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Boone is Appalachian State - liberal

Hendersonville is just an odd town.

Waynesville and Maggie valley are both quaint and conservative from what I've seen.

North Wilkes area is nice and pretty conservative. Boone/Blowing Rock is a smaller version of Asheville.

Look to SW VA for that, and a lower cost of living and cheaper tax rate. Or, to TN for more of the same. All will give you the geography/environment you seek.

I live 25 miles nw of Asheville, near Marshall. Different county.
The locals here are conservative and believe in the second amendment.
Lots of outsiders like me have moved in, in the past 20 years. Lots of Florida Yankees have moved to the mountains.
These outsiders run the gamut from liberal goofballs to libertarian/conservatives like me.

Yes Asheville is a liberal hippy hangout. But there are some great restaurants. I love Indian food, Mela restaurant is right in the hippy district on Lexington Avenue.
Girlfriend and I go down there about twice a month to get my fix of Tikka Masala, damn that is some great Indian food.
Walking to the restaurant we see the whole parade of the hippy freak show, with all the tattoos and nose piercings ets. Doesn't bother me it is rather interesting.
Anyway, if you want to live out in the country, shoot the 30-06 right off your porch and mind your own business this is a great place to live! I love it up here.
Bought 39 acres 20 years ago, before the real estate boom. Paid, believe it or not $58 K for the property, you can't do that today.





Here is my house, the near cabin is the addition that I just built last year. This is my castle and I am the King!

Here is an interesting story that tells you about the life and times of Asheville.
Several years ago, there was a little poaching bust about 30 miles southwest from my place.
There was an orphaned fawn, mom got killed by a car. The little buck took up with the cow herd. Little deer figured he was a cow.
Well, two years later, he was a nice 8 pointer, out in the meadow munching grass with the cows. Every afternoon 8 or 10 cars would stop and look in wonder at the tame deer, take pics etc.
So, one afternoon, a stupid hillbilly stopped there, and shot the deer dead with his .30-30
Right in front of a dozen witnesses.
When the deputy arrived, hillbilly was out in the meadow gutting the deer.

This was not in Buncombe County, Asheville. This was two counties over to the west, a very rural and conservative area.
The hillbilly got 2 weeks on the chain gang for shooting a deer out of season, and for trespassing while deer hunting. Minor misdemeanor stuff.

Unfortunately for him, the story made the news in Asheville. The [liberal, goes without saying] Federal DA in Asheville investigated the guy. Turned out he was a convicted felon. Rang him up on FEDERAL "convicted felon with a firearm" charges. Now, he needed a really good lawyer.
Why didn't his local sheriff ring him up on "convicted felon with a firearm" charge? Because, in North Carolina, if you have committed a non violent felony, have done your jail time and probation, you are allowed by state law to have one deer rifle.

But not so under federal law. US Attorney in Asheville threw the book at the hillbilly and he got 7 years in federal prison.

Think Tryon, Sparta, or Todd, all in N.C. Thumbs up to Greeneville, Tennessee too.

My daughter is graduating from Boone in a few weeks so I have been immersed in Watauga county for a few years. Nice place and I would move there in a flash. Not as liberal as you would think. Some very conservative old money there.

That's one of the reasons I have Boone on my list. Plus, I have a sheit ton of family in the Piedmont Triad. Close enough to family.... yet far enough away!

+1. Much of Watauga County rocks. I went to App. in the 90s and loved it. I lived off campus, among the locals, and I really grew to like them.

I love Sparta and I'm not a mountain person at all. One of my favorite outdoor trips was a guys trip where we floated the New River with some old college buddies fishing for smallmouth. We camped overnight at a primitive campground only accessible by water...it was a blast.

Asheville sucks plain and simple unless you don't mind being surrounded by hippies that haven't bathed in 2 months or tree hugging know-it-all liberals.

swannanoa/black mountain is nice

But I'm not a helpful campfire 'doobee'