Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I realize more than an acre that close to town will be very hard; that's probably going to be one of the compromises. If there is breathing room, trees, privacy, and the other things, a smaller lot would work.
Our 1/8 acre in Austin has gotten hemmed in by 2400 sq ft houses with ADUs, built on neighboring 1/8 acre lots. While I do love the peaceful feeling of being in the middle of your own five acres, even half an acre would be four times the size as what we have now. And -- with mountains nearby.
Being close enough to town so that driving in feels convenient and easy is important. Unless the smaller towns like Black Mountain offer enough of the activities that I'm looking for. Looking forward to visiting the area this winter and exploring!
I realize more than an acre that close to town will be very hard; that's probably going to be one of the compromises. If there is breathing room, trees, privacy, and the other things, a smaller lot would work.
Our 1/8 acre in Austin has gotten hemmed in by 2400 sq ft houses with ADUs, built on neighboring 1/8 acre lots. While I do love the peaceful feeling of being in the middle of your own five acres, even half an acre would be four times the size as what we have now. And -- with mountains nearby.
Being close enough to town so that driving in feels convenient and easy is important. Unless the smaller towns like Black Mountain offer enough of the activities that I'm looking for. Looking forward to visiting the area this winter and exploring!
You’ll have plenty of trees and mountains here. There should be plenty of activities in Black Mountain. We live near Hendersonville and pretty much every day is packed - sometimes too much. I don’t think Black Mountain would be any different in this regard.
[quote]Being close enough to town so that driving in feels convenient and easy is important. Unless the smaller towns like Black Mountain offer enough of the activities that I'm looking for. Looking forward to visiting the area this winter and exploring!/QUOTE]
This will be the challenge. It feels like everywhere is 20-30 minutes from where you want to be.
I see my post that included a politic comment was edited. That's cool and i understand. I'm out and about in the area daily. I was always cool with it when we lived up there and I can live and let live. I do all the things for all the people. But it cracked me up as I watched many many happenings in my former neighborhood and pictured that each "side" moved to where they were moving because of perceived like mindedness and each found that was not going to play out in real life.
OP after re-reading your criteria it would seem in my opinion a look at the NW side of Asheville in/around the rural Leicester area fits you. It's also important to note that Black Mountain is very touristy and pretty much inescapable due to limited road options.
I was thinking the NW side of Asheville seemed to make sense. We'll have to see how Black Mountain actually feels when we get there in terms of road access and tourism.
At first, looking at houses zillow etc. it seemed like there were so many houses that fit our criteria. But now when I took off the rose colored glasses, I see that yes, most are more like 30 minutes from where I want to be, or they need quite a bit of serious work if they are in our price range. Slightly discouraging. But we're not moving right now anyway, not seriously looking until winter/spring or maybe even next fall/winter. It's hard to think about buying a place, moving, and then leaving immediately for our summer seasonal jobs, so we'll probably wait. Until we can really retire.
Unless our house in Austin sells for so much we can stop working earlier and live on that for a year even after we buy another one! I think that ship has sailed though... there was a minute there, in 2021... but the minute passed.
Stunning that someone is suggesting Leicester! It is literally one big mobile home park with one gated community in the middle. One grocery store. Minimal/ spotty cell phone reception in the whole area and it’ll be a 20-30 minute drive to get to anything remotely civilized. If you love dogs and trailers for neighbors this is the place for you!
Stunning that someone is suggesting Leicester! It is literally one big mobile home park with one gated community in the middle. One grocery store. Minimal/ spotty cell phone reception in the whole area and it’ll be a 20-30 minute drive to get to anything remotely civilized. If you love dogs and trailers for neighbors this is the place for you!
Hi, native Texan here! I lived in Austin for 25 years before moving to Black Mountain 3 weeks ago, and I couldn’t be happier. Like you, I couldn’t take the weather or traffic anymore. That summer of 90 days over 100 degrees just sucked the life right out of me (summer seasonal affective disorder is a thing!). Here are some thoughts that might help with your home search.
- The summer temps here have been amazing. You’ll be able to sit comfortably at any of the many outdoor restaurants and not sweat buckets, get eaten alive by mosquitoes or attacked by giant flying waterbugs. Walking my dog at Lake Tomahawk has been an absolute pleasure.
- There are kind of two ways to interpret “cultural”. If you’re looking for world class fine and performing arts, like the ballet, opera, symphony, theater or museums, then WNC is not really the place to be. However, if you’re looking for more of a folk arts, crafts and local music vibe, then Black Mountain would be a great town for you. There are TONS of activities and events going on here, and it’s actually a little overwhelming. If you want to go to Asheville, it’s just a quick 20 minute drive down the highway (which never has much traffic).
- WNC is not very racially diverse in general. Black Mountain seems to be fairly liberal, and there are lots of what my mom would have called “hippie dippies”. I have seen pride flags downtown. I will say that everyone I’ve met here has been super nice, open and welcoming.
- As far as tourism goes, Black Mountain is kind of like Fredericksburg or Gruene, but way prettier and way more interesting. The number of tourists seems manageable, and everyone’s really relaxed.
- I think you might have a hard time finding acreage with your other requirements, however one thing to keep in mind is that the landscape is very different from anything in Texas. The trees are huge and the area is heavily forested, even in the urban areas, so small lots generally have a lot more privacy than in Austin.
- I decided to buy a lot and build a custom home. If you keep the lot size and footprint small, use a simple design and buy budget friendly finishings, you might be able to build something in your price range.
I recommend compiling desirable real estate listings prior to your visit, then checking them out when you’re here just to get a feel for the area. Definitely rent a car and drive the neighborhoods as much as you can.
Look a Swannanoa. It's between Black Mountain and Asheville and is home to the super progressive Warren Wilson College. The town is not much to look at, but it's a beautiful area if you are looking for some acreage. Takes about 8-10 min to get to Black Mountain and about 15 minutes to get to Asheville.
The mountains of NC are much less racially diverse than Austin, but probably have a few more people of color than Alaska (aside from the native Alaskans). There is much more racial diversity outside of the mountains. Some place like Durham could be good, but that's really the next Austin.
BTW, it's UNC-Asheville or UNC-A. Not UNC. UNC is in Chapel Hill. That would be like calling UT El Paso just UT.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
