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Do you remember your first trip or visit to Asheville? What positive experience, great restaurant, neighborhood, etc. do you remember most? What was it about this first trip to Asheville that brought you back for future visits and even possibly to sell your house and move to Asheville and the surrounding area of WNC? Please share your adventures!
Our first visit was brief. Very brief. But I remember how friendly and mannerly people were. The beauty of the area in springtime. The wonderful clean smell of the air! And there was just this special energy about the place. And ever since we have wanted to come back and visit again.
My first trip was horrible. Back in 1983 I came down with my boss for an EPA meeting at a downtown hotel. We flew from DC on PanAm and they lost our luggage on a non-stop flight (wonder why they're non longer in business). My boss had gotten the date wrong and we arrived a day early which just happened to be a holiday and most stores were closed. Back then Asheville was decaying and in need a a big makeover with more stores empty than full anyway.
My next trip was a historical society meeting about 1995. It was a very different experience as the city was starting to turn around.
When we started looking for places to retire in 2004 Asheville came up on the radar screen after appearing in some articles on good places to retire. We came down in early November and really enjoyed the town and the people. The first place we ate was Thai Basil at the Grove and we've been going back ever since. My wife loves the artistic energy of the place and I am drawn by the history and closeness to nature here plus my great grandmother was from NC and I had a great-aunt who worked as a nurse at a sanitarium in Black Mountain.
This was one heck of a winter to move down here but spring is making everything look fresh and new and we're looking forward to exploring our new home--Larry
Larry - As I noted in my original post our first trip to Asheville was very brief. On the road to Asheville, it required an overnight in Georgia due to the length of the journey. It was Memorial Day weekend. It was also the weekend all the high schools were having graduation ceremonies! So the combo resulted in literally no rooms at any of the hotels/motels or inns along the highway! The front desk clerk at one of the Marriotts we stopped at even did a special search and found nothing! So we drove on through the night till finally it was unsafe to drive due to exhaustion and just pulled over into a state funded rest stop facility and slept in the car till dawn or so. Then we just got back on the highway, got some breakfast at a Waffle House and headed on down the road again. By the time we reached Asheville all we wanted to do was check into the hotel and go to bed! The only hotel we could get reservations at that weekend was the Marriott out by the airport which was fine. We slept away our first day and most of the evening. Got out of bed just long enough to find a place to eat - Outback Steakhouse. I had recalled seeing it along the interstate as we drove into the area. The next day we met with a realtor who drove us around town but as it turned out to only areas and houses that she wanted us to see rather than really addressing price and need. Not a good match ultimately and very exhausting. At times the ride was rather wild as she drove us up on some city mountaintops where we would never consider living. Our time downtown was just up and down the city streets by car and really became kinda just a blur. Did like North Asheville and the Beaver Lake area. And we did become acquainted with Biltmore Park and all it has to offer. That night we managed to find a very good Asian restaurant in South Asheville along Hendersonville Road for dinner. Sorry, don't recall the name. And we went to the mall as I wanted to check it out. I did discover the EarthFare store in South Asheville and visited a couple of times including food for the road. The next day we went to the Arboretum and to the Farmers Market before getting back on the highway and returning home. This time we were able to get a hotel room for the night on the road - we prebooked it! But it was the people and the energy we felt from this blink of an eye trip that has always made us want to come back to WNC and visit again. I will never forget stopping at the welcome center, getting out of the car and smelling the wonderful clean aroma of the spring mountain air! The next adventure starts soon and the stay is planned to be much longer! Looking forward to it and whatever unfolds.
Are you staying for a month in Montford like you previously planned? April will be my first month of full-time retirement and I'm really looking forward to that--Larry
Our first trip was in early May 2006. We loved the downtown scene of street performers, "live statues", fire eaters . Found our now favorite restaurant The Laughing Seed, also delighted in sitting outside in the sun at The Mellow Mushroom and having pizza and eating at The Early Girl .
