artist lofts/housing? (Raleigh, Asheville, Marshall: to rent, houses, high school)

[dancingbelly]

anyone know of any artist lofts or work/live studios in the asheville area? i'm in Minneapolis now and here they take old warehouses with high ceilings and brick walls and turn them into rent controlled artist living spaces. i have been searching online for such places in NC and can't seem to find any.

i would also appreciate any suggestions about where artists live in the area even if not in specific artist lofts. when i type in artist lofts and some of the towns i want to live in, the results i get are way too expensive. this is an area where a lot of artists live, right? how do they afford it? do they live in a nearby town and drive in to a studio? if so, what town?

help!

thank you

[Loves mountains]

Check out Marshall High Studios: THE PROJECT. They have renovated an old high school building in Marshall, NC into artist's studios - you can't live in the studio but there is a nice group of artists there and the town seems to be supportive of artists with a few nice galleries and an active Arts Council.

[Catbirds]

Do a goggle search on Asheville, N.C. River District. This area is becoming an artist area. The artists are taking over old buildings and making artist studios. They have an artist walk there at times. I think there are folks that live there as well. Also, in the Raleigh area, old tobacco factories are becoming lofts and businesses as well.