Deciding on Asheville or Boone for our Family, Need Advice! (Spruce Pine: ski resorts, real estate)

[wildwoodflower]

We are from Vermont (which we LOVE and seriously miss) and have spent time in Montana (which we also love) , and have recently ended up in Charleston SC....which we do not love. We don't really want to move accross the country again, so we are exploring our options to move to NC this coming spring. We are planning a trip up in October to look around, but won't have a whole lot of driving time as we will be traveling with three young children. Anyway... here's what i need advice on:

Looking for a private, rural cabin or timberframe home, maybe a craftsman style cape cod style with character. Definatly not a ranch. On at least an acre, but ideally closer to 5 acres. Needs to be on a quiet, private road with few neighbors, or at least neighbors we can see, lol. Also needs to have at least a small area of flat land for a yard for the kids.

We also really want to be in a "crunchy" area in terms of community. eco friendly, natural parenting, local/organic foods available, liberal, open minded folks about. homeschool and homebirth friendly community, that kinda thing.

So we are looking outside Asheville and Boone. About 30 minutes-45 minutes outside of town. Can anyone give me some ideas about differences and similarities of both? Also maybe suggest some little towns outside of both to look into?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[wildwoodflower]

alsom does the weather differ greatly between the two? what sort of snowfall is expected in winter? we are used to feet upon feet in vermont and montana. how does NC mountains compare?

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by wildwoodflower

We are from Vermont (which we LOVE and seriously miss) and have spent time in Montana (which we also love) , and have recently ended up in Charleston SC....which we do not love. We don't really want to move accross the country again, so we are exploring our options to move to NC this coming spring. We are planning a trip up in October to look around, but won't have a whole lot of driving time as we will be traveling with three young children. Anyway... here's what i need advice on:

Looking for a private, rural cabin or timberframe home, maybe a craftsman style cape cod style with character. Definatly not a ranch. On at least an acre, but ideally closer to 5 acres. Needs to be on a quiet, private road with few neighbors, or at least neighbors we can see, lol. Also needs to have at least a small area of flat land for a yard for the kids.

We also really want to be in a "crunchy" area in terms of community. eco friendly, natural parenting, local/organic foods available, liberal, open minded folks about. homeschool and homebirth friendly community, that kinda thing.

So we are looking outside Asheville and Boone. About 30 minutes-45 minutes outside of town. Can anyone give me some ideas about differences and similarities of both? Also maybe suggest some little towns outside of both to look into?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I would decide on a city first, THEN look for that home you described Our mountain communities tend to be our more conservative areas, though inside the core of Asheville you'll find some of what you called "crunchy". But the more rural you go the more conservative you get, just FYI.

Boone is a college town so you have to expect more traffic when semesters are in session, especially during football season (the App State team is very popular). You don't mention a price range, so I hope you are prepared for what mountain property with acrage can cost?

One of the biggest differences between the two is population - Asheville is much larger. Boone is small, especially when the university isn't in session. It has a small mall, a hospital, some restaurants and fast food, but nothing like Macy's or Crate and Barrel. Schools are very good however across the board there in Watauga County. Since you want to be more outside of a city I'd suggest you check out the neat little town of Mars Hill north of Asheville - there may even be some crunchy folks there as it has a small college at its center. Hope some of this helps you!

[Jellobiafra]

Here is a cool site that will help you compare cities. You will definitely notice a weather difference between the two, including more snow in Boone.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[gigimac]

I've lived up in Boone and live in Asheville now. Boone gets lots of snow, plenty of skiing places, much smaller town with the university as its base. Therefore, I think you would prefer Boone. The trick is, though, getting a property that won't be too far out of your price range, so check out various real estate listings for the area, and see what's available. Valle Crucis is just a little ways outside Boone, gorgeous spot, and has some of those winding roads with houses spaced far apart, just country living type thing but with mountains all around you. Asheville is just way too metropolitan for your liking, and really not as much snow as you liked in the Northeast, and the "little" towns nearby are all pretty built up. When you come up in October, keep in mind lots of tourists will be all over the WNC area to see the leaves change colors, just as pretty as you remember in VT, many places to stay overnight will be filled. Enjoy your trip and hope you like Boone.

[wildwoodflower]

thanks so much for all the advice so far! we are aware more rural locations are more conservative...experienced that in both VT and MT. I just mean i'd liek to have some sort of community around with similar ideas. doesn't have to be the majority. we do homeschool, so the schools don't concern me. but it is nice to hear they are better then they havehere in SC...especially compared to the VT school system.

i do prefer more snow. also prefer to see each season. don't like traffic so much, but can tolerate it in town...but i want to live outside of town...

i found a few places i loved in burnsville... can anyone tell me about the area there. looks like 15 minutes east of mars hill. looking at mars hill area too...seeing alot ranches which i don't want. but i hear it is considered kinda "crunchy"

are there csa's and food coops around? anyone know if there is a homeschool community in both areas?

like how "crunchy" asheville seems, but wondering if it iis too built up for us. we used to live on 75 cares up north and no we will not get that down here...but need to feel we have more privacy then we could ever have in charleston. not to mention the heat, humidity and bugs i can't stand in SC. also miss the mountains...and TREES! how do the woods/forest areas compare to up north? i seriously miss the northern forest, nothing like it here near us in the lowcountry of course. and i don't like the crab grass they have here, lol. miss nice grassy meadows and places to get lost in nature. can't quite connect with the lowcountry enviornment. we need mountains!

so.... any word on burnsville? tell me more about mars hill too!

what are some cool little towns outside boone to look into?

[organick]

Boone is a college town so you have to expect more traffic when semesters are in session, especially during football season (the App State team is very popular). You don't mention a price range, so I hope you are prepared for what mountain property with acrage can cost?



Seriously??? I know boone gets traffic, especially around football games but asheville has traffic everyday. Try to get down patton at 430 without sitting at every light at least twice and if there is an accident on 240, which there is about 3 times a week forget about it, you are sitting or manuvering your way thru town.. just my opinion, the traffic in boone is on like 3 streets.

[Southlander]

Burnsville "crunchy?"
Since I have relatives there (since the 1700s), I would say by no stretch of the imagination is Burnsville anywhere near "crunchy," as you call it. Maybe up on Mountainaire and similar gated developments where they can afford to be.
Not to say there aren't similar-minded folk around - hey, each to their own. But I had to laugh.

[wildwoodflower]

well perhaps you don't understaqnd what i mean. crunchy is kind a lame blanket term, i know, but i was trying to give an idea of what is important to us since we are not from the area and seems like we are headed there. i can tell you most of montana is not crunchy, and charleston of course not...but in both places we have found a community near by...and by that i mean a few folks who care about the earth and living simply and as natural as possible. being crunchy isn't hard to afford... just be aware of how your choices impact life around you. i am not talking about the commercial side of green living, which i think you are. there is a commercial side to everything these days.

can you tell me more about burnsville? is it a quiet mountain area with privacy? about say 45 minutes to asheville, which i hear is in fact pretty "crunchy", lol. that is what we are looking for...

[Catbirds]

Check out Avery County. Close to Boone with small towns around. Banner Elk has Lees McRae College, Linville Falls area, Newland, also not far from Burnsville, Spruce Pine area. There is also Little Switzerland. There are little vegetable stands all around and you can go to Boone to the Farmer's Market on Sat. I think they have one Wednes. now. and on special occasions you can go to Asheville to the State Farmer's Market that is really big and open all year I think. Do a lot of visits. You will know when it feels right to you. Winter is different for us here in the high country. Lots of summer people that go home after October. In the winter, there are the ski resorts with tourist but these folks are different than the summer people.