We visited the NC arboretum and have been back several times, went to the WNC Farmers market as well as smaller "tailgate" farmers markets and discovered The Green Life store off of Merrimon Ave.
Also visited Biltmore Estate and winery and I hope a seasons pass is in my future when we finally are able to live in Asheville.
My favorite discovery has been the corner cupcake store with all sorts of indescribably delectable, to taste and eye, CUPCAKES!
All of that is just in and around town. The Blueridge parkway is spectacular with great hiking trails right off of it and lots to see along it.
Writing these words is creating a great longing to be there right now.
Enjoy your month stay I hope it is glorious! L.
Our first visit was in April 1991, and I'll never forget it! We spent most of our time in Brevard, in a motorhome park. We were free to linger as long as we liked, though our goal was to finish our trip around the USA within three months. I think we stayed in Brevard for three weeks!
I wanted to live in Brevard so much it hurt! I actually took us to see a realtor, found the perfect house for us with amazing long-range views, completely furnished (down to pots and pans) and decorated by an artist--move-in ready!!! The deck furniture was hand-hewn from surrounding trees, and the house merged with the natural world around it. The asking price was $90K, but we had just remodeled our San Diego house and, as it turned out, couldn't handle a second mortgage. I was crushed. (Bill was relieved I didn't run out and get a second full-time job--LOL.)
We loved Hendersonville, too--just preferred the woods and waterfalls of Brevard.
Then we found Asheville. Oh my--it was half boarded up at the time and STILL spoke to us. Biltmore House, Grove Park Inn, Biltmore Village, River Arts, Arboretum, Farmers Market, and all the other "tourist" attractions are tourist attractions for a REASON! They still speak to us as residents, and we plan to visit them often. How many little towns are blessed with all of these and a university besides--UNC-Asheville--and on that campus the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR)!!!
In fact, it was the Center that drew me here in the first place. I found it on the cover of Pittsburgh area's Parade Magazine in 1988 when the Center was first established as a lifelong, intergenerational learning center. I was so impressed that I knew even then that that's where I wanted to retire.
So on our first visit to Asheville in 1991, we checked out the Center and were thrilled with the prospect of living near it. It would be our intellectual stimulation, our social life (it's loaded with transplants who also need new friends), and our opportunity to "give back" in more volunteer opportunities than we could ever need. Its "College for Seniors" would let us enjoy more classes than we'd ever have time for, without grades or even required attendance. All this at very low cost. Oh yes--it would be no problem finding a church we loved, and that and this Center would "ground" us! (That prediction turned out to be 100% right. The Center is the main reason we bought in Asheville, 15 minutes' drive away from our house.)
But the PEOPLE we met everywhere we went were just as important that first trip. We were here about two weeks when Bill suddenly realized he hadn't heard a "cuss word" since we arrived. It's true!--they don't "cuss" here! And we don't miss cussing, either.
We found people here to be friendly, helpful, well-mannered, genuine, and accessible. If everything else about our discoveries here got five-star ratings but the PEOPLE, the CULTURE had disappointed us, well that would have ruined everything. But they didn't disappoint us, and they still don't.
I'd better quit and give someone else a chance to pipe up! Sorry for the long post, but you got me on one of my favorite subjects--why I love Asheville!
Our first visit was in April 1991, and I'll never forget it! We spent most of our time in Brevard, in a motorhome park. We were free to linger as long as we liked, though our goal was to finish our trip around the USA within three months. I think we stayed in Brevard for three weeks!
I wanted to live in Brevard so much it hurt! I actually took us to see a realtor, found the perfect house for us with amazing long-range views, completely furnished (down to pots and pans) and decorated by an artist--move-in ready!!! The deck furniture was hand-hewn from surrounding trees, and the house merged with the natural world around it. The asking price was $90K, but we had just remodeled our San Diego house and, as it turned out, couldn't handle a second mortgage. I was crushed. (Bill was relieved I didn't run out and get a second full-time job--LOL.)
We loved Hendersonville, too--just preferred the woods and waterfalls of Brevard.
