Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Richmond all the way! I moved to Raleigh a few months ago and have checked out both cities. Asheville was hell on earth, while Richmond is a pretty nice city for its size.
Richmond all the way! I moved to Raleigh a few months ago and have checked out both cities. Asheville was hell on earth, while Richmond is a pretty nice city for its size.
It gets hyped up so much when in reality it is a very dull place. StreetSmarts in particular hypes it up like it's this amazing place.
Everyone praises it for its scenery, artistic/hipster vibe, cool areas, etc. I saw none of that. Traffic is pretty good, but that's about it. Mountains? What mountains? More like rolling hills. Not impressive at all if you've been to the West coast. Many areas are run down, roads are confusing, and Downtown is nothing special.
Asheville also has a serious housing problem, something most people don't acknowledge when they talk up the city. Jobs are also scarce. And it's not a place that young people would find as a fulfilling place to live. I don't see how Asheville differs from other dull cities of its size.
It gets hyped up so much when in reality it is a very dull place. StreetSmarts in particular hypes it up like it's this amazing place.
Everyone praises it for its scenery, artistic/hipster vibe, cool areas, etc. I saw none of that. Traffic is pretty good, but that's about it. Mountains? What mountains? More like rolling hills. Not impressive at all if you've been to the West coast. Many areas are run down, roads are confusing, and Downtown is nothing special.
Asheville also has a serious housing problem, something most people don't acknowledge when they talk up the city. Jobs are also scarce. And it's not a place that young people would find as a fulfilling place to live. I don't see how Asheville differs from other dull cities of its size.
You're entitled to your opinion, but you're in an extreme minority. "Downtown is nothing special"? Seriously? This almost sounds like a troll post lol. Did you just drive through? Were you there as an actual visitor to check it out? Now the part about housing and jobs is true, but that has no bearing on an experience as a visitor.
And yes, these are mountains by anyone's definition:
You're entitled to your opinion, but you're in an extreme minority. "Downtown is nothing special"? Seriously? This almost sounds like a troll post lol. Did you just drive through? Were you there as an actual visitor to check it out? Now the part about housing and jobs is true, but that has no bearing on an experience as a visitor.
And yes, these are mountains by anyone's definition:
I stayed for a couple days as an actual visitor, yes.
I suppose this depends on what part of downtown you're talking about and in what way.
Architecturally I'd say it's comparable to some of the other large towns/small cities in its size category, but there's not much in downtown overall.
If you're talking proximity to nature/the mountains it's good, but not as close as Maymont or Belle Island in Richmond. 5-10 minute drive vs 20-25 minute drive (without traffic) in Asheville. So yeah, still pretty good, but not for this comparison.
If you're talking about how much hype Asheville gets vs. the reality I can see how someone could/would say it's nothing special. Then again usually when visitors are talking about Asheville they are talking about the whole area and not just downtown Asheville.
In a way this is sort of like comparing Charlottesville (basically the VA version of Asheville) to Richmond. Maybe Roanoke for the similar setting (but it seems a bit more built up than Asheville).
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDF
It gets hyped up so much when in reality it is a very dull place.
Yeah, you'll get that around here. Cheerleaders everywhere. As far as it being a dull place you could say that about most areas known for people smoking out and just chilling. Drum circle or hula hooping is about the most action you'll see out of the Hippy types. Outside of downtown it's a bit more exciting, but not in a good way.
Last edited by Port Pitt Ash; 11-18-2015 at 04:32 AM..
I suppose this depends on what part of downtown you're talking about and in what way.
Architecturally I'd say it's comparable to some of the other large towns/small cities in its size category, but there's not much in downtown overall.
If you're talking proximity to nature/the mountains it's good, but not as close as Maymont or Belle Island in Richmond. 5-10 minute drive vs 20-25 minute drive (without traffic) in Asheville. So yeah, still pretty good, but not for this comparison.
If you're talking about how much hype Asheville gets vs. the reality I can see how someone could/would say it's nothing special. Then again usually when visitors are talking about Asheville they are talking about the whole area and not just downtown Asheville.
In a way this is sort of like comparing Charlottesville (basically the VA version of Asheville) to Richmond. Maybe Roanoke for the similar setting (but it seems a bit more built up than Asheville).
Overall Richmond wins this for me and I voted for it, but to say Asheville is "hell on earth" (!), has no scenery, downtown is dull and nothing special, etc. just misses the mark in a pretty big way. And most visitors to a city usually judge the whole city by the downtown area, if that was the focus of their visit.
In terms of walkable, interesting downtowns in the South in particular, I think Asheville is right behind NOLA, Charleston, and Savannah myself.
Overall Richmond wins this for me and I voted for it, but to say Asheville is "hell on earth" (!), has no scenery, downtown is dull and nothing special, etc. just misses the mark in a pretty big way.
Pretty much. I'm assuming what they meant to say was, "First I saw some hipsters and then I saw some dirty hippies! I hate both of them so much!"
However, if you spend some more time in Asheville it quickly becomes obvious that you're not getting a good value for your money. Sort of like those old commercials where the guy comes in expecting a nice steak dinner only to have the dish with two artsy bites and a high price tag placed in front of him.
Last edited by JMT; 11-21-2015 at 08:13 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
