Neither of which have anything in common with Asheville other than proximity.
I thought real hippies like either the seashore or the desert. Burning Man & all that. But mountains?
;^)
The Biltmore Estate has a lot to do with Asheville being what it is. People visiting the Vanderbilts at Biltmore found that they love the area, which led to rail connections, hotels and the sort of artistic and cultural attractions expected by people of wealth during the summer season. It’s been drawing artists, writers and musicians since then. Another draw is the surviving Art Nouveau and Art deco architecture, largely preserved due to Asheville going bust during the Great Depression and only emerging from it in the 80’s. Their downtown is sort of a time capsule because of this, whereas other cities grew, razed old structures before their style was valued and changed. Asheville didn’t.