Article Overview: Living in Asheville, Moving to Asheville
Are you thinking about moving to Asheville, North Carolina?
I’ve lived in Asheville for the past 6+ years yet still find myself pleasantly surprised by this progressive and artsy city.
Nestled between the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains, Asheville is best known for outdoor recreation, hospitality, artsy residents and a robust music scene.
The charming city offers many big city perks (tons of restaurants, breweries, music venues, etc) while maintaining an easy-going small-town feel (as of 2022, Asheville’s population is 95,000).
I thought it’d be fun to roundup the pros and cons of living in Asheville based on first hand experience. While reading this list, keep in mind that not everyone will feel the same way about living in Asheville. And that’s alright, heck — that’s what the comments are for!
Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
Pros & Cons of Living in Asheville North Carolina
Table of Contents
Pros of Living in Asheville
#1. Access to Nature
There’s no denying that one of the biggest draws of living in Asheville is having access to epic outdoor recreation. And it’s true, the never-ending list of outdoor activities is one of the biggest perks of living in Asheville.
You don’t even need to be a nature nut to enjoy this perk. Merely looking out your window while driving will expose you to breathtaking panoramic sights on a daily basis.
Surrounded by the stunning Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains, Asheville is a mountain town through and through. For those that strive to live an active lifestyle, the hiking opportunities will feel endless.
Asheville residents are spoiled for choice when it comes to playing outside. Most weekends don’t officially start until a hearty hike is capped with brunch. And because nature is such a big part of everyday life, it’s pretty easy to stay active and find other like-minded people who enjoy the great outdoors.
#2. Mild Weather Year-Round
It’s getting more and more difficult to find a city where extreme temperatures don’t make life challenging a few months out of the year. The south is known for having mild winters but nightmarish summer humidity. The Midwest is known for blissful summers by winters brutal enough to qualify them for Dante’s inferno.
Asheville, on the other hand, seems to be within the coveted sweet spot. The weather is pretty mild year round, which means playing outside is feasible every season of the year.
Average winter temperatures hover around 50°F, which means bone-chilling winters won’t be moving to Asheville with you.
Averaging 85°F, the summers in Asheville are admittedly warm but because of the city’s higher elevation, they’re also fairly mild. Asheville isn’t known for oppressive humidity or overbearing heat, unlike the neighboring cities to the east and south.
All this to say, you really can enjoy daily life in Asheville because the weather is mild so you don’t need to plan around it (thinking of winters in Chicago and summers in Texas). The weather is mostly blissful.
#3. The Lively Music Scene
I feel like the only person on the planet that didn’t know about the city’s music scene before moving to Asheville. My pleasant surprise turned out to be nothing more than naivety, because Asheville has been gracing “best music city” lists for ages.
Live shows are hosted practically every weekend, and many well known bands make a point to play in Asheville. Stroll through downtown any random Saturday night and you’re bound to see long lines spilling from venues, wrapping the block.
It’s hard to escape the live music scene while living in Asheville, so it’s best to embrace it. Heck, you don’t even need tickets to catch the talented street-performers downtown.
So if you’re an avid music fan, or simply enjoy the sound of live music, you’re going to love living in Asheville.
#4. Top-Notch Breweries
Did you know that Asheville consistently ranks as one of the top brewery cities in America? The metro area is home to 30 breweries, which means Asheville has the second most breweries per capita in the country.
As a local, I can confirm that Asheville’s breweries live up to the hype. If you’re new to town, make sure to check out Asheville Brewing Co., Burial Beer Co. and Lookout Brewery. Those are my top three spots to catch up with coworkers and friends.
#5. The Friendly Community Feeling
The south is known for hospitality, and North Carolina is no exception. It’s not uncommon to walk into your local cafe and be greeted by name (if you visit often enough) or have people ask about your weekend.
Since the city’s population is less than 100,000 people, you’ll be running into the same folks frequently. Overtime, people will make an effort to get to learn about you.
I’ll be honest, the friendly community feel took some adjusting at first. Prior to moving to Asheville, I only lived in large cities where being greeted by name was unusual more than comforting.
However, after adjusting to the difference, this is one of my personal favorite perks of living in Asheville. The community feeling makes me feel welcomed and safe, like my neighbors have my back.
#6. Proximity to Everything You Need
As mentioned earlier, living in Asheville means you have access to amenities usually reserved for larger cities. You’re never far from a grocery store, favorite brunch spot, great cafe, music venue or hospital.
The city was planned in a way that makes it easy to get to everything you need without much hassle. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t imagine living in Asheville without a car, but it’s easy to get where I need to go.
#7. The City is a Foodie’s Paradise
When most people think of foodie cities, I doubt our city comes to mind, which is a pity. Because the food scene is one of the biggest perks of living in Asheville!
Asheville residents take great pride in local and seasonal cuisine. The city is home to incredible restaurants that offer everything from cheap eats to memorable celebration-worthy meals.
Another thing worth mention is that the brunch scene is alive and well in Asheville. You can expect up to an hour wait during the weekends, but start your morning at Early Girl Eatery and you’ll see what all the fuss is about.
