When Jamie Petersen moved to North Carolina final fall, she wanted recent air and a recent begin.
Ms. Petersen had confronted a string of hardships whereas residing in Brandon, Fla., a suburb of Tampa. In 2012, her brother died from issues of cystic fibrosis. A couple of years later, her son Wolfgang, now 10, was efficiently handled for a cancerous tumor.
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Then, on Labor Day weekend in 2023, Ms. Petersen was sitting in a automotive within the car parking zone of a bar when an assailant fired a number of photographs via the passenger-side window and fled, leaving her with 5 bullet wounds. “I virtually misplaced my left arm and needed to learn to stroll once more,” she mentioned. (A suspect was arrested in January 2024, however official prices have been by no means filed resulting from lack of proof.)
As she recuperated, she determined it was “time to get out of Florida.”
“I wasn’t pleased with my job, the faculties weren’t nice, the climate was too scorching,” she mentioned.
She didn’t love her home in Brandon, both — a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch behind a shopping mall in a flat, congested neighborhood.
After ending a relationship final summer time, Ms. Petersen, 47, appeared for job openings via HCA Healthcare, the hospital system she works for as a radiology technician. She utilized for a place in Brevard, N.C., about 45 minutes outdoors of Asheville, in a smaller hospital that would accommodate her post-injury limitations. The job additionally got here with a increase.
She and Wolfgang visited in August and shortly fell for the world’s majestic mountains and laid-back Appalachian vibe.
“We cherished the fantastic thing about it,” Ms. Petersen mentioned. “Additionally the climate. It was noticeably cooler right here, and there have been a lot much less folks.”
The pair moved as much as North Carolina in December, staying in an Airbnb whereas exploring the housing market. Typically they toured listings with Caroline Ericksen, a Coldwell Banker Benefit dealer Ms. Petersen discovered on-line. Different instances, they merely drove round testing exteriors.
“It was enjoyable, truly,” she mentioned. “We’d pack up snacks, and you may get a really feel for a spot in the event you just like the look of the surface or the neighborhood.”
Her home in Florida offered in March, giving her sufficient for a roughly 20 p.c down fee on a $400,000 house.
Ms. Petersen wished an up to date house with at the least two bedrooms, a porch, a pleasant view and a few privateness. Ideally, it might be inside half-hour of her job in Brevard, and close to a great faculty. She additionally wished some outside area the place Wolfgang might run round and discover.
And, coming from Florida, central air-conditioning was a should. “I’d die with out it,” Ms. Petersen mentioned.
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