We’ve been here only 18 days, so the jury is still out, but we thought we’d share our overall impressions of this area so far.

We’re so very fortunate to have friends who’ve loaned us their lovely pet-friendly condo while they are in the UK (thank you, Katherine and Don!) It’s right downtown in Brevard with a wonderful south facing view. There’s a grassy pet area up on the roof, which is convenient for the early morning/late night potty breaks for Dory. We stored our trailer at a local storage facility for the month, and moved in here on Feb 1.

Dory’s made one friend in the building, a fat 15-y.o. dachshund named Hazel. And she’s made one enemy, a cute and probably sweet, but hyperactive, undisciplined young Doodle named Lulu. If we see Lulu, we have to turn around and go the other way. Why does it seem like we meet Lulu every time we walk out the door with Dory?

Brevard is surrounded by national forests, state forests and wilderness areas with endless hiking, running and mountain biking opportunities. Transylvania County has no vampires of which we’re aware, but it IS known as the Land of Waterfalls. It’s true, there are glorious waterfalls and creeks and rivers wherever you look. We love all of this, and in three weeks have hiked somewhere new nearly every day (plus several bike rides for Ross). In addition there is a small liberal arts college - Brevard College - with a lovely track that is open to the community. That’s right up Robin’s alley.

There is a 26-mile rails-to-trail under construction from Brevard to Hendersonville. North of town is the Pisgah National Forest. West of Brevard lies Nantahala National Forest - the wettest area east of the Pacific Northwest and a huge treasure for outdoor preservation and exploration. The Dupont State Forest lies to the south - more fabulous hiking and biking. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs to the west. A true treasure for outdoors lovers.

Brevard touts a year round farmers market, a great local organic grocery store and a larger grocery store (Ingles) with a full selection of everything else. The downtown has a historic feel, but is vibrant with local businesses and restaurants. Little ‘pocket or alleyway’ seating areas have been set up throughout for people to eat their food and take coffee outside. There’s a great independent bookstore and a lovely bakery (both of those are important to Robin!). On a hillside near the outskirts of town is the Brevard Music Center, which hosts classical musicians in its outdoor amphitheater, and summer camps for young artists. Adjacent is the Bracken Preserve - nearly 400 acres of hiking trails owned and developed by Brevard. Asheville is 40 minutes away, the larger airports in Greenville SC and Charlotte are a couple hours drive.

The town sits on the main east-west thoroughfare (US-64) for southern NC, and seems to have an industrial feeling when you get just outside the downtown. While the population of Brevard is around 8,000 and seems to be holding rather level than accelerating (according to the Census), the busy-ness of the town feels much greater than what the population would suggest. The number of 18-wheelers, sirens and morning traffic feel like they belong to a larger town.

Although much of this sounds right up our alley, there is something we can’t put our finger on that just isn’t quite resonating with us.

Is it the busy-ness and traffic?
Is it the heavily extreme conservative nature of the voting ranks (e.g. Madison Cawthorne is the congressman)?
Is it the poor air quality that’s been recorded on a number of consecutive mornings here (probably wood smoke from winter inversions)?
Is it the fact that the local hospital is seeing extreme attrition from physicians and there are hints that it may close down?
Is it what we are hearing - that the summers lead to blanketing of the trails and town with tourists (similar to Bend)?
Is this another area that will grow to be loved to death?

We know that many of these issues face us wherever we go, and we’ll have to pick and choose what we can live with…or ignore.

We’ve hooked up with a very nice local realtor, who’s dialed in on what we’re looking for. Our basic list is what we’re looking for wherever we end up. And we are not just thinking about ourselves at 58 y.o., but at 85+ y.o.:

about 10 to 20 minutes out of town (in reach of groceries and other amenities)
preferably single-story living
private, but not on a winding treacherous mountain road
lots of light (facing south or south east!!!)
not on a treacherous winding mountain road
space for pets, home gym, and a workshop for Ross
close to roads or trails that are safe for us to walk, bike or hike

The real estate offerings in town are almost nil at the moment, although they’ll probably start picking up with the onset of springtime. We are truly more interested in being in a rural setting, and have been taking day drives to see the terrain within 30 or so minutes from Brevard. There are some listings in the rural areas, but not a great many. We’ve pretty much scouted them all out for now.

Our plan will be to leave here with a mostly open mind at the end of the month. We’ll be keeping an eye out for that Unicorn real estate offering that may appear here (and now we know the specific areas we like).

We’ll be heading south to Fernandina Beach in March to stay in a beach rental where we can park the trailer outside and visit with our dear friends Eileen and Gary. From there we’ll start the trek back north - Tryon, NC, Kentucky to visit Robin’s family, then onto SW Virginia to explore that area. This route is subject to alteration at any time.

Western North Carolina

Colorado Scouting Trip Prep Day #1: Dust Seals, Crossbars, and Locking Down the Bike

Why We Left Bend, Oregon