About Asheville's Downtown Asheville

Starting Friday August 26 and running through Sunday August 28, 2011, the GoomBay Festival will be fillig the air with the sounds of African-Caribean music and the smells of great exotic foods.

This festival will be held in the Eagle Street and Market Street area of Historic Downtown Asheville.

If you are looking for something different to do this weekend, gather up your kids and an appetite and check out the GoomBay Festival and enjoy the diversity that Asheville has to offer.

Living Green and Eating Clean in Asheville, NC

Living green and eating clean is the direction of the future and as previously said, Asheville is leading the way--which is why you should move here or invest in Asheville real estate. Our favorite place, this week, is Greenlife Grocery.

Greenlife, in downtown Asheville, is a great place to buy whole foods, local foods, and to just enjoy the community.

It’s interesting and inviting--from the unusual signs and community-friendly feel outside...

to the isles of healthful foods,

the to-die-for bakery, and their locally focused butcher shop, inside.

I love this store! And, in typical Asheville form, there is almost always a talented musician in front of Greenlife to make beautiful music for you while you are simply going to get your milk and bread. You could spend your whole day there! (Actually, a lot of people seem to be doing that!)

The bottom line is, Asheville is a great place to live or to invest...so, consider it! Asheville is beautiful on the outside AND on the inside--because it is moving fast towards goals that are becoming very important to more and more people--goals like living green and eating clean.

For those of you who are looking to buy property in Asheville, NC, here is another...

Home Buyer’s Tip
Last time, your buyer’s tip was to use a Buyer’s Agent. And, as previously noted, the seller pays for this service for you! Here’s how it works: when a seller hires an agent (who then becomes the seller’s agent or listing agent) a commission is agreed upon. This amount is built into the sales price. When that house is sold, the listing agent’s firm receives that commission. If the buyer has a buyer’s agent, the listing agent splits the commission with the buyer’s firm. There is no additional fee to the buyer for using a buyer’s agent and if the buyer is not represented by a buyer’s agent, there is likely no discount for him/her.

Any licensed real estate agent can act as a buyer’s agent OR a seller’s agent--or even, a dual agent--representing both sides. The bottom line is, if you are a buyer and have no buyer’s agency agreement with the agent you are speaking with-- you need to be cautious about any information you give. Read the “Working With Real Estate Agents” brochure and communicate with the agent you are speaking to about this to be sure you are all on the same page.

Asheville is, hands down, the most interesting up and coming city in the South. Asheville is... completely beautiful! There are mountains with waterfalls and lakes and breathtaking views. But, it isn't just the physical beauty that attracts people to Asheville--the Asheville experience is deeper. It's a vibrant, growing place where people are drawn to come and experience life. Many folks come to experience Asheville and then decide they love it and want to stay. It's becoming a very well-known destination-- the Paris of the South, with all of it's yummy, innovative restaurants and artsy feel.

Asheville was named by Fodors.com as one of the "21 Places We Are Going in 2011". (Jan., 2011). Tripadvisor.com named Asheville, the "#1 Place to View Foliage in 2010" (September 2010). Byways named Asheville as one of the magazine's "Top 50 North American Group Tour Destinations of 2010" (December 2009). USA Today's Road Warrior Panel (A panel of 1,000+ travelers who voluntarily provide travel information for USA Today) named Asheville as one of their top cities for business trips.

But, lest you feel that Asheville is primarily known as a tourist destination... did you know that Asheville is a leader in seeking alternative and renewable energy sources and going green, in the deeper sense of the word, all over the place? Read all about it: Asheville and Our Environment

Conservation is optimally important in Asheville--Buncombe county even boasts of being the birthplace of forest conservation in all of America! Check out: The Cradle of Forestry

There are many more things that have been said about little Asheville--see more... Asheville Accolades!

The bottom line is that Asheville is a great place to invest in real estate. It's a great place to buy your first home--or your second home!

And much more could be said here (and will be...) but, for today, I would just like to bring your attention to a particular place here in Asheville, the Asia Bed and Spa.

