WNC compared to east TN (Charlotte, Asheville: best schools, disposal, property taxes)
Western North CarolinaThe Mountain Region including Asheville
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Chattanooga TN and Greenville SC are better for jobs than any part of WNC, though WNC is more beautiful than the other 2. All 3 areas feel very cozy and country with the mountains nearby. All 3 are good for families and outdoorsy people. All 3 are a bit cold in the winter IMO, though this winter has been more mild than usual .
Hi guys as I've mentioned I'm visiting Bryson City shortly in April.
What should I know about the area? I'm really excited to see what it's about. Is there anything that's definitely worth seeing or checking out? Anything to avoid?
How touristy is it there? Is it mostly just year round residents?
Conservative, in the mountains, absolutely beautiful, whitewater rafting on the Nolichucky river, and a short drive along 1-26 if you want to take in the ultra hippy-dippy Asheville drum circle on a Friday night.
Hi guys as I've mentioned I'm visiting Bryson City shortly in April.
What should I know about the area? I'm really excited to see what it's about. Is there anything that's definitely worth seeing or checking out? Anything to avoid?
How touristy is it there? Is it mostly just year round residents?
It a super cool but pretty small town. The local manufacturing plant closed there about 6 months ago and laid off the last 75 folks from what was a 250 person manufacturing plant.
It has a great boutique hotel (Everett), 3 breweries, 7-10 restaurants, the Tuckasegee River goes right through town and is good for fly fishing, the Great Smokey Mountain RR is based here, and Harrahs Casino is 20 minutes away. Nice place to visit but living here would be tough. It's too small and Asheville is 45 mins to an hour away.
It a super cool but pretty small town. The local manufacturing plant closed there about 6 months ago and laid off the last 75 folks from what was a 250 person manufacturing plant.
It has a great boutique hotel (Everett), 3 breweries, 7-10 restaurants, the Tuckasegee River goes right through town and is good for fly fishing, the Great Smokey Mountain RR is based here, and Harrahs Casino is 20 minutes away. Nice place to visit but living here would be tough. It's too small and Asheville is 45 mins to an hour away.
Conservative, in the mountains, absolutely beautiful, whitewater rafting on the Nolichucky river, and a short drive along 1-26 if you want to take in the ultra hippy-dippy Asheville drum circle on a Friday night.
Erwin is fine, but you're still 45 minutes from Asheville. If someone doesn't mind the drive to "stuff" in WNC and works in TN, it would be an acceptable choice. The community is improving and Erwin has a much better future than most similar towns in TN.
With that said, it makes no sense to live in Erwin if you've got a job in WNC. You'll still be paying NC income tax, and the additional driving expenses and time are probably worth more than the property tax difference. If you work in Johnson City or something and just want to be close to NC for weekend activities, Erwin makes more sense.
I live in Bristol. Most of my "social stuff" is in Asheville or Johnson City. The reason I chose Bristol was because of a less congested commute and lower prices. I was in Asheville for a concert on Monday night. I'll probably be back next weekend and a couple more times during the week in March. With that said, as much as I go to Asheville, I really wish I would have bought in JC now. It would shave off about 40 minutes each way per Asheville trip and it's just a nicer place to live overall. Bristol is OK, but the distance from JC and Asheville gets old.
At 33 with no kids and single, Asheville is the place to socialize in the region. Johnson City is second if you throw out Knoxville.
My wife and I moved to WNC (Hayesville) 3 yrs ago from mid Michigan. Very small town with beautiful lake Chatuge close, we are retired so the job issue wasn't a concern for us. The trade off is not having so many stores and restaurants to choose from, but the payoff is the beautiful scenery of the area. Don't miss the long cold winters one bit!
Not to throw you off, you might want to explore Greenville, SC which isn't too far from here. (approximately 1 hr from here) "Looking for a more conservative state, lower cost of living, less taxes, less state restrictions and far left laws". From what you are explaining here, it might fit the bill. You could focus around the north part such as Travelers Rest, Tigerville, and Taylors. You can still get mountain views and the COL is less, specifically housing. The jobs are more plentiful as well.
I used to live in Travelers Rest from the Late 70s to the Late 80s attending Gateway Elem Sch on Hawkins Rd! Then on Houston! Hawkins Rd may become a concrete 4 ln blvd with light poles! That’ll be just like Wallisville Rd east of IH 610 in East Houston! US 25 will be a 1 bridge overpass over Hawkins Rd and N Poinsett Hwy, with 4 ln feeder rds, 2 lns each side! Only Northbound N Poinsett Hwy has access to the northbound feeder rd! This US 25 be renamed South IH 26 linking Asheville to Greenville! That’ll be just like East IH 35 in Dallas and West IH 35 in Ft Worth! The bridge will get clearance printings over both rds on how high the bridge is!
Great thread! I just moved to Knoxville from Denver last September and I'm impressed with how many fun day trips to beautiful places I can take, both in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. I'm enjoying Knoxville, but still think I'll end up in a smaller town/city in the near future.
I have visited Johnson City a few times, and Jonesborough and Erwin once. I like all 3 of those spots, and they are in good proximity to Asheville. Here's a good article from a few years ago on how the mayor used millennials to help revive Erwin: https://www.governing.com/topics/mgm...llennials.html
Having said that, I'm so impressed with the number of beautiful small mountain towns in WNC. I've visited Boone, Blowing Rock, Bryson City (and Asheville), so I have a lot more to explore. I especially loved loved the summer temps in Boone and Blowing Rock. Coming from Colorado where I was the last 9 years, I forgot how much I really dislike the hot and humid summer temps ( I grew up in VA).
I have a mobile job so employment is not an issue for when (and if) I decide to move to a smaller town.
Having said that, if job wasn't an issue, what would be everyone's first choice of places to live in WNC and why?
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Travelers Rest is familiar
