West Asheville Charm?

Today is our last full day in Asheville. Tomorrow we pack up and head north to the DC area. Staying one month in a single location has been enjoyable. We can finally find our way home without GPS! I wouldn’t say we’ve learned to navigate all the town’s crazy streets, but that’s fine, cuz we are moving on.

Asheville seems to be divided up into very unique districts such as the old downtown area, the arts district along the river and our neighborhood, West Asheville. Our neighborhood is sandwiched between the French Broad River (which is as brown as chocolate milk) and a somewhat old and slightly industrial business district. Directly across the river, about half a mile from our front door is the rolling green pastures of the Biltmore Estate, which is cool.

To me, West Asheville has a similar vibe as SoCo in Austin. Older buildings renovated to be sort of trendy. If I had a dollar for every coffee shop and brewery in Asheville I’d have enough to pay off my iPhone. Ha!

Last week, while our friends from Atlanta were here, we trekked down Haywood Road (which seems to bisect our neighborhood) to a plant store to get coffee. Yes, I wrote that correctly — nestled in a room filled with plants, was a barista. And get this, the shop is called Flora & Forage. Honestly, you can’t get more trendy than that. Shout out to our barista, Sarah, for taking such good care of us. She’s from Greenville, NC.

West Asheville (28806) is a mecca for originality. For the past few years, people have flocked to this funky neighborhood, either to visit or buy a quaint cottage within walking distance of the many new businesses that have opened in the area.

RomanticAsheville.com

The aforementioned Haywood Road reminds me of the Brushy Creek River in Williamson County. No matter where you are, it seems to be there. Once Dale and realized this, it helped us get back home. The church we’ve been attending is on Haywood too. BTW we were invited to lunch after church last Sunday by an older couple named Bruce and Donna. Two hours over a plate of Italian food can make you into old friends.

Yesterday evening Dale and I had dinner just up the street from our place, at a restaurant called Gan Shan West. I’d been wanting to try it out. It was great. I’m sorry we didn’t go sooner. The other end of the building is a pizza place, and … yes, a brewery. (Pay me another dollar.) The smell of beer and numerous barrels weren’t just for decoration.

I also took some photos of some of the artwork located on buildings up and down Haywood within a mile from our house. If you’re interested in a great place to stay, check our place on Airbnb.

Enjoy these photos!