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Next March my husband (29 yo), our 3 year old son & I (38 yo) plan to move from New Mexico to WNC. My parents plan on moving to TN/NC soon. We also have other relatives in Atlanta, Charlotte & VA. We would like to be near our family as we have been far away from them for quite awhile.
I have been researching many online sites for different towns surrounding the Asheville & more western areas. I lived in Knoxville back in the early 90's and visited NC during that time & always wanted to head back. Well, I guess the time has come! I've been on this site countless times & registered about a month ago. Figured there would come a time I would need to ask some questions. Housing is lower than what we currently spend on rent out here, so that looks promising. On the other hand, I've read tons about lack of jobs in the area (except for the health/service industry). Both my husband and I have considerable experience (19 yrs for me/14 yrs for husband) in the restaurant &/or brewery industry, we both are currently in management positions at different restaurants. From reading Craigslist & local newspapers online the amount of ads for such jobs seem decent. Is this true?
We really have liked the communities of Sylva, Franklin, Brevard, Hendersonville & Waynesville so far. Asheville, possibly but I think more on the outskirts would fit our ideal. We of course plan on visiting soon to explore these areas and choose. To try and keep it as short as I can for ya'll, here's some info; we're looking for a more rural/small town setting instead of in the heart of a city-would like to vegetable garden (& possibly raise chickens &/or goats), keep our 2 older dogs, go hiking/camping, bicycling, fly-fishing & be close to nature/mtns. But of course, not too far from jobs & provisions (my husband currently drives 20-25 minutes to work). We also tend to have to drive into "the city" here for certain things and it doesn't bother us, but an hour or more might be less than convenient. Very interested in a good Farmer's Market, a local homebrewers &/or fermenters club, & library near our home.
We have some inheritance money & savings, to get us set up & last a few months while looking for jobs & what-not. We are a simple family, outgoing & friendly, looking to settle down & build our life. So I really am just looking for opinions & ideas from the locals. I appreciate you reading and possibly replying to this thread. Thanks!
Next March my husband (29 yo), our 3 year old son & I (38 yo) plan to move from New Mexico to WNC. My parents plan on moving to TN/NC soon. We also have other relatives in Atlanta, Charlotte & VA. We would like to be near our family as we have been far away from them for quite awhile.
I have been researching many online sites for different towns surrounding the Asheville & more western areas. I lived in Knoxville back in the early 90's and visited NC during that time & always wanted to head back. Well, I guess the time has come! I've been on this site countless times & registered about a month ago. Figured there would come a time I would need to ask some questions. Housing is lower than what we currently spend on rent out here, so that looks promising. On the other hand, I've read tons about lack of jobs in the area (except for the health/service industry). Both my husband and I have considerable experience (19 yrs for me/14 yrs for husband) in the restaurant &/or brewery industry, we both are currently in management positions at different restaurants. From reading Craigslist & local newspapers online the amount of ads for such jobs seem decent. Is this true?
We really have liked the communities of Sylva, Franklin, Brevard, Hendersonville & Waynesville so far. Asheville, possibly but I think more on the outskirts would fit our ideal. We of course plan on visiting soon to explore these areas and choose. To try and keep it as short as I can for ya'll, here's some info; we're looking for a more rural/small town setting instead of in the heart of a city-would like to vegetable garden (& possibly raise chickens &/or goats), keep our 2 older dogs, go hiking/camping, bicycling, fly-fishing & be close to nature/mtns. But of course, not too far from jobs & provisions (my husband currently drives 20-25 minutes to work). We also tend to have to drive into "the city" here for certain things and it doesn't bother us, but an hour or more might be less than convenient. Very interested in a good Farmer's Market, a local homebrewers &/or fermenters club, & library near our home.
We have some inheritance money & savings, to get us set up & last a few months while looking for jobs & what-not. We are a simple family, outgoing & friendly, looking to settle down & build our life. So I really am just looking for opinions & ideas from the locals. I appreciate you reading and possibly replying to this thread. Thanks!
You have quite a few months to do some worthwhile research; and from the above, I would advise you to stay away from the very small towns that are not close enough to travel for employment. Start with a 20 mile radius of Asheville because there are new breweries opening in Asheville and the immediate surrounding area. Stick with Hendersonville, Waynesville, Weaverville etc.
Here is a great resource for you: http://www.citizen-times.com/
After a few uses of their articles though, you will have to subscribe to the online edition, but well worth it}. The main newspaper for the greater Asheville area and plenty of western NC information, careers etc. There is also www.blueridgenow.com which is a smaller paper, pretty much for Henderson County.
