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My husband and I just returned from our second house-hunting trip to Asheville, although this one was focused more on what he calls "due diligence" – visiting places that would be part of our daily lives in Asheville, rather than looking at houses or tourist attractions. I thought other prospective residents might be interested in some of our experiences. We live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, so any comparisons are to that area. We are both retired, and our daughter is grown, so we aren’t considering things like the school system or employment opportunities.
The most important thing was how pleasant and friendly everyone was. That had been our experience before, but this time we spoke with many more people.
We did a lot of driving at different times of day, mostly on surface streets, which confirmed our belief that, from our point of view, Asheville doesn’t really have traffic. The only time we ran into anything that even approaches the level of congestion we are used to here was in Biltmore Village at about 5:15 PM.
We visited two grocery stores, an Ingle’s and Fresh Market that are across Merrimon Avenue from each other at Beaverdam Road. I was a little surprised to see that grocery prices in Ingles are, on average, a little higher than here – some items were higher (most national brand packaged items, milk, steak), some were lower (fresh fish, apples). We had a nice chat with a manager, who told us that Ingles prices will be somewhat lower in stores that have nearby competition, like the Ingles in Weaverville that’s competing with the new WalMart. Fresh Market was a lot like Whole Foods here in terms of selection, although I didn’t compare prices.
We visited the Center for Creative Retirement, and picked up copies of their catalogs for this year’s spring and summer terms. Lots of interesting classes – my biggest problem would be deciding which one to take.
Next we went to the Jewish Community Center, had a tour of the building, and spoke with some of the staff. It has a gorgeous outdoor pool, but no fitness facility. The people we spoke with were very warm and welcoming.
One of my concerns about moving to a smaller city was where to buy shoes. This may seem trivial, but I have a hard time finding my size anywhere but Nordstrom, and I really dislike buying shoes online. A couple of people mentioned Tops for Shoes, so we went downtown, where I happily bought a pair of comfortable sandals. We also visited a couple of art galleries, and had lunch at a new restaurant, Cafe Solace. The food was extremely good, but I am disposed to like any restaurant that will let me taste a wine before buying it.
We spent the afternoon looking at “antiques” and a consignment furniture store. We don’t think most of our furniture is worth moving, and were interested in what we could find locally that would be attractive and interesting. I saw several things that I would have bought if we already had a house in Asheville, so I have to say that part of the visit was a definite success.
We also visited Black Mountain one afternoon, but the only practical result is that we don’t want to live that far out. It’s a neat place, though, with lots of interesting little shops.
My husband and I just returned from our second house-hunting trip to Asheville, although this one was focused more on what he calls "due diligence" – visiting places that would be part of our daily lives in Asheville, rather than looking at houses or tourist attractions. I thought other prospective residents might be interested in some of our experiences. We live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, so any comparisons are to that area. We are both retired, and our daughter is grown, so we aren’t considering things like the school system or employment opportunities.
The most important thing was how pleasant and friendly everyone was. That had been our experience before, but this time we spoke with many more people.
We did a lot of driving at different times of day, mostly on surface streets, which confirmed our belief that, from our point of view, Asheville doesn’t really have traffic. The only time we ran into anything that even approaches the level of congestion we are used to here was in Biltmore Village at about 5:15 PM.
We visited two grocery stores, an Ingle’s and Fresh Market that are across Merrimon Avenue from each other at Beaverdam Road. I was a little surprised to see that grocery prices in Ingles are, on average, a little higher than here – some items were higher (most national brand packaged items, milk, steak), some were lower (fresh fish, apples). We had a nice chat with a manager, who told us that Ingles prices will be somewhat lower in stores that have nearby competition, like the Ingles in Weaverville that’s competing with the new WalMart. Fresh Market was a lot like Whole Foods here in terms of selection, although I didn’t compare prices.
We visited the Center for Creative Retirement, and picked up copies of their catalogs for this year’s spring and summer terms. Lots of interesting classes – my biggest problem would be deciding which one to take.
Next we went to the Jewish Community Center, had a tour of the building, and spoke with some of the staff. It has a gorgeous outdoor pool, but no fitness facility. The people we spoke with were very warm and welcoming.
One of my concerns about moving to a smaller city was where to buy shoes. This may seem trivial, but I have a hard time finding my size anywhere but Nordstrom, and I really dislike buying shoes online. A couple of people mentioned Tops for Shoes, so we went downtown, where I happily bought a pair of comfortable sandals. We also visited a couple of art galleries, and had lunch at a new restaurant, Cafe Solace. The food was extremely good, but I am disposed to like any restaurant that will let me taste a wine before buying it.
We spent the afternoon looking at “antiques” and a consignment furniture store. We don’t think most of our furniture is worth moving, and were interested in what we could find locally that would be attractive and interesting. I saw several things that I would have bought if we already had a house in Asheville, so I have to say that part of the visit was a definite success.
We also visited Black Mountain one afternoon, but the only practical result is that we don’t want to live that far out. It’s a neat place, though, with lots of interesting little shops.
Chuckling at the comment that Black Mountain is "that far out" In the mountainous areas you just get used to driving a bit of distance to get where you want to go. But it's okay because you can enjoy so much nice scenary!
If you HAD to have Nordstroms you could drive down to Charlotte for the day (2.5-3 hours depending on where you eventually live).
That was a useful perspective. My husband and I are very interested in Asheville as a retirement spot in 2013, but so far our interest is just based on research. We have been to other parts of NC and like the climate and beauty of the state. We are spending a week in Asheville in Sept and hope to get a feel for the community at that time. So, do you like it enough to retire there?
Don't forget to focus on medical. I have moved around a lot due to military and jobs. THE FIRST THING I do is get a doctor. If you don't and you have to go to hospital, and this happened to me ONCE, without a doctor/practice it is a real issue. Probably not the case, but I felt like when I said I don't have a doctor yet, I moved to the back of the line, in EVERYTHING.
Medical stuff is often overlooked when looking for a new place to live.
That was a useful perspective. My husband and I are very interested in Asheville as a retirement spot in 2013, but so far our interest is just based on research. We have been to other parts of NC and like the climate and beauty of the state. We are spending a week in Asheville in Sept and hope to get a feel for the community at that time. So, do you like it enough to retire there?
Yes, definitely. We had, over the years, visited several times as tourists and were somewhat familiar with the area, but that of course is not the same as looking at it as a possible place to live. Another factor in our case is that I have family in western NC. My husband is a native of NYC, and was a little harder to convince, but the positive experiences we've had on our recent visits, particularly at the Reform synagogue, Beth HaTephila, did the trick.
Don't forget to focus on medical. I have moved around a lot due to military and jobs. THE FIRST THING I do is get a doctor. If you don't and you have to go to hospital, and this happened to me ONCE, without a doctor/practice it is a real issue. Probably not the case, but I felt like when I said I don't have a doctor yet, I moved to the back of the line, in EVERYTHING.
Medical stuff is often overlooked when looking for a new place to live.
Good Luck. Glad you enjoyed Asheville.
I actually had thought about this, but assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that finding a doctor wouldn't be difficult as I've read so much about healthcare being about the only non-tourism business in Asheville that's really in good shape. Thanks for mentioning it, and moving it up on my list a bit.
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In the mountainous areas you just get used to driving a bit of distance to get where you want to go. But it's okay because you can enjoy so much nice scenary!
