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.

(cynthia and blaine38)

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.

33.  Asheville Named Top Small with Art
http://www.romanticasheville.com/american_style.htm

32. Asheville Downtown Tour with Chikomo Marimba Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GDTrSatI40

31A. Vacation rental cottages for the Asheville area. A friend told me they were both unique and very nice.

http://www.ashevillecottages.com/%28S%283v3wninbzsdolwlq5clr53mq%29%29/default.aspx

And if you're interested in the concept, here's another site to check out for cabins:

http://www.ashevillecottages.com/%28S%28qkdeq2tju2whvm3irybzqdj1%29%29/default.aspx

31B. A friend recently wrote the following if you're interested in a Bed and Breakfast:

Linda K. in PA (on her recent visit to Asheville):  Their names are Tag & Ginger Goslin, 828 236-9494,43 Watauga St.,
www.ashevilleseasons.com
stay@ashevilleseasons.com
Their place is beautiful, they were warm & welcoming, and the breakfasts were wonderful! (and they catered to dietary restrictions!) I would highly recommend their inn!!

Other Bed and Breakfasts can be found at this website:

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/asheville-north-carolina.html

Note: Best to find one that has an Asheville address.

31C. I also do well using priceline.com, typically saving 35-40% on the bidding option. Pretty much any area in Asheville is fine. In addition, priceline.com is a great source for car rentals. Contact me if you want to discuss any of the above further. 

31D. And here's another place to check out that's surprisingly reasonable and nice, according to my friend Steven who recently stayed there:

Value Place Asheville

http://www.valueplace.com/extended-stay-hotels/locations/North-Carolina/Asheville-NC/

Note: Rates start at $199.99/week and up and all include a full refrigerator, microwave and two-burner stovetop. So even if you’re staying for less than a week, you might not be able to beat this price!    

30. Asheville voted as one of GOOD MORNING AMERICA's Most Beautiful Places:

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/asheville-nc-natures-greatest-gift/story?id=14263963#.T8zV45lYs_g

And then make sure you see this incredible clip on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TyRjOP4NS1w#!

29. Asheville rated as one of top 10 places for retirement by bankrate.com:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/retirement/10-great-places-to-retire-in-the-u-s-5.aspx

28. Great book to read . . . it had a big impact on my thinking:

Don't Retire,REWIRE!, 2E by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners (Nov 6, 2007)

28. Asheville shares Beer City USA title:

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120515/ENT/305150012/Asheville-Grand-Rapids-tie-1st-Beer-City-vote?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p

27. Asheville rated as one of the 5 healthiest and greenest cities in America (4/12): http://www.greenerideal.com/lifestyle/0412-5-of-the-healthiest-and-greenest-cities-in-america/

26. From BLAINESWORLD #804:

(7010)

Reprinted with the gracious permission of David Cohen, a very talented Asheville cartoonist. To see more of his work, please click if you have Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Cohen/116071624619

25. NEW YORK magazine uncovered some of the city's worst-kep secretas in a recent article (2.10.12) guidilign visitors to "go alternative in Asheville" for a weekend getaway:

 http://nymag.com/travel/weekends/asheville/

24. Asheville is consistently rated as one of the Top Beer cities in the word.

A. For example, see below from MyTraveFlavor:
http://www.mytravelflavor.com/top-10-beer-cities-in-the-world/

B. DRAFT MAGAZINE also had this to say about the subject (and about Asheville, too):
http://draftmag.com/features/beertown-usa-asheville/

23. Mission Health, our outsanding local hospital, earned a spot among 15 health systems identified this week as the nation's best by Thomson Reuters in its fourth annual study of clinical performance (1.18.12).
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120118/NEWS/301180027/Mission-garners-top-15-ranking?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

22. Wonderful source of information for new, as well as established residents, about Asheville:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Asheville

NOTE: Also see #3 (below) for another comprehensive resource.

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.

(Biltmore Lake)
 
In addition, to learn more about Billtmore Lake, please click:

http://www.biltmorelake.com/

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.html

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/

A. Also, consider checking out:

Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend           
http://ncccr.unca.edu/creative-retirement-exploration-weekend

B. and/or:

Paths to Creative Reitrement
http://ncccr.unca.edu/paths-creative-retirement

TWO ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

 * 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: office, 828.258. 2953; cell, 828.551. or via email: suzanne@preferredprop.com.

Also, make sure you click the following link to see a clip that her former firm once did: 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.