountains are worth more intact. We don’t grotesquely pollute our waterways because those waterways are much more valuable in a pristine state. The traditional jobs that have been steadily moving out of state, to other countries, or disappearing entirely are primarily of the low-wage variety that led to NC a generation ago being one of the poorer states in the Union.

Textiles, furniture manufacturing and tobacco. While fine hardwood furniture is still crafted in the western piedmont – thus is still a going industry – many old-time artisans are doing it for themselves these days rather than working on an assembly line. Their fine pieces still sell, and custom furniture returns a bigger paycheck to those woodworkers than the factory ever did. Tobacco growing is no longer the guaranteed income the base system was a generation ago, but inroads by the biotech industry and the move to agritourism, organic produce and fine wines is returning more for our farmers too.

And as the older ways fade, new things take their place. High tech concerns are moving in, including a new plan by Apple to build a $1 billion data center in Maiden, near Hickory and Gastonia. Construction could begin as early as next month. They’ll employ at least 50 people in high-tech positions, and could generate another 250 jobs servicing the plant. Optimistic estimates is that another 3,000 jobs could be generated in related areas in the region surrounding the site.

The strong banking industry in Charlotte has lost some jobs due to the crisis, but those are slowly coming back. In the Triangle Park area, jobs in biotech, pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology and other cutting-edge developing technologies are picking up as well.

So keep on making those plans for the future, consider that making the move may be more rewarding sooner rather than later due to better real estate prices, and bring your ideas with you! We here in North Carolina have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, useful skills and ample imagination. We’ll help get things going.

People young and old who have lived much of their lives in other places but have enjoyed North Carolina’s vacation offerings for many years, are among the many who choose either to build their own vacation home in our state, or find a way to live here full time. Even if that means moving their business to North Carolina, starting all over again with a new business, or just retiring to one of our spectacular communities specializing in making golden years golden.

Yet by now almost all of us old enough to know it takes money to live are keenly aware of the housing crisis that began a couple of years ago, became steadily worse throughout the country as the bubble burst entirely, and is now affecting more and more people who got fine prime rate mortgages. So this is a pretty good time to check real estate trends in some of North Carolina’s most popular and/or populated areas, see how our state is holding against current and developing economic trends. If you’re planning or just dreaming about a North Carolina home, here are some constantly updated sources you may want to check regularly…

Realty Times NC Market Conditions
NC Real Estate Market Reports
NC Mortgage Guide: FHA

Forbes voted Raleigh as the #1 city in America for careers, and the U.S. Census Bureau projects that more than Three of the top five housing markets in America that have maintained their home values are in North Carolina.

On June 19 the Charlotte Business Journal reported that North Carolina banks are outperforming nearby states on real estate loans. Our banks are still lending, at record low interest rates. WITM reports that despite the 28% drop in home sales during 2008, 2009 so far shows sales have regained 4%. Property values have fallen a bit to what was average in 2003, and there are bargains out there.

Small business loans are also being made in increasing number as the stimulus gets allocated, so this can be a positive relocation consideration as well.

Economic prognosticators are all over the board in this current recession, which came with a collapse of major players in such a way that no one has real experience with making firm projections. Recovery may be long or short, the “liquidation” of assets and businesses out in the real world could slow or speed. But if your family are among the many who have not been utterly ruined, it’s a good time to begin looking forward to making your future dreams come true. And if those include a little slice of the Paradise we call North Carolina, get started! From now through at least the next six months some great bargains will become available wherever in our beautiful state you decide best suits you!

The photo above was taken from the cab of our pickup truck with my husband’s cell phone camera last week, while he was attempting not-so bravely to scare this ~300-pound she-bear away from our trash bin. Obviously, she wasn’t impressed. The next morning he left for work and found her not 8 feet away, in the drive right next to the house between him and the truck. She ignored him when he waved his arms and told her to leave (using his ‘gruff voice’), so he reached back for the shotgun we keep handy these days and let off some birdshot with appropriately loud bang into the air. She retreated about 10 yards up the hill, then stopped, turned around, growled grumpily and came right on back.