#8. The Relaxed and Quirky Vibe
Asheville has a very relaxed vibe because people are seldom in a hurry. Taking it a step further, the city also has a quirky vibe made evident by the numerous Keep Asheville Weird signs.
Asheville attracts creatives like moths to a flame. Which means you’ll be living in a city full of unique personalities, like artists, foodies and coffee/brew- aficionados. This mix of fun personalities creates a very intriguing yet relaxed vibe to daily life in Asheville.
In fact, if you plan on moving to Asheville, I suggest strolling downtown during a Friday evening to experience the drum circle. It’s an organized event where folks bang drums while others sway with the music. It’s odd and interesting and downright weird — something you won’t want to miss.
#9. Access to Wine Country
One of my favorite ways to spend a relaxing weekend afternoon is by visiting a winery. Thankfully, there’s more than a dozen wineries within an hour’s drive of Asheville. And this doesn’t even include the most visited winery in the country, The Biltmore.
The wineries near Asheville are nothing to scoff at either! I find myself impressed by the plethora of options and delightful blends.
Fun Fact: The Biltmore is the largest house in America, a tour is very much in order. I suggest getting the annual membership if you plan to move to Asheville because you’ll definitely get use out of it!
Cons of Moving to Asheville, NC
#1. The High Cost of Housing
Let’s talk about the sticker shock of buying a home in Asheville, because it’s real. Like most folks, I assumed that buying a home in the south would be affordable, especially compared to the west.
Boy was I wrong.
The average price of a home in Asheville is $427K, which is way too high when considering the average salary is $45K. The price of housing in Asheville is steadily rising, and homes are become less affordable. Young couples moving to Asheville with the hopes of starting a family may find themselves surprised by sticker shock.
Which gets me to my next point …
#2. Small City Salaries
One of the biggest disadvantages of living in Asheville is the lack of high-paying job opportunities.
Prior to moving to Asheville, I scoured the internet for jobs but wasn’t able to find any that justified the move, especially considering the disproportionate cost of housing.
Thankfully, I landed a remote gig that afforded me an opportunity to move to Asheville without compromising pay, and I plan to enjoy living in Asheville until the opportunity ceases.
So if you’re in a similar situation and able to work remotely, I highly recommend moving to Asheville because the quality of life is hard to beat. However, if you plan to apply for jobs within Asheville brace yourself for disappointment.
#3. The Airport Leaves Much to Be Desired
Offering only a handful of non-stop destinations, Asheville’s airport leaves much to be desired.
Unless you’re flying to large cities in the surrounding states (like Florida, Georgia), a layover is all but guaranteed. The exception is Washington DC, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.
So anytime I have a west coast-bound flight, I know that a 2+ hour layover in Atlanta is inevitable, which is a bear.
Of course, the fact that we have an airport is a luxury not lost on me. But I travel often for work and having to rely on the Asheville Regional Airport is one of the biggest cons of living in Asheville.
#4. Homelessness
During my first visit, before I committed to moving to Asheville, I found myself surprised by the homeless population in the city.
I met up with friends at a local brewery and couldn’t help but notice the large crowds of homeless folks congregating in the city parks after dark.
Mind you, I didn’t feel threatened, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with my wife walking downtown alone at night.
And yes, I know that homelessness is not unique to Asheville. Frankly, the population of homeless is much smaller than other cities I’ve lived in, but it’s still worth a mention.
#5. Asheville is Going Through Growing Pains
As with most wonderful cities, the secret it out. There’s 90,000 folks lucky enough to call Asheville home and the recent interest in the city comes with its fair share of growing pains.
As you can imagine, not everyone is thrilled with new folks moving in because it drives up the price of housing and increases traffic congestion.
I’ve never felt unwelcome since moving to Asheville, but I’ve overheard conversations where locals gripe about new folks. It’s inevitable and it happens everywhere, so handle this with a grain of salt, I sure do.
#6. Lack of Public Transportation
The good news is that Asheville offers public transportation, the bad news is that it leaves a lot to be desired.
Having a bus is better than nothing, but it doesn’t run on Sundays and the routes are reduced during Saturdays. All told, using public transportation while living in Asheville usually doubles travel time.
I moved to Asheville with my car and can’t imagine giving it up because the city is too spread out to walk (outside of the downtown core).
Moving to Asheville (Post Summary)
In sum, these are the pros and cons of living in Asheville North Carolina.
- Access to nature
- Mild weather year-round
- The music scene
- The breweries
- Friendly community feel
- Proximity to everything you need
- The city has a relaxed vibe
- Asheville is a foodie’s paradise
- The wine country
- High cost of housing
- Small city salaries
- Not the best airport
- The homelessness
- The growing pains
- Public transportation
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or if anything should be added to this list of pros and cons of moving to Asheville, North Carolina.
I visited Asheville recently for a week to check it out as a possible place to retire. It’s reputation as this little island of “cool” in the mountains of NC isn’t really true. There are some nice stores and restaurants, and there are lots of artists in the RAD, but the main downtown area is full of loud rowdy bars and drunken people – in the middle of the day! It’s a party town, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be fine. If you’re looking for a quiet place to retire, look elsewhere. I know I won’t be moving there.