Plan on spending some lengthy quality time in the area prior to deciding where you want/need to be. Take maybe a week at a time a minimum of three (3) trips to search and get a feel for things. You have to experience the weather, the roads, the shopping, the culture and where the areas are that you can have your space.
best of luck ! keep us posted "y'all".
Last edited by QuilterChick; 08-19-2012 at 03:33 PM..
Quilterchick, I was hoping to get a reply from you! Thank you for your response. I kind of figured that we would need to stay close to the Asheville area at first. Maybe down the road after being there awhile we could look for a more rural area, after getting a feel for things & such. Will do on more research & visiting. We are really looking forward to seeing some dang greenery, I tell ya!!
Quilterchick, I was hoping to get a reply from you! Thank you for your response. I kind of figured that we would need to stay close to the Asheville area at first. Maybe down the road after being there awhile we could look for a more rural area, after getting a feel for things & such. Will do on more research & visiting. We are really looking forward to seeing some dang greenery, I tell ya!!
Always happy to help out and give you a good starting place, and the local papers are good for the most information in one place and being able to follow a story, e.g. the breweries coming in to the area. Once you pick "your spot" and your shopping list is full, you can then bond with a Realtor to help you discern the housing market and sift out the flowers from the weeds.
Looking forward to hearing more once you've experienced the NC mountains. If you plan to go in the fall, however, make plans early because the area fills up with the "leaf peepers", the fall scenery is so gorgeous and the air is so clean. For a more relaxed time of the year, go in November if you can. The snowbirds have returned to Fla. and the tourists have left for the most part. Happy hunting !
Yeah, if you do come in leaf season, don't assume people always drive 20mph or stop in the middle of the Blue Ridge Parkway! Driving here is bad, but not generally to that extreme.
The job situation is what it is: tough in the best of times. Still, you and your husband would seem to have experience in the few areas that might offer promise for you. I'd still set my expectations at lower wages than you had hoped (depending on where you are in New Mexico), but who knows, you may strike gold......or at least silver, in your hunt.
I don't know anything about the site (so I can't recommend it or not), but one jobs site that is always advertising is Better Asheville Jobs. I took a peek and you have to register to get any real information, but it appears to be free. Their teaser listings had positions from Lowe's and Earth Fare, so it may be worth the effort.
QC has provided you a good starting point, and I'll echo the sentiment that if you are going to work in the immediate Asheville area, staying within 20-25 miles is a good guideline. If nothing else, it might help you avoid scratching your head in winter wondering "how am I going to do this?" Although, we live within a short walk of the city limits and we can still get socked in when winter throws a good one at us....or even a fair one.
There is a lot of info on these interwebs, so have at it! Some of it is good, some not so much, so when that spawns questions, feel free to ask.
milleriaconm,
All very good advice, above...
We live in Waynesville, one of the towns on your list.
At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader for this are, we have been here 11 years, (from NYC area), and love it.
Good thriving downtown, some artsy fartsy scene, big box stores on edges of town, etc. Good local gov't, so-so county gov't, and many homes for sale that range from single wides to 1 dot fives, as in 1.5 mil.
Downside, very few jobs, a couple of brewery start ups, and brew pubs here, and A'ville is at least 30 mins, unless one is hauling azz at midnight in a Ferrari.
Downtown and surrounds are warm to hot in summer, elev is ~2800 -2500 ft, and the mtns surrounding the town/flat areas have many houses going all the way up to nearly 6,000 ft = wonderful summers, tough winters, all dependent on elevation.
Most of the above opin are through the eyes of a couple of early non-working, Retired Bums, so it isn't exactly your situ. My 50Cts...
GL, mD
Just wanted to drop a line...looks like our NC adventure will be put on hold for awhile. Things have occured w/in our family that we will need to be closer to the midwest for a few years. Thanks for all your advice, we had actually decided on Brevard. We'll get there eventually! Take care
Thank you for taking the time to let us know how things are going for you. (Too often we never hear back from the folks.)
You will love Brevard; quaint, quiet, great atmosphere, restaurants. sorry that it will take a while longer for you all to get here; in the meantime, hope everything goes well and your plans can take flight when you're ready. Que sera sera. Best to all of you, and Happy New year !
Let me echo QC's thanks. Even though it is on hold, it is good to hear what people decided (or what was decided for them by circumstances) and why. All too often I feel like the last post in these threads should be one of us posting, "NEXT." The update is appreciated.
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