The first time I saw her was just a couple of weeks after our sweet old dog died, leaving us without the good bear-protection barking dogs have always offered. I’d just gotten my first cup of coffee and started out to the back deck when I realized that very large furry thing at the bottom of the deck steps (maybe 15 feet from the door) was NOT a dog, but an escapee from the wildlife sanctuary of the National Forest just across the railroad tracks. Yikes! Now she thinks she owns the place, and has lodged her complaints that we aren’t feeding her well enough.

While this bear is beautiful in her ursine way, she is a dangerous wild animal. We don’t want to kill her, and it would be illegal for us to do so anyway – it’s not bear season. So we’ve called a friend who hunts, some animal control people, a wildlife biologist at a local university, and even talked with a federal game warden about our “nuisance bear” and how to get her to move on. We’ve received some contradictory information.

• We’ve stopped putting out trash, which she loves to shred even though we don’t toss food – I compost kitchen scraps and we don’t eat meat in any case. That means we have to do dumpster runs more often, but that can be accommodated.

• We’ve been warned not to use the shotgun on her even just with rock salt, as it may blind or wound her and turn a bad situation worse.

• We’ve been told to ’sting’ her with a pellet gun instead. It won’t break the skin but will smart and that may at least keep her away from the immediate house and yard.

• We’ve been told she’ll move on when the blackberries ripen, but there are more than enough blackberries here on the property to fatten her up just fine. I doubt she’ll cross the tracks, since once the berries are gone the apples and pears right here will be ripening. She’s counting on it, I’m sure.

• We’ve been told she might be pregnant, and has chosen our place to den-in because it’s safe and abundant. Great.

My family spends a good deal of time outdoors during the summer. It’s one of the reasons we live in these beautiful mountains. I’ve a half-acre garden going, plus the fruit trees and grape orchard, all right in the bear’s path from the ridge to the creek for water. We have friends and family who vacation here, usually camping in the back yard that is now right in the middle of the bear’s twice-a-day wanderings. She’s not bothered by number of people, flying frisbee discs on the course (which is now ‘her’ property), tents, cars, trucks or train maintenance crews. Ice coolers are no impediment to her hunger, and she’s not shy of begging (or demanding) whatever’s cooking on the grill or leftover by the campfire. Something has got to be done.

The bear population is growing rapidly, and those of us who live in the same locations that bears find most hospitable are bound to cross paths occasionally. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that in my area of WNC bear incidents have “exploded” in recent years from 13 complaints in 1993 to 302 in 2008. And this was in a story about a woman in a nearby town who was injured just yesterday by a mama bear with two cubs who swatted at her little dog. In her own driveway. Yikes again!

Alas, the C-T also reports that wildlife officials won’t trap and release because there’s nowhere to put the bears – we’re saturated. Stay tuned to keep up with developments. She may move on, she may decide to give us some space, we may get a new dog who will convince her to move on, or she may have to be hunted. Meanwhile, we’re moving the company onto the living room floor this season, just to be safer than sorrier.

As Memorial Day signals the beginning of the annual vacation season, North Carolina’s tourism communities are happy to note that the soaring gasoline prices of the summer of ‘08 have settled back down to reasonable. More families should be “getting away from it all” this season, seeking the comfort of natural beauty and feeling close to the land to leave behind for a little while the stresses of normal life in uncertain times.

The mountainous western region of the state is among the most popular destinations for out-of-state visitors, and not all of them are among the millions who populate the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hike the highland portions of the Appalachian Trail, or cruise along the lush peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are many rural and somewhat city-fied attractions in western NC to tempt the family vacation planner.

WLOS Channel 13 in lovely Asheville offers a total of five (5) mapped day-trips in the western counties that look to be great fun to the inveterate sight-seer. There are viewable and printable maps, photos from each trip, lists of attractions, activities and goodies to keep an eye out for along the way. The drives are loops and do not take more than a couple of hours if driven straight through, though they can easily last all day at a leisurely pace with some stops planned-in. There are also hints for making the trip more pleasant, and even some detail about where to pay special attention to the speed limits.

Most of these day-trips meander through wilderness, occasional towns, and rural byways that, depending on when you visit, offer all sorts of agricultural goodies. There are farms where your family can pick your own fresh produce, fruit and berries straight from the fields, and others that maintain convenient off-road market stands for what’s fresh. Some offer delicious mountain delicacies such as sourwood honey, apple and cherry ciders, fruit and pumpkin butters, exotic jams and compotes, and often there will be a fine display of regional crafts as well. Bird and bat houses make of gourds, various styles of hand-painted decorative and/or musical gourds, yard and garden ornaments and scarecrows, even textile offerings destined to become heirlooms.