Clearly, Lou is one of the locals trying to dissuade others from moving to Asheville. Just his comments about a “nuclear war plane factory” is laughable. They make blades for jet engines for commercial aircraft. Just use his phrase to understand his motives. Great town, great lifestyle, great views, great food, great people. Yes, homelessness is a problem that is persistent but that is really the only drawback.
It’s a beautiful place to visit. You will feel much more welcome as a visitor not so much as a resident. After moving to the area 3 years ago, the biggest and most alarming challenge I’ve experienced is health care. It’s illogical how dysfunctional the health care system is. Absolutely everything is expensive here. Crime is real. Comprehensive information on both crime and health care is very limited and very filtered. Do your research.
I hope so as I am moving there next month. Don’t know a soul, but feel confident that I will meet new folks through church. I will be renting an apartment and they are pricey.
I love this area. I’ve lived here for 20 years, and through all the changes, love it. Very vibrant tailgate markets, can literally get all you need at markets. Asheville is very LGBTQ friendly, with wonderful medical care for all age LGBTQ. Small town feel with progressive attitudes (asheville is very liberal, but go 20 minutes out in any direction and its very conservative). Rent has gone up insanely post covid, and now that is creeping into surrounding counties. Asheville is a huge tourist destination, so that leads to constant conflict between residents and city council – too many hotels vs not enough affordable housing, hiding crime rates as to not scare tourists, criminalizing those that are homeless instead of not realizing the rich tourist mentality is helping cause it. That being said, it is a fun city, close enough to other big cities for quick road trips, I feel safe walking downtown at night, you can be yourself in Asheville.
We have summer and we have winter and we no longer have anything in between.
I was just there for fall leaves and to visit a friend and it was beautiful. Definitely more of a autumn leaf change than states further down south get.
Those breathtaking mountains? They won’t be that way for long, there is a nuclear war plane factory going up in between the Blue ridge parkway and the French broad River so expect a lot of pollution and noise and trash, even more than what we see presently.
The roads are horrific, I’ve had to spend hundreds of dollars in the last couple of years to replace tires and even a wheel due to debris on the road. There are Trump flags and Confederate flags around every corner when you get further than about 10 miles from town.
There are constantly water boil advisories due to the lack of modern infrastructure in this overblown town. A decent house will cost you about $400 a square foot and rentals go for about $1,800 and up, even apartments. Most of those rentals will not allow cats by the way so you’ll have to get rid of your beloved pets if you intend to sleep indoors.
Lastly but most importantly, we are in the top 10% of crime in the entire country and we’re not even that large of a town. Do the math and think very hard about moving to this place because trust me, unless you have lots and lots of money and the means to live without a decent well-paying job, you are well and truly screwed.
I’ve lived here 20 years, and the last 10 of it have grown more dreadful each year. Unless you’re independently rich, don’t even bother trying to live here. If drunk crowds, rude traffic, and people with a self sense of entitlement bother you..best go elsewhere, at least there may be parking.
Sounds like what has happened with pinellas county Florida. Was awesome now not so much.
I lived in Asheville 32 years! In the beginning it was great, but as time goes on it is going down fast. I moved to Huntersville, NC which is much better. You have Lake Norman, Yadkin Valley area ( wine country) within 1 hour, Charleston, SC within 3 hour and Charlotte airport where you can fly nonstop to Europe.If bent on the Asheville area, look at Waynesville, Weaverville, Brevard, Hendersonville
I to am looking at Asheville to retire. (But I’m also looking at remote position with only 25% travel.) I live in Atlanta, so crime isn’t the uncommon in the Metro Atlanta.) I’m am not in the position of buying because of the high cost of condos and townhomes. Rental is the same ridiculous cost as here, I’m single, never married, and not one of those women who “hunt” for one either. Would I be happy living there?
It’s all relative (i grew up in miami), but i would say theft happens often and is on the rise. Mostly porch/package theft, but also cars. And there have been 4 homicides so far this year (2022).
I’m wondering about high crime. Im planning on retiring soon and wouldn’t want to be looking over my shoulder all the time.
What is the estimated cost of living for retirees if they rent or buy? What are tax benefits for retirees?
Informative. Thank you for sharing. Can you comment on the change of seasons? Is there a traditional 4 season turnover, or is it different than what you would get in the Midwest?
Great list. I would add: dedication to maintaining classic architecture. Many buildings have been carefully rehabbed and repurchased, such as the Grove Arcade.
Asheville.. and I think more specially.. towns/land.. NORTH of Asheville… are becoming very popular due to less crowding, less traffic and .. a new rather unique added value to that more northerly and higher elevation land… Climate Refuge! In Wolf Laurel, for example,… Summer temps rarely hit 78-80 degs daytime… and are generally in the lower 60’s to upper 50s at night… as opposed to downtown Asheville or the more southerly neighborhoods. This “climate Refuge” kind of status is sort of an “unwritten/unspoken” kind of situational issue.. but one that is becoming more apparent to more and more people in the Deep South .. as well as East and along Coastal areas as far up as New Jersey and New York.