Madison,WI or Asheville, NC??? (transplants, rental, homes)

[charlottemi]

Hi, I'm new here the threads. I have the wonderful blessing of having a job that will offer me the opportunity to choose between a move to Madison, WI or Asheville, NC. How to choose??? We are native Michiganders, and love our water. We like four seasons. We lived in East TN for 3 years, and found our town to be anti-northerner and not the least bit friendly- to anyone, whether a native or not. Now we know what we DON'T want in a community, but don't know enough about either prospect to make an informed decision. Can anybody from either of these communities share the pros and cons of their experience? I'm 48, hubby is 56- we love classic cars, our beagles, and our privacy. We have lived in the country for all of our married life, but would now like to look at life in a small town around one of these cities. We insist on good shopping within a half-hour's drive, good medical care, cultural opportunities, and tolerant people who smile when they meet you. Thanks for any help or insight you can offer.

[gold*dust1]

Well I would kill to live in Asheville over Madison and I'm a native. I just love the beauty of that area and proximity to other interesting places where as the midwest is generally dull! Unfortunately can't relocate due to jobs at this time.

Yes, I've heard NC can be unfriendly to transplants but the same could be said for Madison. It sounds from your experience in TN you may just be a midwesterner at heart

[Milwaukee City]

NC all the way!!!

[Megan1967]

I love Madison. The only reason I would prefer Asheville is because it doesn't have the extreme seasons we do up here, but that doesn't sound like it is an issue for you. I have heard the two communities are fairly similar and would like to visit sometime to check it out and see if this is true.

[BOItoMSN]

My philosophy is "if I have to live in the Midwest it might as well be Madison."

My only two complaints would be the extreme winter weather and high taxes.

Everything you mentioned, we have: water, shopping, good health care, culture, tolerant people (can't promise they smile when they meet you though). I am native WI and have lived elsewhere, and I find WI people generally friendly but tend to keep their distance. Most of my life, I've barely known my neighbors. They may wave or say hello, but that is about the extent of it.

I not overly familiar with Asheville, but my guess is that it probably gets flooded with tourists at different times of the year. This may have an impact on traffic issues.

[gold*dust1]

To add further, I really like some of the old fashioned and historic feeling you encounter in TN, NC, SC and GA. I love how they have drive thru bbq places with sweet potato fries and down home comfort food. The beauty of the landscape is inspiring. I wouldn't mind picking up their accent. I enjoyed the 10 years I lived in CA and my Mom would comment I was losing the WI nasal tone and acquiring the CA accent.

You would get the city vibe living in Asheville and at the same time be able to visit numerous popular state parks etc. while also being closer to FL and other parts south.

For what it's worth, another point is that the men in the south really seem to have an appreciation for the beauty of a woman and are very admiring.

[Drover]

I've been to Asheville, and it's a lovely area. The Asheville/Blue Ridge area is on my list of "five places to buy a home if I win the Lotto." I remember my first impression being, "this is the Bible Belt -- where the hell did all the new-age hippie whackos come from??" What I found truly fascinating about Asheville is how the aforementioned new-age hippies and the Bible-thumping Hellfire/Brimstone crowd seem to coexist quite peacefully.

While I found that Asheville largely has a similar sociopolitical bent as Madison (though Madison's politics are a bit more strident), I also observed that Ashevielle does not have nearly the energy and vibrancy that Madison has. Whereas Madison shouts "this city is ALIVE!" from every corner even in the dead of winter (albeit the city does most of its "WE'RE ALIVE!" shouting from indoors during the winter), Asheville emits a yawn and mutters, "yep, we're Asheville all right. Whatever." I like Asheville well enough, but the laid-back attitude of "we'll get around to doing what needs to be done when we feel like it" borders on outright apathy, and that's just not my style. Given a choice between the two, I'd pick Madison.

[itscolduphere]

Make sure you can deal with Imported Red Fire Ants. I recently moved to NC and had a hell of a frightful experience with finding them in the bedroom of my rental home. I miss having a bit cooler weather up in New England. People are not the nicest to transplants unless they're also a transplant, which is common here in the Raleigh area, but I'm not sure about Asheville. I grew up in WI and it also has some not so good points (culture favors drinking a lot more, not a lot to do if you don't hunt and fish, but those may not be problems in Madison). Go and visit several times, not just once, to both places. Talk to local people, experience the climate and the culture. I have lived a lot of places and have made some bad location choices, including recently, because I did not get enough of an idea ahead of time before making the leap.

Good luck with your choice. Cold winters vs. warm winters, but no deadly bugs vs. deadly bugs... etc. etc.

[nanannie]

Asheville, no question.We have been there several times(as well as Madison) There are so many transplants there now, its probably getting to be a majority so that is not an issue. We came "this close" to moving, but then my daughter moved to Madison,my Mom needed me, my son had some medical problams and so family won the coin toss. The weather in Ashville was wonderful.Mild seasons. Beautiful views from homes we looked at, charming 'hoods. I found the city vibrant and electric,and like most places, nice and friendly gets you nice and friendly back. Not much job opportunity save for the hosptial,tourism trade, but if I could get family out there, I would move yesterday.
Fire Ants? Raid.

[calloo]

Having spent some time in both cities, I'd say you can hardly go wrong with either place.

Pros for Madison: bigger town, more going on, nicer people maybe, the lakes

Cons for Madison: the winter, esp. if you don't enjoy outdoor winter activities

Pros for Asheville: beautiful location, mountains, four seasons but MILD winters, small college town, also liberal / outdoorsy / progressive

Cons: to me it felt a bit touristy and not like a "real town" somehow. Maybe as I was just visiting.