There are National Forest and state park campgrounds along most of the trip routes, natural waterfalls and swimming holes, fine whitewater rafting adventures, a few good eateries and some popular developed attractions listed. Here are some of the listed “Tips” for different day-trips, offered to ensure you get the most out of your adventure…

• Trip 2 – Southern Rim: If you are looking for a little day hike, right before coming to Caesars Head is the trail head for Raven Cliff Falls, a spectacular 420 foot waterfall. The hike is moderate and is 2 miles to the observation platform or 4 miles to the base of the falls via a suspension bridge.

• Trip 3 – Hickory Nut Gorge: If you are in no hurry to get out of the area, there is a wide assortment of activities to do. Chimney Rock Park offers hiking trails with spectacular views, waterfalls, and unique rock formations while Lake Lure has a beach front, boat tours, and a wide assortment of spas and vacation rentals. Chimney Rock Village is also the home to several souvenir shops and restaurants.

• Trip 4 – Forest Heritage Scenic Byway: Pisgah National Forest is full of attractions that the entire family can enjoy. Some of the more popular attractions and picnic areas are:
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area
- Looking Glass Falls
- Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education
- Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery
- Coontree Picnic Area
- Davidson River Picnic Area
- Sliding Rock
- Cradle of Forestry
- Moores Cove

• Trip 5 – Cherahala Skyway: Also located off NC 294 is Hiawassee Dam, turn left onto Hiawassee Dam Access Road shortly after passing Field of the Wood. It’s about a 5 mile side trip to the dam. At the dam there is a parking area with restrooms and lots of photo opportunities. The dam itself is 307 feet in height and has been providing power for the TVA since 1940.

Do check out the offerings at WLOS: Cruising and start making your family vacation plans now!

The current dismal state of the economy everywhere has had some involved with North Carolina tourism at a loss as to what the state can expect in 2009. North Carolina ranks 6th in tourism out of all 50 states, with entire sectors and large swaths of land dedicated to hosting visitors throughout the year and for special occasions, holidays, seasonal offerings and fun festivals.

100 of North Carolina’s counties benefit from tourism as our welcome visitors spend more than $15 billion dollars here every year, making tourism one of the biggest contributors to our economy. Thus when last summer’s high gas prices and the autumn gas shortages cut into the number of visitors, many citizens got a pre-taste of the coming recession.

Tourism promoters and attractions are are stepping up their on-line marketing efforts, new attractions are opening and others are getting face-lifts, and tourism boards are defending – and in some cases increasing – their budgets to keep the tourism dollars coming in.

Because North Carolina is within a reasonable day’s driving distance for tens of millions of Americans living in neighboring states and has such a wide variety of experiences and landscapes to offer visitors, we can expect that tourism will remain strong even in a depressed economy. Even when 10% of Americans are out of work and struggling, 90% of Americans will still be working and wanting to take vacations. Whether to connect with nature at any of our beautiful state and national parks, spend a leisurely week at the shore, visit cities full of artists and museums and concerts, or take in some NASCAR excitement just for the glorious fun of it all, North Carolina will still be a destination of fond choice.

Planning and budgeting are taking place now all across the state, with a good deal of networking going on to make the best of all the tools available to keep our visitors coming. Reaching out to in-state citizens to boost attendance at events and attractions is also getting quite a marketing boost this year. So instead of setting up a competitive situation between the mountains and the sea, or the city and the countryside, each destination can instead offer something new to those whose normal environs are someone else’s dream vacation spot! City people can be enticed to visit some agritourism farmsteads. Coast dwellers can be enticed to visit the high mountains. Rural dwellers can be enticed to visit the city and take in the sophisticated sights and sounds. Everybody wins.

