Oh c'mon..someone has to have some advice for chickenista!!!
I don't know where Forest City is but somebody here does..

Thanks for the vote, Dottie. F-City is about an hour west of Charlotte on 74. Right at the feet of the mountains. Lovely, rolling hills. I look forward to the year round growing season. I can taste the spinach, broc and peas already. Can you leave carrots, Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips in the ground in the ground all winter in Zone 7 or is it too warm?

Maybe, if you retitled and reposted this, with a clear indication of WHERE you are moving to, you might get more help. I am sort of near you (SC, between Hendersonville, NC and Spartanburg, SC), but imagine most of your supplies will be got in Rutherford or Charlotte, with SOME possibly in Spartanburg. I do some in Spartanburg, but none really in your neck of the woods to be. The one exception is a native/shade nursery Plants-A-Plenty, in Forest City. The owner is Wayne Hutchins (?), and I will have to look for his card to be sure of the address, as it's at his house.

Carrots can probably be left, depending on your soil - I don't try any more because my clay is still too heavy for good ones - I don't like the taste of the short ones, mostly. Maybe in a few more years of soil amendment, I will have deep enough soil... If carrots can be left, then the same for the other two - with the same caveat for soil depth for good parsnips.

In my experience, leaving sunchokes and parsnips is OK although I might put a layer down of mulch after a cold snap to keep the soil from warming too much.

Hi again. I'm afraid I forgot about getting you the address for Wayne Hutchins, but was there today with a friend, which jogged my memory, so here it is:

Wayne Hutchins
890 Crowe Dairy Rd.
Forest City, NC 28043
828-286-2493

Most of his plants came through the freeze well - azaleas that were colored or open mostly got frosted, although some escaped. But his native azaleas that weren't yet open are doing well, he has lots of hostas that he covered, many more ferns that he grew from spores, rhodies, some of which he hybridized, that aren't yet open, hellebores all over and some still opening new blooms, etc., etc. It's mostly shade plants, but he has extensive "display" areas, where either mother plants or just plants in general are growing in mass profusion. He has been there for about 20 years, so you get to see what a mature specimen of the baby in the pot looks like.

I would call for directions, and to be sure he was going to be there.

I'm about 30 minutes from Forest City (in Columbus). I'm afraid I don't know much about Forest City nurseries,but there are some wonderful ones in Hendersonville, Tryon and Campobello.
The Plants-A-Plenty that dibbit mentioned is good, but only for shade plants.
In Hendersonville I would suggest 'A Growing Concern' on Spartanburg Highway -- very knowledgeable staff, great selection. Also, Ashdown Roses is near Campobello - they're highly recommended and known nationwide for their roses.
Welcome to the area!