WINSTON-SALEM — Whether it’s North Carolina’s climate, scenery, or improving economy, more people are moving to the Tar Heel State.
United Van Lines’ Annual National Movers Study shows North Carolina ranks third on the 2014 list of Top Moving Destinations.
Richard Geiger, the president of Visit Winston-Salem, said people relocate for either a job or retirement.
“I think the growth in people relocating to North Carolina and the Carolinas is largely due to those two things,” said Geiger.
Geiger, who moved to the state for a job, is right. The study found more than 40 percent of survey respondents moved for a new job. Twenty-five percent transferred to the state with their current company. Another 25 percent of those surveyed reported moving to the state for retirement.
“We see a lot of retirement people or potential retirement people coming right here into the visitor’s center that are coming down from the North usually or the Midwest looking for a place to ultimately end up when they’re not working and retired,” said Geiger.
Geiger said people are often looking for quality of life things such as arts, culture and variety of restaurants.
North Carolina, however, falls behind Oregon and South Carolina, but Geiger said the population growth still helps the economy despite the state being third on the list.
“Anytime you bring someone here new, you’re bringing new dollars into the marketplace,” said Geiger. “Anytime someone moves here, they have to buy a home, they have to buy appliances, they shop at our grocery stores, they buy our supplies, they buy our services. They are spending money here. ”
Realtors said new home buyers are in luck because prices are stable and property values continue going up.
“When you look at Asheville, it has become such a hot retirement and tourist destination, and their prices have gone up significantly, winter properties and also resale properties,” said Greater Greensboro Regional Realtors Association President Marian Stafford.
The study shows North Carolina has been classified as a high inbound state, or people moving in rather than out, each year since 1993.
The study is based on household moves handled by United Van Lines within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C.
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