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Francois - Very true, very true ^_^ It's just one of the things I heard (not so much asheville but the surrounding areas), I'd also heard people aren't terribly friendly. I asked because hearsay is usually bs.
And yes, I wrote waaaay too much (took awhile too). I'm a curious George. =) I will be visiting. I wanted to come down in January but I think I may wait until spring. I'm shooting for the equinox, maybe see if there are any open rituals or events or anything.
I believe we're postponing our move until next year so I think I'll probably make smaller posts throughout the year
Jenn - Wow, lots of great information ^_^ I'll have to work on my crafts to see if I can't get a little extra income. Leatherworking is my focus, I apprentice under a man who was the top Book of Shadows maker in his time. I'm hoping that gives me an 'in' in the book-binding area of leatherworking. It'll be fun trying to break into the arts community down there. I have trouble with it down here, the pretentiousness gets me but I gotta learn eventually.
Thanks for the great information. Don't suppose you'll be coming back to check this thread again but if you do you should befriend me =D
5) There is some anti-northerner sentiment but that's mainly from the natives. The transplants (lot's of us) don't mind.
Please don't paint us all with such a broad brush stroke. This statement is simply not true. It may be the experience that you have had with a few but, you have not possibly met ALL the natives. Are there some natives that have the anti-northern sentiment - Yes. Are there non-natives who have anti-southern sentiments - yes. A-holes come in all shapes/sizes and from all over the world. It makes no difference where you're from. Prejudice is prejudice it's not exclusive to southerners or to northerners. A good thing for us all to keep in mind.
To the OP - it sounds like there are lots of pros/cons for you to research before moving. And this may be of interest to you based on some of the things you have said/mentioned
While it's not my personal thing, I do know they are quite active in the community and have lots of members and if I recall correctly they have been in existence for many, many years.
To hit on one big question... Yes Asheville is "liberal" in what you were asking about, but you had better not go more than 10 minutes outside of town. I guarantee you will find tension if you visit/live in neighboring counties. It is the south and bible belt. If you go to the grocery store cross dressed in the country you are going to be stared at.
Yeah, that's what I was worried about. I figured the outlying areas might be a little more conservative. Ohio is similar though I think. I was just curious how liberal the town was comparatively to where I am now. Liberal in New York is bound to be different than liberal in Texas, for instance.
Honestly, I made some of that stuff up (havent cross dressed since junior high, not completely gay either) but I wanted to push it as far as I could to see where the limits may lie.
Jenn - Wow, lots of great information ^_^ I'll have to work on my crafts to see if I can't get a little extra income. Leatherworking is my focus, I apprentice under a man who was the top Book of Shadows maker in his time. I'm hoping that gives me an 'in' in the book-binding area of leatherworking. It'll be fun trying to break into the arts community down there. I have trouble with it down here, the pretentiousness gets me but I gotta learn eventually.
Thanks for the great information. Don't suppose you'll be coming back to check this thread again but if you do you should befriend me =D
Leather is something not too many artists are into here. I'm not sure, but it may be because there is no market. As I said before, of the 300 working artists in just the River Arts District of Asheville, half of them are potters so there is obviously a market to the tourists in artistic bowls, cups, mugs, pots, etc. Clay is huge and clay is a money maker!
But any smart, talented, and hard working artist can make it in Asheville. The River Arts District has a co-op of artists that help them market their goods. I may be moving there soon myself as the district's only filmmaker and music producer and would not be hawking my wares to the tourists.
Asheville is magical. I have transformed since moving here. I gave up eating dead animals and I have started eating organically and I'm more aware of buying local, especially from local organic farmers. We have tailgate markets all over town. In the summer, we have no less than 6 tailgate markets including an enormous farmers market.
Some of my farmer friends are now getting into value added products by creating dishes like Kim Chi our their cabbage and hot peppers.
AB Tech is a great community college in Asheville and they have top notch facilities for training in culinary arts and other fields of study.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is near Asheville as is the Appalachian Trail. The Pisgah National forest is nearby and there is quite the white water rafting sports nearby on the French Broad River.
Asheville has a regional airport (AVL) with service to several cities and regular flights to/from Atlanta (ATL) Georgia.
It's not easy to carve out a living in Asheville unless you are a working artist or an entrepreneur catering to the tourists, but our town if full of smart people that can make a living here in the mountains.
Please don't paint us all with such a broad brush stroke. This statement is simply not true. It may be the experience that you have had with a few but, you have not possibly met ALL the natives. Are there some natives that have the anti-northern sentiment - Yes. Are there non-natives who have anti-southern sentiments - yes. A-holes come in all shapes/sizes and from all over the world. It makes no difference where you're from. Prejudice is prejudice it's not exclusive to southerners or to northerners. A good thing for us all to keep in mind.
To the OP - it sounds like there are lots of pros/cons for you to research before moving. And this may be of interest to you based on some of the things you have said/mentioned
While it's not my personal thing, I do know they are quite active in the community and have lots of members and if I recall correctly they have been in existence for many, many years.
