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Just wanted to check in and update on our move and our search for a home here.
The result:
We are tapping out. We are moving to the Traveler's Rest/Greenville area. Much more affordable housing. Nicer housing for the money. We found a beautiful $580k home with master and laundry on the main, a nice garage and somewhat planned neighborhood i.e. no AirBNBs allowed.
Best of luck to everyone. We still love the Asheville area and will visit often. Visit...but not live.
As a North Carolina native and 30+ yrs in the NC High Country, frequent visitor to Asheville & surrounds, also having lived in Greenville for 4 yrs, I agree with your choice 100%. Best wishes!
Thank you for your honest response and best wishes in the Greenville SC area. I assume you found a newer house, as masters floor on the main are a modern innovation.
Well-- I mean it was built in 2007 I believe? I guess kind of newer.
It is STUNNING how many senior adults here in Asheville live in horribly inaccessible homes. Horrible and sad.
Thank you for your honest response and best wishes in the Greenville SC area. I assume you found a newer house, as masters floor on the main are a modern innovation.
My grandparents two story mountain farmhouse built in the 1920s had a master’s suite with bathroom a no fireplace on the ground floor.
[quote]You stated in another forum that “you already knew Asheville specifically was not for us” prior to moving there. Appears you had preconceived ideas about Asheville that weren’t positive. Unfortunately, this likely influenced your house search. With this said, it’s still a challenging market, especially for your price range./QUOTE]
I mean---we knew we didn't want to live IN Asheville proper if that makes sense. We knew about the homeless and crime problem and we ourselves don't lean to the far left. So we knew we didn't want to live IN Asheville.
Come on... no one moves anywhere, whether it's a retirement move, a job transfer or anything else without some preconceived ideas unless you are fleeing marauding hordes and stopping at what seems to be the first safe place! The nature and definition of preconceived ideas is that they are made without direct evidence or experience so are subject to change or confirmation as the case may be. I knew I didn't want to live 'in' Asheville but thought it could/would be utilized regularly. That's has proven to be untrue for me as I rarely go there anymore and almost always head to SC for the same things that I used to go to Asheville for. Couldn't be happier for people who live there and love it or live elsewhere and love going - mazel tov!
To the OP, it sounds as if you have made a reasoned decision that fits your needs and I wish you well in this new chapter.
You stated in another forum that “you already knew Asheville specifically was not for us” prior to moving there. Appears you had preconceived ideas about Asheville that weren’t positive. Unfortunately, this likely influenced your house search. With this said, it’s still a challenging market, especially for your price range./QUOTE]
I mean---we knew we didn't want to live IN Asheville proper if that makes sense. We knew about the homeless and crime problem and we ourselves don't lean to the far left. So we knew we didn't want to live IN Asheville.
People often forget this, but the city of Asheville proper is the only area in WNC (aside from probably some portions of Boone where Appalachian State is) that is deeply blue, while the rest of Buncombe County is blue to purple-ish, and the rest of WNC is mostly red.
I don't see the housing market getting better. There's incredible demand in this area - building is restricted due to the terrain and other issues, cost of materials and labor is high, etc.
Like you, I love Asheville, but after working there and having a job based with a local employer, there are a lot of issues with being able to attract/retain talent due to the high housing prices mismatched with wages. I'm not making peanuts, and am probably top 10%-15% of wage earners, but even then, it's just hard to afford the housing, especially if you're single.
When I see what I can afford in Greenville vs. Asheville, it's just shocking. I could get a brand new, much larger townhome for my budget in Greenville compared to a small, dated unit in Asheville. Luckily, I'm able to work remote, within two hours of Asheville, but there's no way I'd want to try to afford the housing on what I make.
People often forget this, but the city of Asheville proper is the only area in WNC (aside from probably some portions of Boone where Appalachian State is) that is deeply blue, while the rest of Buncombe County is blue to purple-ish, and the rest of WNC is mostly red.
I don't see the housing market getting better. There's incredible demand in this area - building is restricted due to the terrain and other issues, cost of materials and labor is high, etc.
Like you, I love Asheville, but after working there and having a job based with a local employer, there are a lot of issues with being able to attract/retain talent due to the high housing prices mismatched with wages. I'm not making peanuts, and am probably top 10%-15% of wage earners, but even then, it's just hard to afford the housing, especially if you're single.
When I see what I can afford in Greenville vs. Asheville, it's just shocking. I could get a brand new, much larger townhome for my budget in Greenville compared to a small, dated unit in Asheville. Luckily, I'm able to work remote, within two hours of Asheville, but there's no way I'd want to try to afford the housing on what I make.
So many good points here:
The Blue Bubble:
Yes. Downtown asheville is very visibly blue.
But your neighbors in virtually all of the outlying areas are red. Deep Trump flag flying red.
The housing market- definitely not getting better. When I set my Zillow filter to “budget $625k or less, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom + AND must have a garage”—- wow those little red dots showing available homes go from like 50 to..... TWO! And the available homes in that range need work.
I’m simply not desperate enough to be here that I will plunk down half a million for a junky house.
