2026 Compare Cities Rankings:
Black Mountain, NC vs Irvine, CA

#8 2005 Best Places to Live

#25 Best Green Cities

#32 America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime (Mid-Size Metro Areas)

#2 Most Comfortable Summer Cities

#2 Top 10 Cities to Beat the Heat

#43 Best Cities for Board Gamers

#47 Gloomiest Places in America

#50 America's Top Hygge Cities

I lived in Black Mountain for about ten years and loved it! Beautiful scenery, friendly people, and a great vibe. I had to move back to my home state because of family  More

Moved to the mountains only 2 years ago from a big NC city. Thought this area near Asheville would be nice, but the people here are unkind and no one associates outside  More

There is no town in the US that is more similar to a Thonas Kinkade painting than Black Mountain, NC. You have to experience the magic of the mountains here to  More

We've lived in Irvine since '87. We have raised two children within the ISUD. Both are grown up. Sure, there have been many changes since then.. the City has  More

I've lived in Irvine for 2 years and in Orange County for 10 so I'm pretty familiar with the area by now and all it has to offer. Perhaps my review of this place has  More

I wouldn't live elsewhere. I originally moved to Irvine in 2002 from the Midwest, not knowing what it even was. I left and moved around a great deal locally in OC,  More