Asheville, NC

[MileKing]

Although ER is a ways off, Asheville is on our short list of possibles. We spent a 3 day weekend there about two weeks ago and niether Mrs. MileKing or myself were wowed. Our assessment:

- We want to get away from the hot/humid DC summers. From looking at historical weather data, the summer temps run about 5 degrees less than the DC area, but humidity is actually higher (as hard as that is to believe). Rain & snow amounts are similar to DC as well. No real weather benefit.
- Can't see any tax benefits to NC, with the possible exception of lower property taxes. VA income and sales taxes are lower.
- Asheville has an extraordinarily large number of quality restaurants for a town this size. A real plus.
- We travel a fair amount so access to a good airport is desired. Connections out of Asheville are primarily to Atlanta, Cincy, and Charlotte on Delta or US Air. American and United don't even serve Asheville (United codeshares with US Air) and they are our preferred airlines so this is a negative. Charlotte is about a two-hour drive (120 miles) which is just beyond our desired limit for airport commutes.
- Overall housing and living costs are clearly less than the DC area, although that can be said for most all places on our list.
- The fact that UNC is present is both a positive and a negative. We desire access to a quality educational institution, but students did seem to overrun the downtown area at night.
- From what I've read, medical care in the area is supposedly very good and there are a number of hospitals.
- Tourism is a big industry in Asheville, particularly during the Fall. Makes for crowds and traffic...and difficulty parking downtown.

All in all, a rather neutral to slightly less than neutral view. For the moment, it remains on our list.

[prubin]

In contrast I see downton Asheville as a vibrant urban space. We have made 3 trips to AVL in the past 5 years and we always seek out downtown. Perhaps 30+ years of living in San Francisco have innoculated me regarding negatives cited by wallygator69.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by prubin In contrast I see downton Asheville as a vibrant urban space. We have made 3 trips to AVL in the past 5 years and we always seek out downtown. Perhaps 30+ years of living in San Francisco have innoculated me regarding negatives cited by wallygator69.

Also the prices there probably look good to you, coming from SF. Online real estate prices there look terribly expensive for a southern town, to me, in comparison with southern Louisiana. Even if I could afford to live there, I would be concerned that others moving there would be more into conspicuous consumption and yuppification, than they would be in LBYM. Maybe that is an incorrect assumption!! I have never been there.

[prubin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire Also the prices there probably look good to you, coming from SF. Online real estate prices there look terribly expensive for a southern town, to me, in comparison with southern Louisiana. Even if I could afford to live there, I would be concerned that others moving there would be more into conspicuous consumption and yuppification, than they would be in LBYM. Maybe that is an incorrect assumption!! I have never been there.

Yup, prices look great from here. After spending 1/2 day with a realtor it looks like AVL prices are ~1/3 of SF Bay area prices. If rampant yuppification results I hope I live long enough to see it rival what I seeing now in San Francisco. I plan to use inflated CA equity to provide a chunk of the means to live. perhaps I have seen the future and I am trying to flee from it.

[mahoneycutt]

I've lived in Asheville my entire life (45 years). I've worked at UNC Asheville for 25 years and would be happy to answer questions about Asheville or the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement.

Mike Honeycutt

[prubin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahoneycutt I've lived in Asheville my entire life (45 years). I've worked at UNC Asheville for 25 years and would be happy to answer questions about Asheville or the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Mike Honeycutt

We looked at homes near Beaver Lake and the Grove Park Inn. We saw some great values, by San Francisco standards. I like the types of homes I see in Montford but the realtor gave us the impression that much of Montford is still emerging, although he recommended Montford Hts or Hills. We looked at new construction on Blake and arond the corner on Merriman. Beautiful arts and crafts reproductions but the area looked marginal -- close to the freeway. I want to live in a neigborhood where it is possible to walk (less than 1 mile) to shops and restaurants.

[Orchidflower]

Go to retirementliving.com and check out tax rates for NC. They are NOT great deals. Sorry to have to pass that on to you.
Brevard is supposedly a booming place for retirees. One of my pool guys was checking it out for his wife.
Want2Retire: Never fear! Daley in Chicago is proposing an 11% sales tax, which will beat your piddley little 9.75%. You know those Yankees have to best the South...haha! Boy! Doesn't Daley really know how to woo them to his city? The movie industry was making movies hand over fist there, so what does Daley do? Puts a TAX higher than any other city (including Canada) on making movies there. The upshot of that brilliant decision was all the movies stopped being made there overnight. Just brilliant....dumba**!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower One of my pool guys was checking it out for his wife.

If you have more than one "pool guy", just how large is your pool?

[mahoneycutt]

Housing is tough since your reference to Grove Park and Beaver Lake implies more upscale than most areas in Asheville. Kimberly Avenue could technically be considered the "Grove Park area" but you might want to look there. It is close to Merrimon.

You might consider building to get exactly what you want.

I second the Brevard suggestion but a little closer to Asheville (10 minutes) is Weaverville. It is north of Asheville and while growing, is not nearly as congested as south of Asheville (Arden, Fletcher, Hendersonville).

Good luck
Mike Honeycutt

[prubin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahoneycutt ...a little closer to Asheville (10 minutes) is Weaverville. It is north of Asheville and while growing, is not nearly as congested as south of Asheville (Arden, Fletcher, Hendersonville). Good luck Mike Honeycutt

I am familiar with Weaverville. We stay at the Pines Inn when we visit Asheville. It is a much better value than the pricey B&B's. Frankly the major concern, or obstacle, for relocating to AVL is availability of health insurance. I am currently covered by employer provided HMO. WhenI leave my job I can continue coverage fro 3 yrs under the provisions of CAL-COBRA. This would get me to Medicare, however, my we would have to find insurance for my wife for a few years -- she is 58 and I am almost 63.

[wcv56]

If anyone is looking for the Knoxville area, I bought a place recently to move the folks away from the storms of Florida.
Seems now they do not want to move. Lucky I have a younger
brother who stays with them and helps them out at the small place I bought them in Florida several years ago.
I am a 2 miles from the site below and 1 mile from a walmart
on 1 acre country lot. 4 bdrm 3 bth 2500 sqft not counting
full basement, brick front and very nice sitting room on the back. 35 miles from university of Tn. main road/highway driving.
I would be happy to get what I paid which realator is telling me
it is about 50K to 80K under what it would and should sell for.
I would post a pic but the image will only allow website.
Tellico Village | Tellico Village Loudon County TN | Knoxville Planned Residential Community | Tellico Village Golf Course | Tellico Lake Community | Tennessee Yacht Club | Tellico Village Lenior City TN | Tellico Lake Boating

[wcv56]

Fact sheet from the area.

Tellico Village | Tellico Village Loudon County TN | Knoxville Planned Residential Community | Tellico Village Golf Course | Tellico Lake Community | Tennessee Yacht Club | Tellico Village Lenior City TN | Tellico Lake Boating