OR those houses are so far out you’ll be 20-30 minutes from a grocery store. Which is fine when you’re 50 and not so fine likely when you’re pushing 75.
Affordability: yes, the house we are buying would be likely a $700-800k house in the Asheville area.
2400 sq feet. All one level. Huge fenced in back yard. Screened in porch. Gated community with pool and tennis/ pickleball courts. Swamp Rabbit trail less than a mile away.
Last edited by carachel2; 04-03-2023 at 06:19 AM..
The Blue Bubble:
Yes. Downtown asheville is very visibly blue.
But your neighbors in virtually all of the outlying areas are red. Deep Trump flag flying red.
The housing market- definitely not getting better. When I set my Zillow filter to “budget $625k or less, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom + AND must have a garage”—- wow those little red dots showing available homes go from like 50 to..... TWO! And the available homes in that range need work.
I’m simply not desperate enough to be here that I will plunk down half a million for a junky house.
OR those houses are so far out you’ll be 20-30 minutes from a grocery store. Which is fine when you’re 50 and not so fine likely when you’re pushing 75.
Affordability: yes, the house we are buying would be likely a $700-800k house in the Asheville area.
2400 sq feet. All one level. Huge fenced in back yard. Screened in porch. Gated community with pool and tennis/ pickleball courts. Swamp Rabbit trail less than a mile away.
People move here from very high cost states like New York and California where real estate is even more expensive and have more money to spend on housing, which drives prices up. Also, there are many retirees in the area who typically can afford to spend more. Travelers Rest is a good option when price is an issue. I don’t see prices going down much. It reminds me of housing prices in Colorado and Idaho with wealthy Californians moving in. Prices there have continued to escalate. Regarding politics, Henderson county has more registered Republicans but it tends to be pretty balanced politically. Rural areas are more conservative.
The Blue Bubble:
Yes. Downtown asheville is very visibly blue.
But your neighbors in virtually all of the outlying areas are red. Deep Trump flag flying red.
The housing market- definitely not getting better. When I set my Zillow filter to “budget $625k or less, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom + AND must have a garage”—- wow those little red dots showing available homes go from like 50 to..... TWO! And the available homes in that range need work.
I’m simply not desperate enough to be here that I will plunk down half a million for a junky house.
OR those houses are so far out you’ll be 20-30 minutes from a grocery store. Which is fine when you’re 50 and not so fine likely when you’re pushing 75.
Affordability: yes, the house we are buying would be likely a $700-800k house in the Asheville area.
2400 sq feet. All one level. Huge fenced in back yard. Screened in porch. Gated community with pool and tennis/ pickleball courts. Swamp Rabbit trail less than a mile away.
You just have to decide what is important to you.
The city of Asheville is relatively small with mostly older, poorly built homes, townhomes/condos, or newer/very, very expensive "mountain contemporaries." There are a handful of older, well-built homes, but those are going to be especially expensive, even more if updated.
You aren't going to find much in the way of typical, semi well-built, semi-inexpensive suburban homes that you'll see in many other areas of the country. The locals don't want it. The buildable land and terrain doesn't support it.
My girlfriend put a modular (not manufactured) home on a permanent foundation and with a basement on nearly five acres of mostly wooded hillside, about halfway between Marshall and Weaverville, in 2016, for about $170k. It's a nose over twenty minutes from the county offices at 200 College St. and 40 Coxe Ave. downtown. It's about ten minutes to the big box shopping in Weaverville. Today, that property is worth over $300k. It would be much more if it were a stick-built home.
You probably couldn't even find something like you bought in TR in Asheville. It would be very hard to find and much, much more expensive even if it was available. The housing stock down there, especially the newer stuff at what most people can afford, is just fr better.
I like metro Greenville. I'm looking to bail out of podunk nowhere TN, where I'm from, and Greenville is a real city. I've spent a lot of time there over the years. There's much more going on overall than Asheville, aside from the drinking/outdoors, and possibly some cultural amenities. Greenville's dining, IMO, is at least on par with Asheville, maybe better. Beer is beer to a point, and Greenville has plenty. Asheville does get better concerts sometimes, but that might be a once every other month thing for me, and the drive is easy enough. If you're wanting to hike on the weekends - again, it's a leave by 8 on Saturday morning thing and be where you want in WNC by 10. Not a big deal. There are plenty of decent enough day hikes and walking in metro Greenville.
I can't blame you for your decision. The housing prices have become prohibitive, especially if you are dependent upon wages earned at the local pay scales.
... The result:
We are tapping out. We are moving to the Traveler's Rest/Greenville area. Much more affordable housing. Nicer housing for the money. We found a beautiful $580k home with master and laundry on the main, a nice garage and somewhat planned neighborhood i.e. no AirBNBs allowed.
...
From my perspective, you made a good decision. Traveler's Rest was my #1 place to retire but SWMBO has grandchildren west of Asheville and TR was not close enough to suit her so we settled in the mountains. It's very nice here, surrounded by great driving roads so it works for us. Best wishes to you in Traveler's Rest.
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