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Hello all,
My husband, and I and our two elementary-aged kiddos are planning to relocate to WNC from CO this summer. We plan to explore the areas south of Asheville in the next month, but I would truly appreciate any insider info on neighborhood feel, general thoughts, etc. We are looking for a smallish town with decent to good public school ratings, access to hiking and trails, and a large property (>acre) for our kids to roam (we currently have a small lot). Things we love about our current location in CO are: walkable to trails, local bakeries and restaurants are nearby, and nice school communities. We would love to enjoy the nature of WNC with some access to kid-related activities. I lived in NC briefly in my 20s and knew I loved the pines and would want to return. We’ve been looking at Hendersonville and the surrounding areas. Please advise on where we should focus attention during our trip to determine best fit. I appreciate your time and assistance!
Thank you kindly,
S
Several areas and towns probably fit your needs and general 'wants'...and, another half dozen+ areas along the western counties of NC.
H'ville is nice area, but it like many other town areas in western NC are much more populated, 'crowded'/spread out than what you might recall from your time 'here' years ago. Difficult to get a feel for towns/areas from afar, looking at houses.
Budget will be a top issue, as decent to good to really 'nice' houses and areas, are subject to near weekly inflationary pricing, vis a vis single family homes. Not suggesting you rush in; it may be advisable to wait/pause and see how prices are this time next year. But, none of us know your schedule and timing, and none of us can predict where the housing mkt and area housing prices are headed.
Any of us can toss up 'look here/look there', and most of us posters here are aware of the usual recommendations for towns and areas, though a laundry list may not be helpful to you.
In the meantime, using the Search This Forum tab and plugging in place names will usually bring up pages of threads on many of the dozen+ towns in western NC that would be kid friendly, schools, et al.
My 50Cts...
GL, mD
Hi motordavid,
Thanks for your reply! I realized after I posted that I wasn't specific enough with my questions. Currently we live in Boulder which is very pricey (for real estate) and becoming more densely populated or ”siliconized” by the month. We've been here for almost 20 years and want to be in a ”quaint” town again. A neighboring town to Boulder that we frequent is around 3000 people with a sweet downtown, school, etc, and that is more the feel that we are looking for. We also want our kids to be in nature more than they currently are due to affordability (or lack thereof) of land here. WNC is drivable to our families which is nice considering who knows what is next with Covid and all it complicates. Jobs are no issue as we work for ourselves remotely. The true issue for me is being within easy access to trails and hiking. I'm used to walking out my door, walking 15 min and climbing 1000 ft. That is what i'm going to miss. Even just being a 10 min drive to hiking would be nice, I just have no idea what towns are hiking accessible. Even just flat trail accessible would be nice too. We plan to spend less on housing but are open to renting for a bit to feel things out. Our timeline is basically the summer. We will sell, then stay with family and drive down to peruse the area. Would you recommend a specific corridor of towns? Or even real estate companies that aren't shark-like monsters?
Thank you kindly.
S
Hi motordavid,
Thanks for your reply! I realized after I posted that I wasn't specific enough with my questions. Currently we live in Boulder which is very pricey (for real estate) and becoming more densely populated or ”siliconized” by the month. We've been here for almost 20 years and want to be in a ”quaint” town again. A neighboring town to Boulder that we frequent is around 3000 people with a sweet downtown, school, etc, and that is more the feel that we are looking for. We also want our kids to be in nature more than they currently are due to affordability (or lack thereof) of land here. WNC is drivable to our families which is nice considering who knows what is next with Covid and all it complicates. Jobs are no issue as we work for ourselves remotely. The true issue for me is being within easy access to trails and hiking. I'm used to walking out my door, walking 15 min and climbing 1000 ft. That is what i'm going to miss. Even just being a 10 min drive to hiking would be nice, I just have no idea what towns are hiking accessible. Even just flat trail accessible would be nice too. We plan to spend less on housing but are open to renting for a bit to feel things out. Our timeline is basically the summer. We will sell, then stay with family and drive down to peruse the area. Would you recommend a specific corridor of towns? Or even real estate companies that aren't shark-like monsters?
