This is my contribution to Scott’s Assignment 6: Your Hometown. For as long as I can remember we never lived in one place for more than 10 years, at least not in the same house, and I think it’s because of my dad that likes to move. I was born in Laos, moved to Thailand when I was 6, then the big move to Brooklyn, New York. We then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during my High School years, then moved back to Queens, New York for college, and finally to North Carolina. As for now, this is my hometown.
Hickory, North Carolina is not in the boondocks like most people think. It’s true that we have horses, cows and lots of farm land, but this is not what we are all about.
Actually, Hickory has been named an “All-America City” three times, once in 2007, then back in 1987 and 1967. The All-America City Award is given annually to only ten cities in the United States. It is a very prestigious award that represents a community’s ability to work together and achieve critical local issues.
We are known for furniture, a famous furniture outlet right in our backyard, Hickory Furniture Mart.
A back view photo below taken on Friday. It is a four-story complex that has a unique mix of nearly 100 furniture outlet stores, shops and galleries.
Downtown Hickory you’ll find an old movie theater, still showing great movies for only $2 per show. This is definitely not the state of the art facility, but we do have Carmike Cinemas also.
One of the many roads in downtown Hickory. I have to say that it’s a very confusing town, the address of “Street Avenue Lane NE, NW, or SE is very common here.
There are many prehistorical houses.
And many big old trees.
Regardless of what you’ve heard or seen, we drive normal cars by the way. I drive a Toyota, so move out of my way.
Hickory is a small town, and we are still growing. When I first moved here over 10 years ago, there weren’t that many cars on the road, but it’s not like that anymore, still not much traffic though.
Special thanks to Bo, he was kind enough to drive me around town, photos taken on a Grey Sunday morning.
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March 21, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Cambree
This looks like a great place to raise a family.
The Furniture Mart would be a nice way to spend the day. But not much shoppers or cars in the parking lot. Out here, the malls are usually packed with cars all weekend.
Some of the older homes has a very southern look, like Georgia or Louisiana. It would be neat to see an update of your hometown in the height of summer.
Btw, love the photo of the red barn too.
March 22, 2010 at 12:17 am
Nye
Cambree, businesses in this area are not doing too well. I drove passed the furniture mart on Saturday and it was very much like Friday, the parking lot was kind of empty. The malls are not packed either, I think people are spending less these days, but what surprised me is the restaurant business, the well known restaurants stay busy all the time. It’s a very risky business to get into though, many don’t last more than 6 months.
March 21, 2010 at 7:45 pm
pnlis
wow girl, you are living in one beautiful city. Hey, that is wayyy better than Green Bay by a thousand times.
I can totally relate to what you said. I have never lived in any place for more than 10 years too. I grew up in Lao (living in 3 different places) and moved here in 2001. We have been here since then but this is already our third house. Right now, I’m not even living with my parents anymore. I’m living somewhere else for school
March 22, 2010 at 12:39 am
Nye
pnlis, it’s kind of strange that we had to move around so much, and I didn’t notice this until our last move. My parents sold their house because they wanted to move to FL, but it didn’t work out and they started looking at houses in our area. My dad fell in love with our old house and land, so we decided to sell it to him. We lived there for 7 years, the heavy furniture didn’t stop us from moving, and it seems like the pattern keeps repeating itself. I just hope that we’ll live in this house for more than 10 years, same with my dad. We’ll see, maybe old age will break his pattern.
March 22, 2010 at 8:26 am
Jeffrey
Really liked the pics a lot. It is always to see some photos of the States and from places that I haven’t been to; I like the way you framed these shots, especially the first one.
Btw, just got off the phone with Aon–she told me that the workers were putting on the roof today–orange tiles. She thinks one more month and it will be finished.
March 23, 2010 at 11:26 am
Nye
Jeffrey, thanks. It was a nicer day on Saturday but I was busy working in the garden.
It must be very exiting for Aon and the kids and the next time you’re in Laos, you’ll get to stay in your dream home.
March 22, 2010 at 2:26 pm
seeharhed
Good old Hickory, NC:-). I still remember my very first visited there many years ago, not until the 2nd or 3rd trip there I start to see the charms of the town. It is totally the opposite where I am living now. In Hickory, you can be driving and it is normal not seeing a car on the road for some time. What I really like the most there are golf courses:-). Most golf courses are carved on Carolina rolling hills and a lot cheaper to play golf there.
March 23, 2010 at 11:29 am
Nye
seeharhed, I lived in Conover and Newton prior to moving to Hickory and I like it here. I’m not a golfer, so I didn’t visit the golf course to take picture. The restaurant businesses are booming here, great for those that like to dine out.
March 22, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Scott Thomas Photography
Thanks for contributing to the assignment, Nye. I have heard of Hickory for years but have never had an opportunity to visit. At least now I have been there virtually through your eyes.
March 23, 2010 at 11:35 am
Nye
Scott, thanks for this opportunity, it was a lot of fun going around town.
March 22, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Kim
Nye:
You are very lucky to live in such a beautiful town.
Living in your town will be very nice change for me. The only problem is that I may be too old to learn to drive in the snow.
March 23, 2010 at 11:38 am
Nye
Thanks Kim, I think Hickory is pretty, but I often wonder if those that live here think so also.
My older sister learned how to drive in her 40s, so there is no such thing as too old, and many Californians and Northerners relocated to NC.
March 23, 2010 at 4:01 am
Carsten
Thanks for the short story about Hickory. And for telling about yourself. I like to see how other parts of the worls looks. It is certainly different from Denmark. BTW, I lived in the same municipality for nearly 50 years !!
March 23, 2010 at 11:41 am
Nye
Hi Carsten, this is a fun assignment and a great way to see different part of the country and world. I’ll check out others’ posts when I have more time tonight.
