Asheville - lots of questions (Columbus: low income, new home, job market)

[mustescapeohio]

Wow, so much great information =D
We have Aldi up here too but it's always been known as the last resort grocery. I don't know if it's the same one but I wouldn't go to the Aldi up here for meat or produce. Canned/boxed goods are the same anywhere you go so I'm sure they're great for that.
If I can get an area for gardening (a yard or community plot) I will definitely be growing as much of my own produce and herbs as possible. I never buy clothes but once every year or two and I always shop at thrift stores ('cept for undies and socks, I'm willing to pay for good undies and socks).
I've got a variety of ways to save money where and when I can. My roommie and I have been making lists of ways to save money and all the things we can do ourselves when we get down there. We've been getting pretty creative about it.
I'll do a little research about the contamination. Thanks for the heads up.
It's nice to know I can find housing down there for a reasonable price, especially an actual house. I'm not picky but I would love it if I could stop living in tiny apartments. My kitten would love it too. ^_^
Thanks vk40, I'm looking forward to it. I wish you luck as well. =)

[Jenn AVL]

And here is one place NOT to rent an apartment. The Meadows in west Asheville built in the 70's and due to a recent building catching on fire, it was recently discovered it's full of asbestos insulation. The entire building was vacated while they did a "asbestos remediation" on the building. In my opinion what I saw was a group of Moderator cut: inappropriate coming into remove the asbestos while they had plastic insulated entry ways. In the parking lot, the Moderator cut: inappropriate would just stamp their boots, put them in the trunk and move on.

[saucystargazer]

Originally Posted by Jenn AVL

And here is one place NOT to rent an apartment. The Meadows in west Asheville built in the 70's and due to a recent building catching on fire, it was recently discovered it's full of asbestos insulation. The entire building was vacated while they did a "asbestos remediation" on the building. In my opinion what I saw was a group of Moderator cut: inappropriate coming into remove the asbestos while they had plastic insulated entry ways. In the parking lot, the Moderator cut: inappropriate would just stamp their boots, put them in the trunk and move on.

I beat you. Lemme tell you my meadows horror story....
Our apartment was rented out before our lease even ended. I was in the process of moving out and went away over memorial day. I came back to someone fully moved into my apartment and all my stuff gone. The meadows never offered an apology and the manager was down right rude to me. I should have filed a police report. I have no doubt that they would have collected double rent had I not found out about it.

So yes I second to avoid the meadows at all costs!

[Jenn AVL]

More Asheville Info
The local newspaper: citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times | Asheville news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Asheville, NC
Local independent news and arts: Mountain Xpress: Independent Asheville News, Arts, Events & Information
Asheville City Government: Asheville North Carolina

We have a pretty good bus system in town and it gets spotty as you get further away from the city.

The Asheville Arts Counsel is very active in our community and of course a huge supporter of local art of all types.

I rarely go out to restaurants so I can't make any recommendations but I highly recommend going to the big farmers market at Brevard Road any time of the year. Of course the summer harvest season is the best time but there are always vendors selling something there and it's fun to explore this enormous size farmers market.

[bburl100]

Amazing Savings is a good place to go for groceries, too. I used to make buckos in NY and now ... well, those days are gone. It's a funky-looking joint with locations in Black Mountain, Asheville (city), and South Asheville. They sell similar products but not matter what they tell you their shelves often have different products and slightly different prices. Check the dates and you'll be fine . I found Paul Newman organic chicken dogfood cans recently for my dogs. Cans are dented but at $1.25 each the price is fab. Black Mountain was the only AS carrying it.

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

A friend of mine and I were thinking of moving to Asheville, at first the very night it was suggested as an act of spontaneity, then on the Equinox, now in about a year. Being that we're waiting a while I figured I would start planning now. Sure it kind of kills that spontaneity we were shooting for but my sense of rationality got the better of me.

Good move. Spontaneous moves to Asheville with no prior planning are not advised. You would be at a high risk of putting yourself in a bad position, i.e. not having any more money and not having a job either. It can take a while to find a job and get settled in here. Bring money with you to hold you over.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~What is the job market like for minimum wage jobs (food service, retail, ect)? Neither my roommate nor I have a college education.

~When is the min. wage job market at it's peak, i.e. when would be the best time to job hunt down there? When does it drop? (We live on a big college campus so business drops here in summer and during winter break)

~What jobs are in abundance? On the OSU campus food service is pretty much it. For retail you have to go out to the malls and whatnot that cater to the suburbs. I'm betting with heavy tourism food service is probably heavy down there.

Well, you are looking in the right place if you want fairly low-paying, restaurant-type jobs. There's a crapload of them here. The problem is, that's pretty much all there is here. But that doesn't sound like a problem for you, since that is what you're looking for. My friend moved here this past spring and got a job at Ed Boudreaux's on Biltmore Ave. in less than 2 weeks. So yeah, there are those jobs out there, but you will need to put in applications at a bunch of places to make sure you get one. You will be among a very large group of people looking for those jobs.

