Asheville, NC Reviews

Just don't do it - 4/8/2019
I was born in a neighboring county and have lived in western North Carolina for all of my life. We currently own a home in Asheville. The unfortunate part is that people are flocking to Asheville in droves, which causes the housing prices to skyrocket. An influx of affluent people has also caused a great gentrification of Asheville; the middle class does not exist in Asheville anymore. Many of the people I graduated from college with have 4 or 5 roommates and are working 2-3 jobs and barely making ends meet.

I wish that we could move away from Asheville. If you would like a revealing and depressing real estate exercise, search for a 2,000 sq ft house for $300k in Asheville and then try searching with the same parameters in other NC cities (Charlotte, Raleigh, etc.).

The good news is that the housing bubble of Asheville has to burst at some point. I feel like Asheville is currently en vogue, but, once the trend passes, there are far too many high-priced Read More

Taxes and Cost of Living Kills Retirees - 3/27/2019
I have lived here, in retirement, for 5 years. Came from Dallas. We are senior citizens and live on a set budget. Although I consider myself wealthy, I have seen my worth decrease in the last 5 years, since moving here, because of the taxes and overall cost of living ... astronomical, as compared to Texas. I plan to sell my house this summer, just outside of Asheville, and move back to Texas where money goes allot further. Plus, these Democrats living here are Read More

Too expensive to breathe - 3/26/2019
I was born and raised about 20 miles from Asheville. In the 20-something years I can remember living in that area, the more I disliked, and eventually hated going anywhere near Asheville. In less than two decades, it went from a having family small town feel, to being an overpriced and overpopulated dump. WNC is absolutely breathtaking. Gorgeous views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, great places to hike, swim... etc... But, prices are inflated without an inflation of means to pay those prices. I moved less than two miles away to SC, and the average home is almost $100k less. Visit if you like beautiful views and craft beer... don’t take up residence, unless you like paying double for housing and sitting in traffic constantly. Read More

Asheville, NC: Overpriced Dump - 3/15/2019
Quite simply, Asheville is a dump. The little "city" is trashy and restaurants and hotels grossly overpriced for nothing more than common fair. The area looks and feels poor and dirty with many street people (drug addicts) all over the streets, no escaping them.

Housing, either homes or apartments, is ridiculously expensive and for no real reason. You can't find an apartment in the Asheville/hendersonville area for under $1,300 (1 bedroom). The houses are old (need $$ for repair/upkeep), on tiny lots, and again, overpriced.

The main issues in the Western NC area are 1) No solid employment except seasonal tourism and taking care of the elderly, 2) Exreme wealth and extreme poverty with no real middle class, 3) Major drug issues (Crystal Meth, illegal opioids, etc), 4) Poor education, and stereotypical slow and stupid thinking and moving that drives northerners insane. If the locals can mess something up, they do. Hence depending upon those not born/raised in Read More

Why We Passed on Asheville - 1/2/2019
Asheville is a cool city, no two ways about it. This is the Austin TX of NC, but -and here’s the kicker- without the jobs. The eclectic neighborhoods, the artsy vibe... there are fun eats and a good overall quality of living. Winter is never too harsh, but the skies are often gray and you will get the seasons. The nearby mountains offer great hiking in summer. If you are retired, or not in need of earned income, Asheville should be on your short list. Still, housing isnt cheap- your dollar will absolutely go further than in NY, CA or DC- but is Asheville the best fit for you?