Then we found Asheville. Oh my--it was half boarded up at the time and STILL spoke to us. Biltmore House, Grove Park Inn, Biltmore Village, River Arts, Arboretum, Farmers Market, and all the other "tourist" attractions are tourist attractions for a REASON! They still speak to us as residents, and we plan to visit them often. How many little towns are blessed with all of these and a university besides--UNC-Asheville--and on that campus the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR)!!!
In fact, it was the Center that drew me here in the first place. I found it on the cover of Pittsburgh area's Parade Magazine in 1988 when the Center was first established as a lifelong, intergenerational learning center. I was so impressed that I knew even then that that's where I wanted to retire.
So on our first visit to Asheville in 1991, we checked out the Center and were thrilled with the prospect of living near it. It would be our intellectual stimulation, our social life (it's loaded with transplants who also need new friends), and our opportunity to "give back" in more volunteer opportunities than we could ever need. Its "College for Seniors" would let us enjoy more classes than we'd ever have time for, without grades or even required attendance. All this at very low cost. Oh yes--it would be no problem finding a church we loved, and that and this Center would "ground" us! (That prediction turned out to be 100% right. The Center is the main reason we bought in Asheville, 15 minutes' drive away from our house.)
But the PEOPLE we met everywhere we went were just as important that first trip. We were here about two weeks when Bill suddenly realized he hadn't heard a "cuss word" since we arrived. It's true!--they don't "cuss" here! And we don't miss cussing, either.
We found people here to be friendly, helpful, well-mannered, genuine, and accessible. If everything else about our discoveries here got five-star ratings but the PEOPLE, the CULTURE had disappointed us, well that would have ruined everything. But they didn't disappoint us, and they still don't.
I'd better quit and give someone else a chance to pipe up! Sorry for the long post, but you got me on one of my favorite subjects--why I love Asheville!
Janet
Beautiful story. So glad you were able to retire where you and your hubby wanted to be. I am in love with Western NC as well. I work in public safety, so there is no chance of me relocating. I wish I had done some homework before commiting myself to live in South Florida. The bad rap that South Florida has is well deserved. I have 15 more years to go and it's either Costa Rica or Brevard for myself and my family
I just returned from a week in Brevard. My parents have a beautiful house in Connesstee Falls...I am sure your familiar with it if you lived in Brevard. They live half of the year up there and half down here. You are so right that the people are just so friendly and wonderful. What a delight to be immersed amongst GOOD people for once. The scenery, the mountains....everything is amazing in Western NC. I wish I could live there now, but I have to wait. Moving and starting all over would be a huge paycut.
I will be returning in July to visit the folks with our brand new baby boy......it will be fun. God bless NC, it's beautiful land and wonderful people !
Beautiful story. So glad you were able to retire where you and your hubby wanted to be. I am in love with Western NC as well. I work in public safety, so there is no chance of me relocating. I wish I had done some homework before commiting myself to live in South Florida. The bad rap that South Florida has is well deserved. I have 15 more years to go and it's either Costa Rica or Brevard for myself and my family
I just returned from a week in Brevard. My parents have a beautiful house in Connesstee Falls...I am sure your familiar with it if you lived in Brevard. They live half of the year up there and half down here. You are so right that the people are just so friendly and wonderful. What a delight to be immersed amongst GOOD people for once. The scenery, the mountains....everything is amazing in Western NC. I wish I could live there now, but I have to wait. Moving and starting all over would be a huge paycut.
I will be returning in July to visit the folks with our brand new baby boy......it will be fun. God bless NC, it's beautiful land and wonderful people !
Connestee Falls--that's where we found that first house I wanted to buy! It's a gorgeous area, though to be honest it would be too isolated for us now. We need to be close to Asheville and Black Mountain. But there are hundreds of folks in C.F. who never leave the region and are in heaven there!
Bill was in public safety, too, all his life. We had to wait 16 years before we could move to WNC. You'll get here, too, if you want to, and life will be good. Best wishes,
Jan
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Do you remember your first trip to Asheville
