Another "Possibly moving to the Asheville Area" thread (Raleigh: apartments, co-ops)
Western North CarolinaThe Mountain Region including Asheville
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hopefully this will be atypical from what I have read so far.
I'm 31 and will soon be engaged to my beautiful gf and we are wanting to start our new life together
In Asheville or surrounding areas; Burnsville has caught my eye.
We currently reside in Nashville Tennessee and are quite tired of it. The Pretentiousness of this town is getting extremely old and ever since it was named the IT city of the year last year it has really gotten out of hand. People here really jump on board with anything that is local even if it is not good. I'm not saying I don't support local things but this town seems to support ANY local thing whether it sucks or not and toots its own horn at every single opportunity. This basically leads to an overinflated lot of nonsense for stuff that is very mediocre and drives up the price of everything.
The money kids/hipsters/Vanderbilt crowd is especially annoying and while I realize that the money they throw around is what keeps the economy going it still gets old.
We have vacationed in Asheville and the surrounding areas a few times and fell in love with the area as many people have. With that being said I know that vacationing somewhere and living somewhere are two totally different animals. I also know that moving somewhere without a job is probably impossible as I only have savings to cover a few months of my own expenses.
I am currently employed as a cable technician/project leader at a small IT company. While it sounds like a prestigious job title I am not making very much. With that being said I have lived on my own for the past seven years and have afforded a house payment and never gone into any debt with the exception of small credit card that I'm paying down. My income usually hovers around 30,000 and that is enough for me to make my house payment and everything else without incurring any debt. I did recently purchase a car and I'm paying on that but otherwise I am not carrying any student loans or other burdens. I know how to budget and am quite capable of living within my means.
Do you think it's possible to find a job in the area that would pay around $30,000? I have a business management degree, have been involved with upper retail management and the previously stated job.
The girlfriend is an upper retail management as well currently.
Is it reasonable to find a house with at least 1100 ft.² for around 120000 in the area?
My current commute is around 30 minutes and that seems very reasonable to me so I don't lined living outside of a major metro area and would really prefer it. I am a bit of a hermit and all actuality and don't have much of a need for human contact outside of the Internet and my girlfriend.
We would also like to find a church of Christ somewhere in the area or a similar nondenominational church. While we are not super involved I do believe that religion is a very important aspect of my life and that is something to be considered based on location.
Sorry for such a lengthy post but does anyone have any reasons to persuade or dissuade me from continuing the search? Thank you.
People here really jump on board with anything that is local even if it is not good. I'm not saying I don't support local things but this town seems to support ANY local thing whether it sucks or not and toots its own horn at every single opportunity. This basically leads to an overinflated lot of nonsense for stuff that is very mediocre and drives up the price of everything.
The money kids/hipsters/Vanderbilt crowd is especially annoying and while I realize that the money they throw around is what keeps the economy going it still gets old.
Some people would describe Asheville this way. Although its also tourists and retirees who drive economy.
Burnsville is a gorgeous area, but not too many jobs and a commute to Asheville might get old, especially in winter. No one can tell you if you can get a job here. Its not impossible, but it wouldn't be easy either.
There are plenty of nondenominational churches in this area, so that will be easy.
Believe there are two UCC congregations in Asheville Land of Sky and Congregational UCC. Good Luck, this is great place to live but decent jobs can be tough.
Believe there are two UCC congregations in Asheville Land of Sky and Congregational UCC. Good Luck, this is great place to live but decent jobs can be tough.
kudos to you for looking it up. I wouldn't have thought there would be many Churches of Christ in the Asheville.
We moved to Burnsville from Metro-Atlanta in our early 30's. We have been very happy here. We feel safe and that it is a great place to raise our children.
As for the work situ, jobs are sparse and unless you bring one with you (ie - self-employed, tele-work, etc.), you'll likely wind up commuting. Jobs themselves don't pay that great, but most entry-level IT jobs I've seen pay at least $30k.
I work in IT and currently work 3-4 days per week in downtown Asheville. The commute to/from Asheville takes about 40 minutes for me. That will vary depending on how far off a main highway you live (it takes about 10 minutes to do the first 6 miles from the house to the 4-lane). The commute is what you make of it. I "make" it an opportunity to drive through the mountains and watch the seasons come and go while putting some separation between work and home. As for winter, it again depends on how far off a main road you are. Working in IT has its perks, too, since we can often do our work remotely as well as on-site.
As for real-estate and costs, I don't really know and you'll have to do more targeted research when the time comes. Typically the further you get from Asheville, the more house and land you can get for the money. Get a buyers agent.
There are two church of Christs in the Asheville area. I grew up in the church of Christ so I checked it out when I moved here. I however attend a small nondenominational church called Grassroots.
We bought our Asheville house of 1100 sf. for $110,000 in August, so you should be able to find what your're looking for there. There aren't many, but they can be found.
I lived five years in Nashville and worked in music industry and attended Belmont University, I lived in Green Hills and found Nashville to not be an inviting place and when I graduated in 2009 the job market forced me to move. I'm also thinking about locating to Asheville, mainly to attend nursing school and my mom is retired. I come from Bozeman MT, which is gorgeous, near YNP, but it is a belligerent place. Five years here and not one friend, even though I've donated 1000 hours to volunteering and getting involved. All people here do is drink - more than ECU or App State in NC - it is pretty bad - highest drinking rate in country. So Bozeman is kind of a split personality between idyllic ski-mountain town with co-ops and locally owned stores that are awesome to overpriced shacks and rude obnoxious people. I have heard Asheville kind of is not friendly by NC standards. I grew up in Raleigh and have lots of friends there. That being said, from my experience in Asheville there are some unfriendly people, but it is generally a safe and nice place. Fairly affordable in rents compared to Nashville. I had to pay $1300 a month just to live in a dump in Nashville because the rents were high. You do have access to nature.
I'm thinking about getting an apartment near downtown - or any walkable neighborhoods - I like older, nice buildings. Any suggestions?
Yes! North Asheville off Merrmon or Montford Ave. It is such a cool area, and very walkable. Close to downtown. There are quite a few beautiful, large, old houses converted into apartments. I recently met an artisit who lives in one and he only pays $500/month. There are probably nicer & more expensive ones, but he liked it. No pets where he lived...But you'll definitely find something for less than $1300!! Good luck wherever you land. :-)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