So rev those engines and start looking around at what North Carolina has to offer even to people who call North Carolina home. With such an appreciation of the ‘big picture’ comes the kind of enthusiastic promotion that can be exported to draw visitors from other states in numbers to match or exceed records set in the past. A positive attitude will get us through depressing times better than depression will get us through good times. Or, something like that…

Links:

N.C. tourism can stay exciting in troubled economy
Travel & Tourism to Step Up Online Marketing
NC Tourism News
Tourism Officials Discuss 600 New Hotel Jobs
Tourism Board Allocating Funds for Fiscal Year
Emissaries of Peace
Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center

Bloomberg reported last week that according to MasterCard, demand for gasoline has fallen 2.7% from the same time last year as consumers cut back on vacation plans. The Greater Triad Area Business Journal also reports that vacation house rentals along the NC coast are down 5-8% from last year, with more available houses staying empty. There are no current reports on the number of visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway, but those figures are expected to be down significantly this season as well.

The Raleigh News & Observer reports that North Carolina’s tourism office is responding by putting more money and effort into getting in-state residents to stay closer to home this year for their vacations, and that other states are doing the same thing.

Luckily, North Carolina is so rich in natural beauty and fun family events as well as attractions, that North Carolinians can always find fun things to do on their vacations without having to drive far at all. Even better, a good many of the summer festivals, rural attractions and outdoor opportunities cost them little to nothing!

So no matter where in North Carolina you live, there are things to do, places to go and fun to be had within 100 miles of your residence. You can take the family camping on any of our beautiful lakes, at our many state parks, or even in the nation’s most popular national park. You can go boating at the coast, tour some lighthouses, do some surf-fishing and collect seashells from our beaches. You can tour organic farms and orchards, attend a small town festival, enjoy great music of all varieties, and learn new things about our state without going far from home.

So, all you proud North Carolinians… discover something wonderful about your own region this summer, and don’t worry that it’ll cost you an arm and a leg. We never have to go far from home to have a wonderful time with our friends and families, to learn and experience new people and new vistas and new things. Don’t give up your necessary vacation this year just because gas prices are high. Just don’t drive so far! In North Carolina, you don’t have to!

Developer Tom Ryan received approval for the 38-acre complex from the Fletcher Town Council in mid-January. It’s modeled after similar developments in Europe. There will be solar hot water, solar space heating (a design attribute), and even solar air conditioning using solar absorption chillers. Not that one needs much AC here in the highlands, but it’s handy for a few days every year.

Better yet, it’s not a private rich-people gated community. The project is for work force housing according to federal guidelines. 18 acres of the property will be designated a conservation easement with the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, with walking trails that will be given to the town of Fletcher as part of its greenway system.

With encouragement coming from both federal subsidies and state initiatives applying to individual homeowners, home builders and community developers through the Smart Communities Network and the North Carolina Solar Network, plans are being developed for more and more sustainable communities in our state. When it comes time for my new roof, I’m joining the Million Solar Roofs Initiative partnership in my area.

Surf some of the great links below for more information related to green initiatives in North Carolina, and see how this can translate into even more tourism dollars in our state coffers to provide even more support for our storied independent attitudes and strong valuation of our wonderful natural resources!

Links

Appalachian Energy & Green Partners

The Green Scene

Green subdivision in Fletcher may be wave of the future

North Carolina Solar Center Million Solar Roofs Initiative

Smart Communities Network

North Carolina Green Building Technology Database

During this 2007 holiday season, it seems the children are all nestled asleep in their beds, with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads… oh, wait. You say the “children” are all teenagers now, terminally bored with Christmas and expecting a 10-gig iPod loaded with every album too objectionable to be played in public, plus keys to a car and $400 worth of “Prison Chic” pants that hang somewhere around the thighs and show off their underwear?

Did the fudge never set, so you had to run to the store to buy enough ice cream to disguise the un-set fudge as super chocolate syrup? Were those tollhouse cookies hard as a rock, breaking grandpa’s dentures with the first bite? Did cousin Jim finish off the entire bottle of rum you’d brought for eggnog before passing out under the tree? Did the dog eat that perfect glazed ham before you could get it into the oven to heat? Did it snow during the night and hide all the firewood you’d stacked somewhere in the yard for the Christmas Eve fire? Are the in-laws insisting on watching Enemy of the State as a “Christmas Movie” instead of It’s a Wonderful Life for the 16th time?

Be of good cheer, enjoy yourself anyway, and…

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Black bears inhabit the North Carolina highlands, rather famously. Even though by census the state has fewer bears [11,000] than Pennsylvania [15,000] or Minnesota [30,000], frequent encounters with campers in the parks and forests are reported, and people who live in the mountains are often familiar with the bears for whom their trash, fruit trees and berry thickets have been claimed as territory.

