Selection Process

This is my favorite video of Asheville's downtown, and it's one I made.  It's the poster shot, from up on Reynolds Mountain, a place where I frequently walk.
 

A young lady that's hiked with me a few times was telling me that she and her husband had been desiring to move from Pennsylvania, and that they spent several weeks driving around the country looking for a great place to resettle.  They also had a couple of young kids to factor in.  Before they set off on this quest, they listed out some features that were really important to them.  Not long ago I asked her if she'd share the list and tell me a bit more about their thought process, and what led them to select Asheville, NC.

Here is the list:

 

some snow in the winter

circus school

serious ballet school that also caters to boys

a city with all the amenities of a big city without being actually big

professional theatre

hiking

cycling

kayaking

vibrant downtown area

artistic culture

access to local, organic, vegetarian foods

swim teams

rec sports for adults

community that felt receptive and welcoming to our family

other unschoolers (our method of homeschooling)

not insanely hot in summer

Other places we considered:  Burlington, VT; Brattleboro, VT; Eric, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; New York, NY
 

I was actually really against Asheville at first, because I wanted to stay in the north, but we visited because friends told us we would love it, and they were right.  We came once and then ended up coming back again during our trip up and down the east coast.  Around Texas we decided Asheville was our number one choice, and that any other place we visited would have to beat Asheville.  We found a couple of other cities that had similar things, but none that had ALL the things we wanted like Asheville did. 
 

Great hiking with you.  You have an awesome group!