Wondering if anyone lives in or around Asheville, NC. What are the pro’s and con’s of living in the area? Which are the better areas to live and which ones should you stay away from.
Any info would be helpful,
Crockett
Crockett
Living in Asheville
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#2
We looked at Asheville before settling in Chattanooga.
Pros: Great restaurants, great coffee shops, great independent bookstore (Malaprops), great Fine Arts movie theatre, fantastic live music scene, and the hiking in all directions is AMAZING.
Cons: If you’re a professional its hard to find a good paying job, it’s expensive, parking downtown can be a hassle, the secret is out.
There are some cool little towns on the outskirts of Asheville that I would look at. Black Mountain to the east, Hendersonville to the south, Marshall to the west are just a few. Waynesville is pretty cool too, but unless you’re a retiree or have a skill that is in demand, it’ll be hard to find good paying employement in any of these communities.
Best of luck!
Jeffrey Hunter
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#3
There’s a bumper sticker on some of the many cars in over-developed Asheville: If you love Asheville, please leave.
It used to be a nice, sleepy mountain community, a nice place to live, until a campaign about 10 years ago to increase tourism and development. The campaign worked. Too well.
Woodchip
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#4
Ahh… Asheville - how I love thee. Oh how I love the Laughing Seed organic/vegetarian restaurant. My wife and I go to Asheville at least once a year. In July they have the Bele Chere Festival. It’s full of great music and arts. They also has the Leaf festival which is really cool. There’s Pisgah and Smokies are just down the road. We’ve talked about moving there over the past few years but have also wondered what the job market is like. The downtown are isn’t huge so I’m not sure how kind of salaries some of the companies would offer. I also live in Chattanooga, which is also a neat little town. I enjoy living here… we have a free concert series that runs during the summer on Friday nights. We have great trails to do some hiking, mtn. biking and climbing. We also have some crazy preachers condemning everyone to hell but them. I suppose every town has that. Perhaps Asheville would be a great place to retire?
guru
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#5
2 different sets of my best friends just came from visiting there…they all loved it! But also said that it’s hard to find employmt in the area, & it costs an arm & a leg to live there. Oddly, tho they don’t know ea. other, both sets talked about the fact that the Triangle area of NC (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) has a lot of the same advantages (tho the mtns arent right there!), & yet jobs are much more abundant. Good luck whereever you land!!
Leah
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#6
Asheville natives can’t afford to live there anymore. Do them a favor, move to Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte, or Atlanta. Same advantages, kickin music scene, mucho more jobs.
Woodchip
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#7
Yeah, Laughing Seed is soooo good! For it’s size, Asheville has some of the most amazing and varied restaurants and shops of any place that I’ve seen. Really diverse stuff and they’re all good. I disagree that the Triangle and Charlotte and Atlanta have the same advantages as Asheville. Besides the mountains, which indeed are awesome all around the city, there is just something special about Asheville. The people are great, it’s not too big and sprawling (as those other towns are), and there’s a great community feel to the place. It is true that it’s not as cheap as it could be and it might be becoming too popular for it’s own good. One person who lived there a while said that one problem is that the population is so transient (not settling there for long at a time). I don’t remember the exact problems with that but she said it was an issue. Asheville really is special though.
I’m from Chattanooga too and it is pretty sweet. It has to have some of the nicest places to walk around in the middle of any city. There’s so much to do just with your feet in that town. It’s definitely not as cultured as Asheville- music scene needs work (but is getting better), and while the restaurants are good, they’re not exceptional like Asheville. It is a great town and it continues to get cooler every year- lots of positive development in the city. It’s a climbing and paddling mecca and the hiking isn’t bad either.
zach attack
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#8
We just bought our retirement home just outside of Asheville in Fletcher. Can’t wait to actually move there. My favorite restaraunt there is Salsas ooohh, its fabulous, and has lots of vegitarian on the menu.
Our plan is to move when my husband retires in 2 yrs, unless he decides to retire early…I will be thru hiking in 2007.
HeartFire
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#9
After the Foothills Trail, I spent five days in that area, actually staying in Black Mt. I was there not only to visit friends but also to explore with an eye toward relocating.
Impressions:
–Good roads AROUND the city, very efficient. Some congestion IN the city–bound to get worse.
–A Blue State-type oasis in the middle of the Bible Belt.
–Would have to be over-qualified almost to find high-paying employment right now there, not an issue for me since I have a portable business and am a decade-plus away from retirement anyhow.
–There are a few “pockets” within 45 minutes of Asheville where land has not gone thru the roof. Pre-existing homes, however, are expensive in most places unless you buy a fixer-upper.
–Hot Springs, and the AT, are less than an hour away.
–Ditto Mt. Mitchell via the Blue Ridge Parkway. The latter is only 15 minutes away on a bad day.
–Also liked the Laughing Seed and was most impressed with how safe the downtown seems at night. A lot of people out and about–clubs, restaurants, and outdoor cafes were bustling at 1am.
–I’m re-thinking my retirement plans (currently centered on the area just east of Damascus) and going down there in Feb. or Mar. '06 to explore some more, maybe even buy some land!
Skyline
Skyline
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#10
What an eyesore most of Asheville is outside of immediate downtown with all those taco bells, KFCs, and other unregulated growth sprawl. Not to mention the gated golf club communities and modest homes out of reach of all but the nueveo riche and those with a lifetime of retirement savings to squander. And that drug rehab place downtown with the sidewalk needle dump, what an eyesore.
Tarheel
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#11
Asheville is not immune to what has happened all across the USA. The homogenization of America is well underway. To me, a community is defined by its cultural institutions, and Asheville has some good ones. It is not without its problems however.
Funny… I have been to Asheville loads of times and never noticed the rehab, even though I did the rehab thingy 20 years ago. In many ways, we see what we are looking for.
And HeartFire, I have to agree. Salsas is THA BOMB!
Jeffrey Hunter
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#12
If you like some good breakfast grub, try Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville. But get there early! They fill up fast on weekends.
Cap’n
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#14
I will be in Asheville for a few days on NYE, hope to get in some snoe. shoeing, and dancin’
topknot
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#15
Ashville, Atlanta, Hendersonville, Durham, Chattanooga, Hot Springs, Erwin or Charlotte.
FORRRGETTTABOUT 'EM, move up here to Providence, RI. We have it all, kyaking, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, lobstering, and sailing. The Whites, Greens, Presidentials, Catskills, Adirondacks, and Berkshires. Cape Cod, Bar Harbor, Gloucester, Martha’s Vineyard, Newport, and Portland. Lakes Champlain, Sebago, Sabbathday, Winnipesaukee, and Waldon Pond. Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The AT and the Long Trail. All of these within a half day drive from Providence. :cheers
Bilko
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#16
“Not to mention the gated golf club communities and modest homes out of reach of all but the nueveo riche and those with a lifetime of retirement savings to squander.”
Yeah - how dare those “nueveo riche” [sic] spend a lifetime of diligent working and saving for retirement and then end up with something more than those who only took jobs when absolutely necessary because most of the time they were out messing around in the woods. The nerve of some people!
Locomotive Breath