The Washington Post reported on November 14th that researchers at the Smithsonian Institute in D.C. have used motion-sensitive cameras to photograph wildlife along a segment of the Appalachian Trail in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The 1,900 pictures showed wild horses, domestic dogs, deer and bear cubs wandering the trail at night when no one was watching. This project didn’t include the North Carolina sections of the trail, but the researchers were surprised by the number of bears recorded nonetheless. I’d suspect that if they had put cameras along North Carolina sections, there would have been a lot more bear sightings.

The Western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville devotes an entire page of its website to “Black Bear Aware.” It includes some bear facts and bear history, then offers some good bear advice:

Many people worry about having encounters with bears while they are hiking or camping. If you do encounter a bear, do not feed it or get close to it. Back away slowly making a lot of noise and do not run. Never surround or corner the bear or bears. If you happen to be attacked by the bear, the National Park Service Black Bear Brochure advised to fight back as hard as you can with any object near you. Be as loud and intimidating as you can. They suggest that playing dead is not appropriate. When you are camping or picnicking keep your site clean and free of food or anything food was stored [in]. You can hang your odiferous items in a tree at least ten feet off the ground and at least four feet away from the trunk or limbs. Never cook or eat foot in or near the tent and always pack out your trash.

Now, this is basic knowledge for those of us who live in the mountains and near or surrounded by the National Forest. Having encountered bears more than once or twice during camping trips to the Smokeys decades before moving here, knowing to hang food in a tree and never to leave popped corn on the table or firepit is something that becomes second nature. Bears are known to be experts at opening coolers – even Coleman fancy-lock coolers – and will destroy your vehicle to get at that cooler if you’re dumb enough to lock it in your car or trunk.

In the 15 years that my family has lived on property surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest we’ve had bears who winter in the bottomland, bears who will fight for rights to the berry patch if I don’t get there before s/he does, bears that loll about under the pear trees in fall gorging on fallen fruit (and keeping the dogs on the porch barking their heads off), and even a young male yearling who fell in love with our female black standard poodle. The longing was not mutual.

A big male still comes through every spring and fall to raid the trash bin if we don’t keep it emptied every week. He’s crazy about peanut butter and stale beer. He also smells very, very bad, though I hear female bears think that’s sexy. We keep our distance and so do the dogs. These animals can kill, and sometimes do. Whenever we hike the Graphite Trail or the Mackey’s Creek Trail over Heartbreak Ridge the rule is to always hike with a sturdy staff and make lots of noise, take at least one of the little girl-dogs (adopteds). They won’t chase wildlife, but will bark warnings and threats if you happen to meet any. It’s not happened, but I’m fairly sure that either of our loyal mutts would die to protect any of us if a bad bear encounter happened.

Playing dead doesn’t work with black bears like it works with Grizzlies – who usually only attack for defense. Black bears can just be moody. The largest black bear ever recorded was killed (legally) by a hunter on the ridge less than a quarter mile from my property line in 1999 – 880 pounds! That’s a hefty critter.

In 2004 newspapers reported that a black bear was found passed out after drinking 36 cans of beer in Baker Lake, Washington. The bear had opened the cooler (did I tell you they’re experts?), clawed open the cans and drank himself into a stupor. Oddly – or not – he only drank Rainier Beer while consuming only one can of Busch (and obviously not liking it very much). Go figure.

Black bears do not attack if you’re careful, pay attention to the rules. And it’s not unreasonable for me to believe that my little girl mutt dogs could probably defuse an encounter without too much risk. The Associated Press ran a photograph in June of 2006 showing a black bear that had been treed by a 15-pound tomcat named Jack in West Milford, New Jersey. When the cat was finally called home, the bear climbed out of the tree and ran away.

Living with our wildlife here in Western North Carolina is sharing the beauty with our animal co-inhabitants. It’s really not that hard, and we are often rewarded with deer in the yard (I fence the garden), foxes on the trail, bears in the orchard, and more kinds and colors of birds than anyone could count. Preserving the wildlife is as important as preserving the land, so that this beautiful treasure is available to be enjoyed generations down the line.

