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.
Hi! My wife and I will possibly be moving to Asheville in about a year or so and we could use your help. We have some questions and concerns about Asheville. First and foremost, we are a Bi-racial family. My wife is from the Philippines and was kind of worried about not being accepted or possibly being discriminated aggainst because she is different. Her thinking was that maybe she would not be able to get a job because of her Philippine accent (which is not incredibly thick), but is there. Her question is, "will people accept her?" In the North we have found that people either are not able to relate to us or feel as though they can't or the opposite, they inbrace us wholeheartedly! Now, in Kentucky we find that people are a little more accepting and actually are very sweet to my wife (sometimes I believe because she is different). Anyway, will she be accepted for who she is and where she came from? Second, how is the job market? I have a call center/business background. I currently manage call centers all over the world via, the computer. I also have a degree in counseling and communications (double majored). Does it pay to have a degree in Asheville or do they look at you as just another person with a bachelor's degree? (That has been my experience in big cities so that is why I am asking). What kind of jobs are available and who is hiring? Third, my kids are also obviously Philipino/White. Are they going to be accepted at school my the other kids? Fourth, are their good churches in Asheville? My wife and I are Christians and it is important for us to find a good church.
Any help would be appreciated! I ask to you all to please try to be objective as possible. If we do end of moving to Asheville we will most likely settle there for quite sometime as our kids will soon be in school. Thank you in advance for your postings and for taking the time to help us out!!!
1) There aren't many people of Asian descent here, but those I know (two UNCA professors, a co-worker, and one of my son's classmates) are very happy here.
2) I think there is a call center here. I have heard that, but hopefully forthcoming replies can verify this.
3) Again I'll cite my son's classmate. They get along great, and he considers this particular boy to be one of his best friends. I believe there are more Asian-American kids in the Roberson and Asheville HS districts than elsewhere.
4) There are large community churches, historic churches, established protestant denominations, catholic churches, a synagogue, etc. I cannot vouch for all of them, but my family is very happy in our church. We are especially excited when families visit and eventually join, since it helps grow the Christian education programming.
1) There aren't many people of Asian descent here, but those I know (two UNCA professors, a co-worker, and one of my son's classmates) are very happy here.
2) I think there is a call center here. I have heard that, but hopefully forthcoming replies can verify this.
3) Again I'll cite my son's classmate. They get along great, and he considers this particular boy to be one of his best friends. I believe there are more Asian-American kids in the Roberson and Asheville HS districts than elsewhere.
4) There are large community churches, historic churches, established protestant denominations, catholic churches, a synagogue, etc. I cannot vouch for all of them, but my family is very happy in our church. We are especially excited when families visit and eventually join, since it helps grow the Christian education programming.
Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate you taking the time to help us out. It sounds like my wife as well as my children will be accepted which is wonderful to hear! Asheville sounds like a very wonderful place. That is good to hear that there might be call center positions there. My wife and I actually just found a church that looks like it will be a good fit. My wife and I were also wondering if it is possible to open your own business like a gift shop or something of that sort? We have always wanted to own our own business and my wife is very artistic. She can make all kinds of things, crafts, etc. Do small stores normally stay open and prospure or are a lot of small stores/gift shops closing due to so much competition? Are gift shops profitable there?
Craft, art, and gift shops are everywhere downtown. There is a large call center in the south part of town, ClientLogic, and a few smaller ones around. But pay in Asheville is low, housing costs are high. I was neighbors with an Asian woman and her blond husband, I worked with another Asian woman, and there many Asian restaurants all over town, a "plus" for your wife if she would like that kind of work. Asheville is a melting pot of every kind of person you can imagine, many activities, happiness here is very much dependent on what neighborhood you choose to live in, and securing work is paramount. Winters are cold and hard, lots of driving to get from place to place, and just like your previous experiences, some folk are nice and some are not. But if you like the mountains, you should like it here. Kentucky is not that far away, I hope you will drop by, check out the situation, and see if it feels right to you. May is beautiful in Asheville.
Craft, art, and gift shops are everywhere downtown. There is a large call center in the south part of town, ClientLogic, and a few smaller ones around. But pay in Asheville is low, housing costs are high. I was neighbors with an Asian woman and her blond husband, I worked with another Asian woman, and there many Asian restaurants all over town, a "plus" for your wife if she would like that kind of work. Asheville is a melting pot of every kind of person you can imagine, many activities, happiness here is very much dependent on what neighborhood you choose to live in, and securing work is paramount. Winters are cold and hard, lots of driving to get from place to place, and just like your previous experiences, some folk are nice and some are not. But if you like the mountains, you should like it here. Kentucky is not that far away, I hope you will drop by, check out the situation, and see if it feels right to you. May is beautiful in Asheville.
Thank you so much for your reply! It sounds like there is a lot of diversity in Asheville and you yourself have encountered some of that diversity, which is great! Thank you for giving me that company name, I will have to research that company and find out more about it. I hope with a 4 year degree and my current job in management could secure a good job for me. Concerning people, I guess they pretty much the same anywhere. I just have found through living in Kentucky that people in the South seem to be friendlier and more accepting than people up North; I may be wrong about that, but again that has been my experience. My family in general have felt more accepted as a bi-racial couple in the South than the North. Is Asheville very much a "Southern city" so to speak in your opinion in that way? Thank you again for all your help!
Craft, art, and gift shops are everywhere downtown. There is a large call center in the south part of town, ClientLogic, and a few smaller ones around. But pay in Asheville is low, housing costs are high. I was neighbors with an Asian woman and her blond husband, I worked with another Asian woman, and there many Asian restaurants all over town, a "plus" for your wife if she would like that kind of work. Asheville is a melting pot of every kind of person you can imagine, many activities, happiness here is very much dependent on what neighborhood you choose to live in, and securing work is paramount. Winters are cold and hard, lots of driving to get from place to place, and just like your previous experiences, some folk are nice and some are not. But if you like the mountains, you should like it here. Kentucky is not that far away, I hope you will drop by, check out the situation, and see if it feels right to you. May is beautiful in Asheville.
Oh yeah and yes we love the mountains!!! The climate is one of the things we love about Kentucky that we believe we will find in Asheville as well. We will definately be down soon to check everything out!
Would anyone else like to answer the questions I posed? I would like to hear from more of you if you have the time to reply. Thank you in advance for your helpful advice!
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.
Anyone else want to help answer my questions?...
