Get Local · Small towns
Small towns,
one state at a time.
Researched guides to functioning small towns, generally under 6,000 people, and the country around them. North Carolina is the first state, with 47 town guides.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
Where the guides are
Pick a state to see its towns.
Each state is researched town by town before it appears here. A grey state is still in research, not ruled out.
States with town guides
More states are added as their research is finished.
How a town gets here
Researched town by town, not ranked.
The same questions are asked of every town, and what is still unknown stays visible.
01
How small is a small town here?
The guides cover functioning communities, generally under 6,000 people, and the country around them.
02
What gets researched for each town?
Every town is examined across the same twelve areas: food, water, hazards, housing, healthcare, services, energy, economy, community, transportation, communications, and property.
03
Is a town guide a recommendation?
No. A guide reports what the research found and what is still unverified. Flood zone, broadband, and insurance are checked at the address, by the household.
Town positions on the maps come from the U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer place files. Each town guide lists its own sources.
Next steps
Two ways to begin.
Browse first
Look over the North Carolina towns
See all 47 towns on the map and open any guide.
Open the mapQuestions first
Work out what your household needs
Answer thirteen questions, then compare your answers with the researched towns.
Find Your PlaceContinue reading
What’s next
Community
Building a Life in North Carolina: A Guide for Young Adults
Six regions of the state read for rent, wages, outdoor access and a first home. Written for people in their twenties, and useful to anyone weighing the same tradeoffs.
Land
Finding Your Town: How to Choose a Small Town
How to weigh community infrastructure, hazard risk, medical access, volunteer services, and the local economy before you look at land.
Getting Started
Where You Live Shapes What You Can Do
The questions experienced buyers ask before picking a state: dependable water, legal use, usable acres, true cost and community.
Local Risks
North Carolina Local Risk Guide: Inland Flooding, Hurricanes, Ice and Household Readiness
What has disrupted households in each part of the state, region by region, and what to have in place before you settle there.