Due to better roads and close proximity, the area has historical ties to Spruce Pine, population 2,200, for shopping and eating, vs. to the Avery County Seat town of Newland, which is 11 miles north.

Spruce Pine has several large shopping centers, several motels, numerous restaurants, bars, alcohol sales and a regional hospital.

The unincorporated community of Linville Falls, 4 miles East, is where Avery, Burke and McDowell Counties converge.

19E was extended in October 2020 from Spruce Pine, all of the way to Interstate 26 in Madison County, near Mars Hill, making travel to the Asheville area much faster.

The community area also has several churches, the Avery County Airport (7A8); a public, a regional airport with a paved, 3100 foot runway for general aviation with, several hangars, and aviation fuel, but no tower or rescue crew, Riverside P-5 Elementary School, Green Valley Fire Station, an Avery county park, an Avery County EMS station, a campground, 2 tombstone shops, an automotive garage, a shooting range, along with several small stores and a public landfill.