Black Mountain TOP 5 Neighborhoods.

[@Iva.the.Southern.Appalachian]

Raised from a baby in Black Mountain. Its completely different than it used to be. It used to be small, quiet, a nice tourist town without people coming in, tearing down all the land and taking over. No apartment complexes, or housing developments. It's sad I can no longer afford or feel comfortable living in my own hometown. 😢

[@livinginashevillenc]

@@Iva.the.Southern.Appalachian I’m sorry to hear that. It’s a reality for a lot of places that see influx of people

[@jims4067]

I really like your videos Elena! You tell the negatives as well as the positives, which you don't hear on other videos, Black Mountain is my favorite place in western NC. Too bad it's also one of the most expensive towns! Thanks for another great video!

[@livinginashevillenc]

Thank you for your feedback Jim! Yes, too bad it’s more expensive and it’s hard to find anything there.

[@gchobbs3]

Another great and informative video, Elena! You flagged the *annual* HOA fee at 14:38. I assume that at 10:27, the Laurel Ridge HOA fee of $3,390 is also annual.

[@livinginashevillenc]

Yes, that’s annual as well! Thank you!

[@Visitor-mh9vw]

A couple observations I've made about The Settings.... Steep drive to the entrance and steep roads within the community. Although there are trails, I find the steep roads aren't the best for neighborhood strolls. As a result, you don't see too many people out and about walking their dogs, etc.. There is a clubhouse, but because there's not a lot of foot traffic, the community itself seems to lack the "neighborly feel" of some other gated communities. Just my observation. It seems to be a good neighborhood if you like some solitude on a mountain side within an HOA gated community.

[@livinginashevillenc]

Thank you for sharing your perspective! I visited it several times and couple of times I saw a group of people leaving the clubhouse from what looked like a yoga class. The other times it was closed. Residents are probably using the clubhouse to gather and do activities together. And yes the roads are steep and I haven’t seen anyone walking there. But some other communities like Southcliff that has similarly steep roads- people are walking up and down them all the time. I was actually surprised, because it seemed hard 😅. Good for them I thought. And the entrance is not steep at Settings, but quickly goes up after the gate.

[@cindybeauvais703]

Great info. Love BM!

[@livinginashevillenc]

Thank you Cindy! I know you love it☺️

[@markstipulkoski1389]

Unfortunately, when i see those picturesque valleys of farms, I say to myself "How long before they put a subdivision there". I see a lot of listings that feature a picture of a beautiful pasture, only to discover that is a view from the property. The actual property is the steep wooded part of a farm that was never cleared. Deceptive click bait. So you will have a nice view until the actual pasture is sold. Hopefully it will be a nice estateand not tract homes. Always assume the worst. My current home backs up to a nice preserve. It is so nice, that other people in the community wanted to put walking trails in, destroying our privacy. Luckily the preserve is habitat for a protected species. So even if you think you are safe, someone will try to changes the rules. I live in a huge planned community in Florida. I get a laugh out of all the people who come here from New York and complain about how crowded its gotten since they moved here 3 years ago. To escape these people, I hope to move to the Asheville be the complainer!😂

[@Letizia4813]

What is the approximate per sf price to build on a lot? Why are there so many gated communities around Asheville? Many of the areas seem like they are far enough from AVL that crime wouldn't be a problem or is crime still a problem even in a place like Black Mountain? Who are the gates trying to keep out?

[@livinginashevillenc]

Thank you for you comment! For a ful custom home, you are looking at $500/sq ft and up. Spec homes mid $200s-mid $300s. As a realtor, I can't speak about crime. You're welcome to check out public sites on crime stats. As I mentioned previously in my videos, we have a lot of open use, mixed use, lightly regulated zoning, especially out in the county. You can literally drive by a mobile home park or junk yard on the way to an upscale community/luxury home. It's very common to see a mix of different level properties. It's not as homogenous as in other parts of the country. My guess is that people want privacy (or perceived security) and gates provide that. if you live out there, kind of far out and not too close to major amenities, you probably want a gate and sense of security. That's my guess. Hope this helps.

[@dariyanda167]

This woman does not honestly live in the towns she is reporting about. You need to know these are tourist areas .this means very few jobs above 10.00 per hour. You have to respect the folks that volunter hundreds of hours to keep these towns a higher guality of lifestyle. Do not come here to bring your negative issuses and crime.

[@livinginashevillenc]

I’ve lived in Asheville NC since 2004. Get your facts straight and don’t assume.