Covington centers on a courthouse square where restaurants, shops and galleries sit within a few walkable blocks. Beyond that compact downtown, the town spreads out, so expect to drive between neighborhoods and everyday errands. About 35 miles east of Atlanta, it balances a recognizable small-town center with access to the city. Television fans know the square as Mystic Falls from The Vampire Diaries; residents use it for dinner and catching up.

Boone sits high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina — a college town with the bones of a mountain town and the pulse of a place that never quite empties out. Appalachian State University anchors downtown, the Blue Ridge Parkway curves just south, and three ski resorts are inside a 30-minute drive. It's about two hours to Charlotte, one hour to Winston-Salem, and a world away from either.