Waynesville or Mars Hill/Marshall? (Charlotte, Asheville: Home Depot, buyer, theatre)

[lovesroses]

My husband and I are coming to Asheville next week from Houston on a scouting expedition to determine if we wish to relocate to the WNC area in a couple of years for retirement. We've been reading up, looking at MLS lots, and have been in touch with a buyer's agent who has emailed us info on various properties. We are going to stay at 2 b&b's during the week we have-one close to town and the other in Black Mtn. I know all the research in the world is useless until we actually visit and listen to our gut reactions.....

What we have found just by reading and looking online seems to indicate to us that we would prefer the town of Waynesville or perhaps the Mars Hill area to that of Black Mountain. The lots in Black Mountain we have found seem to be 25 min drive to the town of Bk. Mtn, too remote with gravel rds, etc. Liked some lots in Gateway but are thinking its too far out and have concerns since some developers have gone belly-up recently. We found a property we liked that was in Marshall, but the town itself looked to be in a depressed state and somewhat bare after their 2004 flood. Mars Hill, being a college town, seemed to have more to offer but we didnt find any property there yet. My favorite so far(on the internet) is Waynesville. It appears to be a town with modern conveniences that seems to be small enough to avoid big city living problems(crime, drugs, air pollution, Bumcombe County taxes, traffic).Its Main Steet has character and there are things to do there. Its location close to Asheville could afford us the opportunity to visit there every now and then. Of course my perception might be totally off abt this town?

We are looking for a lot of at least 4-5 acres, mt views(pref south or west facing) and would like to be no farther away than 20 min from a grocery store. Living in Texas acclimates one to driving long distances so I'm used to driving 10 miles to the mall and my husband is 25 miles from his job in downtown Houston. We like to eat out at casual eateries, have access to good doctors, hike, travel, perhaps ski(my husband).

Can you give me your opinions on the pros and cons of these areas or even suggest someplace else we might have missed? Perhaps something south of Asheville would be a good fit? We have ruled out Leiceister and Fairview.

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

[Kootr]

Take a look at Weaverville, which is just north (a few miles) of Asheville. It's a nice little quaint town with a lot of history. Very charming and desireable place in WNC.

Also, take a look at Franklin, which is a nice little town but not very close to any reasonable size city.

Marshall is a ghost town for all practical purposes, but not far from Asheville. Mars Hill has very little to offer with the exception of a nice little college and its play theatre, but it's not too far from Asheville either. Both are in Madison County.

I would think you would want to be somewhat close to shopping, hospital, etc. It's a PITA to have to drive more than an hour round-trip to go to some place like Best Buy, etc.

[lovesroses]

Yes you hit it on the nail with Franklin. Fell in love with the town a couple of years ago when we were staying in Cashiers. The problem with it is my husband really needs to be closer to medical care as is diabetic. Lack of airport there also, and the altitude a bit low(wish to be cooler in summer).

There is a regional medical center in Waynesville but I guess for anything major, Asheville is close enough. For anything WAY major, there is Duke or Atlanta hospitals.

I will take a closer look at Weaverville. Initially passed it by because the places I saw were golf communities and we have no interest in that. Also prices seemed a bit high.

While we are on the subject of prices, many of the lots we are seeing are listed for double and in one case, triple, their appraised value... strange..

[Kootr]

Originally Posted by lovesroses

Yes you hit it on the nail with Franklin. Fell in love with the town a couple of years ago when we were staying in Cashiers. The problem with it is my husband really needs to be closer to medical care as is diabetic. Lack of airport there also, and the altitude a bit low(wish to be cooler in summer).

There is a regional medical center in Waynesville but I guess for anything major, Asheville is close enough. For anything WAY major, there is Duke or Atlanta hospitals.

I will take a closer look at Weaverville. Initially passed it by because the places I saw were golf communities and we have no interest in that. Also prices seemed a bit high.

While we are on the subject of prices, many of the lots we are seeing are listed for double and in one case, triple, their appraised value... strange..

Yes, prices are high in Weaverville. It's close proximity to Asheville and desireable little town have brought in a large number of "outsiders" willing to pay inflated prices for property. That is a drawback... But there are some pluses compared to many other nearby areas.

As for the airport, Asheville's airport is actually in Fletcher south of Asheville. You'll pay plenty to fly out of Asheville - sometimes 2x or 3x the price you'd pay flying out of a true International airport. Even Greenville/Spartanburg's airport is expensive. You'd have to fly out of Charlotte to get a reasonable price, but that's 1 1/2 -2 hours away. Atlanta would be another choice.

Living in WNC has some good things about it, but also many bad ones too in my opinion. It all depends on what you're looking for, and what you're used to and willing to put up with.

Hope that helps!

[lovesroses]

Any more insights on the Marshall/Mars Hill areas? Ive been reading alot of back posts and there were some favorable opinions of Marshall so I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Is Weaverville big enough to offer some things so we wouldnt have to go into Asheville all the time? Im talking abt Home Depot, Walmart, some eateries?

My research has taken me to the Maggie Valley area. It looks so beautiful that I cant wait to see it. Arriving in Asheville tomorrow via Atlanta! Flying to Asheville would have been $498 per person from Houston, more than double the cost to Atlanta.

[lovesforests]

lovesroses,

I am new to this and think my first attempt at reply failed. Hopefully, this works and that you don't get same response twice. I wanted to recommend that you check out the redwolfrun.net web site. You could very well find the home site you are looking for in this environmentally concious mountaintop community with large private forested lots. Their motto is "Live in Splendor". Enough said.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by lovesforests

lovesroses,

I am new to this and think my first attempt at reply failed. Hopefully, this works and that you don't get same response twice. I wanted to recommend that you check out the redwolfrun.net web site. You could very well find the home site you are looking for in this environmentally concious mountaintop community with large private forested lots. Their motto is "Live in Splendor". Enough said.

Welcome to the forum

I just had to post after you - lovesroses, lovesforests, lovesMountains

[ArgotMay]

So how was Maggie Valley?