Retirement Road Trip Through the Mountains: Western North Carolina

Not to disparage this brief travelogue, but the emphasis is definitely on "brief". They did touch several well-known towns/cities, but western NC is so much more. For me, the article should be identified as simply a list of some better-known places which mentions a few items of interest. What was missed is the scope and vastness of NC retirement (or just vacation) opportunities large, small, tiny and everything in between.

As a non-native 56-year resident who travels, even I have yet to visit and enjoy all that western NC has to offer.

Editor comment: Thanks RichPB. Yes, this is brief considering the scope of the subject. At over 2000 words it is one of our longest articles ever, yet there is so much more to say. Agreed that there are probably many lesser known places in this big and interesting region it would be great to learn about. Would love to hear more about some of the places you know.

Nor do I disparage! Found your comments/descriptions very interesting!
The comments pertaining to Mt. Airy, especially!
Having lived in Waynesville, NC for a little over two years now, would have loved to get your "take" on our little town. We wanted to be near Asheville, but we are just close enough.(28 miles). Drawing a perimeter around Asheville, Waynesville was our little slice of heaven. Your experience may vary!

I enjoyed reading your travelogue. One difference between our points of views regards Asheville, which is about an hour SE of me. Although it always has so much of interest going on, i find the business and traffic too much for me. I just wanted to make that comment to let people know that it REALLY is a city, and a busy one at that! If that doesn't bother you, Asheville does have a lot to offer. Oh, and it is expensive!

I think ella and Doc helped correct a mistake I made. Instead of just a "go forth", they added concrete information. It's been too long since I directly visited many of these place, but some western NC locations that stick in my mind as "special" include Jefferson/West Jefferson, Linville, Banner Elk, Little Switzerland, Murphy, Cullowhee, Bryson City and on and on. Just zoom a little on Google or Bing Maps and countless options emerge. (My taste tends toward more out of the way and the more you zoom, the out-of-the-way-er you can get!) Add east Tennessee and you could easily just spend a retirement seeking out possible places to settle!

Adding a bit more from recent trips, West Jefferson in the northwestern corner of NC is my second home and a place where I always feel comfortable. Constantly growing, not far from Boone, North Wilkesboro and even Johnson City, TN, the area has expanded more and more over the years as a retirement destination. An apt description is "little big town". Once isolated, new roads (even today) and restaurants have opened WJ as a tourist retreat with a true "half-back" feeling.

Murphy in the southwest tongue of NC, reminds me a lot of what West Jefferson used to be. Remote, interesting in its own right with fewer amenities but a town I enjoyed for two days at the end of a long road trip "out west". We were so captivated that, on the brink of getting home, we stayed an extra day to explore and enjoy.

Roadways in western NC have expanded exponentially in the past 40 years, but without question, if you want out-of-the-way, you can find it with very little effort (other than the drive).

Editor Comment: Thanks for adding this RichPB - this is great stuff. We look forward to more if you have the time.

Thank you so much- very helpful! Appreciated the maps and the where to stay recommendations:)

On a trip to Asheville a couple years ago, my wife and I visited both Waynesville and Hendersonville as possible retirement locations. We'd been through Waynesville briefly several years ago. Waynesville was nice, but downtown Hendersonville just blew me away. It is everything a downtown should be. And the city, while only about 14,000 people, has pretty much everything you need, with the big box stores around the periphery of the downtown area. If if what you want isn't available in Hendersonville, it's only a short trip up to Asheville or down to Greenville or Spartanburg.

We're planning another trip to Hendersonville this coming spring, since we only spent a couple afternoons there the last time. But it was enough time to convince me that it's the place I want to retire to, in about 5 years. When we were strolling around downtown, it just felt "right". Not a day goes by that I don't think about moving down there, even more so this time of year through about April, when I compare the temps down there to what we have here in northern Vermont! Right now, our yard is white with wet snow. A most unwelcome sight.

Interesting article. I have only been to Asheville and enjoyed reading about the other towns.

For a quieter hometown near Asheville, consider Marshall. It is on the French Broad River, with interesting architecture on Main Street. Marshall has a couple of very nice restaurants, a brewery, and weekly bluegrass music at a coffee shop. French Broad Crossing is an amazing development north of downtown Marshall. With significant acreage under conservation easements, the views are among the best and hiking trails take advantage of the beautiful forest. The amenities include an impressive lodge and river park.

When we decided to retire in ‘12, we embarked on our “ville” tour. We knew wanted to be in the SE. visited Nashville, Knoxville, Huntsville, Asheville, Charlotte and Clemson. Always came back to Asheville. Yes, super liberal, lots of tattoo places, but also great restaurants, beer, unique shops, hiking, scenery and lovely people. Looked at Hendersonville and Waynesville but wanted to be closer to the action in Asheville. In Weaverville just north of Asheville and love it. Asheville dead during the day? Not my experience. Always something going on!

Great thumbprint view of a beautiful area of the country. Daughter lived in Staunton (loved it) but now in Charlottesville, VA. (Loves it). Also a very upscale retirement area with one of the “Public Ivy’s”, The University of Virginia.
Did the same trip years ago. Ruled out several of the areas mentioned.
We continued the trip the next year and fell in love with Summerville/ Charleston. Here we are! Close to the beaches, 3 hours to Asheville and surrounding area, but we are much warmer for longer and can do more outdoor activities. My wife was in the outdoor community pool this afternoon for water aerobics with many other ladies. You can’t do that up in the Asheville environs the week before Halloween.

