2.Re: Asheville or Boone for Vacation Home?
18 years ago
For a vacation home my pick would be the Boone area. (yes, for a retirement home, I agree Asheville would provide more things that retirees/elderly people may need.) We've traveled through both areas in the past 6 months and I was shocked at the growth throughout the Asheville area. It is a city atmosphere in the mountains, there are new shopping centers, businesses, and housing developments everywhere you look. The winters there are less severe, (warmer temps. and much less snow) and I guess you could say that there are more ammenities, but when I go on vacation I want to get away from city life, traffic, people, etc. However, Asheville is indeed a nice place to live and visit. We have several friends who have recently relocated there. (and they're not retirement age)
Boone is growing at a good pace too. I had not been back to my alma mater, good old Appalachian State (B.S. 1985) in about 5-6 years and as I drove into town and around campus, I noticed A LOT has changed. The University buildings are now all pretty much modern red brick, "uptown looking", (I miss all the old mountain stone buildings that used to be on campus) but even with the University, plus all the new restaurants and shopping, Boone is still has a small mountain town atmosphere.
The parkway is nearby and offers a lot of recreational activities especially near Boone/Blowing Rock. The town of Blowing Rock in itself is a great vacation destination. (You must try Kilwin's ice cream and fudge shop on main street- BR; it may just be the best EVER!) We greatly enjoyed our recent stay in the Boone/Blowing Rock area, and have decided that we must take more advantage of being so close; we were in Blowing Rock 1 1/2 hours after leaving Charlotte.
Snow skiing is another draw to the Boone area; if you are planning to rent out your house, there would be people interested in rentals during all 4 seasons. (or if you're not renting there's different activities for you to enjoy for all 4 seasons.) The Boone area is just more laid back, much less populated and removed from city life than Asheville.
We're planning to go back to the Boone area next week to try kayaking in the Blowing Rock area.
Best Wishes!
