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I just wanted to share an update... after selling our home in CA very quickly (before it hit the MLS!) and spending 10 days driving across the country, my husband, I, and our two golden retrievers arrived in Asheville on July 1st. We had an Airbnb in West Asheville for the month of July, which only solidified what we already knew: we do not want to live there! We’re staying in Weaverville this month, and while we like it, we are also very clear it’s not where we want to live.
Our research, visits out here, driving the entire area several times from Tryon to Waynesville to Burnsville to Lake Lure, staying in different areas (Hendersonville, North Asheville, West Asheville, and Weaverville), looking at homes online for over a year, and in person on several trips out here, all helped us become very clear where we wanted to live.
I’m happy to share we were lucky enough to find our dream home at the top of Laurel Park (our first choice area) in Hendersonville. We got a great deal on fixer upper with a view that rivals the view from Jump Off Rock. In fact we are just down the street from Jump Off Rock. We never dreamed we’d find, or be able to afford, a home up there.
We closed on the house August 1 and we immediately started gutting the inside so we can update it from it’s 1984 decor ��
It will be a lot of work but we are both very handy and love that we get to make it our own.
Every day we drive up to our house we pinch ourselves. We can’t believe it’s ours.
We don’t miss our old home or San Diego one bit. We have experienced all 4 seasons here now, including a colder and snowier than normal winter, and the weather is not an issue for us. In fact we love the different seasons for a change, instead of the year round hot, hot, and hotter, rampant fires, and drought in San Diego where we lived. It was definitely time for us to move on, and we immediately felt at home here when we arrived. It just feels like it’s where we belong.
Thank you again to everyone who shared in response to all my questions about relocating here. We took all your advice to heart, used it to fuel our research, and in the end, we made a decision to trust what our guts were telling us.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this entire process, it’s that despite what anyone tells you, you have to do your own due diligence (whatever that looks like for you) and you have to trust your gut. I would never want to live in West Asheville but that doesn’t mean it’s not perfect for someone else. Likewise, we love Hendersonville and I know several people who would never live there because they want to be in Asheville. To each his own ��
And lastly, despite the real estate market being hot here, and being told by some it would be very difficult, we were able to find the perfect house, in our chosen neighborhood, and within our budget ($350K - $400K), within a week of rolling into town. Yes, some homes are going quickly, but many we looked at (including the one we bought) have been on the market for months and are negotiable. You may just need to have a little vision, and some budget for updates. And a good realtor!
Perhaps we were just lucky, but I’m glad we followed our hearts and trusted what they were telling us.
I’m sure we will encounter some challenges, it’s early still, but that’s the case no matter where you live.
For now we’re happy to be North Carolina residents!
Congratulations! Thanks for the update. You did it right by renting and exploring to find the right area. Your project will be fun and you can put your own stamp on it. Btw, you need to change your location on here Good luck and keep us updated
Best if you visited a few times, yes, traffic in Asheville can be bad. Asheville is also the most expensive. Mars Hill or Weaverville may be a better fit. My 2 cents
Best if you visited a few times, yes, traffic in Asheville can be bad. Asheville is also the most expensive. Mars Hill or Weaverville may be a better fit. My 2 cents
Keep up EcoDeb!!! They're already here, already bought a house in Laurel Park and are already renovating it.
Yes, up near Jump Off Rock I believe. I wouldn't want to do that trek more than a few round trips a week, especially in winter snow and more often, ice. Homes aren't exactly 'jumping' off the shelf up there. Nice views though.
My favorite for homes and incredible views at a moderate elevation is the Mountain Valley
subdivision off Cummings Cove Rd.
@sddogmom,
Sorry to bring up an old post but as a Southern California native, I remember following this post while you were in the process of moving. I'm just curious as to your thoughts since you've now lived in WNC for a couple years.
@sddogmom,
Sorry to bring up an old post but as a Southern California native, I remember following this post while you were in the process of moving. I'm just curious as to your thoughts since you've now lived in WNC for a couple years.
Sorry, I just saw this post as I really haven't been on this forum since we relocated. Two years in we absolutely love it here. No regrets, in fact we are very glad we're no longer in CA. The only challenge we've faced recently is not being able to travel due to COVID, so I haven't seen my parents since last Fall. Thank goodness for Facetime! Other than that, very grateful we made the move and we still pinch ourselves :-)
OP, thanks for telling the forum how the move worked out!
Just curious: what were the factors that made one part of WNC a good fit, and another part not?
For example, what was right about Hendersonville, and what was wrong with West Asheville?
Would also like to hear her perspective. We moved to Hendersonville recently and can shares ours. West Asheville is really an extension of Asheville, so if you want to be in a larger metro area, closer in to things in Asheville, then this is probably a better fit. Hendersonville is just really unique. It is large enough to offer enough amenities and services, but not too large. Really just about the right size. Downtown is very well done - just beautiful. West and southwest Hendersonville have some really nice mountain views. Great location, convenient to Asheville and Greenville. Within an hour or so drive of 3 lakes. Close to wineries and the apple orchards. Like sddogmom, sometimes living here seems like a dream.
It's hard to say what factors made one part of WNC a good fit vs others, than to say that after spending time here we just felt more drawn to Hendersonville. We could see ourselves living here. Other areas we didn't have that feeling. Some areas felt too rural for us (Waynesville, Fairview, Weaversville). Asheville overall was too big and crowded for our taste. And West Asheville, where we lived our first month here, felt too much like living adjacent to the city (if you know San Diego, it would be like living in Hillcrest vs. living in East County)... smaller older homes situated close together, a bit dingier, noisy, trafficky, and higher crime rates. Not what we were moving here for.
We wanted a view and we wanted elbow room. And we got both in Laurel Park, with a house that has views all the way north to Tennessee and our lot is close to 2 acres, so while we have neighbors they're not right on top of us.
Like @Lizap shared, we love Hendersonville because while we live on a mountaintop that feels far away from the city, we can get to just about anything we need in 10-15 minutes. Hendersonville has one of our favorite downtowns of all the cities we visited in WNC. And stores like Lowes, Home Depot, TJ Maxx are close by. Rarely do we need to drive to Asheville to shop. We can get pretty much anything we need here.
Additionally, we like being in between Asheville, Pisgah Forest/Brevard (for hiking), Greenville (we ride our bikes on the Swamp Rabbit Trail and we go to Costco), Forest City/Rutherford (we ride our bikes on the Thermal Belt Rail Trail), Wineries, apple orchards, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock. It feels like everything is within 30-60 minutes.
At the same time I have friends who live in Asheville and love it. And they'd never live here where we live. So it really depends on what you're looking for.
Sddogmom, we're just over the ridge from you. Stein Mart is a big loss. Hoping something good moves in. Maybe TJ Maxx will move from its present location.
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Good luck and keep us updated 
