Places in Southeast?

Currently

Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta...close to Rocktown and Chatty

Nothing of note. Rocktown I think is the closest decent area and it is 2.5 hours away.

Boat rock is in Atlanta, rocktown is a world class area not just your average hometown crag. Atlanta is one of the most fit cities in the country with great climbing gyms and a wonderful climbing community. Chattanooga has lots of jobs with very convenient climbing. 

Always heard of issues at boat rock is it still really bad with car break ins?

Boat Rock is in the hood. Good climbing in the late fall/winter and good training for NC. Post an armed guard by your car and carry your pistol.
If you get bored climbing then just sit inside the Macdonalds right off FIB/ I-20 and watch the hookers. There’s not quite as many now that one of the 2 hotels has been torn down

Most of the Asheville economy is hotels, bars and restaurants.   The city is still lacking in professional jobs.

Have you looked into remote-friendly tech companies?  I've been working remotely as a software product manager for ~9 years and at 4 different companies.

While it's harder to find remote project and product management jobs versus dev ones, they do exist and an increasing number of companies are becoming remote friendly.

Might take a look into Winston Salem; close enough to Pilot Mountain to head there in the evening (30 minutes from city center) and it's an actual city (250k people versus Asheville's 90k).

Chattanooga has big companies: TVA, Komatsu, Unum,Volswagen, ... and a plethora of small to medium firms.

http://www.chattanoogachamber.com/images/uploads/pdfs/Membership_List.pdf

Everyone has their own definition of Best; indeed.com is a good place to look.

T Edwards wrote: Might take a look into Winston Salem; close enough to Pilot Mountain to head there in the evening (30 minutes from city center) and it's an actual city (250k people versus Asheville's 90k).

Winston-Salem is a great option with plenty of afterwork climbing but need to be motivated to make time for it. Pilot/Moores Wall.

Look at Hanesbrand, Inmar, Reynolds America, BE Aerospace. I love it here and before i had kids i would routinely get out before or afterwork. Lots of rock within 2 hrs for the weekend. 

Not sure of the work opportunities here for your field but Brevard NC is a great spot. 30 minutes from Looking Glass, John Rock, Cedar Rock. Little further is laurel knob, rumbling bald, linville gorge. If you’re into runout slab we got it! And the Northside of looking glass is the closest you’ll get to Yosemite rock in the southeast. Laurel knob is great if you want to get stoked 1,000+ feet up. 

Biggest issue is park closing times based on the seasons. The climbing (besides sauratown) is in state parks so closing time is dictated by them and changes with the seasons. Basically, when it gets dark the parks close. This doesn't seem like a big deal but it actually is when you are trying to get as much in as possible after work and you dont mind hiking down in the dark. Drive time is 30 mins and hike time is between 5min and 20 min depending on the crag so you need to be willing to roll out of work a little early and move efficiently to make it happen. Some people arent good in a time crunch.

However- I tend to do early mornings and late evening and usually find that my motivation is rewarded. Finding other people that are willing to do that is not always easy in a town of about 250k people.

In my opinion, W-S is the best blend in North Carolina of town big enough for a career without feeling like a city but year round climbing in our backyard. 4 crags within a 30 min drive.

If you get more interested feel free to PM. Can give you more details if you start seriously considering it. 

^^ He's right.  The rock near Winston-Salem is awesome.  And you are close enough to Western NC, New River Gorge, etc.

Winston-Salem is a great option, but if you want to expand your search you should also include the Triad's other two cities, Greensboro  and High Point.Many of us consider the Triad a well-kept secret given its proximity to such good quality Rock and the option to drive 2 to 6 hours to so many world-class areas like the red, the new, Seneca, Linville Gorge, Obed , T wall, Boone bouldering , Etc. In addition to the great employers Austin has already listed you also have VF Corp, Lincoln Financial, Honda Jet, Qorvo, FedEx,  large Hospital systems, large school systems and a long list of colleges and universities in our region. We have three excellent seasons of climbing locally and the option to drive to higher elevations for cooler climbing during our sweaty Summers. Three local indoor gyms provide options for inclement weather and we have a very active climbing community that's  continuously working on various access issues , upgrading fixed gear and trails for a better outdoor experience through our local Carolina Climbers Coalition, be sure to check out their website for more detailed information on local climbing. Best of luck in your search for a new home. 

Andrew AJ Jackson wrote: Winston-Salem is a great option, but if you want to expand your search you should also include the Triad's other two cities, Greensboro  and High Point.Many of us consider the Triad a well-kept secret given its proximity to such good quality Rock and the option to drive 2 to 6 hours to so many world-class areas like the red, the new, Seneca, Linville Gorge, Obed , T wall, Boone bouldering , Etc. In addition to the great employers Austin has already listed you also have VF Corp, Lincoln Financial, Honda Jet, Qorvo, FedEx,  large Hospital systems, large school systems and a long list of colleges and universities in our region. We have three excellent seasons of climbing locally and the option to drive to higher elevations for cooler climbing during our sweaty Summers. Three local indoor gyms provide options for inclement weather and we have a very active climbing community that's  continuously working on various access issues , upgrading fixed gear and trails for a better outdoor experience through our local Carolina Climbers Coalition, be sure to check out their website for more detailed information on local climbing. Best of luck in your search for a new home. 

Agree with AJ on those being great close options and it definitely expands your job options. However, if you work a 9-5 it will add about 30-40mins onto your drive to the crag so during the week climbing will be more difficult. I can be at Pilot in 20 mins from where i work. So it really depends on your priorities. 

Lockheed Martin is operating in a facility 50 min. from Red River Gorge KY.  Also have a great gym 20 min. away in Lexington, KY.
Good luck wherever you end up!

Do you travel for your job? If so CLT is a good sized airport and has quite a bit of climbing with a little driving. Crowders mountain is close as well. 

I've lived in both W.S. and Asheville and agree that both would be good places to live. W.S. would be better for jobs while Asheville is more of an outdoor town. That said, afterwork climbing is probably a little more convenient from W.S, although it is much more limited  (Moore's is amazing though). There is a ridiculous amount day-trip climbing from Asheville but the weather is pretty terrible there much of the year. Plus it's getting to be pretty expensive to live there.

Unless jobs are the main priority, I wouldn't recommend living east of W.S. as there is nothing climbing-wise in that oart of the state. It takes about an hour to get from Greensboro to any climbing (I've lived there too).

Good luck. If you can, try to vist Moores, Linville Gorge, and Looking Glass just to get a sense of the gems this state has to offer. There are many more.