Asheville, NC Reviews

Asheville, cloudy, wet, horrible traffic - 4/5/2018
I am a corporate pilot based in Asheville. I commute to Asheville from northern Florida and I'm there 10-12 days a month. Believe me, I can't wait to get home to sunny Florida.
First the Asheville weather is cloudy, wet, damp and gloomy most of the time. If you love the sun like I do, forget that in western N.C.
Second the traffic is the worst I've ever experienced in the US. This is because the whole area has been way over developed with little road expansion. In the 7-9 am to 3-6 pm time frame be prepared to have a 15 mile drive take from 1-3 hours, especially anywhere north of the airport along I26-I40 and the surrounding towns.
West of the airport along route 280 is a fairly easy commute.
NC state and property taxes are very high, so be prepared!
Housing and rent prices are also high and the market is tight.
Be very careful before you decide to buy or even rent especially in the mountain areas because there are many run down shacks and broken Read More

Unemployment rates are very deceiving - 2/18/2018
The posted unemployment rate is 3.5%, but that is very deceiving. Asheville and the surrounding area is in fact, a poverty pocket where 90% of the populace hustles badly for coin. Unless you have a post grad degree and can demand a high salary, your time in the Asheville area will be rather dismal. My wife works two part-time jobs because employers do not like to pay benefits. Rents and housing prices are extremely high for people of modest means. $1,500-2,000 a month is not uncommon for a rental. GROCERIES: For those coming from NY or NJ, groceries will be about the same. If you're from Arizona like myself, groceries will average 15 to 25% percent higher. TAXES: North Carolina itself is a very tax-happy state, even though they're broke. They even tax groceries, except for medications (big deal-what other state does?). Property taxes are high (city and county). NC also collects an income tax, as well. Gas at this writing is $2.60 a gallon. MEDICAL INSURANCE: Extremely high and most Read More

Visit Asheville. Think twice about moving there. - 2/3/2018
I've lived in Asheville for about three decades. When I arrived I found a youthful, quirky, funky little town full of weird and artsy people. Asheville was cheap. Asheville was cool. Word got out. Then the tourist boom happened. Many decided to move here.

Asheville is both a retiree and a tourist town. It can be a difficult place to make a living, particularly if you're young. Most work is in the service industry and pay is generally poor. Rents are high and on the rise, and the cost of most everything is higher than average. Healthcare costs are high as well, and even if you can afford to pay it can be tough to find a provider.

The once-cool downtown scene has become overrun with tourists and is mostly avoided by locals as the prices go up and parking gets scarce. Restaurants and hotels are popping up everywhere and in the process overshadowing what brought visitors here in the first place.

If you're thinking about moving to Asheville because Read More

Visited - 12/28/2017
Interesting Read More

Great place to live if you like the outdoors. - 8/15/2017
Asheville overall is an amazing place to live. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews on here. So I figured I would write a review to provide another side of the city.

I moved to the area in 2013 after living in Austin, TX which is hardly a slouch town (Live Music Capital of the World!) and Colorado Before that.

1) Weather - you get 4 seasons which is more than you can say about many places in the US. You don't have to deal with the Southeastern humidity, the southwestern heat, the Northwestern rain, or Midwest and Northeast Cold. Additionally - the foliage is otherworldly.

2) Outdoors / Fitness - If you like to run, ride, kayak, white water raft, climb, paddleboard, hike, yoga, swim, camp, ski, snowboard, etc. There is something for you. Bent Creek has 40+ miles of trails and is in Asheville. Pisgah National Forrest is 40 minutes away and is free to camp in. The cost for all of these activities is on the low side and there are ample Read More

Asheville is a Beautiful Place to Live - 7/4/2017
Asheville is an incredible beautiful place to live.
I have lived here and brought up three daughters for the past thirty years. It has gone though tremendous changes in the past five years via downtown hotels, chains and too many dang tourist, brewpubs, etc.
It's still pretty but considering a Read More

5 stars to visit, 3 stars to live. - 5/11/2017
Like many places, Asheville has many great things to offer, along with challenges when it comes to day-to-day living. After visiting here in 2014, and actually living here for 21 months, I believe I can offer a balanced and current perspective. I will break this up into 6 reasons why you should and 6 reasons why you should NOT move to Asheville:

Reasons to move to Asheville:
1. Four seasons provide "Goldie Locks" weather, compared to the cold winters of northeast and midswest and the wretched heat during summer in the southeast and southwest. Sperling's stats on climate are pretty accurate.

2. Despite some overdevelopment, there are plenty of outdoor amenities, especially for hiking, canoeing, camping, and leaf looking.

3. Breweries..#3 in the nation per capita...over 50 breweries in the WNC area.

4. Restaurants, particularly breakfast and if you are a fan of what they call "New American" cuisine.

5. Great place to Read More

Asheville is a Marketing Mirage - AVOID! - 4/13/2017
Asheville people are full of sh*t and the biggest delusional braggarts I've ever known. Most people who think Asheville is so great, have only lived in WNC or moved from BFE or other crappy places. NEWSFLASH: microbreweries and restaurants are everywhere! Yes, the mountains are beautiful to visit in WNC, for a WEEKEND.
I would recommend the Birmingham, AL area to those who seek southern hills/mountains AND a professional position. It is beautiful, has all of the big boxes of a modern city and some very nice suburbs. Plus, one can experience true southern hospitality - WNC was NEVER a permanent place of the southern genteel. You must locate on the coast to find that. Mountain Brook is one of the top 10 wealthiest towns in America. The only area in NC that could possibly compare fiscally, would be South Charlotte's best areas - maybe a couple of pockets in Raleigh.
Finally, to those who refer in their posts to "NC," when posting about Asheville: Asheville and WNC are Read More

Looking for home outside of Asheville - 4/11/2017
We are wanting to move to western NC or SC area for milder weather and beautiful surroundings. We don't want anything downtown. What areas within 100 miles or so of Asheville would you recommend? Read More

Asheville is a toilet - 3/30/2017
I moved to Asheville from central WI Sept. of 2015. I had made several motorcycle trips here and fell in love with the mountains and all the twisty roads that are so much fun on a bike. The year round mild weather with bearable summer temps. were appealing to me. I had Googled "Asheville population and found that it was around 90,000 so I thought that would be a good fit for me given that I came from a town of 79,000. I was certain that with all the surrounding mountains that I would be able to jump on my bike and ride out of town and find myself in rural countryside locations and be able to get away from people for a while. Not the case. What I found out was, there is no "country" in NC. The state is one big suburb dotted with large metropolitan cities and some national and state parks and forests that are teaming with people and the places that used to be "country" are now fully developed, houses everywhere with the occasional hay field now then. Google "Asheville metro population" Read More