Relocating to Asheville NC

[EllerysMama]

Hi Mamas,

My family and I are seriously considering moving to  Asheville next year, but have no idea where to start looking. Any neighborhoods or....areas that are more family friendly? We currently live in Washington Heights NYC, which is full of families, and things to do to with kids/babies. My DS is 13 months at the moment. We want to plan a trip to Asheville for about a week in November, and would love recs for places to go etc. I've only been in the downtown area for about 6 hours, my DH lived in SC so he's been there about 15 times.

Thanks!

[HappyHappyMommy]

I'm bumping up your post. Anyone have information about this area to share?
 

[root*children]

The Asheville Mamas group is huge and very active and the best way to connect with hip mamas in Avl. 

groups.yahoo.com/group/ashevillemamas

Lots of areas are family friendly, you'll have to be a little more specific :)  What's important to you? Do you want high ranking schools?  Do you want suburban kids playing in the street type neighborhood?  Or do you want walkable to certain things?  Or bikeable?  Country/city?  Or...?  What part of town you and/or your partner work in would also be a factor.

We love West Asheville.  I've lived in a very hip, walkable part (near bars, playground, stores, yoga, etc) which was really fun.  Now I live still in West Avl, but a little further out, near Enka/Candler.  We have an awesome huge yard now and still live close to everything (5-15  minutes to drive anywhere in town).

The Iwannas is an online and in print newspaper that is always how we find great rentals.  Its a really cheap subscription to be able to see contact information for the listings.  It would be another good place for you to start to get a feel for what house prices are typical for what areas.

Good luck!

~ Julie

http://root-children.blogspot.com

[spiritofthings]

We are quite new to Asheville, having been here for five months or so, but so far are enjoying the Montford neighborhood, where we are renting, which is just north of downtown and fairly walkable with sidewalks, good schools, close to amenities etc. Having just moved from a west coast city in which city lots were pretty small (on average 0.11 acres), I love that out here city lots can be typically a quarter acre or more sometimes.

Anyway Montford is a gorgeous old neighborhood, big trees, lots of big houses etc. and kinda unique... a funny mix of young families, retirees and a liberal boho kind of rental/college crowd! There are two parks in the neighborhood, a community garden and a newly constructed greenway. Apparently there are plans for it to extend into downtown. Plus there's a fairly active neighborhood association. 

Feel free to PM me if you would like any more info. I don't think you can go wrong with any part of Asheville, really. It's a fairly small place but has lots of little pockets to explore. You will love it here!

[Anilia]

We are coming to live in Asheville as well.  We'll be there in November and I am going to need to find a midwife or ob.  So i'd love any recommendations for that.  I don't mean to high jack your thread!  We would love neigborhood recommendations as well!

[spiritofthings]

I am using Sara Rathbone (matrimidwifery.com) for a midwife. I am in the third trimester and so far I like her very much - as well as her assistant Jennifer. She's done a ton of births in the area and so has lots of experience. I have since met other women who have had good experiences during birthing with Sara.

[mamayogibear]

Not to jump on the bandwagon and exodus to Asheville as well but; I am considering moving to the area too! I would actually like to live a bit south of the town since if I get into grad school I will be going to school in Spartanburg SC. I'm not sure if I'm up for a daily hour long commute! What is the highway like between the two towns? Are there any semi-crunchy, nice, woodsy towns between the two? I would prefer to live in NC than SC because then when I graduate I will be able to do more with my degree (well I could live in SC and work in NC), lol. Also what are property, income and sales taxes like in the area? 

[root*children]

It's harder to find a crunchy-type community in Hendersonville, but it is there, and there are definitely some really beautiful areas - not in the town, but check the outskirts.  Also you may want to check out Saluda.  It's between the two towns and is really very cute little town.  It's a hub for outdoorsy types since it is where the Green River put-in is located - a hotspot for kayakers.