Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello, I am considering retiring to this area. What are the pros and cons? I am definitely looking for a new home with easy access. Never visited, but will shortly. Pictures of this place are just beautiful. Thanks in advance for any info.
I offered a post on the other thread you inquired on, about 'access'...
As for 'pros and cons' of western NC, too open ended/vague, imo.
It is a wonderful area, but that will be the comment of most of us that live here.
Things that come up on the JukeBox here, regularly:
-Have a job or lots of dough to tide you over until you find one here.
-No job here pays like it does in metro areas
-Cost of living is hard to gauge; houses are not cheap, other things are reasonable, whatever that means.
-population is much less than many are used to, coming from metro areas.
-demographics are different than more populated areas too, imo: less true middle to upper middle class.
For more than a couple of anecdotal responses you might get in this orig thread, hit the Search This Forum Tab, upper right hand corner of main Wester NC page, plug in any combo of words in your criteria, and do some reading.
GL, mD
That all depends on where in western NC you want to move. You have the Cherokee area, Asheville area, and Boone area. I live in the Boone area. Housing is expensive compared to what you get in other towns. We've had 60+ inches of rain this summer, it's rained everyday for 30 days. Winters aren't as bad as they used to be, but you will still need to know how to drive on snowy, curvy roads. We get the occasional ice storm. Winters are also terribly windy in Boone, usually 30-40 mph winds is a weekly problem in Feb/March.. It blew all the guttering off my house this past winter. it's a joke around town that we get more rain than Seattle and its windier than Chicago, but its true. Since you are retiring, a job won't be a worry for you.
I've made this observation a few times in the past, but people who want "great views" and easy, year-round access are generally disappointed. Of course, there are always exceptions. However, most houses in WNC that are perched on mountainsides or mountaintops with expansive views are likely to be seasonal (e.g. "summer") homes.
Pros:
-Quality of life for those who love outdoors
-Prefect climate of 4 distinct seasons.
Cons:
-Jobs. No or low paying jobs for most.
-Cost of living especially compared to household income.
-Because of the high cost of living many areas tend to have a very distinct have and have nots.
-The summer and fall months can sometimes be stressful (traffic and dinning wise) due to all the influx of tourists.
Pros:
-Quality of life for those who love outdoors
-Prefect climate of 4 distinct seasons.
Cons:
-Jobs. No or low paying jobs for most.
-Cost of living especially compared to household income.
-Because of the high cost of living many areas tend to have a very distinct have and have nots.
-The summer and fall months can sometimes be stressful (traffic and dinning wise) due to all the influx of tourists.
High cost of living in general in Western NC ? compared to _________ ?
Only real cons for me summer humidity, but much better than 99 per cent of the south. Biggest city is still small so some things not available but minor bigger cities not that far. So many pros hard to name all biggest is natural beauty of the area and lots of good folks live in WNC!
We retired to Hendersonville from NJ last August. We have really liked it. For Pros, we find the people very friendly and helpful. Weatherwise, last winter wasn't too bad ... very little snow, much more mild than up north. There are many very good restaurants nearby, and a multitude if you're willing to travel up to an hour. Our neighborhood is beautiful ... many huge trees and greenery all around. Some of the prices are considerably lower than in NY/NJ ... think car insurance, gas and electric, and property taxes. Traffic is almost non-existent, and this makes driving so much easier. For the most part, other drivers are very considerate, which also helps. We have traveled out of Asheville and Greenville/Spartanburg airports, and they are just beautiful, low-stress events, compared with Newark, JFK, and Laguardia.
We have found the health care to be very good ... especially the local dentists, who are gentle, and explain every step they are about to take. We actually like the dentist we found down here better than any dentist we've had, anywhere.
For cons, as others have mentioned, this past month - maybe more - has been nothing but rain ... TORRENTIAL rain. And although I include the huge trees as a "pro", I must also consider them a "con", for the worry that the wind, which is sometimes quite hard and steady, will topple one into our home, or across a street we need to use. Income taxes were actually higher than we would've paid in NY or NJ, but it looks like that issue might have "gone away" this year. We are wondering how much more we'll wind up paying in Property Taxes to make up for that adjustment.
I don't know where you're hailing from, but for us, the nightlife is much quieter than we are used to. Many places close up earlier than in NY/NJ, and the bars/nightclubs are much more subdued.
While the airports, as mentioned above, are much easier to navigate, it should be noted that they do not fly to many places - directly, which adds a lot of time and cost to trips you might want to take.
Overall, food prices, gasoline prices, and many others are about the same, but we sometimes travel down to Greenville/Spartanburg, or the beaches in SC, where gas prices are at least a dime per gallon lower, and sometimes even more. You will find cable tv, if you would be a subscriber, more expensive than NY/NJ, and somewhat more limited in the channels available.
Sorry, I think I've pretty much been rambling, but - off the top of my head, these are things that come to mind.
Good luck in your decision-making, and congrats on the retirement.
We retired to Hendersonville from NJ last August. We have really liked it. For Pros, we find the people very friendly and helpful. Weatherwise, last winter wasn't too bad ... very little snow, much more mild than up north. There are many very good restaurants nearby, and a multitude if you're willing to travel up to an hour. Our neighborhood is beautiful ... many huge trees and greenery all around. Some of the prices are considerably lower than in NY/NJ ... think car insurance, gas and electric, and property taxes. Traffic is almost non-existent, and this makes driving so much easier. For the most part, other drivers are very considerate, which also helps. We have traveled out of Asheville and Greenville/Spartanburg airports, and they are just beautiful, low-stress events, compared with Newark, JFK, and Laguardia.
We have found the health care to be very good ... especially the local dentists, who are gentle, and explain every step they are about to take. We actually like the dentist we found down here better than any dentist we've had, anywhere.
For cons, as others have mentioned, this past month - maybe more - has been nothing but rain ... TORRENTIAL rain. And although I include the huge trees as a "pro", I must also consider them a "con", for the worry that the wind, which is sometimes quite hard and steady, will topple one into our home, or across a street we need to use. Income taxes were actually higher than we would've paid in NY or NJ, but it looks like that issue might have "gone away" this year. We are wondering how much more we'll wind up paying in Property Taxes to make up for that adjustment.
I don't know where you're hailing from, but for us, the nightlife is much quieter than we are used to. Many places close up earlier than in NY/NJ, and the bars/nightclubs are much more subdued.
While the airports, as mentioned above, are much easier to navigate, it should be noted that they do not fly to many places - directly, which adds a lot of time and cost to trips you might want to take.
Overall, food prices, gasoline prices, and many others are about the same, but we sometimes travel down to Greenville/Spartanburg, or the beaches in SC, where gas prices are at least a dime per gallon lower, and sometimes even more. You will find cable tv, if you would be a subscriber, more expensive than NY/NJ, and somewhat more limited in the channels available.
Sorry, I think I've pretty much been rambling, but - off the top of my head, these are things that come to mind.
Good luck in your decision-making, and congrats on the retirement.
pvs, thanks so much for this. Very good info from someone like you who made the move.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