The best time to find those jobs is in the spring. Like, around mid-March, you should start applying all over the place. Come mid-April, tourism kicks back in and those restaurants are flooded with people. The winter is tough here because tourism drives our economy, and most tourists aren't too eager to come to the cold, windy, icy mountains when they could be at the beach or in Colorado or Vermont where there is good skiing. We have very cold, windy weather in the winter, but not a lot of snow, so the tourists don't come much in the winter.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~What are jobs like in other areas? Like I said, OSU goes dead in summer and during winter break so I often get jobs in the surrounding areas, like malls that serve the suburbs, ect. I understand getting a job downtown may be a hassle but are there other areas with jobs?

Like I said, downtown is really gonna be your best bet, as that is where the tourists like to go. They want to get the "Asheville experience" () and see all the little shops and crap, and then they want to eat at the "cute little vegetarian restaurants". Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with downtown or vegetarians, but it's just that most tourists that come here are SO touristy that it's comical. Outside of Asheville city, it is extremely rural and mountainous, and your appearance very well might be a serious hindrance in that regard. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the areas outside of Asheville, actually more than Asheville itself, but the people out there are more conservative. Note that I do not intend to put any sort of negative connotation on the word conservative; that is just the way they are, and that's the way they want to stay. It would be foolish to move in and try to change it.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~I've heard there is an anti-northern sentiment there. I can fake an accent, I can pick up the lingo, I can fake being a southerner if you give me a week of observation and practice. But my resume says Ohio all over it. Will my origins effect my ability to get a job? How much?

~On a related note how will my origins effect me outside of the professional setting? Not that I care much but it's good to ask. Will I be shunned? Should I try to obscure my origins?

There might be an anti-Northern sentiment among the older folks who are just generally bitter about the metamorphosis the city has undergone in the past two decades, but I have plenty of friends here from up North. In fact, I myself want to move to New Hampshire, so there you go. Do not fake a Southern accent or anything, and do not try to hide your accent. Just be yourself, that's kinda what this town is all about. I don't know anyone who would refuse to hang out with you because you are from Ohio. If they would, they probably aren't people you would want to hang out with anyway.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~(This one's long, losta explanation) We're looking to rent an apartment. We aren't picky (we can live without the pool and gym crap) but we are pretty broke as a rule. Thus my question is; what areas have fairly cheap apartments and yet aren't ghettos? We were looking at college areas because housing tends to be low quality but also cheap.
Crime here is pretty high (2 burglaries on my block in 6 months and I live across the street from a heroin dealer/junkie) so we are pretty used to some crime but we're trying to avoid the area's where even the kids area dealing crack (yes, they exist. See; Ohio, West Dayton). Any suggestions?
In my area we are able to rent a 2 bed townhouse for $520 but a lot of 2 bed apts closer to campus get up to $800 or more. Since minimum wage in Asheville is the same as here we're looking to find something $600 or under. Is that feasible?

Yes, it's feasible, but it won't be terribly easy, and the place won't be that nice. You're not going to be living anywhere that resembles Short North on that budget, if that's what you mean. I would look in West Asheville, but BE WARY of the projects in that area. Pisgah View is notorious, and there are others in that part of town. You will want to be careful in picking your spot, and talk to some folks who know the area really well to make sure you're picking a good location.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~Tattoos; I'm an aspiring tattoo artist. Not one of the asses that picks up and machine and tattoos out of their house without training, and not a 'rockstar wannabe' who saw Miami Ink and thought it would be an easy out from their McD's job. Body modification and art are my two loves and I am very serious and very passionate about them. Thus if I move to NC I will be looking for an apprenticeship at a good, clean, respectable shop. How is the tattoo industry down there? Is it popular, are there a lot of shops? Are there any particularly good, clean shops?

I can't give you the names of any shops, as I'm not a tattoo guy, but I can tell you that there are a ton of people with tattoos around here, and there are lots of tattoo shops. Some reputable, some not. This place has become known as a bit of a counter-culture mecca, and tattoos are one physical way that that is manifested.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~Liberal/conservative; I know Asheville is considered liberal but I have the feeling it's not so liberal as Columbus. I'm concerned that the freakishness of my roommate and I would not go over well. Basically, I'm a body mod loving, pagan, gay, socialist who can list things like body suspension and cross-dressing as some of her hobbies. Am I going to have to keep the crazier parts of my life/personality under wraps? Is there any danger for the LGBT folks there?

Um, I don't know Columbus that well, but I would feel safe saying that Asheville is at least as liberal, at least in the city proper. Sure, you're in a college town, and college towns are almost always extremely liberal, but you will feel very at home here if you are liberal. Your "freakishness" will certainly not be an issue. While I've never seen you or met you, I can guarantee you there are plenty of folks around here that are AT LEAST as "freaky" as you are. Rolling Stone magazine apparently named us the "Freak Capital of the US" or something like that recently. You will not even get a second look from most people here, regardless of your tattoos and piercings. As far as gays and lesbians, there are tons here, and yet again, you will not feel out of place. This is a very "live and let live" type of place, and you will notice that right off the bat.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~Weather/Hurricanes; We don't have hurricanes here but I've heard they happen down in NC. How much of a concern should this be?

