Advice on relocating from CO to WNC (Charlotte, Asheville: renting, schools)

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by DDB95

Hi BB,
Thanks for the heads up. I guess in my naivete I'm hoping to find a satellite town to a well-liked place. Asheville clearly boomed years ago once word was out, and I'm sure it's been growing ever since. Somehow despite Boulder's growth due to tech growing here, the satellite towns (especially smaller ones) remain quaint. I guess that's what I'm hoping to find. I will absolutely check out that school link too as that's definitely a consideration for our family. My understanding is that the smaller towns seem have a slower rate of growth. Anyway, thank you for your input!!
S

Downtown Weaverville is basically within spitting distance of north Asheville and is very well kept and quaint. My girlfriend lives between Marshall and Weaverville, with a Marshall address, but it's within ten minutes of the shopping at the Weaverville interstate exit. I can be in Weaverville in ten minutes from her house, north Asheville in about fifteen, and downtown Asheville in another five to ten minutes from north Asheville.

To me, there's a huge difference in "nice" between somewhere like Erwin and Weaverville. Erwin is improving, but I don't think it's "there yet." Jonesborough is very nice and is worth a look, but it is not "in the mountains."

It really depends on what you're looking for. If you need to be "in the mountains" with close proximity to Asheville, NC communities may be what you're looking for. Taxes of all kinds (and property prices, to a point) are lower in TN, but most TN communities are farther from the mountains and "destination" areas like Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway

[VinceTheExplorer]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

To me, there's a huge difference in "nice" between somewhere like Erwin and Weaverville. Erwin is improving, but I don't think it's "there yet." Jonesborough is very nice and is worth a look, but it is not "in the mountains.

To the OP, remember that the reason we live in Erwin is because Weaverville is severely overpriced and over rated (to us). The home we leased there sold for near double (within $1000, same exact home and floor plan) of what we bought our home here for, which even for us having sufficient income and investments to us was silly to pay.

Our home in Erwin has been a GREAT investment, much more than anything we would have bought in the AVL / WVL area. My wife is honestly happy to leave the area after work and head home as in her words the people there are “just different” than those here, and the area here feels like home versus touristy.

Even if an area “isn’t quite there” in comparison to another then I’m sorry, but only a fool would pay double (... a few hundred grand BTW) just to live 30 minutes closer to an area - an area that you can still enjoy ofter and at will.

Good luck, and remember the mountains here are so much more than just Asheville, which with so many outdoor options in the area will quickly become not such a priority to visit anymore.

And lets be honest, the high country of NC / TN doesn’t hold a candle to the experience of living in Colorado, so the difference of 2,000’ to 3,000’ to 5,000’ and higher here is hardly worth blinking at when you’ve lived out west and have regularly been over 14,000’. Still very pretty and green here though.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Downtown Weaverville is basically within spitting distance of north Asheville and is very well kept and quaint. My girlfriend lives between Marshall and Weaverville, with a Marshall address, but it's within ten minutes of the shopping at the Weaverville interstate exit. I can be in Weaverville in ten minutes from her house, north Asheville in about fifteen, and downtown Asheville in another five to ten minutes from north Asheville.

To me, there's a huge difference in "nice" between somewhere like Erwin and Weaverville. Erwin is improving, but I don't think it's "there yet." Jonesborough is very nice and is worth a look, but it is not "in the mountains."

It really depends on what you're looking for. If you need to be "in the mountains" with close proximity to Asheville, NC communities may be what you're looking for. Taxes of all kinds (and property prices, to a point) are lower in TN, but most TN communities are farther from the mountains and "destination" areas like Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway

This is what we've found. When looking for a place to retire, we visited all of TN, north to south, and east to west. In our opinion, it just doesn't compare to WNC. Many of the small towns are run down, and look as if they've seen their better days. WNC has some of the prettiest small towns you'll find anywhere in the U.S. Yes, property is higher in WNC. There's a simple reason - greater demand.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by DDB95

Wow, thanks, Vince! That’s quite the info you provided. You are in Erwin? We have family in the Louisville, Ky area so we will be driving from NC up through TN on the way to see them. I was thinking we should probably check out TN but I had no idea about which towns, etc. You provided a lot of food for thought and I’m definitely looking for the lifestyle you described. It’s interesting that your wife loves her commute as that is what I recall loving when I interned near Raleigh in my 20s. We are also big festival/concert/bluegrass lovers so all of what you described sounds like it suits us. Would you mind providing a list of towns to consider on the TN side of the mountains? We will add them to our growing list!
Cheers!
S

I also suggest you post in the appropriate TN forums. There's a lot of knowledgeable people over there who can provide additional insight.

