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My husband (raised in MN) & I (raised in MD, DC area) are thinking of retiring to western NC. We have lived near Houston for the past 30 years (love the people, hate the weather & lack of scenery). We love the mountains, but like an occasional trip to the beach. We have vacationed in the area & it seems to fit our desires pretty well. Closer to extended family, scenic, not as fanatical religious attitudes as eastern TN (we are reasonably religious, but do not go to church, we prefer a personal rather than public relationship to God).
We want this to be the last home we ever have, so we would like to be approx. 1/2 hr. drive from Asheville, but close to a small city/town downtown area (walking or biking distance) & reasonably close to a hospital, perhaps public transportation? We'd like around an acre of land, & I would like to have a dog rescue operation, so minimal restrictions/covenants on property use. We would like to be close enough to neighbors to have some sort of social life. We don't want to be in the mountains, but the foothills are okay & we would like to be able to see the mountains from our property. A lake &/or stream on the property would be a bonus. We're looking at moving a few years down the road, but buying ahead of time to vacation there. Access to internet is important, schools are not, though it would be nice to be near a college for use of the library. Low crime, low cost of living, good medical care, friendly neighbors, anything else one might need when they are on their last legs.
Does my dream (or close to it) exist?
My husband (raised in MN) & I (raised in MD, DC area) are thinking of retiring to western NC. We have lived near Houston for the past 30 years (love the people, hate the weather & lack of scenery). We love the mountains, but like an occasional trip to the beach. We have vacationed in the area & it seems to fit our desires pretty well. Closer to extended family, scenic, not as fanatical religious attitudes as eastern TN (we are reasonably religious, but do not go to church, we prefer a personal rather than public relationship to God).
We want this to be the last home we ever have, so we would like to be approx. 1/2 hr. drive from Asheville, but close to a small city/town downtown area (walking or biking distance) & reasonably close to a hospital, perhaps public transportation? We'd like around an acre of land, & I would like to have a dog rescue operation, so minimal restrictions/covenants on property use. We would like to be close enough to neighbors to have some sort of social life. We don't want to be in the mountains, but the foothills are okay & we would like to be able to see the mountains from our property. A lake &/or stream on the property would be a bonus. We're looking at moving a few years down the road, but buying ahead of time to vacation there. Access to internet is important, schools are not, though it would be nice to be near a college for use of the library. Low crime, low cost of living, good medical care, friendly neighbors, anything else one might need when they are on their last legs.
Does my dream (or close to it) exist?
Hendersonville, Weaverville, Waynesville; Mills River, Etowah, Horse Shoe areas; parts of Fletcher, Arden, Fairview in the Cane Creek area; etc. Also investigate Transylvania County which has the lovely town of Brevard, 1/2 hr. from Asheville. The only disadvantage imho to Brevard is that access to the I-26 interstate N or S is a bit of a trek. Not completely sure about getting an acre for a dog rescue operation (you will have to be in the County where the zoning would allow that and even at that probably need permit etc. Not within city limites). Heading south of Asheville and or Hendersonville, Zirconia, Tuxedo -- investigate Saluda (which is in both Henderson and Polk Counties); some areas of Columbus or Tryon, areas near "Bob's Creek" NC very nice.
There are plenty of areas that would meet your criteria ... you need to state a price range and size of home you would like. For starters, put your criteria into www.Realtor.com with zip codes etc. and see what options come up for you. Also, check the various large Realtor franchise websites and put some push pins on a map to give you a perspective. Off hand, in my experience as a former Realtor here, you would be looking at approximately $200K asking price for something in a good area in better than average condition on a minimum of one acre.
Draw a radius circle around Asheville of about 25 miles and look within that radius.
My personal favorite area that fits your criteria is Weaverville, in the Beech Mtn Community. Just gorgeous. And their little downtown area is really charming. With a fantastic new Creperie too, btw!! (yum) Its got many streams running through the area, with a mountain backdrop & the Blue Ridge Pkwy right there. Plus its just a quick drive to downtown Asheville.
What QC suggested: take that list of towns, areas, and individually plug them into the 'Search This Forum' Tab, upper right hand corner of page; you will get pages of Threads on each town/area.
Then do some RE search as QC suggested, and maybe then post more specific questions to the board. But, your initial 'request' reads like 90% of the 'features' that 95% of the far away lookers seek, when they post that they 'want to move to western NC', imo.
GL, mD
Any updates for us here? Are you leaning towards any particular area just yet? We could use another dog rescue, I think its absolutely fantastic you want to contribute in that way!! :-) Please let us know.
Thanks for your replies. I was lost to the internet for awhile there...terrible withdrawal pangs!
Actually, I had been looking at most of the areas mentioned, but was trying to narrow the choices down before our next trip east. Silly me, I didn't think to use 'search' for the towns as opposed to the region. That did remove Canton from my list because of its paper mill. My grandmother was from a paper mill town in PA & I still remember how nauseated I got from the smell. As it is, right now we live 50 mi. or so from major oil refinery areas & when the wind is wrong, it smells like you're breathing gasoline (I don't go outside on those days). So I guess I specifically need a place with fresh air, but I look up those stats when I get closer to the decision.
I thought I was being reasonably specific. I didn't mention price because that is really determined by what we get for it. We are not rich, but we are firmly entrenched in the middle class & have no debts. We have 10 siblings & 19 nieces/nephews in the entire range of social classes from poverty to rich, so we get along with all sorts of people.
I would like to be closer to Northern NC just because of the physical distance to extended family (but that is not a deal breaker).
I am the handy person of the family. People used to be surprised to see me working on my husbands car while he handed me the tools; & my kids thought I could fix anything. They once brought me a ball that the dog had ripped in half to fix (I had to laugh). Right now I'm remodeling my house out of the '70s & learning a lot as I go. So condition of property is not so important.
I guess what I'm looking for is what MovingOver2 gave me. A quick description of the downtown, & why she/he likes it.
Thanks!
We really liked the area of Brevard in Transylvania County, but you say foothills would be "okay" and mountains are out, so it doesn't sound like the place for you. I'd certainly make early contact with the county and any local government to find out their regs on having an animal rescue organization at your home. You might also contact local animal rescue and humane organizations to see what need there is for a new organization, or whether you could help by giving a temporary home to dogs in need. There are many such groups in the area. When we were in Brevard (looking for potential places to retire), a group called Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue was having an annual fund-raising effort involving restaurants throughout the town. The organizations may also be able to give hints on zoning regs.
Thanks! Great idea about contacting local orgs. What I have against the mountains is access in bad weather (I hate to be snow-bound), so if the access is not very steep, even that is not a deal-breaker. Where we stayed near Asheville for a week a few years ago, the access was extremely steep (can't remember exactly where we were, though I'm sure my husband could tell me). I was glad it didn't rain, because the unpaved road was hard enough to maneuver dry.
At that time we were mostly looking at Asheville itself as well as narrowing our search from NE TN, SW VA, & NW NC. TN was removed because people there seem to use God in every sentence & I may be cynical, but I think that those who must speak of God often tend to be the worst sinners. VA was removed because my son drove through & got a ticket for going 80 in a 75 zone. Apparently they have a law that makes 80mph an automatic misdemeanor & the only way to keep it off your record is with a lawyer. I figured their new motto must be "VA is for lawyers". Am I correct in thinking that NC hasn't succumbed to overly invasive laws?
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Good luck with everything!!
