Anyone Near Murphy, NC?

If you like things isolated, then Murphy is good. For big shopping, you are going to have to travel 1.5 miles west through the gorge to Chattanooga, or 1.5 hours east to Asheville, or 2+ hours south to Atlanta. (But you don't want to deal with Atlanta traffic IMHO...) It does have a Walmart and couple of grocery stores, auto parts, hardware. It has cell service.

Murphy is in a big valley with mixed pasture and wooded hill areas; more the latter. 6000' mtns to the NW, and you travel over mountains and through deep valleys or the gorge to the west to go anywhere else. So the overall terrain is rather rugged. Somewhat like northern VT or NH with more oak/deciduous trees. Here is a listing for an unusually large house (for that area) with a good pix of the terrain:
798 Timberwood Hills Road Murphy, NC 28906 For Sale - RE/MAX

It is gonna be another planet compared the Hyde Park.... Very rural culture and a very southern Appalachian culture. It will have a decent car culture; older cars are well appreciated in this region. More of a place to go with the local flow rather than bringing in an outside attitude. Great if you are a hunter or fisherman.

Mixed neighborhoods (high and low income housing) is more common in this section of the country. Less in the way of zoning laws, and more of an 'undeveloped' view on land use.

Here is a reference on some of the deomgraphics:
Best Places to Live in Murphy, North Carolina