Western NC
If you’re looking for a place as diverse as the array of foliage color in autumn, as “down-to-earth” as its historical roots, and as beautiful as the patchwork quilts it has become famous for – look no further than Western North Carolina.
Whether you look to rest and relax, raise a family, start a business, stroll through history or do some of all of these at once, the diversity of experiences one can enjoy in every season of the year here is hard to match. Even the President of the United States finds it irresistible.
After a recent visit, President Obama chose Asheville as the destination to take his wife on a romantic spring vacation. A statement issued by the White House noted: “The president first visited the Asheville area during the campaign, and he liked it so much that he vowed to take his family there. The president and first lady are planning to spend a quiet weekend enjoying some of the many things this beautiful part of the country has to offer.”
What’s in a Name?
Asheville, of course, does not tell the entire story of Western North Carolina. The majority of the area is made of small towns and communities. Towns like Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Hot Springs, Spruce Pine, and Sliding Rock dot the map with names that tie them directly to the land around them.
Others received their names from a rich Native American heritage – Cherokee, Junaluska, Nantahala, Fontana, Hiawassee, and Cullowhee to name a few. Still others received their names from proud historical battlefields, soldiers, and sailors – names like Burnsville, Boone, Marion, McDowell, Old Fort and Yancey. You won’t have to look far to find roads signs with a few names that may puzzle but certainly entertain you: Bear Wallow Road, Bee Log Road, Hardscrabble, Hoot Owl Hollow, Lazy Bear Trail, Possum Trot Road, Upper and Lower Pig Pen.
More Than Meets the Eye
But don’t let the quaint country names fool you into thinking the area is anything less than filled with natural beauty, history, arts and crafts, state-of-the-art medical facilities and healthcare personnel, top rated colleges, and cutting-edge technological industry.
Perhaps the first attraction that grabs the eye of every visitor is the area’s “picture postcard” seasons. Mild but beautiful winters offer each person an idyllic choice of what they perceive as the perfect season. For some the light dusting of snow in the valleys near towns like Marion, Nebo, Weaverville, Canton, Fletcher, and Fairview is perfect. The crisp crackling of frosty mornings walking out the wooded paths is just what the doctored order to wipe away the city life stressors of smog, noise, and deadlines. Here the closest thing to a traffic jam is the family of quail scurrying across your path or the farmer’s cows moving from pasture to barn at dusk.
For others a dusting of snow just won’t do, they want the real thing. In that case we just move up the mountainside a few hundred feet and the snow deepens, the temperature drops, and winter wonderland becomes the skier’s delight. Names like Wolf Laurel, Banner Elk, Boone, Sylva, Maggie Valley, and Bryson City appear and the hardest decision at the end of this day may be what size cup of cocoa to have as you swap stories around the roaring fire after a day of world-class skiing and snowboarding.
Fast forward 60 days or so and the jonquils start peeking through that last spiffs of snow, the trees are beginning to bud, and all of nature’s glory is about to be revealed in a burst of color and sound. Songbirds seemingly fill the trees leaving only enough room for the vividly green foliage to spring forth from what appeared to be lifeless limbs. The grass now muffles the morning strolls through the woods and all of nature seems to awaken.
Educational Opportunities
From stellar pre-schools, charter and grade schools, to academically acclaimed public and private secondary schools, educational opportunities are available.
There are excellent two and four-year community colleges along with private and specialty schools. One of the top is Asheville-Buncombe Technical College where students can excel in a variety of studies. Graduating students may choose jobs in many different fields of interest, from computers, to nursing, to law enforcement, even becoming a chef in the school’s top-rated Foodservice Program.
Industry
Western North Carolina is also a great place to raise a business, as 1,200 manufacturing companies and 300 technology companies can attest. Just a few of the “state-of-the-art” bonuses already in place for prospective companies include: a fiber optics network and other broadband connectivity that far exceeds most other largely rural regions, available and affordable certified industrial buildings and sites, and a skilled, creative and motivated workforce of more than half a million.
Access to Western North Carolina is also relatively easy. National interstate highways 40 and 26 intersect in Asheville bringing easy access to the heart of the mountains. There are daily flights from Asheville’s regional airport plus the availability of smaller airfields in towns like Andrews, Brevard, Franklin, Marion Spruce Pine and Sylva keep travelers in touch with their families, their work and the world.
Natural and Man-Made Wonders
There are a few places in the world that still stand apart from the ordinary. Of course Western North Carolina naturally has more than its share. One in particular rises more than a mile high. Within Mount Mitchell State Park on the crest of the Black Mountains lies the summit of Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi.
For those who ascend this mighty peak, what looms in the horizon is a feast for the eyes—breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, rolling ridges and fertile valleys. The 1,946-acre Mount Mitchell State Park provides visitors with a unique combination of tranquility and awe-inspiring panoramas.
No trip to Western North Carolina would be complete without a stop at Biltmore Estate in Asheville. The breathtaking beauty of 250-room Biltmore House — America’s largest home — and century-old gardens, is just the beginning. Explore the 8,000-acre backyard through a variety of activities from horseback riding to rafting. Recent additions include Antler Hill Village that connects the estate’s present and past, provides a relaxing place for dining, shopping, historical exhibits, and new ways to enjoy Biltmore’s hospitality.
Built from granite boulders hewn from Sunset Mountain, the Grove Park Inn opened in 1913. At its opening dinner, William Jennings Bryan declared that it had been “built for the ages.” In the decades since it has become one of the South’s most famous and venerable resorts. The hotel was the vision of St. Louis entrepreneur, E.W. Grove, who envisioned a hotel that would be like “a big home where every modern convenience could be found, but with all the old-fashioned qualities of genuineness with no sham.”
No matter where you choose to live, work or play in Western North Carolina, you’re sure find out why so many people come back year after year and settle down here!