See Asheville for yourself!
As you know, we're loving Asheville . . . for one thing, the weather is delightful. That's us outside our community's clubhouse on a beautiful fall day.
You get all four seasons, and the winters are milder than they were in New Jersey . . . the summers are also milder.
Folks are friendly, taxes are lower and the cost of living is about 20% lower than where we used to live in Central New Jersey (source: WHERE TO RETIRE, July/August 2009, p. 134).
To find out more yourself, consider viewing and/or all of the following websites. See below.
And also consider subscribing to my online newsletter . . . BLAINESWORLD. This free weekly missive contains some jokes, hopefully not tooooo risque; websites; reviews; and lots of information about stuff that's happening in Asheville . . . to get on my mailing list, just send an email to bginbc@aol.com and put SUBSCRIPTION in the subject line.
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Numbers refer to publication date; i.e., the highest numbers are the most recent posts. But make sure you review/skim the entire list.
21. I'm pleased to report that our community, Biltmore Lake, was chosen as Community of the Year in the medium mixed use category by the North Carolina Chapter of CAI (Community Association Institute). All applications are independently judged by professional community managers outside the state of NC.
KUDOS to all the residents who helped make this such a great place to live and especially to our management company, IPM, for its role in putting together the application.
Biltmore Lake is a beautiful, fantastic place to live. See for yourself by taking a look at this picture--taken over the lake in the middle of the community.
In addition, feel free to skim the following application that was submitted to the CAI for other pictures, as well as information about our community. If you look closely, you'll see yours truly on the very last page. I'm second from the left.
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/bbd83bcce25221d6025859156/files/Microsoft_Word_2011_CAI_Association_Nomination_Form.pdf
20. Asheville named one of 10 Most Beautiful Places in America by Good Morning America (8.8.11):
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110808/NEWS/308080018/Asheville-gets-national-TV-spot-Good-Morning-America-
For the clip from the show, please click:
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/asheville-nc-natures-greatest-gift/story?id=14263963
19. For a great way to see the mountains of Asheville, check out a Navitat canopy adventure . . . Cynthia and I went on this; it was fantastic . . . for more information, please click:
http://www.navitat.com/asheville/
18. See below for beautiful pictures of our community (where we actually live):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuwZVS2vJeI
17. Fodor's in January, 2011 calls Asheville . . . . 21 places we're going to visit in 2011.
http://www.fodors.com/travel-photography/21-places-were-going-in-2011-216.html?ref=137
16. Even Santa agrees: Asheville rocks . . . this holiday season and/or any time thereafter. Check out yourself by clicking:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQkG8flURM
15. 10.16.10 post on Yahoo! Finance on great places to retire to:
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/111017/great-places-to-retire?mod=retire-planning
14. 10.10 article in THE NEW YORK TIMES:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/travel/24hours
13. This article will also give you a lot of information about Asheville. (I think it was the first one Cynthia found when she thought of moving here.)
http://www.newfrontier.com/aha/ashv0492.htm
12A. Asheville on Good Morning America, July, 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVIZ4jmjdts
12B. Our friends Tom and Dianne Rebin had their picture in a 2010 article in THE NEW YORK TIMES about the Center for Creative Retirement (one of the great places you need to check out if serious about Asheville):
http://tinyurl.com/27orm66
11. If coming to Asheville, check out:
A. For discount coupons, in general (including restaurants):
http://www.halfpriceasheville.com/intro.php
B. For restaurants in particular:
http://www.restaurant.com
NOTE:
Above is great for restaurants throughout the country, too . . . if you wait for the coupons to be on sale, you can sometimes pay just $2 for a coupon that will save you $25!
C. Also:
* Groupon: http://www.groupon.com
* Independent restaurants in Asheville: http://www.airasheville.org/
* Western North Carolina Insider: http://wncinsider.com/
D. And for information on Asheville's cultural scene:
http://livewireasheville.com/
10. Article in STYLE magazine from 2008:
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/travel_article/tr_asheville_so08/
9. The September, 2009 issue of US AIRWAYS MAGAZINE featured Asheville in its City Profile:
http://www.usairwaysmag.com/city_profiles/city/asheville/
8. In August, 2009, THE WASHINGTON POST ran these two great articles:
http://tinyurl.com/orrmkb
http://tinyurl.com/rxg8gx
7. And for pictures of the Biltmore Estate (a place I'm sure you will want to visit):
http://tinyurl.com/lwy7fg
NOTE:
If you belong to AAA, get discount tickets . . . you'll save $10 that way. If you go the online route, you save $5.
6. I could do without the narration in the beginning, but the fall pictures are magnificent here:
http://tinyurl.com/rchebb
5. To truly see how beautiful the mountains are (and for some nice music), please click: http://tinyurl.com/nox3gq
4. To get an overall feel and perhaps the best pictures of Asheville, please click:
http://tinyurl.com/lagqjw
3. For a more comprehensive overview, go to:
http://www.exploreasheville.com
You'll get information on places to eat, things going on in the area and some great pictures and videos.
2. The Center for Creative Retirement is prominently mentioned in the above. For more information about that outstanding organization, please click:
http://www.unca.edu/ncccr/
1A. ABC NEWS on Asheville (4.22.2010):
http://tinyurl.com/2bgtcdd
1B. A short but informative profile that was run on CBS in May, 2009:
http://tinyurl.com/ks376s
I believe it opens to the story tab; for video, just click the tab to the left.
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THREE ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
* For places to stay when visiting or vacationing in Asheville, your best bet is to use the "bid your own price" option at priceline.com . . . if you are not familiar with this, let me know, and I'll be glad to tell you how it works . . . it's also great to use for car rentals . . . but here's something else to check out: http://www.tripadvisor.com/asheville-cabin-rentals.html
* Should you become seriously interested in joining us in Asheville, our realtor and friend is the absolute best . . . you won't go wrong by working with her . . . her name is Suzanne Smith . . . she can be reached by phone, 828.551.4609 or via email: suzannesmith54@gmail.com.
Also, make sure you click the following link to see a clip that her firm has one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AroF7L7Ghno&feature=share
(In particular, pay attention to both the beginning and the end to see yours truly!)
* Then, to get your mortgage, make sure you contact Eric Clonch at 828.654.6402 or via email: eclonch@beverly-hanks.com . . . he's a guy who really knows his stuff, and you'll be impressed by both his friendliness and creativity.
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