[poppydog]

Is there some reason you are focusing your search south of Asheville? I'd look north, at Boone and Blowing Rock. I think they might be exactly what you are looking for. Watauga County schools are very good. Boone is a college town, with App State in the center of town. We have a family home there and love it. Asheville is great too, but it is very hip/hipster/hippie like Boulder. Boone has some funky spots, too, but is not as focused on having a hip vibe and more focused on education. It has a sweet downtown. Population w/o students is just under 20,000. Blowing Rock is very sweet. It's a little more of a tourist town and retiree destination. Both are about 2 hrs from Charlotte, 1.5 hr from Winston-Salem. It's a less "discovered" area than Asheville, which has been a mecca for folks around the world since the "harmonic convergence" of the late 80s. I do love Asheville, but I think it might be what you are trying to get away from. This is downtown Boone: https://www.resortcams.com/webcams/king-street-boone/

State of North Carolina school reporting here:
https://ncreports.ondemand.sas.com/src/?county=Watauga

I recommend selecting 2019 or 2018 since 2020 was 2020.

Asheville is Buncombe County. Brevard is Transylvania County. Hendersonville is Henderson Co. Asheville has city school and county schools. Most of NC is county-based schools.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by poppydog

Is there some reason you are focusing your search south of Asheville? I'd look north, at Boone and Blowing Rock. I think they might be exactly what you are looking for. Watauga County schools are very good. Boone is a college town, with App State in the center of town. We have a family home there and love it. Asheville is great too, but it is very hip/hipster/hippie like Boulder. Boone has some funky spots, too, but is not as focused on having a hip vibe and more focused on education. It has a sweet downtown. Population w/o students is just under 20,000. Blowing Rock is very sweet. It's a little more of a tourist town and retiree destination. Both are about 2 hrs from Charlotte, 1.5 hr from Winston-Salem. It's a less "discovered" area than Asheville, which has been a mecca for folks around the world since the "harmonic convergence" of the late 80s. I do love Asheville, but I think it might be what you are trying to get away from. This is downtown Boone: https://www.resortcams.com/webcams/king-street-boone/

State of North Carolina school reporting here:
https://ncreports.ondemand.sas.com/src/?county=Watauga

I recommend selecting 2019 or 2018 since 2020 was 2020.

Asheville is Buncombe County. Brevard is Transylvania County. Hendersonville is Henderson Co. Asheville has city school and county schools. Most of NC is county-based schools.

OP indicated she was interested in looking south of Asheville. She had also mentioned the Smokies in one of her posts. It may well be worth a trip to Boone and Blowing Rock though. It's all in what they're looking for. Boone is a college town and in a fairly remote area, compared to some of the previously mentioned towns south,west and southwest of Asheville. Having lived in Boulder, they may well want to live close to funky Asheville. They do have some similarities.

[poppydog]

I don't think the Boone area (called The High Country) is very remote. It's more or less 2 hrs to Charlotte, 1.5 hrs from Winston-Salem, 3 hrs to Raleigh. It ticks all DDB9's boxes except for being south of Asheville. Not so sure why the desire for being south of Asheville. I think Boone is better positioned as far as access to nature and access to the rest of North Carolina. Boone and Blowing Rock have tons of beautiful hiking and depending on where you land yourself you absolutely can walk out the door and hike 1000 feet up. Beautiful, beautiful area. Check out www.exploreboone.com and www.blowingrock.com and https://highcountryhost.com/Visit-NC-High-Country and https://highcountry.guide/.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by poppydog