Thank you kindly.
S
Brevard sounds like a good fit for you. It's a little larger than the town you frequent, but it is the quintessential small mountain town. Quaint and fairly close to both Asheville and Hendersonville. Close to Pisgah National Forest (lots of trails) and Dupont Park/Forest. My guess is the schools there are pretty good.
RE: "Would you recommend a specific corridor of towns?"
There are several that come to my mind from living here for two decades, visiting people in area towns, driving around, etc.
Not in any order of pref, and simply my opin:
Brevard, H'ville, Weaverville, Black Mtn, Mills River, Flat Rock, Mars Hill, Candler, Canton, Clyde, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Sylva...
After those areas, it gets further away from the usual family needs, imo.
No idea on school(s) quality, as our slight info is v anecdotal on 'schools' as our 50 something yr old adult kids live in NJ.
My guess is schools in western NC may not be 'Boulder area level' in terms of 'quality'.
I realize my list above is maybe too many towns/places and a lot of geography to cover.
We live in Waynesville at almost a mile high, and I walk out my door every morning and do 1 to 2 1/2 miles around our mtn ridge/crest on my morning trudge; there are many areas listed above that offer 'more than a yard housing' and walking out one's door for exploring in 'woods'.
Other posters may have more detailed opins/add'l areas.
None of us can know what really fits for you and your Fam, needs & desire wise.
Pricing here, like any desirable area in the US currently, has accelerated to breathtaking levels...
Thank you, mD. Will be sure to try to see those places. We will fly into Charlotte and then drive west to Hendersonville to explore the area. Will likely be getting an air bnb or two while we travel- should we stay in Asheville and go out from there or do you have any recommendations on a town as our home base? We will have 3.5 days this month to look around and get a feel. Also, what do you notice as the major differences in accessibility or desirability of say Pisgah vs DuPont vs being next to the Smokies? For instance, I live 45 min from RMNP but I don’t consider that accessible on a work day due to the slow roads in and out, line of cars, etc. I think the school piece will prove to be more of a challenge only because I’m going off great school ratings and comparing them. There are actually some very highly rated elementary and high schools then you’ll see a 1 rating for middle school or a 3 rating for high school after 7s and 8s for the lower grades. I will have to learn more from local parents about that. We are going out of the box and following our whimsy a bit at this point - covid refocused us on longer term goals - so I appreciate all your advice and commentary. Cheers to a good hike!
My take on MD's list. We visited WNC numerous times and for extended periods for over 30 years before buying 9 months ago. Given your preferences, I would focus on the following: Brevard, Black Mountain, Waynesville, and maybe Sylva. I would have included Hendersonville/Flat Rock but it may be a too large for you, and is furthur from the hiking areas you've mentioned. Mills River is in a growing area. Mars Hill is a cute little college town. Some of these he listed I would eliminate for various reasons. WNC has been discovered, and you're going to find congestion during season and especially on the weekends at many of the parks. I agree with him - I doubt the schools, although highly rated (relatively), are up to Boulder's quality. BTW, Boulder was on our short list for retirement.
I would also add Weaverville to the above recommended list. It is really like a suburb of Asheville, is in a scenic area, has a nice small downtown area, good (newer retail), and good schools.
Thank you, Lizap!! I truly appreciate all input, and yours seems particularly helpful considering you've recently relocated and studied the area for so long. We will definitely be sure to check out the smaller areas you mentioned. Truly, Boulder is dense now with >100,000 which is why we ruled out Asheville. Not looking for a dense, discovered expensive place. I guess Hendersonville at 18,000 pop? is as big as we'd go, but anything will feel a bit smaller than Boulder. I do like the idea of quaint though so thank you again for your specific town suggestions. Where did you end up btw?
Two more questions:
1)If you were me and wanted to rent for 6 mos to a year to find a place, where would you rent in the meantime? With the wild and inflated housing prices plus lower inventory, we may feel out multiple areas before we commit to one.
2) Where should we stay that would be easy to navigate through all these towns during our due diligence trip? We will be there mid-month.
I love how helpful this forum is!
Thank you,
S
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