Bearson Villa

Hickory is in the foothills of Western North Carolina. It is a city of about 40,000 persons that anchors a metropolitan area of 350,000, and as such has most of the amenities you would expect -- all restaurant chains, a mall, major shopping. One of the main reasons to come here is the ability to purchase high quality furniture very inexpensively. At one time, the Hickory area produced more hardwood furniture than any other place in the world. Even though that has diminished somewhat, there are dozens of outlet shopping opportunities to allow you to get floor samples, limited quantities and "scratch and dent" items very inexpensively.

Aside from the shopping opportunities, Hickory is a wonderful "jumping off" place to explore this half of North Carolina. We are an hour from Charlotte (which is also the closest major airport and a hub of US Airways), which is heavily steeped in NASCAR racing, among other things. An hour to the west is historic Asheville, home of the infamous Biltmore Mansion -- truly a day trip worth the price of admission; the United States largest private residence, available for touring. Ashville has a wonderful atmosphere with a great deal of live entertainment, festivals, and things of that nature.

Speaking of nature, you can also go a mere 45 minutes to the north into the mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway offers foliage tours in the fall that are unrivaled anywhere else. There's also skiing (although if you're used to double diamonds you'll be somewhat disappointed), numerous golf courses and lots of nature trails available for camping and hiking in the Pisgah National Forest.