Changes in Asheville? (appointed, live, restaurants)

[NeoLvr]

I lived in Asheville about 18 years ago for several years and then had to move to Kansas City which was fine at the time. Many times I've thought about moving back to Asheville but never came close to actually doing it until recently.

So my question is for anyone that may be acquainted with the Asheville area I knew then compared to the Asheville area now ---- what's generally changed and what's remained the same? As a gay man I liked the sense of community that existed when I lived there before, does it still exist? Many of my friends when I lived there were employed, managed, or owned various restaurants and bars so I was well acquainted with the available nightlife; what is the nightlife like now (ie. have conservatives driven everything they could underground?).

I can't think of any way to ask my next question without it sort of sounding like a slight insult ---- when I lived in Asheville (and the surrounding towns) it wasn't backward per se, but it did seem about 20 years behind the rest of the country (catching up, but still behind); how difficult/expensive will it be for me to get consistently FAST speed internet service? I'm self-employed as a stock/forex trader now so rely on having as fast a connection as possible; a slow connection or a connection that unexpectedly bogs down can easily cost me hundreds or even thousands of dollars getting in and out of trades. There are many cities where the internet speed I require just isn't available and my fear that Asheville would be like that after I moved back has been a big contributing factor in not having returned yet (in my experience realtors are not the most reliable source for this kind of question).

Thank you to anyone that can answer some of my concerns,
David

[cooperwx]

I think Charter internet service is the fastest in the area. I think Bellsouth may be offering DSL now as well.

I first moved here 12 years ago, when the downtown area was first turning around. The first thing you'd likely notice is that no downtown space is empty for very long. Commercial vacancies were common in the late 80's but not today.

I am not in tune with the gay scene but is it not underground. Club Hairspray is in the western part of downtown, as is Scandals.

[Asheville Native]

Originally Posted by cooperwx

I think Charter internet service is the fastest in the area. I think Bellsouth may be offering DSL now as well.

I first moved here 12 years ago, when the downtown area was first turning around. The first thing you'd likely notice is that no downtown space is empty for very long. Commercial vacancies were common in the late 80's but not today.

I am not in tune with the gay scene but is it not underground. Club Hairspray is in the western part of downtown, as is Scandals.

Charter offers the fastest (cable will always trump DSL, based on the technology). There are places in Asheville (within the city limits) you can get one but not the other, and places you can get neither.

Charter is somewhat reliable, but you will do without for days to weeks if there is a problem, their service simply stated, sucks! No experience with AT&T DSL personally, but hear others complain that they continually have to reset their DSL modem and router when they loose connection

[NeoLvr]

Thanks for the info. The internet speed/connection info is something I will definitely need to watch as DSL is too slow for my trading typically so a cable connection would be minimum .... but if it's unreliable ...

As far as the bars; I'm amazed Scandals is still in business (was a hole in the wall when I lived in Asheville before) . If I remember right the names of the bars when I lived there were Scandals (obviously), O'Henry's, and Traxx; I was curious if they still existed mostly because friends owned, managed, and/or regularly frequented them so was hoping for the quickest way to find/reconnect when I moved back.

[cooperwx]

The sign in front of Scandals boldly proclaims it as "North Carolina's Largest Nightclub." Still looks like a hole in the wall to me. It's on Grove St across from the Federal Bldg. I don't think O. Henry's and Traxx are here anymore.

[sandymush]

The sense of community that you remember might be gone. Asheville has grown exponentially. There is also a swing toward more conservatism as evidenced by the results of the recent City Council election. You can get fast internet service, though.

[Asheville Native]

Originally Posted by sandymush

The sense of community that you remember might be gone. Asheville has grown exponentially. There is also a swing toward more conservatism as evidenced by the results of the recent City Council election. You can get fast internet service, though.

I think you are incorrect with your assumption that the defeat of Freeborn is a swing toward conservatism, but the fact that this guy is a flaming liberal, that was never elected, but appointed by council to fill the vacant seat of Bellamy when she was elected mayor. This guy has come up with some off the wall extreme ideas, thus his defeat.