Asheville, N.C.

I was sold on Asheville, N.C., from the moment the jet's wheels touched down at Asheville Regional Airport. It's not just that it's in a beautiful natural setting, ringed by the Blue Ridge Mountains and studded with more art deco architectural gems than anywhere outside of Miami. It's not just its proximity to world-famous kayaking and rafting rivers like the Ocoee and the Nantahala. It's not even the 52 golf courses, 75 hiking trails, two llama trekking outfitters, or the Biltmore Estate —