We (a 30 and 40 something couple) asked ourselves the same question. One of us works remotely out of NYC, and more sunshine, a fun and funky downtown, diversity of thought and in people... this was our ask. While we liked Asheville, many of the local transplants (read: advanced degrees, now working for $10 an hour in retail) warned us not to move unless we both had jobs lined up. Since the Read More

Home Sweet Home - 10/22/2018
Asheville is my hometown and I think you are always biased about your hometown, but I think Asheville is an amazing city. It definitely has its quirks. It is the home to retirees, trust fund babies and people just getting along. The housing market is crazy, just like any other upcoming/popular city, same with traffic and job opportunities. However, the culture is overflowing. Foodtopia is Asheville's second name. There is so much to do from actual local shopping, breweries, restaurants, music venues, outdoor activities, etc. The people are very friendly and Asheville has a very diverse community. Asheville proper steers to the left and the surrounding rural areas steer to the right, as they do in most cities. Asheville is very pet friendly and Fido can come along on most adventures. The airport is working hard to include more flights to major cities all the time and working to add more airlines as well. I currently live in Seattle and see a lot similarities between the two cities and Read More

Looks good? Look again. - 9/7/2018
Incredible positive reviews and beautiful natural beauty had me strongly considering a move to Asheville NC. I was stunned to recently discover unbiased research and media reports concerning how horribly contaminated the water and air quality is. There’s a Duke Energy coal plant right in the city, and plans to build another two. There are another 30 throughout the state and they have all dumped their toxic coal ash waste in unlined pits for decades. It has leached into the ground water and wells. Since most of the plants are next to rivers and lakes, contamination travels far and wide. And the plants’ smoke stacks release toxins into the air. And guess what? The governor used to work for Duke Energy. So sad how such a beautiful state has been abused for Read More

Beauty, Affordability, and Culture - 9/6/2018
Wow, I can't believe how much Asheville bashing there is here. I'm a glass-half-empty guy, easily finding fault with every place I live, but I can objectively say that Asheville is a very nice place to live. I moved here four years ago from the NYC suburbs with my girlfriend. Our criteria for a new location were: affordability (houses under 350K), moderate weather, natural beauty, open space, cultural offerings, and progressive politics. Asheville was the only place we could find that satisfied all. The other desirable places we looked at were either too expensive or had extreme weather.

Four years in, we are still happy with our decision. We live a few miles outside the city in a former farming community; the combination of rural beauty/serenity and easy access to a small, vibrant city is ideal. The mountains bring daily joy, and the people in Asheville are interesting, creative, and free-spirited. Asheville is big enough to attract national acts (e.g. Jerry Seinfeld, Read More

A good place to live, but you need money and a job - 8/29/2018
Considerable amount of whining here -- must be some unhappy people, but not because of Asheville.
The good things:
* an intact downtown: back when "urban renewal" was the rage (1950s-60s) Asheville was too poor to do, so today the pre-1930s building stock is still there (but cleaned up).
* big foodie scene, brewery/distillery scene, music -- all this leads to lots of life downtown and in the nearby areas including after dark. Summer time means street entertainment from the buskers
* surrounded by the mountains, so there is something to see besides high rise
* four seasons - so yes, Floridians will complain about the cold. It seldom gets sweltering hot (but it can), or sub-20s cold (but it can)
* great place for hikers, kayakers, motorcyclists, bicyclists: Blue Ridge Parkway is here, Appalachian Trail is nearby, Smokey Mountain National Park
* autumn! Snow on the mountains in winter! Summer means swimming in the streams/rivers
Not so Read More

asheville sucks - 4/26/2018
Im young, im only 18 years old, i was born and raised in Asheville and what i can mostly say is, its not for young people at all, its very significantly boring. Its either biltmore park to watch movies or go eat at the same 10 restaurants in your area because all the other ones are all the way across town. Unless you like driving around wasting gas, there is nothing to do. Downtown is very ugly, bunch of crack addicts who ask you for money or just rich white old people that dont pay any attention to anyone. Weather here is absolutely terrible, either cloudy, cold, rainy, or to dry. when we have sunny days its a relief and then traffic gets terrible when we do have those sunny days so either way its just best to sit at home and watch ww2 movies and make hot-dogs cause there is literally nothing to do. Violent crimes arent much of a problem but they are now cause for some odd reason people want to move here and all i want to say is that your making a mistake. Its all a big mistake and Read More