The Asia seems to be Asheville's answer to the traditional Bed and Breakfast place. They do offer breakfast--"a delicious, healthful breakfast". A beautifully landscaped, quiet place... but not too far from all the activity in downtown Asheville. Then, there are the therapeutic massages...

and a return to an "exotic suite." Nice.

My attention was brought to this place because of the honest, considerate innkeeper at Asia. That's right... the honest innkeeper. So, here's the story: an unexpected, large, check was mailed to my firm's office in Asheville. The sender used the wrong zip code and the check accidentally went to Tom Dredge-the innkeeper at Asia. After realizing that the envelope contained a large check, he tracked me down--calling and leaving messages. I was so relieved that he was an honest, considerate man! As I said, the check was significant and our firm was not expecting it. Tom could have tossed it back into the mailbox to be rerouted several times, or even tried to cash it. Our office may have been in the dark about the check, entirely, for a good while. But Tom tracked me down...

So, the next time you are thinking about rejuvenating at a luxurious bed, breakfast and spa... try the Asia in beautiful Asheville. Because, I bet that if the innkeeper cares about a stranger who lost her check...he probably cares-- a whole bunch-- about his guests!

If you have a favorite place in Asheville, let me know and I'll check it out!

Here's what I like best about living in downtown Asheville, North Carolina:

Shopping in quirky, locally owned stores. All along Lexington Avenue and Broadway street are great local shops offering, among other things: wigs, gifts, household decorating and furniture items, used books, high-end and inexpensive clothing, a real general store, groceries, natural foods, handmade art, and so much more. It's not a mall with mega-chainstores, but a real unique downtown shopping experience. Asheville store owners encourage people to buy local, and with so much to choose from, you won't be disappointed.

Dining on the foods of many nations, just steps from my home. Living downtown means you never have to cook, ever again. Within a 5 block radius of Pack Square, the heart of the downtown, you can dine on Japanese, Indian, Chinese, French, Caribbean/South American, Cuban, Thai, Italian, Cajun, Mexican, Southern, Continental, New American. I'm sure I've left off a few cuisines here but you get the idea.

Drinking locally brewed beer. Asheville is second only to Portland, Oregon, in the number of microbreweries per capita. Several local bars and restaurants serve dozens of beers on tap, and three new brewpubs have opened within the last year, all in downtown Asheville. There's also a great specialty beer store on Broadway Street that specializes in high-gravity brews and has a tasting every Thursday evening.

Sharing coffee and dessert. It's not quite the large rainy city in the Northwest, but Asheville has numerous independent coffee shops and delectable locally baked desserts. For chocolate lovers, we have at least two specialty chocolatiers; pastry and cookie mavens can choose from several bakeries (one specializing in dog cookies!), and some outdoor cafes for people watching with your coffee. Ice cream fans have a couple of tasty options too. Sitting outside on a sunny day in Pack Square sipping something nice and sharing a dessert with someone special is pretty unbeatable.

Those of us who living downtown can find both new and historic condos, from the spartan to the luxurious, city and mountain views, small and large spaces, traditional and modern floor plans, high and low rise buildings. In short, if you can't find a condo that fits your needs, you're not looking in downtown Asheville!

As both a father and a grandfather, I know that involving children in activities that promote their mind and their body's health is a wonderful step in creating a thriving member of the community. One great event that the Asheville City Market is hosting throughout the summer is the Kids Corner Market. Hosted by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), the Kids Corner Market is a series of free activities to promote local farmers as well as a healthy, well-balanced diet and fun exercises for kids to enjoy. It's also a great way to connect with other members of the Asheville community. The Kids Corner Market will be held every Saturday from 10am-12:30pm at the Asheville City Market (161 S Charlotte St) until August 29th and is absolutely FREE to the public.

The schedule of activities for the rest of the summer for the FREE Kids Corner Market is:

June 27: Cooking demo and food art
July 4: Transplant activity, Bountiful Cities Project
July 11: Flower press crafts and herbal tea tasting
July 18: Hands-on activity by a Parkway Ranger
July 25: No Market - Bele Chere
August 1: Obstacle Course
August 8: Healthy eating games
August 15: Scavenger Hunt
August 22: Cooking Demo
August 29: (Last Day of Market) Fun farm activities