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We’ve traveled across a large portion of the US and have lived in Colorado, Wyoming, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida (Key West), North Carolina and now Tennessee. Scouting out France and Spain next summer.
Will say that WNC is indeed a special place, but the area is quickly going downhill and falls short in many ways. More of a haven now for heat stricken Floridians than a good place to call home IMO. It’s why we’re within striking distance of it (30 - 40 minutes) but found a better QOL here in TN.
Hoping you can make a visit to the area sometime soon and form your own opinion. Be sure to stay for six months then let us know how things worked out.
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 09-21-2020 at 10:03 PM..
I think the biggest shock is going to be the cost of living relative to what you think it is.
I'm from northeast TN, and I spend a lot of time in Asheville and WNC. With that said, I also lived in what was probably the most affluent city (Carmel) in the state of Indiana for about four years, and another affluent city (West Des Moines) in Iowa.
The cost of living between Asheville and these high end suburbs was about a wash, maybe slightly in favor of Carmel due to lower state and county taxes than NC/IA. I just looked at a COL website between Asheville and Carmel, and while it said Asheville was cheaper, I don't think that's correct, especially for housing most transplants would find acceptable. The housing stock in AVL is older, not as nice, and comparatively expensive compared to what you'd find in the suburbs of basically any mid-major city outside New England.
If you can bring a job or a ton of money with you, it can be a wonderful place to live.
Remember seeing where the avg 1 bedroom apt rental in AVL was something like $1200 now, which is simply insane for an area with no significant labor force or job market.
I worked in Central Florida along the east coast in NASA land (Cocoa Beach area, an equally desirable area that people are flocking to) and a nice 3/2/2 newer construction home was at a similar price point to what a 1 bedroom apt is here.
Difference was that $100k+ salaries were the norm for the area, with a similar COL on goods sold in comparison to AVL. Add in $6 craft beers and $13 cheeseburgers and Asheville is a major (yet beautiful) ripoff for what you get in return.
I’m sure though the retiree crowd piling into the area will claim no responsibility for any of the above.
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 09-21-2020 at 10:25 PM..
We’ve traveled across a large portion of the US and have lived in Colorado, Wyoming, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida (Key West), North Carolina and now Tennessee. Scouting out France and Spain next summer.
Will say that WNC is indeed a special place, but the area is quickly going downhill and falls short in many ways. More of a haven now for heat stricken Floridians than a good place to call home IMO. It’s why we’re within striking distance of it (30 - 40 minutes) but found a better QOL here in TN.
Hoping you can make a visit to the area sometime soon and form your own opinion. Be sure to stay for six months then let us know how things worked out.
We really wanted to like TN, due to lower taxes. Covered the state north to south and east to west; other than Franklin, TN does absolutely nothing for us. Completely different animal in almost every way. For the most part, less scenic; certainly more homogeneous and less diverse, etc.. The quaint, pretty, small NC mountain towns really set WNC apart. The dig about Floridians is ridiculous. Sure, there are Floridians who have moved here, and some have second homes here. FYI, the same holds true for TN.
Remember seeing where the avg 1 bedroom apt rental in AVL was something like $1200 now, which is simply insane for an area with no significant labor force or job market.
I worked in Central Florida along the east coast in NASA land (Cocoa Beach area, an equally desirable area that people are flocking to) and a nice 3/2/2 newer construction home was at a similar price point to what a 1 bedroom apt is here.
Difference was that $100k+ salaries were the norm for the area, with a similar COL on goods sold in comparison to AVL. Add in $6 craft beers and $13 cheeseburgers and Asheville is a major (yet beautiful) ripoff for what you get in return.
I’m sure though the retiree crowd will claim no responsibility for the above.
There are some good high-paying jobs in Asheville, especially in the health care sector. Also, there are many well-to-do small business owners who profit handsomely from tourism. Retirees, alone, would not be enough to support the relatively high housing prices in the Asheville area.
We really wanted to like TN, due to lower taxes. Covered the state north to south and east to west; other than Franklin, TN does absolutely nothing for us. Completely different animal in almost every way. For the most part, less scenic; certainly more homogeneous and less diverse, etc.. The quaint, pretty, small NC mountain towns really set WNC apart. The dig about Floridians is ridiculous. Sure, there are Floridians who have moved here, and some have second homes here. FYI, the same holds true for TN.
Same here to us for most of the towns in WNC. Overpriced, overdeveloped and overcrowded with more and more people piling in year after year.
