Why you'd want to live in Asheville

Though this small mountain city has many nicknames – “Paris of the South” and “Beer City” among them – what makes Asheville unique is hard to define. Certainly, an excellent food scene, fed by local farmers and producers, is a huge draw. The Blue Ridge Mountains, which form a backdrop behind the downtown skyline, also serve as an attractive playground for outdoor adventurers. As for the beer, Asheville has more breweries per capita than any other U.S. city. But it’s also the spirit of the place that has people flocking to western North Carolina to take a look at this art deco-bedecked city and maybe even stay awhile. Even if the proliferation of hotels and tourist-crowded streets means Asheville’s not quite as weird as it was when Rolling Stone in 2000 declared it “America’s new freak capital,” it still has an independent spirit. Here, you can wear hiking boots to dinner, enjoy plenty of public art and bask in an easygoing attitude that invites you to come as you are. Black bears are present year-round in Asheville, even in the winter, though spring brings heightened activity. For the most part, residents have learned to accept that they’ve moved into bear territory and not the other way around. Still, coexistence with hungry ursine neighbors isn’t always easy. Black bears can sniff out food anywhere, so trash cans must be secured at all times. Bears have also been known to open car doors and enter homes and businesses, even though their attitude toward humans usually falls somewhere between indifference and fear. via realestate.usnews.com