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We have been going to Saluda for years and have never experienced any sort of negativness that the battery implies. We have eaten in most of the restaurants frequently and have had only positive experiences. We just came home from that part of N.C. We love it there. We are trying to buy a vacation place there.
Saluda, NC is definitely the town for you if you like not even being able to sneeze without your neighbors asking you what color Kleenex you used. For the most part, there is nothing to keep the residents entertained so they use making it their business/entertainment on what everyone else is doing. Up until a few years back, the town was primarily run by two families. They had businesses
and fought to keep other businesses out(competition). so, therefore the residents needed to drive 20-25 minutes away to get to a grocery store of any substance. The one small grocery that was there for many years was able to charge high prices on groceries because of no competition. Yes, people are friendly and there are some unique shops there, but you have to have a certain mentality to live there. Be aware, that most things are decided and acted upon by a select few. After the two families passed , there has recently been a Dollar Store able to move there. I am sure for some people, Saluda would be a nice place to live, if you like isolation, driving 25-30 minutes for a prescription, department store, hospital, etc, then you would love it. My suggestion is to read, read, read, and visit , visit, visit , before moving there. Ask natives what they like/dislike etc.
Before anyone blasts me for this post- I have lived there so this is first hand ...
Oh yeah I agree louise50. You wouldn't believe one of the private messages I received from someone who's trying to sell their home in Saluda but I still stand by my thoughts because I've spent alot of time there and tell it like it is. I can see how someone would want to buy a vacation home there after a few visits but once the locals start to see you around, they want to know every little detail about you so they'll have something new to gossip about. I know a few families from Charleston that also live in Saluda during the summer and they were telling me that the locals secretly despise us because we're supposedly the "rich people" that want to take over their town. Now that's a laugh. We couldn't get away from there fast enough. Put it this way, if I were a movie producer, that little town would be a great one for humor because of the way the people there think. Look, if you want to move there it's your choice but down the road you'll remember this thread because you've now heard it from a long time resident of Saluda and someone who owned a vacation home there.
Saluda, NC is ~ 2,000 ft elevation; not exactly the "Mountains of Western,NC". More like
rolling, hilly horse country, imo. Nice little town, very low population, imo.
If you get a bit higher in elevation, most of those sensationalized pollution problems are
below/down stream from you. Not sure I've ever talked to anyone that has "environmental
degradation" in western NC, as a concern, or top priority...
GL, mD
"not exactly the mountains of NC? According to this site I am reading here states that anything 2000 ft and above is considered "in the mountains". Saluda's elevation is nearly 2100. Rolling hills and horse country? I don't know where you got that from? Rolling hills/horse country is Tryon down the mountain from Saluda with only having a 1000 ft elevation. Saluda also is home to the steepest railroad grade in the united states. Trains would struggle up the great to Saluda. Mmm sounds pretty mountainous to me. Try going down Green River cove road in Saluda and then go and try to say Saluda is the foothills or simply go down I-26 on the Saluda grade. Saluda is in a valley. The same valley Hendersonville, Asheville, Black Mountain, Weaverville, Candler, Fletcher, Arden and the entire Asheville metro is in. Each of these towns I listed including Saluda have elevations of just over 2000 ft. So you mean to tell me that the entire Asheville area is rolling hills and horse country? Somehow I think this would be a surprise to the entire Asheville MSA or go try to tell George Vanderbilt he built his castle in the Carolina foothills! Its a heck of a lot more mountainous than "naples FL"!
waydownsouth,
Thanks for commenting on a year+ old post of mine. Yes, I have been to Saluda several times: we have friends that live there. Must have missed that day in Geog class on the mtn definition...grade and elevation change are different issues and factors, vs 'mountains'. As you noted, Saluda is in a valley, as are many western NC towns. My point was/is that what I, and many readers consider 'mountains' are the 4,000- 6,000 ft peaks of western NC. That does not mean one has to live on a mountain peak or ridge, to be in/see the mtns.
Never wrote anything about the 'Asheville area' in my post. I live in Waynesville, at ~5,000 ft, for the past decade. Naples is an escape; I am resident of Waynesville, NC...Saluda is nice, just not 'in the mountains' by most characterizations, imo. Everyone is entitled to their opin.
The OP had some good questions and had done some research; 'environmental' concerns seemed to be their bigger issue at the time of that orig thread, a year ago.
GL, mD
"not exactly the mountains of NC? According to this site I am reading here states that anything 2000 ft and above is considered "in the mountains". Saluda's elevation is nearly 2100. Rolling hills and horse country? I don't know where you got that from? Rolling hills/horse country is Tryon down the mountain from Saluda with only having a 1000 ft elevation. Saluda also is home to the steepest railroad grade in the united states. Trains would struggle up the great to Saluda. Mmm sounds pretty mountainous to me. Try going down Green River cove road in Saluda and then go and try to say Saluda is the foothills or simply go down I-26 on the Saluda grade. Saluda is in a valley. The same valley Hendersonville, Asheville, Black Mountain, Weaverville, Candler, Fletcher, Arden and the entire Asheville metro is in. Each of these towns I listed including Saluda have elevations of just over 2000 ft. So you mean to tell me that the entire Asheville area is rolling hills and horse country? Somehow I think this would be a surprise to the entire Asheville MSA or go try to tell George Vanderbilt he built his castle in the Carolina foothills! Its a heck of a lot more mountainous than "naples FL"!
I don't consider Saluda to be "in a valley" at all. I'm sure you've taken the drive down Greenville Highway, Rt. 176, from Hendersonville to downtown Saluda, and then down to Landrum or Tryon. Beautiful drive, but a bit on the "steep" side. And you know about "the Saluda Grade". But you're right, you don't have to be on top of a mountain, to be IN the mountains at all. Unless it is a vacation property, retirement property, it probably isn't ideal for many reasons. If folks need to work, to get out in the winter, etc.; raise a family on "top", or have farm animals (not).
There is some beautiful land around Saluda, depends on how many horses the folks want. Figure 2 flat acres per horse. Saluda, however, can be very expensive for acreage. Another area for horses would be near Lake Adger ... big horse country between there, Tryon NC and Landrum SC. Once you get "down the mountain". Tryon NC is quite "elite"; very equestrian, cliques, and wealthy where the folks walk around with their jodphurs showing.
There are, however, several horse farms in Henderson County and Buncombe County as well as a few equestrian farms in each.
Saluda has it's charms. There are a couple of really nice restaurants there. A bakery. Waterfalls. Tryon is very close also and has a little more to offer (Tryon isn't in the mountains but rather at the base of them.) I agree that Landrum, SC is pretty neat too, a little more in the Piedmont. It may be a little cheaper to live in that area.
The problem is finding work within an hour's drive. The only place I can think of where you could find work there in an hours drive might be Hendersonville. Maybe even Tryon. Greenville SC would be likely to offer employment but is an hour away. I'm guessing Asheville is about as far if not a little more. If you lived at the base of the mountains in Tryon/Landrum then you could pretty easily commute to Spartanburg SC on I-26, which I think might only take about 30 minutes or a little more than that.
Maybe one suggestion would be looking in Madison County, NC. You could be a short drive from Asheville and some of the towns there... Marshall, Hot Springs, Mars Hill... have the same nice small town vibe that Saluda does. It is fairly mountainous but you might be able to find some property in a valley that would be good for farming.
The OP has not posted since this time last year, they probably have made there moving decisions by now.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.
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