Tennessee/North Carolina - Cool summer weather

[DallasSteve]

I'm heading to the southern Blue Ridge Mountains area - east Tennessee, west North Carolina, north Georgia - to spend the summer. I'm looking for a place where I won't have to run the AC a lot and I like rain. It's my first trip there. I want a smaller city that would have enough people that it has at least 1 Walmart and maybe a Planet Fitness. Finding a nice RV park in the area with reasonable monthly rates is also a big factor.

There's also the potential I might decide to retire to a smaller city that I like. Or I might decide to make the trip each year and winter in Florida or South Texas (where I am now). I've even thought about buying 2 old RVs and keeping one up north and one down south, then I wouldn't need a tow vehicle. Just close one up when the seasons change and go to the other one. Do people actually do that or did I think of that idea?

I've been researching the area and I see 3 or 4 candidates. If you know the area well and want to suggest another please let me know. The list is in my order of favorites based on my Internet research.

4 - Helen, Georgia
Correction: it has a lot of rain, but the temps are a little warm, and it's very small. I could drive about 15 minutes into Cleveland for Walmart. I think some areas nearby may be higher elevation and lower temps.

3 - Asheville, North Carolina
The weather is a little warm and not as wet, it's a little big at about 100,000, it's a college town, which I like. On the negative side, I've been reading it's having a crime problem.

2 - Crossville, Tennessee
It has good weather, and it's about 12,000. I might like something a little bigger, but it might work. (I moved this up to number 2)

1 - Boone, North Carolina
It has good weather and it's about 20,000. Goldilocks says that might be just right.

[pbeverly]

Helen is a cute little "German" town. It is also a tourist trap with horrible traffic.