with $100k coming in, swapping out of Fayetteville

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

if you left fayetteville

Asheville

nc · metro 417k

photo: Ken Jacobsen / pexels

a dispatch from

asheville

NC

35.58°N

82.55°W

Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.

metro417k

in our guides

#1

of 10

Best cities for food and nightlife

read the guide
#4

of 10

Most vibrant and affordable cities

read the guide
#8

of 10

Best cities for couples

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities for live music and arts

read the guide
#8

of 10

Best cities to leave Chicago for

read the guide
#8

of 10

Best cities to live in the South

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best small cities to live in

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities to leave Phoenix for

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities on the East Coast

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best cities to leave Miami for

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities to live in the Southeast

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities in the Carolinas

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities for creatives and artists

read the guide

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$141

more expensive each month than Fayetteville

Almost a wash on cost. The case for Asheville is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

8% more expensive than Fayetteville(vs $1,606/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$8/mo more in state tax than Fayetteville

vs 4.4% in Fayetteville

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$141 less than Fayetteville

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$430k

17% more expensive than Fayetteville

vs $367k in Fayetteville

05metro size

417k

vs 590k in Fayetteville

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Fayetteville barely cracks 170 pleasant ones.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 4.4× more on the calendar than Fayetteville.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

3% higher than Fayetteville

vs 64/100 in Fayetteville

Closest outdoor draw: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 74.8 mi.

·walk score®

63/100

23% lower than Fayetteville

vs 82/100 in Fayetteville

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

43% fewer than Fayetteville

vs 14 nonstops in Fayetteville

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as asheville:

see also

charleston

more flight options

turn the page

see also

greenville

$21/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

reno

$205/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare asheville with:

CharlestonGreenvilleReno