Hurricanes? No, I wouldn't worry about that, this is the mountains. Hurricane Ivan hit here 5 or 6 years ago, but that was a freakish weather event. The likelihood of hurricane damage happening to your home is incredibly small. However, one thing you shoud be prepared for is mountain weather. This includes, wind, ice, sometimes snow, and extreme cold at times. Like, tomorrow night, it is going to be -10F wind chill. Ice is the biggest concern for motorists, so be sure you know how to handle driving on it, and be prepared for driving on steep, curvy, icy roads in winter.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~Internet; Boy do I love my internets. Wi-fi is a given here because of all the college students. How hard/easy is it to get wi-fi down there?

Very very easy. Buncombe County recently did some sort of free wifi program to have free wifi throughout downtown Asheville. Even if you can't get it sitting in the park, you can go to pretty much any coffee shop or similar place, and they will have internet for you. I use Charter cable internet at my home.

Originally Posted by mustescapeohio

~Land; this is a question for far in the future. I'm eventually going to be saving up for land. It's a far fetched dream at this point but I want to garden, build cob house, ect. How much is land there? I don't know prices up here and I know they vary widely from area to area (near the city vs far, ect) but I was wondering about general price ranges.

Land is available, but in my opinion, once the economy recovers, the prices will climb sharply. This area is becoming more and more in demand, and the terrain and actual available area can barely handle it. Therefore, most land that is actually usable (as in, not on the side of a really steep mountain) is going to cost you a fair amount. I don't know much more about land though, so I will leave that to someone else.


So, this reply might be a little late, but hopefully it will help you somewhat. If not, hopefully it will help someone else in the future. Asheville is a great place, but it is tough to make a living, and you will likely have to settle for less in order to live here than you would be able to afford elsewhere. I don't know how much longer this area will be able to handle this enormous influx of people, but since I am a transplant myself, along with most people on this board, I can't really say anything. Just know that you are among tens of thousands of people who want to call western NC home.

[mustescapeohio]

Again, great info. Thanks guys. I'm going to have to go back through all this and write it down. =)

[Jenn AVL]

Another good resource to use is Craigs List [CL] with a caveat. When I use CL, I personally always remember that anyone can put a free ad in. Given that grain of salt, CL can be useful in researching prices such as, rentals, real estate, cars. Also research into jobs, local events, and local forums. Be careful with the job ads as there are dubious spammers putting out fake ads to get your email address that they sell.
craigslist: asheville classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

[bburl100]

Originally Posted by Jenn AVL

Another good resource to use is Craigs List [CL] with a caveat. When I use CL, I personally always remember that anyone can put a free ad in. Given that grain of salt, CL can be useful in researching prices such as, rentals, real estate, cars. Also research into jobs, local events, and local forums. Be careful with the job ads as there are dubious spammers putting out fake ads to get your email address that they sell.
craigslist: asheville classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

When we first arrived here in snowytown (last year this time), we used Craigslist a lot. I still look but ... We found them to be mostly misleading. When we switched to MountainX, we found the right rental in the right area of town.

I've posted flavors of resumes in CG. I couldn't understand what sadistic pleasure people had (scammers) of responding with jobs that did not exist. I finally started putting out warnings to folks about the kind of emails they would get. I've received a couple legitimate offers but for job skills I don't have.

I started my own mini website of houses we've viewed (mostly with tax and price info) and what we've concluded. It's done by area so Arden, East Asheville, here in North Asheville, Weaverville . I think all the houses we saw are still out there with a couple exceptions. It helps get another myopic view on the different areas and cost.

[Jenn AVL]

Originally Posted by bburl100

When we first arrived here in snowytown (last year this time), we used Craigslist a lot. I still look but ... We found them to be mostly misleading. When we switched to MountainX, we found the right rental in the right area of town.

I've posted flavors of resumes in CG. I couldn't understand what sadistic pleasure people had (scammers) of responding with jobs that did not exist. I finally started putting out warnings to folks about the kind of emails they would get. I've received a couple legitimate offers but for job skills I don't have.

I started my own mini website of houses we've viewed (mostly with tax and price info) and what we've concluded. It's done by area so Arden, East Asheville, here in North Asheville, Weaverville . I think all the houses we saw are still out there with a couple exceptions. It helps get another myopic view on the different areas and cost.

Yep, Craigs List is something to be wary of hence my caveat. But, I still think it can be useful in careful research of prices to give someone from out of town at least a baseline to work with. The local community forums of Craigs List can be provide connections into social groups and new friends and this is again of course, with careful consideration.