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I'm hesitant to make another one of these long posts but after reading the forum for a while I've seen some really good helpful contributors (are your ears burning, Lizap?) so I'm jumping in. I’d like opinions on whether Asheville seems like a possibly good choice for us, given our criteria. And/or if there are nearby areas I may be missing.
About ten years ago when we started to think about leaving Austin and considering other places, I dismissed Asheville because I thought it was growing too fast and was going to quickly become the next Hot And Trendy Place (like Austin). (But not as literally hot.) Now that we are seriously looking at where else to live, Asheville area is looking pretty good. And it is still a hell of a lot smaller than Austin! Austin has gotten way too hot, too crowded, too much traffic, too wealthy. So, like that saying about a tree: best time to move to Asheville was 10 years ago, second best time is...
First off -- we haven't been there yet. Planning on a 2-3 week visit this winter. Been looking online at home listings, driving times, etc.
Quick background on us: 60’s, active, no kids, hope to be retired in a year or two, fixed income, been living in Austin since early 1980’s, been working summers in Alaska since 2010 (including some start dates in March which is basically still dead of winter in AK, just with daylight).
Asheville appeals for these reasons:
- weather (we can do hot in the summer for a short time, just not the hellish five months of 95-100+ that Austin has. Snow is okay, just not 7-8 feet per winter that doesn't melt until mid-May)
- UNC/OLLI, community college, and active cultural events (convenient access to classes, workshops, shows, etc.) BIG draw. Moving somewhere new, with no job contacts built-in, could be isolating.
- mountains, wilderness, rivers and lakes
- progressive (we don't need to live in a blue bubble, I'm fine with live-and-let-live political differences. Not fine with aggressive or mean spirited in-your-face politics)
- low-ish population density (not the .1 person per square mile like where we stay in AK, but not the 2,653/square mile in Austin
- some racial diversity (at least it is not >90% white)
What we are looking for:
- smallish home, ideally 1000-1200 sq ft, not right on a busy highway (Dog.)
- one to five acres of land, ½ acre OK if the lot is private and quiet
- no more than 25 minute drive to UNC, good grocery stores, hardware stores, etc. 20 minutes is better.
- priced under $500k (maybe $450k, depends on Austin market when we sell..)
- a house with mod-cons, not a cabin (we stay in a tiny dry cabin in AK and want All The Things in our home)
- reasonably accessible in the winter; i.e., not on a rural winding mountain road, or with a long steep driveway
Questions/concerns:
- Is this possible?
- How hard is it and how expensive to get help with clearing snow in the winter? I am fit but getting older and weaker. Shoveling this spring in AK made me realize we’d probably want to be able to get help when/if needed.
- Are there any areas we should avoid that wouldn’t want a quietly liberal non-church-going gay couple next door?
- Areas to avoid because of limited access on a fast, accident-heavy highway? (I saw a comment about that somewhere in the real estate thread maybe)
- Areas to avoid because of bad local crime? Don’t care much about general crime stats — have lived in enough places to know that local neighborhood crime and vibe matters a lot more than general vicinity crime, but don’t want to be somewhere right by active hard drug dealing or meth labs or similar.
Welcome to the western NC forum! Yes, it’s probably doable, but will be challenging in finding exactly what you want. You may well have to compromise on the amount of land. Asheville is very diverse, just not very racially diverse, although it meets your stated criteria. Snow isn’t typically going to be a problem here, unless you live at a high elevation. We tyoically get a few days of snow, but usually it’s not a problem. Two areas I have in mind: Black Mountain (16 miles from Asheville) and Weaverville (really an extension of north Asheville). Black Mountain is a quaint small, relatively progressive, mountain town with a small college (Montreat) nearby, and close to Asheville. Weaverville is smaller, cute, and in a growing area, and convenient to UNC-A. I think you all will really like it here. The area has a lot to offer in terms of scenic beauty and outdoor activities. Every season is beautiful here. It would be great if you all could schedule a visit during leaf season; many years, the color is stunning. Compared to Austin, summer temps are much milder. We live southwest of Asheville and have yet to reach 90 degrees this summer.
Yes I'm sure fall can be gorgeous there. I lived in New England for years and remember the fall colors were amazing.
I think it can be a good thing though to visit a place in its least shiny season, if you plan on moving there. Then you have a more realistic view and the ”best” times of year are a lovely extra.
Black Mountain looks like a cool town -- at the risk of sounding snobby (which I really am not!), is it very touristy? I ask only because after working/living half a year in an INTENSE tourist destination for the past 10 years or so, I kind of want a break from that. Is it possible to go out to eat, go to events, go shopping, etc. without being around lots of excited visitors who want to talk about your town and ask you the same questions everyone asks...? (Yes, I am burnt out on the tourism industry.)
I understand Asheville in general is a popular place to visit and really, I don't hate tourists! I am sometimes one myself; local/visitor interactions can be fun. And tourism is an important economic contributor. I just don't want to feel inundated by that where I live.
Yes I'm sure fall can be gorgeous there. I lived in New England for years and remember the fall colors were amazing.
I think it can be a good thing though to visit a place in its least shiny season, if you plan on moving there. Then you have a more realistic view and the ”best” times of year are a lovely extra.