Hendersonville to us was a mess. A series of strip malls and fast food joints with minimal (if any) urban planning. Many of the towns in the area share a similar feel.
Black Mountain and Weaverville were the best of the bunch to us, with parts of Brevard being cute too. None though were worth the price point of buying property there, with the smart money being wisely spent somewhere close by with outdoor access that’s just as good as any thing you’ll find in WNC.
There are some good high-paying jobs in Asheville, especially in the health care sector. Also, there are many well-to-do small business owners who profit handsomely from tourism. Retirees, alone, would not be enough to support the relatively high housing prices in the Asheville area.
Yeah, ok. Sorry but not buying that one at all ...
There may be a very small portion of the AVL area population that profits handsomely off of tourism, but the majority population are mostly gig economy, low wage workers who work multiple hustles just to survive living there. Arguing that is just silly and disconnected.
In NASA land a large portion of the local workforce makes five times (or more) than what the typical worker in Asheville makes, are higher educated yet share a similar COL with better (and cheaper) housing options. Zero comparison.
When I left my career there I was making $54 hr with triple time on holidays and Sundays. Had a ten percent dollar for dollar matching 401k (on ALL hours worked, even the above) with a separate pension, company vehicle and all the health care bells and whistles.
Like I said, there’s simply no comparison to anything you’ll find here, yet the COL in and around AVL has been grossly inflated well past what the average area worker can afford.
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 09-21-2020 at 11:06 PM..
Yeah, ok. Sorry but not buying that one at all ...
There may be a small portion of the AVL population that profits handsomely off of tourism, but the overall population is mostly a gig economy with low wage workers working multiple hustles just to survive.
In NASA land a large portion of the local workforce makes five times (or more) than what the typical worker in Asheville makes, are higher educated yer share a similar COL with better (and cheaper) housing options. Zero comparison.
When I left my career there I was making $54 hr with triple time on holidays and Sundays. Had a ten percent dollar for dollar matching 401k (on ALL hours worked, even the above) with a separate pension, company vehicle and all the bells and whistles.
Simply no comparison to anything found here.
I'll bet there are plenty in Asheville making more than $54/hr., many of whom are salaried and not hourly. There are many (especially in the hospitality industry) who are not, as well.
Same here to us for most of the towns in WNC. Overpriced, overdeveloped and overcrowded with more and more people piling in year after year.
Hendersonville to us was a mess. A series of strip malls and fast food joints with minimal (if any) urban planning. Many of the towns in the area share a similar feel.
Black Mountain and Weaverville were the best of the bunch to us, with parts of Brevard being cute too. None though were worth the price point of buying property there, with the smart money being wisely spent somewhere close by with outdoor access that’s just as good as any thing you’ll find in WNC.
You obviously did not visit the other sides of Hendersonville. The south side toward Flat Rock is gorgeous. The west/southwest side of Hendersonville is beautiful, as well. Downtown Hendersonville is one of the prettiest downtowns in America for a city of its size. FWIW, I don't care for the area out by the interstate either, but there's so much more to Hendersonville than this. Every city this size is going to have some areas that are nicer than others. Because of it size, Hendersonville can offer more in terms of retail, medical, financial services, etc., that some of the smaller towns cannot. Another nice area is Laurel Park. Not a fan of Weaverville - just a suburb of Asheville. I like Black Mountain also, but prefer Brevard. Brevard is the quintessential small, mountain town. We visited Erwin a while back, and were very disappointed. Just not a whole lot there. Appears it has seen better days. However, it is in a good location, very close to the mountains.
I'll bet there are plenty in Asheville making more than $54/hr. There are many who are not, as well.
And there may be, but it’s not the typical salary found in the area. There would be 22,000 applications a day for a position paying that much in AVL.
And hourly pay was well worth it to myself versus being salaried. Between matching retirement contributions and working 50 - 65 hours weekly with all but a few of the major holidays worked too.
On the other hand, my salary was TYPICAL for the area in which we lived, which we were very grateful for. Many people we knew would leave their govt contractor job for an up to $20k signing bonus or pay bump with another NASA contractor (Northrop, Harris, Boeing and SpaceX among others) and do so every 2 to 3 years.
Or more in a pay bump or signing bonus then what most workers in the AVL area make in a typical year of working multiple gigs. Again, no comparison.
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 09-21-2020 at 11:42 PM..
... anyway, back on track. Hope the OP finds what they’re looking for.
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