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My wife and two sons have the opportunity to relocate to the Asheville area in the next month. I have checked out all of the PR sites about how wonderful Asheville is, as well as much of the criticsm on the blogs. We are not commited to Asheville proper or any other town....
We plan on visiting the area to "see for ourselves" in the next couple of weeks, but know that a short visit will not tell all.
I thought it would be interesting to see the feedback to the question posed in my title. Please consider the following stats about my family.
- we are are both in our mid-thirties
- we have 2 boys, 1 will be starting kindergarten this year
- we have lived in So. California, Oakland, and Chicago.
- we are both college educated (I am in business, my wife is a teacher)
- we are physically active, outdoors type
- we love food. Cooking it. Growing it. Sharing it with family and friends.
- we do not practice a religion
- we usually vote democrat, but not because we are one
- having lived in major cities, we are used to and appreciate diversity. we have a very diverse group of friends and would want them to feel welcome wherever we live.
What we are looking for;
- a community where we can find open, fun, active people who enjoy life and want to build positive relationships with others
- access to healthy food
- tons of "outdoor opportunities" for hiking, swimming, fishing, etc.
- a place where we can walk to stores, restaurants, etc
- great schools for our kids (public or private)
- access to arts (museums, music, etc)
What we would like to avoid (as much as possible):
- negativity towards us (or others) for being from "the north"
- racism
- unsafe areas due to drug abuse or any other factor
- track housing; mc mansions;
- people who are not interested in being good citizens in their local or global community
Please know that we are also "realists" and don't expect to find perfection. We just do not want to make a huge mistake when deciding where to live.
Thank you for taking time to read (and hopefully respond) to my posting. I hope we can find the place we are looking for.
Base on your description of your family, I'd take a look at Montford and West Asheville right off the bat. I'd also spend some time at NCReportCard.org and GreatSchools.net as well as specific school websites (links to which you should find at the aforementioned sites) figuring out where the best fit is for schooling. That will go a long way toward determining which part of town to concentrate on.
AshevilleNeighbor has good suggestions. I'd like to add how nice it is to see a post where someone moving is actually going to spend time investigating the area and learn about it before they jump in. I used to work in child mental health and highly recommend a visit to the actual schools to speak with teachers and staff. Children can have different results from different schools. As AshevilleNeighbor said you need to find a "fit" for your children. Check Kenilworth area too. Access to good food should not come difficult. There are many tailgate markets and u-pick farms around the area. As far as diversity goes unfortunately I don't think you will find much here. I know others will say I'm not being realistic about this statement but the way I see it many people here are still separated into different sections of town and don't interact. Much of the south is that way.
Good luck with your search.
The Alexander area is a good friendly area, especially the part that connects from North Asheville on one side and the Erwin area on the other. It is 20 minutes from Asheville, 10 minutes from Weaverville, is in the country, great views and has had good growth.
Asheville and/OR Hendersonville are your places....considering the criterion you've listed.
There are more "northerners" in Asheville/Hendersonville than in the smaller surrounding towns...although my husband and I live in a town about 45 miles south of Asheville...which is a small town. (My husband and I are in the mid-40's to mid-50's age bracket.) We are professionals as well. I, too, am a teacher....
After 2 trips to Asheville, one by myself and one with my wife, we decided to take advantage of the highly touted Glen Arden elementary school for our soon-to-be-Kindergartener.
Thanks to AshevilleNeighbor...your post led me to the Montford Area (where I think I would like to buy in a year). I headed back over the bridge into downtown, found the 1st public parking lot, and walked across the street to Scully's. It was here I first heard about Arden. So, indirectly, you got me to where I ended up!
I will update this post every so often so check back if you want to see how our move played out....
we're considering the arden area too - or weaverville. Any opinions? how do the schools for weaverville compare (I've read the greatschools stuff and test scores - but more interested in the actual feel of the school - academics, arts, motivation of kids, teachers truly engaging kids vs teaching to the test...). We have a 3rd grader and pre-schooler and plan to move at end of this school year. Thanks for any input!
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