Concerning Asheville, i think Chuck B stated it accurately in saying, "It's where the action is." That's what i meant to say with the word, business; when i should have said busy-ness. Thanks, Chuck B!

Interesting mention on Asheville, but I had to wonder if I visited the same place. Looking forward to a visit there for two nights, I was relieved to be able to cancel one night as I found the city very busy, dirty, too much construction, and NO walk-ability. Maybe 'downtown' proper was walk-able if you don't mind walking over and around the many homeless that inhabit their streets. In order to visit the art district one needs to drive and park, drive and park. There are no sidewalks in many places and no shuttle buses to transport art aficionados from one gallery location to another. Perhaps the surrounding areas have much to be desired, however I left Asheville in bewilderment.

Twenty miles south of Hendersonville is Tyron, 6 miles west of I26 and an exceptional retirement town in the Smokies. It is located in a thermal belt which translates into 11 months of golf with year round comfortable temperatures. Come August and the population doubles with Floridians coming up to beat the Florida heat. It has a great community playhouse and steeplechase races in the spring. Try on does have a small lake, Lake Lure, not Lake Lure, GA. Exceptional medical facilities for a small town, 100 bed hospital with 29 practicing doctors. Check it out, but be careful you may not want to leave.

We will be returning to Hendersonville for the third time this March. We discovered this interesting town while on a B&B stay. Two years ago, we stayed for a month via VRBO. Loved the downtown and surrounding area. Very walkable even from a mile from downtown. They have a great mix of restaurants, shops, and three microbreweries in town. Two nice wineries just outside. If we were going to move south, this would be our first choice.

Just got back from Asheville and I agree with Deb's comments. I found it dirty, busy, homeless everywhere and too many street performers. It is also expensive. Parking is terrible especially on the weekends. The city itself is not very attractive. Box type buildings everywhere with several in disrepair. Did half of the walking tour and don't bother.
Never was so much made about so little. The one bright spot is the Sierra Nevada brewery (out near the airport). Very nice laid back and a mellow time. Overall, like Deb, I came away bewildered.

I agree with Deb and Gary. We visited Ashville several years ago and never understood what the appeal was. It was a small town, which in my opinion would become very boring once you live there. By 8:00 pm the town closes down and on Sundays nothing was open. Home prices are high and for retirees that don’t drive, public transportation does not exist.

Perhaps you didn’t have the space to mention or even the time to visit the
Episcopal church in Staunton that has 14 Tiffany windows

Editor's note: Sorry we missed that one. Did see the outside of the church, which is beautiful. Thanks for letting us know

The article title drew my interest, because my husband and I have made the same trail. For several years we have left our non-native Florida in the summer to escape ‘the oven’. Usually seeking cooler climates. We traveled out west and ‘glamped’ up and down the east coast. We found the western mountains of N.C. to have the best summers. We are called ‘half-backs’. Pick any town as a base and travel around. Maggie Valley is next to Waynesville and near the Cherokee Reservation/forest. You can find a plethora of outdoor activities. Many rivers around to kayak or go tubing. Hiking/ picnicking are seen everywhere. Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalation Trail. Nantahala area is great. Take medication if you drive on ‘tail of the dragon’ ! No shortage of farm stands around. I could go on and on. Retirement communities are dotted everywhere. As are campgrounds that have trailers that don’t travel anywhere anymore. People have built covers and decks on them in scenic campgrounds on rivers , etc. Festivals and other activities are going every weekend for summer visitors. Just my 2 cents worth. We love the WHOLE area.

Let me follow up from my previous post about Western NC. I have not ruled out that area as a winter getaway from snow and cold. That was my primary reason for checking out Asheville.

Talking to the waiter at Tupelo Honey, he explained the town was dead in Jan and Feb (that can be good or bad). He also said ice in the winter months is a big problem. He went on to say the area was like a rainforest and ices up overnight. This can lead to driving and walking problems. I think the icing is a huge negative. I can stay home and deal with that.

Politics based on the Inhabitants in the downtown appear to be uber liberal. I know, a gross generalization, but if you are considering the area check out the politics as they may be extreme..

At this time, I much prefer university towns like Statesboro and Augusta GA. I was checking out Western NC to shave off some drive time to get to a warmer climate for 3 or 4 months in the winter.

So sorry to hear about the issue of homelessness in Asheville. We had friends that visited recently and reported the same situation. I fear this is a growing problem thst will begin to occur in more and more retirement destinations.

As far as the homelessness goes, it has nothing to do with the town/city being a retirement location. Look at the cities in CA, San Francisco and San Diego. Both have a tremendous problem with homelessness and are not retirement locations, however they both have fair weather and plenty of tourism. I believe that is the attraction along with the lack of will by the governments to attack the problem. I retired to Yuma. No problems.

I love all these comments from people suggesting different places in the Carolinas. Seems like we are always hearing about the same retirement towns, so it is great to learn about others. Any other places we should consider folks?