[Jims5543]

I like Asheville a lot. I am selling my vacation home 45 minutes southwest of Asheville. (regretfully) I liked Asheville because mostly of the downtown area. The architecture is quite old for the area, not European old but dating back to the late 1800's. Some of the buildings downtown were designed by NYC architects and it shows.

There are lots of shops and restaurants downtown, the only downside was all the meth heads. There were an alarmingly dense population of them panhandling on the street. Mostly 18-25 year olds and a lot of couples. It was really weird.

I preferred being 45 minutes from there in the sticks. By sticks I mean no real city life and none of the problems. Crime was zero and being close to a lot of National Parks and recreations areas made where I was at ideal for me, there was a downtown there as well just small, lots of little restaurants and shops, along with a Lowes, Wal-Mart and grocery stores. Everything I needed was in town about 5-10 minutes from my house with a city 45 minutes away.

I vote for outskirts of Asheville with Charlotte a close second.