Asheville, NC

PsyopRanger · 09-12-2006, 04:19 PM

I am still a good 15 years from ER but I love Asheville. Is anybody ER'd there are have any experiences in the area?

Lance

smooch · 09-12-2006, 06:43 PM

I am trying to convince my husband to check it out. I followed the temperature all summer on the internet and it was at least 10 degrees cooler than Baltimore, where we live. I'd love to work (part-time) at the Center for Creative Retirement! We love the Smokies.

larry · 09-12-2006, 08:44 PM

Spent some time visiting Biltmore and then over to Pigeon Forge in some rental condos for a while. Got to ride Dolley's "Fire in the Hole", or something like that.

Overall, I thought the area was nice but very touristy. Didn't spend too much time in the downtown part of Asheville. Being a flatlander it is always difficult for me to get a feel for a town that you can never see in total (like you can in Kansas).

Craig · 09-12-2006, 08:57 PM

Consider TN as well. Effectively no income tax, for starters. Middle TN is booming.

neo · 09-19-2006, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles

Consider TN as well. Effectively no income tax, for starters. Middle TN is booming.

Doesn't TN tax income other than wages? (I.e. most/all income for a retiree.)

mickeyd · 09-27-2006, 04:07 PM

Ashville...nice choice.

We used to own property in Blowing Rock and visited A'ville a few times.

dex · 09-29-2006, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsyopRanger

I am still a good 15 years from ER but I love Asheville. Is anybody ER'd there are have any experiences in the area?

Lance

I've been there. Can you tell me what is so great about it? No slam intended, but I don't get it.

I'm in Flagstaff, Az. right now and I would take it over Asheville.
Thanks

prubin · 10-19-2007, 11:06 AM

We just returned, 2 weeks ago, from a visit to Asheville. It was our 3rd trip to the area in the last 5 years. We are giving significant thought to taking our substantial San Francisco home equity to Asheville. Asheville's diversity and revitalized downtown are very appealing. The easy access to hiking and the outdoors is another big plus. The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) appears to be a great resource for ER's relocating.

**Janet H** · 10-19-2007, 03:10 PM

I lived 15 miles outside Asheville (Mills River) for a decade. My dad still lives there. What do you want to know about?

Land prices are going waaay up.
Large retired population - with good medical services nearby
Huge artists community
Some winter - just enough
Do you like humidity in the ~~simmer~~ summer?
Cute, but tiny Airport
Loads of fun stuff to do.

lazygood4nothinbum · 10-19-2007, 03:19 PM

pretty downtown, beautiful area but too many tourists for me (& i live in lauderdale so that's saying something).

prubin · 10-19-2007, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet H

I lived 15 miles outside Asheville (Mills River) for a decade. My dad still lives there. What do you want to know about?

Land prices are going waaay up.
Large retired population - with good medical services nearby
Huge artists community
Some winter - just enough
Do you like humidity in the ~~simmer~~ summer?
Cute, but tiny Airport
Loads of fun stuff to do.

I am not worried about escalating home prices since I will selling a house in San Franisco and I have been lucky enough to ride that wave. (I suspect locals are frustrated by Californians bidding up prices.) The other attributes you cite, other than humidity are real pluses for us. We are urban people who don't like to get in the car everytime you need to buy milk. We have no interest in gated communities, houses that require fixing up or yard work. A realtor showed us homes in the area around Beaver Lake and near the Grove Park Inn. We have also checked out Montford on our own. My ideal would be a townhouse within a 1 mile walk of Pack Place.

prubin · 10-19-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum

pretty downtown, beautiful area but too many tourists for me (& i live in lauderdale so that's saying something).

I know tourism is one of AVL's primary "industries." This doesn't concern me. I live in San Francisco where the sign in the window of Pat O'Shea's Mad Hatters sez --
"We cheat tourists and drunks"

**Janet H** · 10-19-2007, 03:57 PM

Also check out the Brevard area - not too far away. Small town feel - has a college and a great summer arts series.

NC has some great tax benefits.

prubin · 10-19-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet H

Also check out the Brevard area - not too far away. Small town feel - has a college and a great summer arts series.

NC has some great tax benefits.

Thanks for the advice. We have been to Waynesville, Henderson and Black Mountain They are too small town for me. What are the great tax benefits? Do you have any sense of availability and cost of individual health insurance. I suspect it is the same sad story as everywhere else.

