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s. Wentworth isn't alone. People from across the country – even the globe – have found their “interior landscapes” in the Carolinas. The diversity of geography here, from soaring mountains to salty shores, fertile farmland to meandering rivers, provide a palette that can please a variety of tastes. And when you find the right one for you – much like the love of your life – you just know.
"I knew the second I sat down in that cupola over the creek,” says Diane Voge, a much-transplanted federal employee who has retired to Habersham, a community in Beaufort, South Carolina. “Sitting there in the salt air, watching the spartina grass rippling in the breeze and seeing the birds come in – oh my goodness, there can't be a better place.”
Though she never thought of herself as a water person, Ms. Voge has found no more beautiful place than the lower Carolina coast. When she describes a sunset, it's clear this “bureaucrat” is a writer at heart. “They are usually orange to red and they come down very slowly,” she begins. “In Beaufort, evenings are hazy because of the water vapor. As it meets the sun, it just blazes across the marshes.”
And wonderfully, there's no sound. Ms. Voge remembers watching an egret hunting food. She was so
mesmerized she spent a half-hour in the silence. After years in Atlanta, Beaufort is restful and refreshing.
“Atlanta was the hum of traffic, the screech of brakes and the loud sounds of the city. Here at low tide,
you can hear water pop in the little fiddler crab holes.”
In recognition of the superlative design that Ms. Voge finds so appealing, Habersham was awarded the prestigious
Platinum Award for best neighborhood in America at the 2004 gathering of the National Association of Home Builders.
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“It's always beautiful. It's so calm. You get up and look out and see the body of water and sky.”
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Water is what does it for Trudy and Frans van der Lee. Golf also is important. That's why they built their Asian-style home on the banks of Findhorn Pond in the National Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Number Two hole is in the distance, and the tranquil waters of Findhorn are right off their dock. After years in Hong Kong, where their house overlooked the South China Sea, the van der Lees knew their retirement home must have water nearby. “We find it to be very peaceful and relaxing,” Trudy van der Lee says.
Findhorn is where they kayak, and where Mr. van der Lee fishes for sport. He also participates in “Yacht Club at National,” a group of seven men who race remote control boats around buoys in the pond. The four-foot electric boats are launched from the dock, and the winner takes home a trophy – which is passed from winner to winner. “The girls have quite a laugh about that,” Mrs. van der Lee confides.
A native of the Netherlands, Frans van der Lee met his wife in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Not wanting to return to colder weather, they settled in the storied, golf-rich area of Pinehurst. Though Findhorn Pond isn't as dramatic as the South China Sea, where freighters, junks, the QE3 and the U.S. naval fleet plied its waters, it's not without its own attractions.
“This view, it never bores you,” says Mr. van der Lee, a former Citibank executive. They made sure
their home had big windows so the water could be seen from every angle. For him, mornings are the best.
“It's always beautiful. It's so calm. You get up and look out and see the body of water and sky.”
You might also see that dependable Great Blue Heron, sitting in a tree trunk in the water. He's so close, the van der Lees say, they don't need binoculars.
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Those views are capitalized on in higher altitudes, where houses are built on the side of mountains and decks
are as big as the homes they're attached to.
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"It's the most wonderful thing I've done in my whole life other than have my two children,” says the exuberant Phyllis Monie. She's talking about the home she and her husband Bill are building in Bridge Creek, a small community in Cashiers, North Carolina. Originally from Mississippi, with stints in Chicago, Baton Rouge and Scottsdale, the Monies clearly are sold on the mountains of western North Carolina. Cool air, a quiet lifestyle and a little elevation are what they crave after years in low-lying Ponte Vedra, near busy Jacksonville, Florida.
“We're not beach people at all,” Mrs. Monie says, explaining that once her husband retires, they'll be in Cashiers more than Florida. Mr. Monie isn't a golfer, but he loves hunting and fishing. At their North Carolina home, the lakes teem with trout and the nearby North Georgia forests are filled with deer. When he says goodbye to the world of insurance, he can immerse himself in the outdoor life he loves.
Meanwhile, his wife can delight in the hometown they've chosen. “There's definitely something about the whole area,” she muses. “The views are magnificent, one small mountain range after another. You can see for miles and miles.”
Those views are capitalized on in higher altitudes, where houses are built on the side of mountains and decks
are as big as the homes they're attached to. The Monies will have an outdoor fireplace on their deck, where
they'll have dinner and cocktail parties. Spring and fall temperatures are warm enough to open your windows during the day, but evenings are cool enough to light the outdoor fire, Mrs. Monie notes.
When their Bridge Creek home is built, the Monies will have a 180-degree view of the Smokies. They don't mind that it could take more than a year to finish because of the weather and construction problems that arise with building a house on the side of a mountain. No, Mrs. Monie is already savoring those moments on the deck. “It is so worth it when you're 50 feet off the ground and you can look out over the valleys and trees and see the mountains in the distance,” she upholds. “I'm not really good with descriptions, but if anybody asks me, I tell them I found my little piece of heaven on earth when I found these mountains.”
Editor's Note: Whether soothing or dramatic, beautiful vistas will rejuvenate a weary soul. There are hundreds of families just like these three who have chosen their homesites at least partially based on what they'll see when they wake up each morning. Nature at her finest – it's a Carolina tradition.
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Aida Rogers has worked in newspapers,
magazines, legal newsletters, and television.
The USC graduate and Lexington, SC native currently
is managing editor of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina,
for which she writes a column about the most popular
restaurants in The Palmetto State.
Call her with your favorites at 803-808-1664.
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