Living in Winston-Salem

Located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, the secret of Winston-Salem being a great place to live is out.  The city has received numerous awards including:

  • Top 10 Most Livable Cities (Partners for Livable Communities)
  • America’s Most Affordable City (Mercer’s Annual Cost of Living Rankings)
  • America’s Most Fun, Affordable Cities (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate)
  • America’s Best Cities (Business Week)
  • America’s Best Downtowns (Forbes)

The city has a population of more than 300,000 residents and enjoys a moderate climate with four distinct seasons.

Although traditionally associated with the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries, Winston-Salem is transforming itself to be a leader in the nanotech, high-tech and biotech fields. Medical research is a fast-growing local industry, and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the largest employer in the city.

A bustling downtown core mixed with the surrounding landscape provides the following opportunities in Winston-Salem:

Arts and Entertainment

The first local Arts Council in America was chartered here in 1948. A city long noted for the arts, Winston-Salem offers residents and visitors many venues from which to choose, from traditional museums and galleries to the Downtown Arts District Association’s (DADA) Gallery Hop on the first Friday of every month.

Learn more about arts and entertainment in Winston-Salem.

Outdoor Recreation

Residents take advantage of the mild climate with recreation at more than 80 public parks. People of all ages can enjoy more than 100 tennis courts, 11 swimming pools, 12 golf courses, 17 general recreation centers and hiking trails galore.

The county's largest recreational area is Tanglewood Park, with 1,100 acres of scenic countryside and an arboretum, only 10 minutes from downtown. The park has two 18-hole championship golf courses (the site of the Vantage Senior Golf Tournament), an annual steeplechase, tennis courts, picnic areas and places for horseback riding, camping, boating and fishing.

Learn more about recreation opportunities in Winston-Salem.

Sports

For the sports fan, Winston-Salem is stepped in sports tradition.  From annual power house football and basketball teams at Wake Forest to the Chicago White Sox minor league team, The Winston-Salem Dash, there is much to do right here in the heart of Winston-Salem.

Additionally, the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is just a little over an hour away, hosts the Coca Cola 600 each May and the Bank of America 500 each October.

In all, Winston-Salem definitely offers a variety of exciting activities for residents and visitors alike. Winston-Salem and North Carolina both have some of the most interesting and beautiful places to experience in the country. We hope you enjoy your time here!