Asheville area
Nov 23rd, 2000, 06:14 AM
#1
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Asheville area
We are planning a visit to the Asheville, North Carolina area in the Spring of 2001. We are looking for a place to relocate/retire. Everything we read and everyone who has visited the area say the same thing. "What a wonderful city to visit and to live. Is this really true? Can Middle income people afford to live there. Are there still neighborhoods where housing is still somewhat reasonable. Is it a safe city to live in? We would appreciate any information. Thank You!
Nov 23rd, 2000, 06:40 AM
#3
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Many retirement centers in Asheville. Older neighborhoods tend to be more affordable than newer communities. Can you visit more than one time? I would recommend visiting in all months to make sure you found a good retirement location.
Ashevillechamber.org has a listing for relocation info. The newspaper is the Asheville Citizen-Time (I don't know their web address) check classifieds for housing prices.
Ashevillechamber.org has a listing for relocation info. The newspaper is the Asheville Citizen-Time (I don't know their web address) check classifieds for housing prices.
Nov 28th, 2000, 05:03 AM
#4
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My wife and I relocated here from NH (Too cold for too long) and have found it to be an excellent choice for us. 4 season, some snow but never sticks very long, short winters, nice spring and fall, summer hot but nothing like Atlanta or Charleston.
Housing depends on what your looking for. This area is full of retirees and has many gated, golfing communities with prices well above 300,000. However, there are also new developments and country places available in the 190,000 - 250,000 range, as in any area, it all depends on what you want. Good jobs are scarce but thats not a problem if your retired.
Asheville is quite safe but again it depends on your lifestyle.
We live between Asheville and Hendersonville, find Hendersonville to be a very nice small town. 15 minutes to either town.
Good Luck.
Housing depends on what your looking for. This area is full of retirees and has many gated, golfing communities with prices well above 300,000. However, there are also new developments and country places available in the 190,000 - 250,000 range, as in any area, it all depends on what you want. Good jobs are scarce but thats not a problem if your retired.
Asheville is quite safe but again it depends on your lifestyle.
We live between Asheville and Hendersonville, find Hendersonville to be a very nice small town. 15 minutes to either town.
Good Luck.
Dec 1st, 2000, 08:30 AM
#5
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To the person who asked where we were moving from: Central Maine.To the people from New Hampshire, we are also too cold for too long. What is it like living in the City of Asheville itself? Is there good public transportation? We have lived in a somewhat rural area of Maine for many years, and enjoy all cultural activities, all kinds of music etc. We don't necessarily want to drive great distances to these type of things. That's the way life is in Maine.
Nothing is close by. We will say this: We love Maine and would hate to leave, But we're planning on it. Thank You
Nothing is close by. We will say this: We love Maine and would hate to leave, But we're planning on it. Thank You
Dec 11th, 2000, 05:58 AM
#6
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Sorry I have taken a while to respond to your post, just returned from a short visit with friends in Atlanta which is about a 3.5 hours drive.
The last sentence of your post says it all. We too had regrets about leaving New England. We lived in Hampton and Dover, love the seacoast, great food, colonial archetural, Boston etc. Just too darned cold. So.....Asheville is a beautiful city of around 64,000 located in the mountains, great views everywhere.
Public transportation is almost nonexistent, you will need a car but the driving is not bad, a bit like Portland Maine perhaps.
Asheville does have some cultural events Civic Center. The city seems to be in a transition period.
You might want to look in the Brevard, Etowah, Hendersonville, areas. Brevard has an excellent Music College which gives concerts to the public and bring in guest performers. The Flat Rock Playhouse has excellent summer theater, like Ogunquit. Hendersonville and Brevard are great small towns to walk around in - Hendersonville is a bit larger than Brevard but has a real old fashion small town feel with a real main street. Etowah like Mills River and Horseshoe is a community not a town but all three are located for an easy drive to Asheville, H'Ville or Brevard.
If you have additional questions please don't hesitate to email me direct.
The last sentence of your post says it all. We too had regrets about leaving New England. We lived in Hampton and Dover, love the seacoast, great food, colonial archetural, Boston etc. Just too darned cold. So.....Asheville is a beautiful city of around 64,000 located in the mountains, great views everywhere.
Public transportation is almost nonexistent, you will need a car but the driving is not bad, a bit like Portland Maine perhaps.
Asheville does have some cultural events Civic Center. The city seems to be in a transition period.
You might want to look in the Brevard, Etowah, Hendersonville, areas. Brevard has an excellent Music College which gives concerts to the public and bring in guest performers. The Flat Rock Playhouse has excellent summer theater, like Ogunquit. Hendersonville and Brevard are great small towns to walk around in - Hendersonville is a bit larger than Brevard but has a real old fashion small town feel with a real main street. Etowah like Mills River and Horseshoe is a community not a town but all three are located for an easy drive to Asheville, H'Ville or Brevard.
