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Neither Arden nor Fletcher have a downtown, just a commercial strip along the highway. Not much charm in either. Its been awhile since I've been in downtown Black Mountain, but I recall it being tiny...like 2 blocks long and 1 block wide.
A lot of places here have names but aren't really towns in the way you're thinking of Chicago area towns. Think of them more like Chicago neighborhoods, but even those are often destinations unto themselves and have many day to day necessities within their boundaries. There are many Asheville-area neighborhoods or Buncombe or Henderson county neighborhoods, but they don't supply day to day needs.
This is a great town, but moving here is nearly restricted via housing shortage and nearly zero rentals (with basic amenities like air conditioning).
On the other hand IF you have a 200k plus budget there are houses available I would value at 65K. Then you can find very beautiful homes for 400K (I value at 160k if 6 years old or older. So if you default to my opinion this housing market is embellished by a senseless lack of property value gone wild. There Is a demand curve that allows for taking advantage of new and old money without even blinking at prices. Rentals as they become available are not as outlandish $850-1400 2- 3 bedrooms and some amenities (washer and dryer on you) not pets (a severely over exaggerated limit that should be contingent on interview with dog or cat) (cats should be declawed). My dog is a 90 pound in a $1000 rental and hasn't scratched or barked and the landlords loves her!!!!) The animal scenario is sooo blow out of proportion it makes one wonder from a business sense?
The town is a great place to socialize, schools are tops and law enforcement highly professional and amazing. The festivals are frequent, food is wonderful. There is a Fresh Market!!! A Ingles, Harris Teeter, Bi Lo, Walmart, Sams and Publix near Asheville. The parks are awesome and adjacent towns really great. Saluda, Brevard, Asheville Arden Cashiers (Sapphire Valley) Highlands all very neat places.
Interesting post, except cats should never be declawed and it would be great if you didn't encourage mutilation.
The information you got HelenJim is from someone who lives clear across the state in Southport, near the coast and is so slanted as to not be credible.
Arden and Fletcher may not have a downtown per se, but they certainly are not just commercial strips along the highway. There are some lovely neighborhoods in both, and getting to shopping and conveniences is excellent.
As for Black Mountain, yes, it is a small town in the mountains, you are so wrong about 2 blocks long and 1 block wide !! -- that is laughable. Black Mountain is very lovely and very popular, being only about 15 miles from downtown Asheville, and has some breathtaking views and a very nice lake with walking trails and beautiful homes. Depending on your price range, Black Mountain can be pricey.
I would suggest using www.Realtor.com and put in the towns and your criteria for reliable information about properties and their locations. You can also simply Google the name of a particular town and get true information and photos that way.
Last edited by QuilterChick; 11-21-2015 at 05:30 AM..
Thanks QuilterChick! We have a pretty healthy budget and definitely want good views of the mountains. This might be a dumb question, but is Black Mountain at times cooler than Asheville since it's up in the mountains? I know if so, it's probably not significant, but I definitely like to be warmer - I hate being cold!
Thanks QuilterChick! We have a pretty healthy budget and definitely want good views of the mountains. This might be a dumb question, but is Black Mountain at times cooler than Asheville since it's up in the mountains? I know if so, it's probably not significant, but I definitely like to be warmer - I hate being cold!
Theres only about 300 feet difference in elevation between Black Mt. and A'ville. Not enough to make any difference in temperature.
If you want warmer and would be ok with distant mountain views, maybe the foothills area would be more to your liking. Tryon, NC is beautiful, a more gentle topography than Asheville, gently rolling instead of steep. The right location would give you distance views of the mountains. There's a new equestrian center there and that's prompted some new building and brings in people from all over for special events. It also puts you 30 minutes or so from Greenville, SC which IMO has a more cosmopolitan shopping feel than Asheville - not better, just different. It would be a bit warmer there in the winter but the bigger difference you'd feel would be in the summer. There's also Landrum, SC, just over the state line from Tryon or Traveler's Rest, a bit north of Greenville - beautiful there. Greenville is a very vibrant little city.
Thanks QuilterChick! We have a pretty healthy budget and definitely want good views of the mountains. This might be a dumb question, but is Black Mountain at times cooler than Asheville since it's up in the mountains? I know if so, it's probably not significant, but I definitely like to be warmer - I hate being cold!
Western NC has many 'micro climates', but check the 'Accuweather' website or others for a more accurate record of temps. But remember, once you are out of the mountains in the south, you are in for hotter weather. As DLM says, you might like it in the foothills, but you probably won't like the heavier heat and humidity down there, and you won't get a small town feel the closer you get to Greenville itself; and of course, you will not get the views. We love our views here, our hiking trails, and our lakes. Landrum, Campobello, Columbus, etc. might be a lot more rural than you are looking for. Traveler's Rest in SC is a growing town, but you still have to go into Greenville for 'real' shopping malls. There are only small strip shopping places in the small towns anchored by a supermarket. There is a Publix in Travelers Rest, a small one, and I've gone to it when I needed my Publix 'fix'. (There are some Publix coming to the mountains now, a new on is already up and running on the way to Asheville, and a new one going up in Hendersonville within the coming year.) I digress....however. You may also get some information by just Googling "western nc microclimates" or similar -- on how the weather varies here.
You really have to come and stay a week or two, maybe a few separate trips, in let's say August ... to see how it feels to you. I know I cannot stand the FL heat and humidity, no way. This area is nothing like anything in FL or even GA or SC.
We are unique in many ways. That is one reason we get bombarded with FL folks in the summer, many have 2nd homes here. Avg. temps are mid 80's. 90's are not the norm, but you would have to put up with 7 or 8 days of those temps at the most per year. Now last year was an anomaly. I don't want to get into a p'ing contest with other posters who don't live here, but 14 years of experience with boots on the ground here is reliable info.
I did look into Tryon and Travelers Rest a little bit. It looks like the population of Tryon and Landrum are very small, so I'm assuming not much of a downtown. Travelers Rest is a little bigger, and it wouldn't be too far from Greenville, so that's a possibility. A friend of my husband's likes Clemson, SC a lot, but it's not too large, and I've read a couple times that the University is part of town, and the students' rowdiness can often detract from the quaintness. Thanks for bringing up those other towns - maybe we'll look into Travelers Rest. We'll still keep Black Mountain on our radar too.
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So if you default to my opinion this housing market is embellished by a senseless lack of property value gone wild. There Is a demand curve that allows for taking advantage of new and old money without even blinking at prices. Rentals as they become available are not as outlandish $850-1400 2- 3 bedrooms and some amenities (washer and dryer on you) not pets (a severely over exaggerated limit that should be contingent on interview with dog or cat) (cats should be declawed). My dog is a 90 pound in a $1000 rental and hasn't scratched or barked and the landlords loves her!!!!) The animal scenario is sooo blow out of proportion it makes one wonder from a business sense?
That is one reason we get bombarded with FL folks in the summer, many have 2nd homes here. Avg. temps are mid 80's. 90's are not the norm, but you would have to put up with 7 or 8 days of those temps at the most per year. Now last year was an anomaly. I don't want to get into a p'ing contest with other posters who don't live here, but 14 years of experience with boots on the ground here is reliable info.