I don't think the Boone area (called The High Country) is very remote. It's more or less 2 hrs to Charlotte, 1.5 hrs from Winston-Salem, 3 hrs to Raleigh. It ticks all DDB9's boxes except for being south of Asheville. Not so sure why the desire for being south of Asheville. I think Boone is better positioned as far as access to nature and access to the rest of North Carolina. Boone and Blowing Rock have tons of beautiful hiking and depending on where you land yourself you absolutely can walk out the door and hike 1000 feet up. Beautiful, beautiful area. Check out www.exploreboone.com and www.blowingrock.com and https://highcountryhost.com/Visit-NC-High-Country and https://highcountry.guide/.

I guess it depends how one defines 'fairly remote'. Your second sentence would come pretty close for me. I disagree that Boone is 'better positioned as far as access to nature'; they both have great access to nature. As far as the desire to be south of Asheville, the OP didn't say, but for us, we love the location, near Hendersonville, Greenville, SC, Asheville, and Brevard. Both the Boone/Blowing Rock area and the region south/southwest of Asheville are wonderful areas and have much to offer. It boils down to personal preference

[DDB95]

Hi all,
Wow, I’m so completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by all this information and time you’ve committed to helping me. Thank you! The reason I was focusing more south of Asheville is because I read from other threads and by looking at maps that trail access might be easier in those areas and school ratings seemed high in the Mill River/Flat Rock/Hendersonville area. I did see that some towns northeast like Boone and Blowing Rock had a cool vibe and I’m willing to check them out. I’ve heard that there are microclimates in WNC and I would say that we are not looking for as snowy or cold a winter as what we experience in Boulder. I want as much sun as possible while staying close to trails. We also want to be no more than 6.5 hrs to our family in southern IN. Part of why we are relocating is to be driveable to grandma’s house. Can anyone tell me what is up with towns like Fairway and Fletcher? They show up in real estate searches but no one ever mentions them in the forums. I also think the lack of inventory in some of the towns like Boone or Blowing Rock made me look elsewhere as I couldn’t get a feel for real estate. I’m wide open though - just want to find the best place for us. Where should we stay to do all of our due diligence in two weeks? Asheville? We fly into Charlotte. You guys are stellar!

[poppydog]

Don't worry about the "trails" thing. There are soooooooooo many trails in WNC that you are never more than a few minutes from one. Seriously. That is a non issue. Just stay in the mountains and there are tons of trails. Anywhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway would be great. Check these links for more hiking info:
https://www.hikewnc.info/maps/area-map
https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/nc-trails.htm


Boone is not nearly as snowy as Boulder, and it also does not have the heat that Asheville and points south get in the summer. Highs never get out of the 80s in Boone and average in the high 70s. Asheville will see quite a few summer days in the 90s. Be aware that it can rain A LOT in the mountains. Parts of the area near Brevard are considered a temperate rain forest with up to 90 inches a year. The rain anywhere in WNC will be a big shift from CO I imagine.

I would split your time when you come to visit. Base yourself in Boone or Blowing Rock and explore the area from around Spruce Pine north to the NC/VA line (although I think Boone and Blowing Rock are the most likely candidates for you, but you might also like West Jefferson or Banner Elk) and then base yourself closer to Asheville, maybe Black Mountain or Hendersonville or Weaverville and explore as much as you can from Spruce Pine/Little Switzerland/Burnsville south to the SC line. It's a lot of area to cover!

I think the schools are pretty comparable. I like to look at SAT scores in the high schools to use a benchmark. North Carolina requires that all high school juniors take the ACT so that is a measure of the overall school population if you want to dig that up, but only the students who plan to go on to college will take the SAT (and then, of course not all of them because a fair amount will use their ACT score, so it's really the more motivated students who will take the SAT). If a school has a relatively high percentage of SAT takers and good scores then it's probably a pretty good high school and if it's a good high school then the middle schools and elementary schools that feed into it are probably pretty good too. You can also look at the number of AP or IB courses offered at the high school. All of this info is on the NC School Report Cards website.