Affordable Winston Salem Storage Units

Moving and storage go hand in hand. Whether traveling across town or the country, moving is an exciting and fresh start. While Storage Rentals of America is here to help you with all your storage needs, we also want to help you get familiar with the area. That's why we put together this resource guide for Winston-Salem.

About Winston-Salem, NC

Winston-Salem is about one hour and a half northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a nice-sized city surrounded by farmland in a verdant part of the state. Around 249,000 people live within the city limits, with another 430,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area. Winston-Salem is the county seat of Forsyth County.

The eastern part of downtown was transformed into the Innovation Quarter, home to 90 companies and more than 3.600 workers. The Innovation Quarter specializes in medical research, biomedical sciences, digital media, and clinical services. There are more than 1,000 residential units to house 1,800 college students. There are more than 8,000 enrolled in technical workforce training programs.

What to do in Winston-Salem, NC

This city has a history that goes back to before America’s Revolutionary War. It has such historical significance as one of the earliest settlements for those arriving from Europe seeking religious freedom. It also has a nice contemporary feel because of all the college students.

• Shopping: The downtown art district has galleries, antique shops, and consignment/designer clothing stores. Other popular shopping places are the Reynolda Village, the Thruway Shopping Center, and the Hanes Mall.
• Old Salem: The historical part of downtown has the oldest buildings, some dating back to the late 1700s when Moravians established the city.
• Historic Bethabara Park: If you want to see how the city founders, the Moravians, lived in the 1750s, this park should be on your list. There, you will see a reconstructed village showing how they used to live.

Working in Winston-Salem, NC

The three industries that support the local economy are education, health care, and hospitality. The area has a 5.2% unemployment rate, less than the average 6% in the country. Household income is a median of $40,480. Future job growth, estimated over the next decade, is 34%, about the same as the national projection of 33.5%.

The most active industry sectors include professional, scientific, technical services (4.8%), finance & insurance (5.0%), administration (5.3%), construction (5.4%), hospitality (8.9%), education (11.9%), and health care (16.5%).

Winston-Salem, NC Neighborhoods

One distinctive characteristic of the best neighborhoods is a beautiful tree-lined street. Neighborhoods are well-established in Winston-Salem. In many places, houses are large and positioned well back from the road on big lots with well-maintained landscaping.

Here are the three top choices to consider for the best neighborhoods:

• Buena Vista: Buena Vista is by far the most desirable neighborhood. It is near downtown but separated from it. You may find a southern mansion or a sprawling single-story ranch-style brick home on a huge lot in this area. The older homes, built in the 1940s, are very attractive. You will pay one and a half times the prices found in other neighborhoods to buy a home in this area, with $861,710 being the median home price in Buena Vista.
• Meadowlark Drive / Century Oaks Lane: This neighborhood is worth considering if you experience a price shock when shopping for a home in Buena Vista. The average home sells for about $581,900. It is attractive to live here if you want to be closer to the rural countryside that surrounds the city.
• West Highlands: Near Buena Vista is the West Highlands neighborhood. Here, a home costs about $535,996 on average, making it still very expensive. For those who want to rent a house, some are available to rent for $1,493 monthly on average. The rental price is high enough to make the chances good of finding a home to rent. The area experiences plenty of rental-home turnover with a 17.2% vacancy rate.

Winston-Salem, NC School District

The Winston-Salem Forsyth County School District manages the 80 public schools. The school district invests $9,641 each year in a student’s education. The ratio of students-to-teacher is 14:1.

There are more than 20 private schools in this part of North Carolina. The best ones are Salem Academy (9th to 12th grade), Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School (PK to 8th grade), and Calvary Day School (PK to 12th grade).

Colleges and universities fill this area with students, including Carolina University, Salem College, Wake Forest University, and Winston-Salem State University. The best school in North Carolina is Duke University in Durham, about 90 miles to the east of Winston-Salem on I-85. Duke’s rival, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is near Durham.

Moving to Winston-Salem, NC

One of the first things you want to do after moving to Winston-Salem is establish utility services. Garbage collection, water, and sewer services come from the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County Utilities Department. Duke Energy provides electricity. Piedmont Natural Gas provides gas for heating and cooking. Wirefly has a database of telephone, TV, and Internet companies.

The Recreation and Parks Department manages the green spaces, Salem Lake, the Historic Bethabara Park, and other city parks. There are many programs to enjoy offered by the public recreational centers.

The mayor and eight council members make up the Winston-Salem City Council. They are all elected every four years. The mayor’s election is by city-wide voting. The council members have to win the vote for the ward they represent. There are eight wards.

Winston-Salem, NC Housing

Winston-Salem has a median housing cost of $259,900. In the past few years, the values of the homes in this area have increased by 18.2% each year. Even so, housing is slightly less in Winston-Salem when compared to all of North Carolina. Residents of Winston-Salem experience a cost of living that is 2% less than the state average and 7% less than the rest of America.