Asheville, NC, Boulder, CO, Burlington, VT

[mountainrose]

Shooting Stars,
Yes, I am type "O" blood and descended from northern European hard-core carnivores. It was a vegetarian holistic doctor that years ago tested my blood type because i was so weak and my immune system shot from being a vegetarian, and after he saw I was type O, he said: " EAT MEAT!" lol

My husband is type A and prefers pure veggie meals because he feels plugged up and yucky when he eats a lot of meat and he's 6'2 190 lbs and does fine on just veggies. So it seems to be pretty true to type.

RE: local farms--I agree and also love that about Asheville. It was one of our main reasons for moving there---having access to so many small sustainable farms with good, fresh, local, wholesome food and safe farming practices. We were also really impressed with how so many businesses support them (farm to table restaurants and a zillion farmer's markets).
I don't know about Vermont, but I know Boulder doesn't have nearly so many organic local farms, nor as extensive of business supporting them. Mostly because the growing season in Boulder is short and harsh - along with serious water shortages.

[mountainrose]

GG,
RE: 4 hours to the beaches.
LOL, hey when you are from the Rockies 4 hours to the ocean is a piece of cake!!
I love that NC has both the mountains and the (warm) beaches. I've been told in the winter you can drive to REALLY warm beaches in Florida in about 12 hours. Something you definitely can't do in Boulder or Vermont.

And I love the Asheville airport. I HATE HATE HATE to fly (often have to take a tranquillizer or 2 strong margaritas to get on a plane), but the Asheville airport is so user friendly, uncrowded, and peaceful that I am actually planning on some air travel this winter to my husband's delight. They even have those sweet rocking chairs all over the airport. So civilized.
Denver (DIA) is horrible to fly into---the winds are always really strong there and the puke bags get used often. White knuckle landings. Plus it is super hectic and crowded. Don't know about Burlington or flying into Vermont.

[gigimac]

Sweet Mt Rose,
I don't know what got into me yesterday. Your comments are helpful to others and I did think for a second that you were indeed thinking about how we got the ocean nearby, albeit a bit of a drive, as compared to Rocky Mt locales. Actually, on the Amtrak thing, there was some talk a couple years ago about going ahead and bringing the service on up here, so could be we'll still get it. What I would give to have train service right here in town somewhere. I don't like driving, and not all places have airports to go to, so it would be great to get around by train. LOVE trains.

Everyone else,
Sorry I got so self-righteous yesterday. ALL threads in forums get pretty wild, it's funny how that works, I think it's just human nature to want to be silly or fumed, it feels good to ramp it up sometimes. We live in such a stressful world, is it any wonder? And my being like a teacher and scolding everyone, I mean, really, who do I think I am? One of my user names in another forum fits me perfectly, "Old and Poor." Smile.
GG

[fotogrl]

Asheville and Burlington are both great. We moved to Burlington two years ago from Raleigh, and our daughter is a student at UNC Asheville, so we've spent a lot of time in both.
Similarities: wonderful local organic food, outdoor activities, beautiful settings, artsy, lots of cultural activities, but expensive to fly in and out of compared to larger cities.
Burlington advantages: Lake Champlain! and the Champlain bikepath, which my husband uses to commute downtown, cleaner air than Asheville, two hours from Montreal.
Asheville advantages: Much more affordable. Housing, property taxes, utilities, instate tuition, groceries and restaurant meals all cost FAR less. Friendlier people. Unlike Burlington, it has Target and a good independent bookstore. And, it's closer to the ocean.
Having spent the past 8 years living in wonderful Missoula, Honolulu, Raleigh and Burlington due to husband's job transfers, I can safely say there is no perfect place to live, and always tradeoffs to be made. We're hoping to retire to Asheville, because we'll be able to afford a much better quality of life there than here.

[restorationgirl1]

I know this post is old but thought it may benefit someone looking to move to Asheville NC. I wouldn't recommend Asheville NC area to anyone. The civil war is still on here just under the surface. Sometimes it's not hidden at all. I saw a bumper sticker with a rebel flag that said 'If we'd have know this was going to happen we'd have picked our own cotton.' Frankly I doubt the teenage boy or his girlfriend he had iin his old pickup truck would make it through one day of picking cotton (by the way I happen to be white in case any of you are thinking something different.) There's a saying the natives live by: 'If you ain't kin you ain't in.' If you do move to the area and somehow find employment that isn't minimum wage it won't take you long to feel as though your coworkers are stabbing you in the back but being nice to your face. Unfortunately southern charm in western N.C. is a hoax and you never know who is your friend and who isn't. In the north my experience has been: if someone likes you then you are friends forever and that's just it. I thank God for the few transplant friends I do have here as well as my friends from PA otherwise I'd be entirely alone which is entirely opposite from my life in Pennsylvania - but it is all worth it to provide help to your parents. This is not just my observation I've talked to LOTS of people from other areas of the country and they all see the same things. I wish it weren't so - I came here ready to make friends and fit in. I'm taking care of my elderly parents and am only here since 1998 for that reason. A friend of mine graduated the dental assisting diploma program from AB Tech which is where dentists prefer to hire from instead of Greenville SC DA program and a year later she has only worked for 2 mo's with a crazy, mean-spirited dentist who THREW sharp bloodstained dental instruments at her. Most of her classmates who do find work make $8.00. The weather here is going back to a normal winter with lots of snow (just like when I was a kid in the 70's in Ohio and PA) I live close to Brevard NC and the closer you get to that area the more rain, ice, snow you'll have. The locals aren't surprised by the amount of snow we've gotten last 2 yrs - they say it's like normal weather instead of the warm winters we'd experienced for the last 18 yrs. The area doesn't have a lot of snow trucks, everything's on southern time (we'll get to it when we get to it), and there are so many mountains, shaded curvy roads and variations in altitude (2,000 ft to 6,000 ft within a few miles) - so don't be surprised by snow covered roads that are fine to drive on then you go around a bend and slide off the ice covered road into a ditch. It's totally different than driving on roads in eastern PA over to Penn State in Harrisburg area. Up north you can see what you're dealing with - here there could be a drastic difference right around the next corner. Allergies are killer here. The only place with more biodiversity on the planet is the Brazillian rain forest. People come here from all over the world to study our plant life because it's so diverse within a short area of driving. There are NO bicycle paths, curvy rds and crazy drivers - I would never ride a bike here: too dangerous. I miss the days I used to ride my bike from Flourtown through Manayunk down to the art museum in Philly. The upside are the vistas, fall colors, spring, photography opportunities and bird watching / feeding. Hope this helps the next person looking at this post.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by Shooting Stars