Good luck to you
I put a lady that practices Wiccan on television. There are several covens in and around Asheville and there are also communes right out of the 60's but they call them "intentional communities" now. Earth Haven is one near Asheville that has been going for a number of years.
Please leave judgmental thoughts behind, especially when you're worried about people judging you!
One reason people probably haven't responded much is that yes, you put too many questions in one post. It's good to have specific concerns, but best to start broad and then hone in on more specific things (phone service? That can wait until you've gauged the general climte first, don't you think?)
Asheville is a VERY "hippie" friendly place, since that sounds like one of your "big" questions. Being gay won't be an issue, either. Since you have so many questions "bursting" to ask, you should visit the place, since seeing it yourself will answer many of them. Likely you will either be "sold" on it or decide it's not your cup of tea--but the particular characteristics of Asheville make it hard to describe on a forum like this. I do recommend a visit, though probably not in the winter when snow could mess up your plans.
1. I agree - there are way too many questions. Be a bit myopic here and expand out, if you are still interested.
2. VISIT before you move and don't visit in winter . I has been lightly snowing for what ... two days now? I'm from NY and, while I'm used to the cold and shoveling, this is ridiculous.
3. There are many tatoo artists here. Be prepared for competition.
4. West A. is for the LGBT community (well, many are concentrated there). We were told that's where to live but besides being noisy due to major roads and neighborhoods are mixed and a bit odd with narrow streets, nice to not nice houses. We're in north Asheville and looking to move elsewhere but still don't see us in West A.
5. Be careful of craigslist ads. They tend to be more misleading than other websites. So, you may see what appears to be a lowcost home that looks okay but when you do a driveby (and we learned they are a must), it's annoyingly misrepresented. Yes, we found it worse here than even in NYS.
6. You best start looking at weather sites and compare it to where you are. We're in the mountains to varying degrees and my family in NY/NJ/CT laughs at me now . It's typically colder here than where they are. If you move here, bring a snow shovel.
7. Being a vegetarian here is a good idea to save money. Meats are a lot more expensive than in NY/NJ. I knew that coming down because I was here for a week touring and looked at grocery stores. I'm not a vegetarian yet but I'm moving in that direction.
Jenn - It sounds magical 0_0 The DIY/organic/eco living stuff has been a major interest of mine for some time now but it's been hard to put into effect on my budget in the city. It's the same reason I'm not vegetarian, let alone vegan, I take what I can get. I'll work on my book binding and a few other leather crafts (bags and things). If it's an untapped market it could work to my advantage. If it doesn't work I can always sell my products on Etsy. I have to wonder though if leather would be looked down upon with such a strong vegetarian/vegan community there. I doubt the tourists would be so picky. My roommate does silver smithing as well.
bburl - That seems to be a common sentiment but I'm getting some good info nonetheless.
Visiting will occur this spring. =)
Competition is fine as long as I have a good shop to compete for. I have confidence in my work and dedication. I will try until I have what I want.
craigslist is good for that. I wonder about the fact that there are so few jobs posted on craigslist. I wonder if its just not a commonly used site down there for job ads or its just that slow in winter.
Weather here gets colder/hotter by about 5 degrees in most seasons here on average. Matt is from Cleveland so he's used to knee-high snow. I can adjust either way. I've seen a few good blizzards in my time.
Vegetarianism/veganism is a goal of mine. That works out well =)
bburl - That seems to be a common sentiment but I'm getting some good info nonetheless.
Visiting will occur this spring. =)
Competition is fine as long as I have a good shop to compete for. I have confidence in my work and dedication. I will try until I have what I want.
craigslist is good for that. I wonder about the fact that there are so few jobs posted on craigslist. I wonder if its just not a commonly used site down there for job ads or its just that slow in winter.
Weather here gets colder/hotter by about 5 degrees in most seasons here on average. Matt is from Cleveland so he's used to knee-high snow. I can adjust either way. I've seen a few good blizzards in my time.
Vegetarianism/veganism is a goal of mine. That works out well =)
Ads on craigslist are consistent for a tourist town. There are more in better weather. When you're looking for a rental, mountain express tends to be more accurate because people pay for the ads. Many people here suggest using iwanna but I loathe their format online and, therefore, haven't had success.
Here's a quick summary of the areas (yeah, there are always exceptions):
1. W Asheville - LGBT and new families. Smaller affordable houses. Funkier neighborhoods.
2. N Asheville - more expensive (but even the old timers here accept us .
3. S Asheville - reminds us of NY/NJ near NYC and looks it. There are some nicer areas there but they can be expensive.
4. E Asheville - a little more expensive (like N Asheville) but has plenty of small-funky houses that are affordable.
Beware of Leicester . It tends to be more Moderator cut: inappropriate. This can happen anywhere (we went to look at a house in E Asheville but passed a house w/a confederate flag, so we turned around).
Good luck to you.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 12-07-2010 at 12:53 PM..
Reason: No commenting on mod actions, per the TOS
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