Charlotte · 10-20-2007, 09:45 AM

I live in NC, and I'm having a hard time thinking of what might be the great tax benefits... Sales tax starts at 6% and goes up (depending on the county you're shopping in), income tax starts at 7% and goes up to 8.25%(depending on your earned income). Perhaps property taxes?? They aren't outrageous here, in general, but neither are they dirt-cheap.

Charlotte

**Want2retire** · 10-20-2007, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlotte

I live in NC, and I'm having a hard time thinking of what might be the great tax benefits... Sales tax starts at 6% and goes up (depending on the county you're shopping in), income tax starts at 7% and goes up to 8.25%(depending on your earned income). Perhaps property taxes?? They aren't outrageous here, in general, but neither are they dirt-cheap.

Charlotte

6% sales tax sounds pretty fabulous from here. Ours totals 9.75% in this parish (=county), and is ever spiralling upwards. The parish part of that even applies to groceries. Our income tax and property tax are reasonable, though.

Edited to add: OH - - I see. Your 6% isn't the total, but is just the state part. That might not be so great after all!

**Janet H** · 10-20-2007, 10:33 AM

There are some breaks for state and federal retirement plans, but based on your comment I went to the state site and discovered that they changed last year and are NOT as great as they used to be. Living in a place that taxes federal retirement is high on the list deal breakers at my house.

tangomonster · 10-20-2007, 11:49 AM

I've loved my couple of trips to Asheville. While the Biltmore Estate doesn't do much for me except for the gardens, I get a kick out of the lifestyle/vibe (kind of old hippieish with a European flair). Sometimes I wonder if it would be nice to live there, or if I would get bored with a smaller town after living in metro Atlanta. Moving is not an option right now due to health insurance not transferring out of state, but maybe in twelve years when Medicare (if it's still around) kicks in...(or sooner, if the person who gets into the White House can really reform health care).

dex · 10-20-2007, 12:36 PM

tangomonster,
I have to agree with you - I think living outside of the ATL would present a person with more options Atl for night life and culture? - go north to the mountains - east to the Atlantic - South to the Gulf and West to Taladega

wallygator69 · 10-25-2007, 05:35 PM

Hi,

Went in early Sept for only 3 days with DW

We both went to College in Boston and not fond of Big cities.

Asheville was a small town but had all the bad elements in a very small condensed area.

Lot of Homeless, several loud screaming types, 18-20 somethings eating out of garbage cans on the side of the road, pan handlers (well dressed and smart too). Main park appears to be the homeless druggie hangout. Lots of folks there all nigh and up and about early in the morning right on the ver fringe of downtown.

Large Homosexual population which I have no problem with but some were a bit over the top weird. That's fine but 2 were very rude when they realized I/we weren't. At one bar my wife got literally pushed out of her seat by the back of a stranger. He brushed into her with a decent amount of body contact and we had been talking to his "friend" and the guy were talking to never said a word to his friend. My wife moved to the other side of me. DW convinced me that knocking the SOB on his butt was not a good idea. Still kicking myself I didn't.

I developed a kind of "spider sense" while in Boston for 5 years, where I see and here everything around me in a sureal kind of way when I feel threatened. I hadn't felt the sensation in several years. It got "activated" twice in Asheville.

I would recommend vacationing there a few times at different times of the year before making the leap.

Good Luck,

W

09-12-2006, 04:19 PM	#1
PsyopRanger Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 227	Asheville, NC I am still a good 15 years from ER but I love Asheville. Is anybody ER'd there are have any experiences in the area? Lance __________________ "Those who think it cannot be done, need to stay out of the way of those of us doing it."

09-12-2006, 06:43 PM	#2
smooch Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 123	Re: Asheville, NC I am trying to convince my husband to check it out. I followed the temperature all summer on the internet and it was at least 10 degrees cooler than Baltimore, where we live. I'd love to work (part-time) at the Center for Creative Retirement! We love the Smokies.

09-12-2006, 08:44 PM	#3
larry Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 252	Re: Asheville, NC Spent some time visiting Biltmore and then over to Pigeon Forge in some rental condos for a while. Got to ride Dolley's "Fire in the Hole", or something like that. Overall, I thought the area was nice but very touristy. Didn't spend too much time in the downtown part of Asheville. Being a flatlander it is always difficult for me to get a feel for a town that you can never see in total (like you can in Kansas). __________________ time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana

09-12-2006, 08:57 PM	#4
Craig Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 714	Re: Asheville, NC Consider TN as well. Effectively no income tax, for starters. Middle TN is booming.

