ASHEVILLE AND WNC

Selected by AARP magazine as a top 15 dream town, “one of the best places to reinvent your life,” the Asheville area offers a little bit of something for everyone. With a backdrop provided by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, Asheville offers a unique quality of life, maintaining the intimacy and charm of a small city of 70,000, while offering the cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities of a larger one.

The Asheville area has been recognized by a wide range of print and on-line publications for its quality of life.

2005

• 19 of Top 25 Most Secure U.S. Places to Live
  Farmers Insurance Group June 2005
• 31 of 168 Small Metros Best Places For Business And Careers
  Forbes May 2005
• 31 of 394 Regions, Entrepreneurial/Innovation Index
  Small Business Administration April 2005
• 8 of America’s Top 25 Small Town Arts Destinations
  AmericanStyle, Summer 2005
• 11 of 50 Best Places To Live
  Men's Journal April 2005

2004

• 1 of 10 Great Adventure Towns
  National Geographic ADVENTURE Magazine, September 2004
• One of "Five Cities That Are Special"
  USA TODAY, July 2004
• 10 of America’s Top 25 Arts Destinations
  AmericanStyle, Summer 2004
• Best Place to Live, Number 8 of 331 Metros
  Cities Ranked and Rated, March 2004

2003

• Top Ten Towns for a Second-Home Investment
  MSN Money, October 2003
• Best College Towns (#4 Warren Wilson College)
  Outside Magazine, September 2003
• Best Places To Retire
  MSN July 30, 2003
• Top 15 Dream Towns (Best Places to Reinvent Your Life)
  AARP Magazine, May/June 2003
• 18 of America’s Top 25 Arts Destinations
  AmericanStyle Summer 2003
• Top Family Getaways
  Parents Magazine, April 2003
• Top Safe & Cheap Getaways (One of Five)
  USA TODAY, April 4, 2003

At an average elevation of 2,340 feet above sea level, Asheville enjoys four distinct seasons. Spring arrives early with an explosion of floral variety, and an average temperature of 62.9 degrees. Because of the elevation, summers are cool, with an average high temperature of 82 degrees and an average low of 61. Fall brings crisp days and brilliant foliage with average temperatures of 56 degrees. Winter's average temperature is 40 degrees, with an average annual snowfall in Asheville of sixteen inches. The highest and southernmost ski slopes in the eastern U.S. are nearby.

Educational opportunities abound. The campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) is situated close to the heart of the city on 175 acres. UNCA is home to the NC Center for Creative Retirement and its College for Seniors, a lifelong learning program. Two eight-week terms in fall and spring, a four-week winter term and a special summer term offer a wide variety of more than 230 courses each year. Most courses are taught by peer instructors, but at least one course each term is taught by an outstanding UNC Asheville faculty member. Classes are held in the Reuter Center on the UNC Asheville campus. In the fall and spring terms some classes are also held at Deerfield.

Other nearby institutions of higher learning include Western Carolina University (WCU), Warren Wilson College, Mars Hill College, Brevard College and Montreat College. WCU and UNCA have expanding graduate programs.

Recreational opportunities are limitless! Asheville's nine parks provide swimming pools, tennis courts, and a Nature Center with a variety of animals native to this region. Asheville has 21 summer playgrounds, eight neighborhood recreation centers, and two senior citizens' centers. The Asheville Racquet Club, located next door to Deerfield, is home to numerous senior tennis groups. Two public golf courses and three country clubs provide superior play ten months a year. Two great national forests offer fishing, hiking trails, and rock climbing. The North Carolina Arboretum and the Botanical Garden Gardens at Asheville offer tranquil settings to experience nature’s beauty and abundance. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway give the area both unlimited recreational opportunities and scenic splendor.