We have a cabin on the north side near Johns River.
I feel that Morganton is still a bit right of center. It has some of the Asheville vibe without all the stinky hippies, lol
It does have a bit of a meth problem. Meth-head hit our cabin one time before the guy beside us caught him and held him at gun point till cops got there. So far (3 years) that's the only problem we have had.
Rural King is always fun. You can get about everything there- guns, ammo, farm supplies, chickens, food, candy... one stop shopping for folks from the holler!
Rivers are fun to float and fish.
We are on the opposite side of town as Lowes building supply so we always have to go twice...