09-27-2006, 04:07 PM	#6
mickeyd Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: South Texas~29N/98W Posts: 2,216	Re: Asheville, NC Ashville...nice choice. We used to own property in Blowing Rock and visited A'ville a few times. __________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.

10-19-2007, 11:06 AM	#8
prubin Dryer sheet wannabe Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 23	We just returned, 2 weeks ago, from a visit to Asheville. It was our 3rd trip to the area in the last 5 years. We are giving significant thought to taking our substantial San Francisco home equity to Asheville. Asheville's diversity and revitalized downtown are very appealing. The easy access to hiking and the outdoors is another big plus. The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) appears to be a great resource for ER's relocating.

10-19-2007, 03:10 PM	#9
Janet H Administrator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 1,397	I lived 15 miles outside Asheville (Mills River) for a decade. My dad still lives there. What do you want to know about? Land prices are going waaay up. Large retired population - with good medical services nearby Huge artists community Some winter - just enough Do you like humidity in the ~~simmer~~ summer? Cute, but tiny Airport Loads of fun stuff to do.

10-19-2007, 03:19 PM	#10
lazygood4nothinbum Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,563	pretty downtown, beautiful area but too many tourists for me (& i live in lauderdale so that's saying something). __________________ "life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901

10-19-2007, 03:57 PM	#13
Janet H Administrator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 1,397	Also check out the Brevard area - not too far away. Small town feel - has a college and a great summer arts series. NC has some great tax benefits.

10-20-2007, 09:45 AM	#15
Charlotte Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 87	Tax benefits? I live in NC, and I'm having a hard time thinking of what might be the great tax benefits... Sales tax starts at 6% and goes up (depending on the county you're shopping in), income tax starts at 7% and goes up to 8.25%(depending on your earned income). Perhaps property taxes?? They aren't outrageous here, in general, but neither are they dirt-cheap. Charlotte

10-20-2007, 10:33 AM	#17
Janet H Administrator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 1,397	There are some breaks for state and federal retirement plans, but based on your comment I went to the state site and discovered that they changed last year and are NOT as great as they used to be. Living in a place that taxes federal retirement is high on the list deal breakers at my house.

10-20-2007, 11:49 AM	#18
tangomonster Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 477	I've loved my couple of trips to Asheville. While the Biltmore Estate doesn't do much for me except for the gardens, I get a kick out of the lifestyle/vibe (kind of old hippieish with a European flair). Sometimes I wonder if it would be nice to live there, or if I would get bored with a smaller town after living in metro Atlanta. Moving is not an option right now due to health insurance not transferring out of state, but maybe in twelve years when Medicare (if it's still around) kicks in...(or sooner, if the person who gets into the White House can really reform health care). __________________ A wise woman should have money in her head, but not in her heart---Jonathan Swift

10-20-2007, 12:36 PM	#19
dex Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 2,557	tangomonster, I have to agree with you - I think living outside of the ATL would present a person with more options Atl for night life and culture? - go north to the mountains - east to the Atlantic - South to the Gulf and West to Taladega __________________ Sometimes death is not as tragic as not knowing how to live. This man knew how to live--and how to make others glad they were living. - Jack Benny at Nat King Cole's funeral

10-25-2007, 05:35 PM	#20
wallygator69 Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 164	Hi, Went in early Sept for only 3 days with DW We both went to College in Boston and not fond of Big cities. Asheville was a small town but had all the bad elements in a very small condensed area. Lot of Homeless, several loud screaming types, 18-20 somethings eating out of garbage cans on the side of the road, pan handlers (well dressed and smart too). Main park appears to be the homeless druggie hangout. Lots of folks there all nigh and up and about early in the morning right on the ver fringe of downtown. Large Homosexual population which I have no problem with but some were a bit over the top weird. That's fine but 2 were very rude when they realized I/we weren't. At one bar my wife got literally pushed out of her seat by the back of a stranger. He brushed into her with a decent amount of body contact and we had been talking to his "friend" and the guy were talking to never said a word to his friend. My wife moved to the other side of me. DW convinced me that knocking the SOB on his butt was not a good idea. Still kicking myself I didn't. I developed a kind of "spider sense" while in Boston for 5 years, where I see and here everything around me in a sureal kind of way when I feel threatened. I hadn't felt the sensation in several years. It got "activated" twice in Asheville. I would recommend vacationing there a few times at different times of the year before making the leap. Good Luck, W

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