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.
Me and my fiance are considering a few areas to move to. We currently live in Indianapolis, IN.
Myself: I have not finished college, I did receive my bA in Holistic Health, though I've done nothing with it. Want to eventually receive a PhD in Archeology-related studies. I currently work for myself, selling herbal beauty products and new age curios. I make a decent living, and am not overly concerned about a huge mountain of material wealth, just a comfortable life. I am also an accomplished painter and sculptor, though I haven't begun to sell any of my works yet.
I am a US citizen but grew up near Wales, then have spent my life in the US living in Seattle, Santa Fe, St. Louis, etc. I've traveled my whole life, throughout the US and Europe. Loved all those areas in lived in, but I cannot stand Indianapolis, I find it very conservative and not at all environmentally aware. Also, there is little diversity and very little culture here, and it drives me absolutely batty.
My fiance: He has a bA in Business Management, has great references as well as is desirable for most companies to hire in regards to any management position that relates to accounts, etc. He has great credit, has been less of a free spirit than I have, so he looks a lot better on paper. He is flexible as far as what industry he works in, but he wants to be a part of something that is headed in a more moral/conscious direction longterm. He is a musician and wants to focus on developing more of that eventually and it's important he is in a place that has that scene/environment.
We are hoping to find someplace that has a small town feel, but resources of a larger (Northwest coast) city in regards to activities, causes, things to be involved with. We want to purchase our first house, preferably an old Victorian to renovate (we both have previous experience in that sort of endeavour), and have looked at the pricing of such places, the range is between 100-300 K.
Just wondering if Asheville would be a good fit for us and what the current socio-political outlook is there? We have also been discussing Seattle, but I feel the cost of living there, especially property pricing, is significantly risen in the past few years, as well as it being a very long and expensive move that I'm worried may not be best for my fiance consider the distance from his family
(whom he's very close to). And I'm not sure my business would fare as well in that area, as it's a large city not as focused on local shops/small businesses.
Thanks for any input or advice, it's truly appreciated.
Can you please define what type of diversity and culture you would be seeking ? and the socio-political outlook that your looking for? and what attracted you to the Asheville area ? thanks. Your creative talents would fit in here very nicely, Asheville and all of Western NC is popular for arts and crafts. Two of the famous folk art schools are here as you may know.
I am kind of curious - in what way is Asheville notably diverse? It seems that you have: a blue collar Appalachian culture, a quirky hippy culture (mostly white middle/upper middle class), a wealthy retiree culture, a small AA culture, and a small mainstream middle american culture.
I suppose this is more diverse than other small cities in the region but it seems to pale in comparison to the melting - pot cities. Though it won't surprise me if you have a Hispanic and Oriental population with some restaurants, but I seem encounter this in even the tiniest towns o I'm not sure it makes Asheville unique.
Just asking - as a visitor I don't seem to encounter others besides these groups.
Diversity in Asheville is mostly within white culture range not much racial or ethnic.
Asheville is not diverse at all, like many other posters have pointed out. Plus it is a small city kind of cut off because of the mountains. It seems like you (the OP) want easy access to larger and more diverse cities.
Others have pointed out low pay scales. This is true - jobs are hard to come by, and pay is very low while cost of living is quite high for the area - the city is geared to retirees, vacationers and wealthy entrepeneurs. You should definitely visit and research long and hard, but you need to do that anywhere.
I'm always perplexed when Asheville is scolded for its supposed lack of diversity. It's true, the cultural range seems to apply largely to Caucasians, but this criticism seems unfair to me given the city's geography, history, and economy. It's a mid-sized Appalachian mountain town with a small non-research university that wasn't really opened until the railroad, not Amsterdam during the Renaissance or modern Queens. Compared to other similarly sized towns in the heartland, I think you could do much worse. Diversity is an asset, I agree, but historically speaking this is not an area that attracted a substantial influx of non-internal immigrants. It's not diverse because it's not welcoming; it just never had the economy or access that diversity magnets (generally, major port and river cities) had. Though, people do seem to forget that Asheville has a thriving Jewish community, for what that's worth, and the black population is proportionally larger than it is in the U.S. as a whole. Sermon over!
Last edited by CheBoludo; 02-05-2015 at 09:42 AM..
correct, its not diverse like NYC or Orlando, or Seattle. But its not anywhere near the size either! It is however more diverse than other typical 60k resident cities in, for example, Middle America.
I'm always perplexed when Asheville is scolded for its supposed lack of diversity. It's true, the cultural range seems to apply largely to Caucasians, but this criticism seems unfair to me given the city's geography, history, and economy. It's a mid-sized Appalachian mountain town with a small non-research university that wasn't really opened until the railroad, not Amsterdam during the Renaissance or modern Queens. Compared to other similarly sized towns in the heartland, I think you could do much worse. Diversity is an asset, I agree, but historically speaking this is not an area that attracted a substantial influx of non-internal immigrants. It's not diverse because it's not welcoming; it just never had the economy or access that diversity magnets (generally, major port and river cities) had. Though, people do seem to forget that Asheville has a thriving Jewish community, for what that's worth, and the black population is proportionally larger than it is in the U.S. as a whole. Sermon over!
Why so defensive? It's not an insult or anything, it is what it is. It is not that diverse. Most smaller towns are not going to be hugely diverse. It was an honest answer to what the OP questioned. I think they are looking for a larger city than this. Asheville is a lovely small city, but I don't think it ticks the boxes for the OP.
Why so defensive? It's not an insult or anything, it is what it is. It is not that diverse. Most smaller towns are not going to be hugely diverse. It was an honest answer to what the OP questioned. I think they are looking for a larger city than this. Asheville is a lovely small city, but I don't think it ticks the boxes for the OP.
Not meant to be defensive. Apologies if I came off as so. My main point is that I find it unreasonable when people, often those looking to relocate (which I once was too!), judge Asheville by criteria that I see as unfair. (Not saying the OP necessarily has—but this whole discussion about diversity, which is constantly revisited in discussions about Asheville I've come across, brought the topic to mind.) I wouldn't go to, say, a province in Nicaragua and lament its lack of skyscrapers, or criticize Michael Jordan because he's bad at baseball and golf. Wouldn't be prudent, to quote George (H.W.) Bush.
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.
He is flexible as far as what industry he works in, but he wants to be a part of something that is headed in a more moral/conscious direction longterm. He is a musician and wants to focus on developing more of that eventually and it's important he is in a place that has that scene/environment. 
Your creative talents would fit in here very nicely, Asheville and all of Western NC is popular for arts and crafts. Two of the famous folk art schools are here as you may know.
