The Thoms Estate in Asheville North Carolina

Over 390 galleries, shops and restaurants
2nd largest collection of art deco architecture in the US
Top 12 Travel Destinations for 2007, Frommers
Top 30 Best Towns in America, Best Southern Town, #1 in the Southeast, Outside Magazine
State of the art Medical facilities
55.4 average temperature
6 major cities within 200 miles
38.9 Medium age of Residents
70.3 Home Ownership Rate
Number one of ten Great Adventure Towns – National Geographic
Named one of America's 100 Best Places to Retire
The Thoms estate is just 3 miles from downtown Asheville

As the mountain air stirs the chimes outside the antique gallery up the street, the scent of gardenia candles and handmade soaps lures you back to the shop you just passed. Inside you find blown glass, pottery, and jewelry so fine that you solve your holiday gift list months in advance. After quaffing a crisp summer ale from an Asheville craft brewery, you’re stopped in mid stride by a brilliant pastel, the work of an artist who sees beauty in moments most people miss – and then complain of short lives. You might take this piece home, or it mayinspire you to pull out your charcoal pencils. You’ll decide after a bite. Tapas? Bhel Puri? Sashimi? Pad Thai? A sidewalk cellist makes your choice easy, drawing you to an outdoor table at the bistro you’ve been meaning to try. The sonata, pâté, and passing parade make such a pleasing mélange that you slip off your sandals and linger, content, over your café au lait.

Just three miles from The Thoms Estate, Asheville’s downtown is classic, compact, walkable, and dense with life. Ringed by peaks and graced with the county’s greatest Art Deco architecture outside of Miami, Asheville is vibrant with commerce, cuisine, and culture … one-of-a-kind bookstores, cafés, coffeehouses, boutiques, bakeries, wine and gourmet shops, florists, nightclubs, theaters, and over 390 restaurants, museums, and galleries. At any moment, you may encounter street performers, art parades, gallery crawls, craft festivals, music festivals, a peloton of world-class bike racers – you name it. All of which starts to explain why Asheville is perennially perched atop lists of great places to live. Plan your Asheville adventures to last longer than planned as its pleasures, temptations, and treasures keep luring you on.