March 23, 2010 at 11:49 am
Gerry
How nice to see Hickory through your eyes! I love the old houses and the rolling terrain and the horsebarns. I, too, grew up in many places, so I understand the wish to plant yourself! You picked a good place to make your garden.
March 23, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Nye
Thanks Gerry, not much land but I can work with small spaces. I like it here because you get the best of both worlds, short Winter and the Fall/Spring and Summer are real nice here.
March 23, 2010 at 5:05 pm
giiid
It looks like a wonderful place to live, with lots of open space, big roads, great nature and old houses build in a way we only know from American films. You have been living many places; one day I would like to know more about the system of buying houses in USA. (I wonder if it is like ours.)
March 25, 2010 at 1:07 am
Nye
Hi giiid, the houses in North Carolina are a lot cheaper than one in New York City or California, so you get the bang for your bucks. I think buying house in the US varies from city to city, one good thing is that you don’t have to be a US citizen to purchase a home, my mom and dad used to be an Alien (Green card holder or permanent resident) and they were able to purchase a house in Queens New York, Philadelphia and also North Carolina. In New York, it would take almost 3 months to close on a house and both buyer and seller have to have their own lawyer, but here in North Carolina, it only takes a month and only the buyer requires to have a lawyer for the closing.
March 24, 2010 at 3:00 pm
kanniduba
What a lovely place! Those old homes are beautiful! I must admit to a bit of jealousy over those beautiful pink blossoms.
I can’t imagine living so many different places. I have only lived in three different communities in my lifetime, all in Upstate New York…and one probably shouldn’t count because it was for college.
March 25, 2010 at 1:19 am
Nye
kanniduba, the spring flowers are everywhere now, here is a closeup photo of the pink flower.
I think we’re more settled now and I love this town.
March 25, 2010 at 12:05 am
Dallas
Nice little town. It remind me of my hometown back in Illinois.
March 25, 2010 at 1:22 am
Nye
Thanks Dallas. I think Hickory is like most small towns USA.
March 25, 2010 at 9:25 am
isathreadsoflife
This is a lovely walk or drive through your hometown, Nye. Many different styles of architecture and what surprises me is the width of the streets inside the town: very large for Swiss standards ! Ours would be more narrow and winding. I quite liked the pictures of the barn, those large avenues planted with trees, the happy looking van and of course the blossoming tree. Thank you for sharing so much of your environment.
March 26, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Nye
Hi isathreadsoflife, our roads are quiet big, even in a new subdivision like this one. I think every place has its own charm, but your hometown is more charming and I would love to visit there one day.
March 25, 2010 at 11:38 am
JenniferA
The old homes are beautiful! Thanks for the link to the All-America Award – I knew it sounded familiar, it must be because Worcester, MA won it several times as well and I lived in the Worcester area for many years.
Thank you for the tour of Hickory! I have been trying to remember the television character that used to always talk about being from Hickory – the nurse on Empty Nest? Is that right?
March 26, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Nye
Hi JenniferA, I’m not sure if Lavern from Empty Nest’s Hickory is the same as Hickory North Carolina, it’s a possibility that it’s the same town. I also think that old homes are beautiful and they built a lot better than the newer homes.
March 25, 2010 at 12:39 pm
mozemoua
Nye,I am like you, we’ve moved so much since we’ve been to the states. I don’t think we’ve ever stay in one certain place for more than 5 years although we do stay in the same area. We were in southern Calif for maybe a year or two then we stayed in Stockton California (northern ca) for bout 7 years although we moved around a lot and now in GA for the past 11 years although we as well moved around a lot, so I am unsure of what my hometown is. We’ve had lived in 3 different cities here in GA.
March 26, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Nye
mozemoua, I’ve lived in 4 towns since I have been in NC, so hopefully this would be our home for awhile. My parents went to visit GA about 6 years ago, they thought about relocating but it didn’t work out. Ashville is another beautiful town in NC, I wouldn’t mind living there.
March 28, 2010 at 9:38 pm
mozemoua
I’ve been to Hickory a few times, it is a nice little town although I haven’t been to Ashville. Georgia is beautiful this time of year, you should visit when you have the chance!
March 29, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Nye
mozemoua, I visited GA by Lake Lanier in 2008 and it is a beautiful area. I hope to tour the town of Ashville this summer, it seems that we never had the time when we were up there.
March 25, 2010 at 5:13 pm
lady0fdarkness
very nice, Nye!! It looks like a traditional American town.
By the way, I’m about to finish your Gel Bong!!
March 27, 2010 at 12:33 am
Nye
lady0fdarkness, I think it’s a traditional American town, many towns that I visit have a historic district and downtown Hickory is one with huge houses, they are old but not cheap either.
I see the Gel Bong lasted you a while. It’s very simple to make, you’ll be surprised how easy it is.
March 31, 2010 at 7:03 am
Assignment 6: Recap « Views Infinitum
[...] then checked in with photos from her “current” hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. A quiet town facing what a lot of towns these days are facing, how to handle development and [...]
April 1, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Camilla
Thanks for letting me see your hometown. I LOVE the car and the old houses!
April 1, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Nye
Hi Camilla, thanks for your comment and visit. This is such bad timing to showcase our hometown, I might update it again in the summer.
April 23, 2010 at 10:41 pm
kamee
I miss Hickory actually. It used to be my hometown, but I’m now in the big ole Twin Cities. Being away from it makes me realize how pretty it once was, especially all the old houses in downtown. Thanks for the pictures and a trip down memory lane!
April 24, 2010 at 10:37 am
Nye
Kamee, you are welcome and good to hear from you again. Danny still comes back to visit and hang out with his friends once in a while. Hickory is a nice little town with many restaurants, a great place to raise a family also.