re: Cheap land in and around the Smokies in western North Carolina

We arrived in Travelers Rest SC Sat as our new home. It's sort of the best of all worlds. The mountains just a 45 min traffic-free drive north are legit. Conservative. It's near in laws so that's main reason we didn't go farther north and higher elevations. Swamp Rabbit Trail takes you to and through Grenville (or just to downtown TR).

It has just the perfect mix of rednecks, normies, hipsters, crunchies, and athletic types. Mostly just normal Southern fams.