If Your Work Is Remote, Why Aren’t You?

What I learned about bringing a remote career to Haywood County—and what to know before you bring yours.

Brandie Rushing | REALTOR® | Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Heritage | Sept. 8, 2026–In Mountain Time

For years, I chose to live in close proximity to a job I didn't have. Despite working remotely since 2005, I chose to live near major employment markets. Just in case.

Meanwhile, I kept coming back to Haywood County, a place I had known since childhood and wanted to live for most of my adult life. Eventually, I realized I was choosing where to live for a hypothetical Plan B instead of asking a much more basic question:

Where do I actually want to live?

I chose Haywood County because I wanted the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be part of ordinary life, not somewhere I went on vacation. Though it turns out the ordinary roads can be pretty distracting too. Last week, on the way to Presnell's Produce, I pulled over to photograph a barn caught between the morning fog and a foreground of sunflowers. I've been delayed on Soco by a herd of elk. More than once.

Which raises a considerably more practical question:

Is it really possible to work remotely from here?

Absolutely. With a few disclaimers...

The View Comes With the House

Haywood County has the highest average elevation of any county in the East, with more than a dozen peaks above 6,000 feet, Waterrock Knob being just one of the famous ones. That elevation can keep you cool on a hot summer day and change the weather between town and home.

Then there's the water. Haywood County has nearly 1,700 miles of mapped streams, and its rivers and springs all originate here. A bold creek can change the soundtrack of your space and make the crawlspace worth a closer inspection. 

The landscape isn't scenery adjacent to the property. A layered view and winding road may be exactly why you fall in love with a place.

They're also reasons to do your homework. A long wooded drive can offer privacy, but it's smart to ask who maintains the road that gets you there. 

Signal May Vary

Last year, I found a beautiful house in Haywood County's Iron Duff community. Farmland with 360-degree rolling pastoral views. Single-level living. Convenient to town. Almost everything I wanted.

Then I checked the internet. One poorly reviewed satellite option.

Internet is an address-level question here. If your livelihood depends on connectivity, don't assume that being closer to town guarantees better service—or that being halfway up a mountain guarantees worse.

I've seen fiber climb roads that wind up for miles and end at driveways overlooking layer after layer of blue ridges without another roof in sight. At my own house, just half a mile from Soco, cable is the best option available.

Broadband continues to expand in Haywood County. But if you're considering a particular house, what matters isn't what's available on the road or in the subdivision.

Check the actual address on the FCC National Broadband Map. Then confirm with the provider. And if service is already active, run a speed test from the room where you're actually going to work.

Then test the backup.

Not long after moving here, a transformer blew minutes before a planning call. Power and internet gone. Cell service inside my house, in the heart of Maggie Valley, requires a booster. At the time, it was still packed up.

Which is why I ended up carrying my laptop to the Sonic parking lot in Waynesville for an uncomfortably late meeting.

Now I know the county libraries have Wi-Fi and make a considerably more respectable backup office. Though regrettably, no Cherry Limeade.

You May Still Have to Leave

For some conversations, nothing beats face-to-face. For those, Asheville Regional Airport currently serves 26 nonstop destinations, with connections beyond, and is about 36 miles from Waynesville.

Still, don't underestimate the commute.

Mountain roads don't come with unlimited alternatives. Weather, construction, a downed tree or a washed-out road can turn a manageable airport run into a very different proposition. If Google Maps offers a thin gray line across a mountain as a shortcut, approach cautiously.

Gravel, switchbacks and best-laid plans may be involved.

If winter weather threatens an important early flight, an airport-area hotel the night before can remove the mountain-road gamble. If you need a ride rather than your own car, arrange it ahead of time rather than assuming one will materialize on demand.

Expect Detours

There are things the broadband map won't tell you.

For one, your professional network may assume you've retired. If you've spent most of your adult life near major metropolitan areas, the world can feel strangely small at first.

The sidewalks roll up after the festival closes on Saturday. Your new favorite restaurant may not open again until Wednesday. In April. We discovered Twisted Spoke in Maggie Valley earlier this year on the last weekend of the season!

Google may tell you there is absolutely nobody in Haywood County who does a razor shave. This does not necessarily mean nobody in Haywood County does a razor shave. It may mean you don't know where the locals go. 

I'm learning there's a fair amount of Haywood County that works that way.

You can research the elevation. Check the broadband map. Measure the drive to the airport. Investigate the road, the creek and the house.

Those things matter. But choosing where you want to live eventually requires something the maps can't do for you.

Time spent here beyond the weekend.

Go into town when nothing in particular is happening. Find the restaurant that's open on Tuesday in February. Ask somebody where they get their hair cut. Learn which road Google thinks is perfectly reasonable and everybody else knows better than to take.

For twenty years, remote work gave me the ability to work from almost anywhere. It took me considerably longer to realize I could choose here.

Brandie

PS. If you’re thinking of choosing somewhere in WNC, give me a call. I’d be glad to help you figure out what “here” might look like for you.

This article is provided for general consumer education, not legal, financial, engineering or other professional advice. Properties, regulations and individual circumstances vary. Verify information specific to a property with the appropriate agencies and qualified professionals.