<p>It seems that everyone is talking about Asheville these days as the ideal retirement destination. Can someone with firsthand knowledge of the area tell me all about it? Is the area already overbuilt and one big traffic jam? Or is there still plenty of open space? Any place to build besides pricey communities? Can you name specific places to take a look at? What’s to do there aside from UNC Asheville? Thanks for anything and everything you care to share.</p>
<p>I’m no pro and have only been there twice, but alot of people I know either have second homes there or plan on retiring. The downtown is a fun place with a good convention center that has antique shows, etc. There are a ton of restaurants that we thought were incredibly pricey, but good. There’'s quite an art scene, too from what I understand. Take a look and see for yourself.</p>
<p>I lived there for twenty years, and my husband lived there for thirty. We live on the road in an RV now but return for family and holidays so still know the area well. It still has plenty of open space surrounding the small city and plenty of “live culture” besides UNCA. It’s a bit of a throwback in youth culture, but there are advantages there. I’ve always described the area as having two cultures: the homegrown mountain culture and the overlay of the imported culture, not all retirees anymore. For example, there’s a good Symphony with an excellent (of course, we used to sing in it!) Symphony Chorus. In fact, there are many, many arts and choral groups in the area.</p>
<p>There are some extremely pricey communities around and in Asheville, and some that are not too bad. Of course, you don’t have to live in a neighborhood with an association. We can give you lots of info about many of those associations, for reasons I’m not going to go into on a public forum. We can also give you a heads-up about a couple of things of you plan to build there, but also not on a public forum. PM me if you need/want to know more.</p>
<p>My aunt and uncle, who are retired teachers from Michigan, moved to Hendersonville (near Asheville) about 15 years ago and they LOVE it. They wanted a place with less severe winters than Michigan but that still had four seasons. They are busy all the time, volunteering, traveling with Elderhostel, etc.</p>
<p>ctymomteacher: how long have you been “on the road?” As I approach retirement age, I am starting to think about the options. Travelling, especially in the southwest, is high on my list of possibilities. I am not sure how long the novelty would last. In addition, the logistics of extended travel seem difficult.</p>
<p>We’ve been full-time in an RV for a year and a half now and have no plans to stop. There are no difficulties that we can see. Check out the Escapees discussion forum and the Open Road site and Forums if you’re interested in this life. (BTW, we both still do part-time work via a Datastorm dish.)</p>
<p>Still haven’t made it to Asheville but would like to rent a home there this summer to get a feel for the area. Other than VRBO, does anyone know of a particular rental agent or neighborhood to recommend? Anything we shouldn’t miss while there? Any really special events held in the summer?</p>
<p>Ctymomteacher, I’d love to see you start a thread on your new lifestyle! It’s sounds really interesting!</p>
<p>I’m going to watch this thread carefully as DH and I are planning a trip to Asheville in the fall. We enjoy visiting breweries and we’d like to see Biltmore Estate and see the fall foliage via a train ride on the Smoky Mountain Railway.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m jealous of ctymomteacher’s lifestyle.</p>
<p>Apropos only of the title of this thread, my D and friends took a road trip to Asheville for their final Spring Break, and they had such a good time they stayed longer than planned.</p>
<p>Have never been to Ashville before, but we are invited to a “destination” wedding at the
Biltmore in August. Can’t wait to see the area!</p>
<p>We went to Asheville last fall for a vacation. We loved it. Having been to Hearst Castle we were hesitant about going to the Biltmore. In our opinion the Biltmore was much nicer. We loved the gardens. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast and had a great time. The owners of the B and B were transplants from the north. It is definitely a hip city.</p>