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Hello, all. I see a great amount of information on the major cities of NC but not as much on Western NC. We are planning move to Western NC mostly because my husband wants to return to the South and I enjoy moderate weather - so somewhere around Asheville seems like a good fit. We both work.
Problem is it is hard to find much info on communities. I want to avoid high taxes and overcrowding (population and taxes) and we want to avoid high crime areas and it seems like Hendersonville fails as well as Asheville when you take all that into account. We are considering Madison County area because it seems pretty, not suffocating with trees and has rolling terrain in parts and has a low population, low taxes and a somewhat homogeneous makeup of people.
BUT, I have read that in Madision (& maybe Yancey counties) old families control much of the land and city councils so they are 'giving away the farm' so to speak to make money and that the current residents (native and transplanters) have no voice to oppose them. One article said that in this respect, Hendersonville and Brevard were better because the common man had more of a voice in development issues, taxes, etc. than in Madison County.
I know that what several people have said is true - that in time, many areas of NC will turn into mini-versions of the places people are fleeing from regarding high taxes, expensive homes, overcrowding, crime, etc. But in the meantime, any thoughts on which places (in the mountain area) you think will be the last to succumb to these negative outcomes.
My dad lives in Henderson county, but not in Hendersonville though. All in all, that area never struck me as a high crime area. You can lose yourself pretty quickly in the mountains. Meaning there is a low population, alot of private property that people wont sell to developers, and thats pretty much it. It is removed from the rest of civilization almost.
You really cant have it both ways. Either you live in or near a city that will inevitably annex you or live far enough out that it wont happen.
So it is desirable for people who move here to live in the outskirts of either Hendersonville and Asheville. You think your safe but before you know it theres a new development popping up and then there goes the neighborhood.
There are small towns though you may want to consider like Tryon or Waynesville.
nctarhell, I guess what you are saying is true that if you live out far enough you might not be exposed to the crime of the city but I would be dependent on a realtor to find out which direction; that is why I am thinking of avoiding the area altogether. Yes, I know the annexation thing can bite you unless you are in a city, then you have higher taxes which is something I want to get away from. I checke on city-data and Sperling's and found that Hendersonville (proper) and even Asheville has surprisingly high crime rates. Some of the towns North of Asheville - Mars Hill, Marshall, Hot Springs and other in Yancey County seemed to all have low crime rates.
It is just the concern about do certain families really rule everything there?
Those crime rates stats for the Asheville-Hendersonville are a mystery to me. I've lived in Eastern Plains, Piedmont and Western regions of NC off and on for the past 46 years and have never experienced a crime. Not even having a car broken into for a petty theft of its contents. I'm within the city limits of Hendersonville now and never felt safer from the bad guys. I don't have a clue as to what exactly those crime stats are based on.
As mm34b said, I dont know how city-data gets its crime stats. These are pretty safe areas to live.
Dont avoid the area based upon what you see on the web. It is a very nice place to live, anywhere in the mountains. The biggest areas are Asheville, Hendersonville, and Boone. Besides these are small towns scattered about. Schools I cant comment on, but mostly are divided by the county, not city. Towns are still within driving distance of bigger cities, but you may have to drive 15 or 20 miles for a Walmart.
The property is owned by the state or federal government, or private citizens. So I guess a real estate agent is the best way to go to find a home or land to build on.
There are some very pricy subdivisions being built where my dad lives, but like I said if you live further out you can avoid this.
If your looking to get away from overcrowding, high taxes, this is probably the area you are looking for. (mountains)
We are looking into moving into western NC. I fell in love with Valle Crucis, but it was kind of pricey...so, I'm going to have to settle for the foothills or something. Maybe Rutherfordton?
"...not suffocating with trees and has rolling terrain in parts and has a low population, low taxes and a somewhat homogeneous makeup of people."
Then move to Colorado. What does "suffocating with trees" mean exactly?
I've known folks who come close to panic attacks in dense forests, but I think it's much more common to have phobias related to densely populated areas. People are much more scarier than trees, in my opinion.
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