omgyouresexy and I are moving there in a week. Anyone have any thoughts on the place? Things to do, people to meet, places to go? Given our very limited knowledge of the area I feel like a lot of our time will be spent visiting friends in Charlotte/Greensboro/Asheville/other parts of the state, but it would be nice to actually find ways to spend time in our new hometown.

12/17/2011 11:31:53 PM

My Aunt/Uncle live in Lenoir, right outside of Hickory. It is a beautiful area, but if you are looking for anything to do that isn't artsy you are probably out of luck.

12/17/2011 11:37:19 PM

believe it or not, there is actually a thread about this town somewhere


my comments of this town lie in that space

12/18/2011 10:52:43 AM

I found a "restaurants in Hickory" thread and a "Hickory is the worst town in NC" thread with some relevant information, but apart from restaurants and a recommendation for a park, there wasn't much of use.

12/18/2011 12:30:18 PM

I grew up in Connelly Springs NC, which is a few miles away from Hickory. I went to Hickory quite a bit in high school to hang out and shit.

To say that Hickory fucking sucks ass is an accurate assessment of the place. However, if you're looking for a meth hookup, Hickory and the surrounding areas will have plenty of that.

If you have a choice to move anyplace else, then go for it.

12/18/2011 1:20:15 PM

My wife lived there for a year when she was working for Americorp and it wasn't exactly the best place I have ever been but it isn't THAT awful. You aren't going to find too many great places to eat and too much to do but you are really close to the mountains so there are some fun day trips you can take.

12/18/2011 1:53:22 PM

I live in statesville, go to hickory every now and again... you'll be fine.

12/18/2011 3:02:21 PM

I grew up in Hickory....but I have been away for 8 years and a lot has changed since then. The only bar I frequent when I go home is the Hickory Tap Room....and we go to the Hickory Tavern but that's more for the food than the drinks. Also, Backstreets is a good place to go for food and drinks. My favorite Italian Restaurant there is Davinci's. But that could be because I am biased since I worked there for 2 years. But they really do have good food. The Hickory Crawdads games are fun to go to. And you're only about 45 minutes away from Boone. Other than those few things, I don't know much else to tell you.

12/18/2011 10:08:37 PM

It's pretty much a shithole. Given that it's an hour from both Asheville and Boone, it's a bummer that it sucks so much. It would be a nice place if the town didn't suck. Foothills are nice. The lake is nice. The town sucks.

12/19/2011 12:09:09 AM

I've lived here for a year now (moved from Raleigh) and was a big adjustment moving to a place like this. There are a lot of blue collar, uneducated people (not that i have a problem with that) and not a lot of culture. There are also a lot of fatties here and really religious people (more than i'm used to) There are a few good local restaurants and a whoooole lot of chains (but no jimmie johns! ) And if you are a beer snob you'll have 3 bars to pick from. For my purposes, it is pretty much the opposite of Raleigh. The scenery is pretty though and you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains easily on clear days, especially from northern Hickory.

For all the negatives, if you enjoy living in a town this size (~40,000 people) or grew up in one you'll probably really enjoy Hickory. I grew up in Goldsboro, and i would take Hickory hands down. There is some affluence here, or else the Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes dealerships would've gone out of business a long time ago (same thing with the Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods, since they cater to a more well-to-do crowd.) Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Blowing Rock, and Boone are all within about an hours driving distance and i imagine you'll leave on the weekends more often than not.

Quote :

"but it isn't THAT awful"

This is a pretty fair statement. If you can live around the Viewmont area or northern Hickory i bet you'll like it here just fine, as long as you aren't looking for awesome nightlife. Take this with a grain of salt, since I'm not really a small town sort of guy.

[Edited on December 19, 2011 at 2:19 AM. Reason : ]

12/19/2011 2:18:51 AM

There's plenty to do if you look for it. As said before, the tap room down town is probably the best all around bar and they serve ~20 locally brewed beers from the olde hickory brewery (which also has a lesser known, but really good bar on highway 70). Mcguires is also a really good little bar downtown and they even have a small scale beerfest every year.

tavern is good for watching sports and you have all your typical chain type places near the mall. Some great local eateries like snackbar, dantes, windy city grill, reynolds sandwich shop, nakama (best japanese around imo) and an authentic german place (actually voted on of the best german joints in the US)

One of the better disc golf courses in the area is at glen hilton park, the salt block is pretty neat (they do some old school rock laser shows at the planetarium from time to time, and the art museum has some good exhibits sometimes). there are even a few performing arts centers in nearby morganton and lenoir that have some pretty good shows periodically.

Crawdads games are a good time, especially on thirsty thursdays.

lake hickory is fun in the summer (especially the sandbar) and a decent fishing spot (rhodhiss, the lake above has almost no development and much better for fishing)

some good mountainbiking/hiking trails around the area.

and, like others have said, if you get bored, charlotte, boone asheville and winston/greensboro are all only an hr or so away.

but, for the love of god, stay away from the longview area.

12/19/2011 9:48:34 AM

Quote :

"glen hilton park"

I've been looking forward to getting back into disc golf. Haven't played but once since moving to MA.

Quote :

"old school rock laser shows"

I'm so there!

As far as bars and stuff, we were never the bar type and are really looking to settle down with the kid and have a quieter place to live. The thing I've missed the most about Raleigh since moving away is the variety of ethnic restaurants, independent cinema, and the social public events. However, as people have pointed, out, being close to the mountains, Charlotte, etc. should provide for a good amount of family activities.

Also, we'll be in the southwest St Stephens area, few minutes north of exit 126. Seems like a fine enough area.. Very residential just north of the industrial part north of 40.

12/21/2011 9:15:33 PM

^ You missed out on some great disc golf courses in MA. (Assuming you mean Massachusetts, that is.) I have been very pleasantly surprised up in the northeast.

Glenn C. Hilton is a fun course. Easily the best in the area, but also just about the only one in the area. The next closest ones that are worth anything at all are Asheville, Gastonia/Charlotte, Yadkinville, and Jefferson. All about an hour away. Hilton is good enough to keep your game sharp.

12/21/2011 9:39:35 PM

I went to one, and enjoyed the outing, but I enjoy playing with my friends more than myself. It's more the social aspect of it. I will do some of the weekly stuff in Hickory, but I'll likely play more in Raleigh with friends.

12/23/2011 7:18:42 PM