Thanks!
Could you provide your Asheville insights to this FReeper?
I have to agree with Congressman Billybob. Visit the area first, spend some time in and around the area, and find out which areas you want to avoid. I did that when moving to NC from California, and I'm glad I did. Whatever you do, when you look at the pictures of the beautiful homes, assume there may be a power line or mobile home next to it.
In all seriousness I assume you want the NC mountains, but you can have that, without Ashville. Areas like Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, and Boone seem to have less of the harmonic convergence crowd. And, they're (in my opinion) closer to a much nicer section of the BlueRidge Parkway. And you would be much closer to 'civilization' like Winston-Salem or Raleigh. (W-S is still 'Red' but Raleigh is not.Yet I still like W-S) And you can hit Virginia a lot sooner. Asheville is REALLY out there in western NC. It's also an eight+ hour drive to the coast. Something to consider if you like the coast.
Monroe is very historic; halfway between the mountains and the beach. Great prices on Victorian houses!
There are many good towns around Asheville. Asheville itself has been called the San Fransisco of the east. Hippies and wicken and such. Especially downtown.
Hendersonville, Weaverville, Waynesville are nice towns.
Subscribe right away to "Our State" magazine. Get a hold of some of the back issues. A good source on NC that usually has something each month on all sections of NC.
We have friends who retired to Boone and love it! Also, my sister and her husband moved from Colorado to Asheville and bought a 6-room country inn. She had her own catering business and he's a carpenter...great experience to do this! They renovated all 6 rooms and the kitchen, and it looks and works fabulously for them! I'm sure now that they've had it open for over a year they've come to know the area and would be happy to answer any questions.
Their website is www.crookedoakmountaininn.com
I'm disappointed to hear about the hippie/lefty infestation. Why does that always seem to happen to nice towns? Why can't they just stay in Manhattan, San Fran, LA, etc? The problem is, they don't want to just live in nice towns, they want to run them!
My nephew goes to school in Culowee, south of Ashville.
Very beautiful country.
Check out Lake James; specifically SouthPointe subdivision. We just built a home on 1-2/3 acres (lot 156) about two years ago. We're nestled into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lake James is fed by three rivers coming from the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is the cleanest Lake in NC, and amoung the top 10 cleanest lakes in the country. Stay away from Norman. If you want to visit us, communicate via FReepmail.
Curious. Why are you selecting Asheville?
The city of Asheville is about at nutty-left-wing as you can get. If you move there, don't ever go into the city. Actually, don't move there...
If you're gay, you'll love Asheville. If you're not, well they won't welcome you unless you pretend to be ACDC of course.