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 was wondering if you all could tell me about Asheville and the surrounding areas.
My husband is looking into their fire department for work. He is also an avid crossfit coach. We like to be outdoors:farmers market, fishing, water. Not real religious. We aren't really fancy either we like simple. We are wanting to start a family in a few years so we would like to know what the school system is like the best neighborhoods to live in.
I am also in the medical field and have heard Asheville holds a great job employment rate for that field. What is the cost of living there like? We will be relocating fro SW FL where it is getting way to expensive for a young couple to start out here. Max we would pay for our first house when we are ready to buy is $250,000. We would like enough land to have a small garden and some chickens and at least a 2/2.
Any insight on what you all like best/do not like about the area would be great.
Nope, just heard good things about it but mostly that it is beautiful. I wanted to move to Knoxville but he hates it there. Asheville interests him for some reason. I just researched that Asheville can be expensive though, is that true?
Yes, certain things can be expensive, like renting, homes, seafood, contractor services (because they're so dang busy...they bid high!), ETC.
With all due respect, it is really hard for you to get an accurate idea of this place just based on our comments. Plus they will be utterly subjective and, therefore, might have no relevance for you.
I strongly encourage you to come visit for a week with a game plan for a serious evaluation. Check-out of areas, houses, lifestyle, go talk to the fire dept workers and medical people, strike up conversations with anyone while dining out or at a brewery, etc. All of that will give you a good headstart. Keep in mind that in the Southeast there is a predisposition to not speak negatively about things so you might have to ask people directly to tell you the downsides, from their point of view.
Yes, certain things can be expensive, like renting, homes, seafood, contractor services (because they're so dang busy...they bid high!), ETC.
With all due respect, it is really hard for you to get an accurate idea of this place just based on our comments. Plus they will be utterly subjective and, therefore, might have no relevance for you.
I strongly encourage you to come visit for a week with a game plan for a serious evaluation. Check-out of areas, houses, lifestyle, go talk to the fire dept workers and medical people, strike up conversations with anyone while dining out or at a brewery, etc. All of that will give you a good headstart. Keep in mind that in the Southeast there is a predisposition to not speak negatively about things so you might have to ask people directly to tell you the downsides, from their point of view.
I would love to visit for a week, but unfortuantly we wouldn't have the money for that. We have about enough money to visit for interviews and look for a place to live and possible moving costs.
Nope, just heard good things about it but mostly that it is beautiful. I wanted to move to Knoxville but he hates it there. Asheville interests him for some reason. I just researched that Asheville can be expensive though, is that true?
Housing is the main issue there, considering that Asheville is a lower-wage area, among most people who actually do have to work for a living (unless they are able to find a higher income generating niche), despite costly housing prices. Even though the future can't be predicted with absolute certainty, Asheville is at an elevated risk for being in a housing bubble. There is a much wider gap between wages (very low) and housing costs (very high, at least considering the state its in and the local wage structure) than there should be for a healthy economy.
This is not totally uncommon in a touristy area where there's lots of demand for people wanting to move there. Employers know this and take advantage of the supply-demand situation that works in their favor, where they are able to pay low wages because so many eager transplants will accept those, and wages are pushed down for everyone. Relative to the rest of North Carolina, though, Asheville is particularly bad in this regard. Employers are basing their wages as if we're still living in about 1992, thinking what was a good wage then is still a good wage now, and housing prices have zoomed ahead as if we're already in 2052.
The housing situation is crazy in the Asheville area now. If you look on Realtor.com you will see that agents aren't even posting photos of properties; they are going under contract within a few hours of hitting the MLS. It is no time to buy here.
And you definitely should come to experience the traffic. You may not like it, and with your housing budget you will no doubt be commuting into Asheville from the less expensive outlying areas.
If you don't have money to spare to visit I don't think you will be able to make it here. I would compare job salaries too. Another poster that was from FL moved here as a firefighter and ended up moving back due to low pay.
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.