Black Mountain looks like a cool town -- at the risk of sounding snobby (which I really am not!), is it very touristy? I ask only because after working/living half a year in an INTENSE tourist destination for the past 10 years or so, I kind of want a break from that. Is it possible to go out to eat, go to events, go shopping, etc. without being around lots of excited visitors who want to talk about your town and ask you the same questions everyone asks...? (Yes, I am burnt out on the tourism industry.)
I understand Asheville in general is a popular place to visit and really, I don't hate tourists! I am sometimes one myself; local/visitor interactions can be fun. And tourism is an important economic contributor. I just don't want to feel inundated by that where I live.
Black Mountain and a good portion of WNC, in general, can be touristy, but not in the same sense as Disney World. Certain times of the year (leaf season) are more touristy than others (winter). It's a beautiful part of the country, so naturally tourists want to visit. To get less touristy, you'll need to look further from Asheville. We live near Hendersonville, which has a good number of tourists as well as seasonal residents. One way to look at it - this helps us to have the business to sustain some nice things here (e.g., nice restaurants, large number of grocery stores, specialty clothing stores, breweries, wineries).
Very true. It's a conundrum -- really getting away from it all, including visitors, means getting away from all the things I enjoy, too.
Like I said, I don't hate tourists. I think the Alaska experience is just super intense and burned my out. So many people think anyone "local" here, in any environment, is available to be a tour guide and it gets tiring. I'm sure Asheville/Black Mountain is not that intense.
I'll see how it feels when we go there (as tourists...!). We might try for springtime instead of winter then, to get a better idea. Won't be home in time to come during the leaf season.
Keep in mind that amount of acreage within twenty minutes of UNC-A is going to be tough to find period, much less within your price range.
Most of the area within twenty minutes of there is urban to suburban. Your best would be going north into Madison County, likely back toward Marshall, Mars Hill, or the TN line. You could find the acreage you want, though probably not at that price point including a move-in ready house.
I think the touristy aspects of Asheville are overblown. That is largely contained to downtown, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore, and several items of interest like that. Tourists aren't going out to Tunnel Road or the Brevard Road/Arden big box retail areas for fun.
There are some good suggestions here. Black Mountain is one of my favorites. It has a cute little town with events going on. Marshall, Weaverville or Waynesville are some other oprltions. None of these are too far from Asheville. If you want it cooler in the summer, you will need to pick a place with a higher elevation. Asheville is around 2000' but there are surrounding areas that can go up to 5000'+ feet.
As mentioned, we don't get much snow. Everything will shut down for a day or two but then it's gone. This happens maybe once or twice a year.
Farther from Asheville may not be as progressive as you’d like.
From the OP's orig list of wants/needs:
"- progressive (we don't need to live in a blue bubble, I'm fine with live-and-let-live political differences. Not fine with aggressive or mean spirited in-your-face politics)"
In these often divisive times, 'politics' comes up on the jukebox so frequently I wonder how any of us even walk out the door/say hi to someone or decide to move to some where new?!
We have been in western NC 22 yrs and have friends that range from 'far right to far left', but we get along/have regard for each other...like the OP, when we got here we knew no one, in 2001, from metro NYC.
'Politics' and opins on how an area's politics are is a near constant by some responders. For us it didn't matter, and still does not, (even with the 2023 media's attention to every inane snippet and its 'ramificactions/importance'), as we simply avoid hard conversations with friends about 'politics' and someone's fave elected idiots or their party.
I suspect the OP will not have a prob where ever they end up, western NC or otherwise.
To view or try to define or require an area's 'politics' to be such and such is like wondering how 'winter weather' is for a given area, imo.
There are averages and generalities, but one can talk about the weather with neighbors and new friends without it becoming 'political' or 'religious, in our experience...and, labels are really generalities and of v little consequence in one's day to day routines or interactions, in my experience.
GL, mD
"- progressive (we don't need to live in a blue bubble, I'm fine with live-and-let-live political differences. Not fine with aggressive or mean spirited in-your-face politics)"
In these often divisive times, 'politics' comes up on the jukebox so frequently I wonder how any of us even walk out the door/say hi to someone or decide to move to some where new?!
We have been in western NC 22 yrs and have friends that range from 'far right to far left', but we get along/have regard for each other...like the OP, when we got here we knew no one, in 2001, from metro NYC.
'Politics' and opins on how an area's politics are is a near constant by some responders. For us it didn't matter, and still does not, (even with the 2023 media's attention to every inane snippet and its 'ramificactions/importance'), as we simply avoid hard conversations with friends about 'politics' and someone's fave elected idiots or their party.
I suspect the OP will not have a prob where ever they end up, western NC or otherwise.
To view or try to define or require an area's 'politics' to be such and such is like wondering how 'winter weather' is for a given area, imo.
There are averages and generalities, but one can talk about the weather with neighbors and new friends without it becoming 'political' or 'religious, in our experience...and, labels are really generalities and of v little consequence in one's day to day routines or interactions, in my experience.
GL, mD
At the risk of bring up another "bone" of contention other than politics and weather, I'd like to say amen to your comments!!!!
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