Okay ... I already wrote a whole post detailing my Asheville thoughts only to have it vanish into the internets.
Basically it goes like this:
Asheville reminds me of Austin, TX. Particularly the Austin of 2001-2002... up and coming "cool" town with plenty of sketch still around the corners. West Asheville (where the house we want is) is in the equivalent of SoCo in Austin (again in 2001). This area is just turning over and while there is a pretty run down house down the street, with weird junker vehicles all over their yard, I expect they'll be gone soon. We feel pretty confident that this house will appreciate over the next few years... and while it might not be as nice as our house (or as big... or technically have a freaking yard... but who's counting?) it is well maintained and what renovations have been done have been done mostly to period.
For you NYers out there you can compare the area to Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens in B'klyn circa 1997-1999 same kind of vibe going on down on Smith Street then as you feel in West Asheville now. And you know what I lived there then and I considered living in Austin in 2002... the only difference is that then I didn't have two little kids and a cute run down 2 bedroom fixer upper sounded like fun... and now it sounds like a rip-off.
Those are my thoughts for now... gotta get some rest
9 comments:
pictures?
Shit. I think that I would rent. Get a feel of the place and where you want to live and then buy a house.
Shit! That is scary!
I'm really sorry it hasn't worked out the way you had hoped it would. Hopefully you are right about the appreciation and you will be sitting on a gold mind in a couple of years.
Living someplace that people like to go on vacation can't be all bad, right?
BTW, I love SoCo, Austin. Shopping at Lucy in Disguise is hysterical!
It doesn't sound like you like it at all. It's a renters market right now. Maybe you can find a month to month so you can keep looking and find exactly what you want. It would be a shame to invest in something you don't absolutely love.
Actually Mrs F likes this house, the street and the 'hood. We saw this house early in what would become our Saturday torture session, and Mrs F was practically giddy over the house, our walk around the block, and up to the corner—where the Food Co-Op is!
It was only after the total beatdown of over-priced house after house and The Army and everything else that the total experience became overwhelming.
With that in mind, it IS a type of neighborhood we are drawn to personally—a little off-beat and artsy. It seems filled with other 20 and 30-something couples and families and the fact that is on a quiet little side street helps sooth the parent anxiety.
In a funny way—and this was a prob in Ann Arbor—we have a harder time fitting in with a more established traditional neighborhood of older parents...
Must be because we're so fucking cool.
NOTE: I'm old.
oh man sounds awesome. I now live right next to SOCO in Austin and I absolutely love it.
living in the ATX
spent a lot of time in asheville as well.
TOTALLY AGREE.
MizFit
Cara,
Oh I'm glad you're loving Austin!
Carla,
I thought that was a good comparison I'm glad you agree.
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