.........................." isn't it funny how my neighbors are all armed to the teeth (hunters) and yet I've never lived in such a low crime area"?

....................I just happened on to this Thread because I lived up in the mountains west of Boulder for many, many years,,...........then I happened upon the above "quote", and immediately saw a correlation that seems to have gone un-noticed ................no offense intended.

In my almost 80 years on this planet, I've never experienced a "high-crime -rate" in an area (city, county or state) where the majority of the residents own one or more firearms and do not try and hide that fact.

Then, on the other hand, you can check the stats on crime in areas, cities & states that have laws and regulations that restrict gun ownership and the "obvious" is "glareing". Montana happens to be an "open-carry-state" and the fact that in our particular county 92% of the residents have at least one firearm---many folks have 10 or more........Result: "the bad-guys "( i.e. crime rate) know that the odds are, their intended victim or illeagal act will end up with them "looking down the barrel" of a firearm that is in the hands of a person who ...."will-not-hesitate".

Skokie and/or Morton Grove, Illinois are prime examples of restricted gun ownership = a high and diversified crime rate.

Just my thought(s) and opinion.

EDIT: It may be of interest to note that: In Montana (and in cities like Missoula, Billings, Livingston etc, etc,....you can drive around in your vehicle "with a loaded hand-gun" on the seat next to you, or on the floor at your feet etc".....Result: In the 33 years of living here I have only read or heard about ONE "Attempted Car-Jacking" ...........pretty convincing stat!!!

Try that in one of the 3 cities mentioned in Post #1 of this thread and see what happens.

[sun queen]

I spent sometime vacationing in Asheville. I know visiting is different than living there. I loved it, but I was wondering where the cowboys were. I live in the Southwestern part of the nation. I am country, we have cowboys and guns. I grew up on Hee Haw with folk who used their guns for hunting and some other stuff if u know what I mean. I am pretty certain they liked it like that. I didn't notice any of that in Asheville. I met allot of transplants- mainly folk who were not from the South at all... Asheville had the feel of a very progressive city surrounded by so much natural beauty. I don't know how it compares to VT or CO. I am mainly chiming in on the "gun-loving hee haw" outside of downtown Asheville comment.

[tsmw47]

Can only speak for Asheville. Liberal and friendly not racially diverse but G/L/TG accepting. Fall is spectacular, summer humid and can be miserable, spring pretty but can get late freezes and good bye spring blooms, winter pretty mild some snow doesn't last. Great for outdoor activities and lots of food options for Veggies and Vegans. Been here 8 years and really like it alot except for lack of diversity and humidity. About the only place in the south I would consider.

[tsmw47]

A P.S. to my post. In the rural areas outside of Asheville many people have guns as they hunt but that is a part of rural culture in most parts of the United States. Also some folks just like to target shoot and have never killed anything nor do they plan to do so, some of them are even liberals.

[Love the outdoors]

I grew up in Burlington (26 years), I now live in Asheville (the last 2 years), and was stationed in Colorado Springs (though not Boulder).

All 3 are comparable in terms of hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, etc. The scenic views, though different are equally stunning. Burlington has Lake Champlain (largest lake in states outside of the great lakes. The lake is surrounded by mountains with the Adirondacks on the NY side and the Green Mountains on the other. Winters can be harsh, though visually spectacular. Asheville has the Blue Ridge Parkway with waterfalls and hiking trails throughout. You'll tend to see more wildlife compared to Burlington. The food scene in Asheville is fantastic!!! Burlington as well, but Asheville offers more diversity in cuisine. I wasn't in Boulder, but hiking in Colorado Springs (Pikes Peak) was great and the small mountain communities were fun.

The weather in Burlington is balanced. You get equal parts rain and sun in the summers, Springs are wet, muddy, and it can be chilly in the beginnings. Weather here in Asheville is on the warmer side, though nowhere near as hot as Greenville or Charlotte which are slightly less than 2 hours east. Winters are relatively warm during the day, chill at night. Something like 50s during day, 20a at night. Autumn in both Asheville and Burlington are right near identical in terms of beauty. Warmer in Asheville, but really not by much.

The social scenes are almost the same as well. I see so much Bernie Sanders support down here I forget I'm not in Burlington.