Asheville Area or TN - Suggestions Please (Raleigh: home, purchasing)

[Hogladyrider]

Decisions, decisions, decisions! Two adults mid 50's, two dogs looking to head to the hills/mountains away from Florida (yes I know along with tons of other FLoridans fleeing)!

We do NOT want to live in a subdivision, looking for cabin type setting with some property yet within driving distance to employment.

We realize NC has state income tax and TN does not, but we are torn between which state to head for the hills.

Our good friends are purchasing a home in Asheville and they got us looking in this area and we like what we see.

Can any of you offer your suggestions? Realtor names that might specialize in what we are looking for? Stay away from this area?

We are at the point in our careers that we will just want a job where we show up work and go home, we are not interested in huge salaries at this point in our lives; its all about living life now!

Thanks..........Susan

[rhonda doss]

I am also looking for advice about Asheville. But I have a young son...need advice re: the BEST SCHOOLS and nice areas to live. Thanks !

[Asheville Native]

I'd give serious consideration to Tennessee, simply for the reason the seem to have a whole lot less governmental interference, than NC. Yes we have a state income tax, and we have taxes and fees out the ying/yang on everything else.

And if you live in the western end of the state (Asheville), they sure as hell collect all the taxes and fees they can, but they take it to the capital (Raleigh), but they don't send much of it back to the western end.

Perfect example is the "education lottery" or lootery, and the formula of funds to the schools is clearly biased against schools in the west. They simply return less $$ per student to the western school systems than for the rest of the state.