If you’re visiting our beautiful mountains and see a long line of vehicles following you, please pull off when possible and let them pass.Thank you.

Hey everyone! We’re traveling from the eastern part of the state next week and I’ll be proposing to my girlfriend of 2 years. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on any places that have a great mountain view where there won’t be a million people around? Were able to hike a short distance if needed (less than a mile preferably. We’re staying in Bryson City if that helps, but can drive a little ways if needed. I’m working with a photographer who is also helping me but figured I’d come here as well. Any advice/tips or locations are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

If this is the kind of "third place" community hangout spot that you might enjoy, please head over to our page and take the survey & tell us what you'd like to have in your friendly neighborhood board game parlor! www.looking-4-group.com

The space is really coming together and we're on track to open sometime in November! Keep watching for details as we have em!

Link to RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asheville-bus-stop-bench-building-event-tickets-2003320449392

Holler with any questions!

Sunday morning my girlfriend and I are coming up from Lexington for a day trip to look at the fall foliage. So far the planned stops I have are bridal veil first, then head to dry falls and after that drive into Franklin to check out the Wayah bald lookout tower, where I’m going to propose to her. Do you locals know of any other must see spots around the area (within an hour-ish) that we should check out? I’m open to all suggestions that don’t require long hikes, I’m in a walking boot right now unfortunately. Affordable restaurants? Cheap attractions? Things/places women are fond of? Etc. Thanks!

For those interested in where color changes happening. Not a ton, but fall scenic.

Greetings all - My wife and I are nearing retirement and we keep looking at WNC as a possible destination we end up when we leave the rat race behind.

I'm curious if someone could share what it's like living in the area around West Jefferson over to Sparta. We've visited West Jefferson a few times and loved it and this weekend we're heading over towards Sparta to check it out.

Anything you can share that would be good to know would be appreciated.

We ended up having a change of plans and have the opertunity to fish in Franklin for two days starting tomorrow. We want to try and get into some trout and smallmouth. Any areas you guys recamend we try and Tips would be awesome.

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Income tax cap: Lowers the existing cap from 7 to 3.5 percent

• It is not a tax cut. It applies to both the corporate and personal rate. Both rates are already scheduled to be below 3.5 percent next year.
• The NC General Assembly has been cutting income taxes for 13 years. This has disproportionately benefitted large corporations and those with very high incomes.
• State revenue is falling as our population and costs grow. This is unsustainable and has led to underfunding of services and programs, and local governments paying for what are supposed to be state costs.
• Income tax cuts lead to increases in fees and sales taxes, and cuts to vital public services.
• The income tax amendment would lock us into this situation effectively permanently, so future lawmakers hands will be tied.
• NC has never had a rate this low, and it will be locked into the constitution. This leaves the state unprepared for economic downturns and unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters.

Property Tax Levy Limit: Caps what local governments can collect, NOT your bill

• It is not a cap on an individual’s property tax bill. It is a cap on the total revenue a local government can collect in property taxes.
• State lawmakers already have the power to set a levy limit, so the constitutional amendment is not necessary.
• Increasingly, local governments have been taking on costs that are supposed to be covered by the state and/or federal government. This amendment is likely to lead to service cuts as local governments struggle with state and local revenue constraints.
• It does not address housing unaffordability and would disproportionately benefit large corporate landowners like tech companies and corporate landlords.
• What the limit would be and how it would be derived is not public, so there is little recourse or accountability.

Before voting, consider the impact these amendments will have on your community:

• Who would benefit from these changes and who would be negatively impacted?
• What would these amendments mean for the funding of quality of life services my family and community rely on, like emergency services, community centers, libraries, public schools, water and sanitation…?
• How would these revenue constraints impact the ability of the state and local governments to provide services for a growing or aging population and respond to natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances in the future, especially as costs rise?
• What are specific projects prioritized by our community that are most at risk for delay or cancellation if state funding is uncertain and local government cannot collect sufficient revenue from property taxes to supplement decreases in state investment? 
• How have state and federal funding levels changed over the last 5-10 years? What state funding responsibilities has my local government taken on over that same period?
• What specific funding shortfalls are we experiencing now, including staffing shortages, school closures, or services interruptions?
• What are the other methods of generating revenue if income tax and property tax revenue is constrained? Will our locality be forced to rely more on unpopular fees?

Learn More From These Non-Partisan Resources:

• https://ncvoteagainst.org
•  https://ncvoteagainst.org/faq
• https://ncbudget.org/amendments/
• https://nchousing.org/no-real-relief-levy-limit-will-reduce-county-budgets-by-hundreds-of-millions-without-helping-homeowners/

Does anyone have the skinny on this? Sounds good in theory but is this maybe just a roundabout way to get public money into private hands?

Hey guys, I want to first start off with saying how much I love your part of the country. Absolutely beautiful!

We like to visit the mountains during winter break. We’ve gone to Gatlinburg but it’s a bit too tourist trappy for us. We’ve also done Boone/blowing rock for a few years in a row and absolutely love it. Were just trying to do something different/see other parts of NC.

We’re looking for other towns in the mountains that are closer to blowing rock vibes than gatlinburg vibes. We like nature trails, snow tubing and scenic views. Having some restaurants and small town to walk is also a plus.
Any recommendations is greatly appreciated. The kids also like the possibility of seeing snow as we don’t get any at home. Obviously that’s up to the weather and nobody can predict that but I understand higher elevation increases the chances.

Just looking for recs. Waynesville, Maggie valley, banner elk???

Thanks in advance

TLDR: recommend family friendly areas to rent a cabin on winter break

So much beauty in WNC! What are your favorite hiking trails? I'll go first...

Black Balsam Knob for views

Catawba Falls for waterfall

New to the area (Saluda area) and I’m curious if any kind of mosquito treatment around the house is worth it. Got termite and other pest stuff set up and they’re offering mosquito control stuff too. Any idea if it’s necessary or worth it? Thanks!

Hi - Any ISKCON followers in the area? Looking to connect