So if you plan to build or buy a mountain cabin here in North Carolina, your attitude about the land and the creatures who lived here before you is going to be important. It can also be very rewarding!

Links:

American Black Bear

Your Smokies: Black Bear Information

WNCNC: Black Bear Aware

October 15 has been designated “Blog Action Day”, when bloggers are encouraged to write about our environment and things regular people can do to reduce their environmental footprint on the planet and help steward the environment we depend upon to sustain our lives.

Here in beautiful North Carolina we are blessed with environments so spectacular and desirable that much of our drawn income over the year comes from visitors and tourists who just can’t get enough of us! This of course can cause some environmental stress, yet we’ve done a pretty good job so far of not urbanizing ourselves into depression and not so polluting our air and water that it’s struggle just to stay alive.

Out in the rural piedmont and mountainous west there is somewhat of a ‘housing boom’ going on. Despite overpriced land and housing in many areas of the country and a ‘bubble’ that is bursting as we speak, North Carolina still offers reasonably priced land and eco-friendly houses for young families, out-of-staters seeking vacation homes, and retirees seeking peace and a connection to the earth. A key to that housing boom isn’t just the relatively low price of land, it’s the popularity of log and timber frame homes and a sizable number of eco-conscious builders operating in our state.

The Log Home Advisor explains the industry and why it is that people from all stations in life are increasingly turning to these fine homes in lieu of the standard cheaply built tract homes of suburbia that seem destined primarily to become the slums of the future. The Log Homes Journal offers important tips on choosing the right location, the right home and the right builder to ensure you’re getting the most for your investment.

These and other sources (links below) will tout the environmental plusses of long, timber frame and hybrid houses. Some suppliers rely upon ‘culled’ timber from National Forest management, some get their logs from tree farms which produce largely for this industry. Still others, usually local to areas where homesteaders would want to live, boast that they get their timber from standing dead and down trees, which is a positive forest management practice that well serves the environment.

Here in western NC, we are dealing with infestations of insects that have killed off huge stands of southern pines and stately old hemlocks. While the US Forest Service and NC Extension Service are working hard to save young trees with new treatments landholders can obtain free for their trees, the swaths of standing dead still harboring these insects in their bark are a fire hazard as well as unsightly. This is a great deal of fine timber (pine and hemlock make excellent log homes) there to be harvested, and many harvesters are in the process of getting permits to do so. Why, the ultimate handyman could even build it himself! There are plenty of plans and instructions out there.

Thus a log home buyer need not feel guilty about the trees it takes to make their home, or to produce the timber for framing, or the siding inside or out. They get a sturdy, well-insulated shelter that will outlast almost any tract home in any suburb. Log homes are energy efficient, saving on heating and cooling costs as well as the energy resources used to generate electricity to provide heating and cooling. Log homes stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than standard houses or modulars, and out here in the west where there’s lots of shade and nights are always cool, many happy log homeowners don’t bother with air conditioning. It’s simply not necessary.

These cozy homes can be heated with wood, which is handy if you live in the woods – you can provide your own fuel and keep fit while you’re at it! Wood burning stoves are constructed to last at least as long as the house they heat, with modern efficiency and pollution control technologies built-in. In some log homes with 2 stories and loft, or with 15-20 foot cathedral ceilings, the exhaust pipe can be situated in such a way that as much heat is gained from exhaust as from the stove itself. Most heating sources can’t claim this kind of efficiency, and most homes can’t claim the solidarity to keep so much of that heat inside rather than radiating it outside.

Even if you’ve chosen a model with whole walls of glass to make your beautiful view a big part of your everyday living, most homebuilders offer double-paned insulating glass that keeps the cold out and the heat in for prime energy efficiency.

More and more of the visitors to North Carolina fall so in love that they decide to move here and live where their hearts feel most at home. Luckily, we have the space, the environmental consciousness and the wherewithall to welcome them happily. Check out some of the great links below and see if your future plans might include a home in North Carolina. You won’t be sorry!

Links:

Log Homes Journal

Western Carolina Real Estate Co.

North Carolina Lands & Properties

Natural Log Cabin Siding

An Environmentalists’s Guide to Responsible Wood Heating

GARN Smokeless Wood Heating System

Greenwood Hydronic Wood Furnace