If you have additional questions please don't hesitate to email me direct.
Dec 11th, 2000, 07:26 AM
#7
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While Asheville has lovely mountains and more snow/winter than the rest of NC, I think you might feel more isolated there than in Maine, believe it or not. Strongly recommend you look into Wilmington or Chapel Hill -- more to do, more public transportation, and both are pretty.
Dec 12th, 2000, 03:49 AM
#10
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I've been to Maine and love it, thank you very much. But there's a substantial difference between being in Augusta, which is an hour from Portland, 2 1/2 from Boston, and maybe 4 from Montreal, and being in Asheville, which is mainly close to Asheville.
Dec 13th, 2000, 08:14 AM
#11
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Ahh. Another Asheville native here. My husband and I grew up in this area and wouldn't change our location for all the money in the world. As in many popular communities around the States, we are growing quite quickly in this area. Happily, this means an increase in cultural activities, opportunities and ideas. However, with that comes a rise in housing, more hustle and bustle and a higher crime rate. In all honesty, we are all still simple-minded here (in a good way 
The top news story is rarely a murder or violent crime, our downtown thrives with activity throughout the day and night and I have never, ever, ever, been afraid to walk the streets here. The local newspaper link is: http://www.citizen-times.com From this link, you can see several real estate links to get an idea of what you are looking for. As Terry indicated, Brevard is on the outskirts of Asheville and houses a Music college. Here, as well as Hendersonville, you can choose to be a little more rural if you'd like. Let me know if I can help more!!
The top news story is rarely a murder or violent crime, our downtown thrives with activity throughout the day and night and I have never, ever, ever, been afraid to walk the streets here. The local newspaper link is: http://www.citizen-times.com From this link, you can see several real estate links to get an idea of what you are looking for. As Terry indicated, Brevard is on the outskirts of Asheville and houses a Music college. Here, as well as Hendersonville, you can choose to be a little more rural if you'd like. Let me know if I can help more!!
Dec 13th, 2000, 08:37 AM
#12
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It's really great living in a country where everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Just want to let everyone know how much I welcome and appreciate all of your opinions. Believe me when I say it would be very difficult to be more isolated than it is in certain parts of Maine.
We are located further from Boston and Portland than Larsa suggests. We definitly like Terry and Amy's thoughts.
If we wanted to live in the City proper, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg on housing do you have any suggestions. ie. North, South, East West?
Also Terry and Amy if your suggestion of e-mailing you direct is OK, we just may take you up on it. Thank You!
We are located further from Boston and Portland than Larsa suggests. We definitly like Terry and Amy's thoughts.
If we wanted to live in the City proper, but don't want to spend an arm and a leg on housing do you have any suggestions. ie. North, South, East West?
Also Terry and Amy if your suggestion of e-mailing you direct is OK, we just may take you up on it. Thank You!
Dec 14th, 2000, 02:30 PM
#13
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Sorry Bruce, can't help you with the decision re: which part of Asheville is best to live in. As you may have gathered by my previous posts, I prefer living out of Asheville proper and really go into Hendersonville and Brevard more often than Asheville itself. One thing to keep in mind, if you live within the city limits your property taxes just about double.
As I said before, please don't hesitate to email me direct with specific questions, my wife and I moved here 2.5 years ago from NH, we love it.
As I said before, please don't hesitate to email me direct with specific questions, my wife and I moved here 2.5 years ago from NH, we love it.
Feb 21st, 2001, 08:44 PM
#14
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Bruce,
I have lived in A'ville for the last 15 years. Never been to Maine(but would love to visit). I Believe South To South east A'ville would be your cheapest bet. North is cheap also, but not as cultural or close to town. South is close to Hendersonville if you want the Cultural advantage of the Music school. However, I find A'ville itself to have some cultural advantages. I live in the community of Fairview. No public transportation . You really would have to live in the city to take advantage of public trans. However, Fairview is only a 15 min. drive from the city. I absolutely love A'ville. I thank God each day for these glorious mountains, low crime, and an excellent place to raise my two children . I can't wait to enjoy my years of retirement here as well.
I do think , entirely by word of mouth, that for the carolinas it is an expensive place to buy housing. Don't know the comparison to Northern US.
I have lived in A'ville for the last 15 years. Never been to Maine(but would love to visit). I Believe South To South east A'ville would be your cheapest bet. North is cheap also, but not as cultural or close to town. South is close to Hendersonville if you want the Cultural advantage of the Music school. However, I find A'ville itself to have some cultural advantages. I live in the community of Fairview. No public transportation . You really would have to live in the city to take advantage of public trans. However, Fairview is only a 15 min. drive from the city. I absolutely love A'ville. I thank God each day for these glorious mountains, low crime, and an excellent place to raise my two children . I can't wait to enjoy my years of retirement here as well.
I do think , entirely by word of mouth, that for the carolinas it is an expensive place to buy housing. Don't know the comparison to Northern US.
