Lush Wooded Homesites For Sale! This is an ideal spot for a vacation retreat or retirement home. Property taxes and the cost of living is very reasonable, the second least expensive county for property taxes in the state. Yet, you will be only a 15 minutes drive to historic Bryson City, the county seat of scenic Swain County, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. Just a little over an hour from Ashville or a leisurely three hour drive from downtown Atlanta.