Thinking about moving to asheville...need info on where to live. (Boone: apartments, rentals)

[suntanning17]

Hey

So my boyfriend and I are planning on moving to Asheville in May and I am having a hard time figuring out what is the best area to move to. We are both recent college grads from Appalachian and we love the mountains. We want to enjoy the outdoor aspect of the mountains but like the idea of living in a city with a nightlife. I do not want to be in downtown...we want our space and privacy. We really want to live in a house but not a development..nothing cookie cutter. I have no idea what area to look at...north, east, south or west asheville. I am at a loss. I have been reading forums and people talk about the drug usage and project...I want to avoid the so called bad areas. Please someone point me in the correct direction. We are young and dont have much money to spend...so we need an area that will not break us. Thanks for any help that you can give me!!

[NeoLvr]

My advise; find decent paying jobs BEFORE moving, rent an apartment close to one or both of your jobs, and then look around to see which area of town best fits your personalities and preferred amenities.

[organick]

I agree. Jbs are few and don't pay well. It can easily take people 6 months to find work here. Definitely don't expect your degrees to earn you a great living here. More than likely when you do find work you will feel like you are settling. I dont find many areas to be bad..........A house will run you at least 800 but 1000to1200 is common. Nightlife? Asheville is pretty dead downtown come about 1030 or 11. Unless you are into the music scene but then you have the tix to buy which requires the before mentioned work. Good luck

[gigimac]

If you live within the city limits of Asheville, you will sacrifice space and privacy. With that said, the closest section in order to be within walking distance of downtown Asheville is historic Montford Park, which is just north of the city... years ago, I used to bicycle into town from there. I rented in one of the older houses split into three apartments, lived right across from Montford Park. If you can secure housing there, I think you won't mind too much living in a neighborhood.

But if you want to live on the side of a mountain or get an acre of land, you'll likely wind up living pretty far from town... it's so different from Boone, I think you should just drive on down here for a long weekend and get a feel for the area. Buy a newspaper and check out a few rentals while you're here, so you can tell which areas make the most sense to you. If you are looking for an opening level job in your fields, do a little groundwork on that before you visit, too. Many businesses have their own websites, so you can begin a search that way.