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I finally found movers that could accomodate my road and driveway in Illiniois without the shuttle, but still will need the shuttle in Leicester. I'm set to leave March 20th. Found a place to board my horse, so life is good right now. My parents are going down hill so fast, that I it is good that I made that decision to let go of my life in the midwest and get to NC to be there for my parents. conny
So, my wife and I are considering a move to Asheville, as we have two really close friends who live there, whom we met when they were living in Portland , OR. We have been here in Portland for over 2 years now and have enough of it. I will be as frank about what we dont like as possible because we want to be sure that we're not moving to "Portland of the South" or something. First and foremost, Portland is a VERY white city. There is little to no ethnic diversity and having lived in New Orleans for a few years we miss that. The best term I can apply to this town is that it is very "precious". I am tired of dainty little shops that specialize in vegan dog cookies and recycled can art. Hipsters are another annoyance. If you arent sure what that is, I can best describe them as 20-30 year olds that dress in all black, wear black non prescription eye glasses and walk around with a snotty attitude, they are usually found riding bicycles that dont have breaks and drink PBR's.
OK, enough of the negative, here's what we are looking for: down to earth people who smile and say hello. Four seasons. Causal, neighborhood (dive) bars, as my wife is a bartender but is only is interested in working in those types of place (no corporate or predominantly tourist spots). I know it sees a LOT of tourists, but is Asheville a touristy town? By this I mean is everything geared towards tourism? Does Asheville have any kind of gritty side to it? Or is very prim and proper? How would you describe Ashevilles culture? Is there a nice mix of restaurants or are they mostly aimed towards tourists, for example; is every place gluten free/vegan etc. Are there any diner, hole in the wall joints where you can get some simple, cheap grub?
You might ask "why havent we asked our friends these things?" And we have, but I wanted to get opinions from people who have no vested interests in us moving there. Thats you folks
How did Asheville come upon your radar? Asheville is the closest Portland-like city east of the Mississippi.
This reminds me of an AUSTIN thread that I was reading, and the person was tired of Austin, and debating if they should go to Boulder or Portland to get away from the Austin people.
It sounds like you'd like ANY city in the south except Asheville though. You might not like Raleigh either, come to think of it. Probably any other Southern city though, and you'd be away from what you want to get away from.
So, my wife and I are considering a move to Asheville, as we have two really close friends who live there, whom we met when they were living in Portland , OR. We have been here in Portland for over 2 years now and have enough of it. I will be as frank about what we dont like as possible because we want to be sure that we're not moving to "Portland of the South" or something. First and foremost, Portland is a VERY white city. There is little to no ethnic diversity and having lived in New Orleans for a few years we miss that. The best term I can apply to this town is that it is very "precious". I am tired of dainty little shops that specialize in vegan dog cookies and recycled can art. Hipsters are another annoyance. If you arent sure what that is, I can best describe them as 20-30 year olds that dress in all black, wear black non prescription eye glasses and walk around with a snotty attitude, they are usually found riding bicycles that dont have breaks and drink PBR's.
OK, enough of the negative...
Hmm.
What you say is "negative", might look positive to me - though I might describe the same things differently. Having said that, I am no particular fan of vegan dog cookies. But it could represent a good business concept. (haha)
So perhaps Asheville could be a good place for me to relocate to, and maybe especially downtown.
This is a very interesting thread, mostly seeing all the different perceptions and opinions of Asheville. I agree with what many others posted - if someone were to ask me the most similar city to Portland in the east, I'd have said Asheville and would struggle to think of another that could be close. Portland is much better, has a TON more homeless people but there is a similar vibe. My first thought was that the OP would absolutely hate Asheville if he hated Portland - but obviously after the visit he had the opposite reaction.
Goes to show you that everyone should be entitled to their own views since everyone can look at the exact same thing differently. About the only thing not debated a whole lot I noticed is WNC being a beautiful place.
Exactly why we are looking at getting a lot for a 2nd home eventually, away enough from the SC to coast to have a completely different feel to it for when we choose to take advantage of it.
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