Disappointed in Asheville... (homes, building, events)

[EarthWoman]

I am glad to read these posts! I rent in Gaston County now, and wondering if I should stay here or move the family to somewhere more open minded like Asheville. Though Gastonia is pretty nice and seems environmentaly friendly and open.
We are "white" Buddhists, as the original post mentions- though there are black ones in the area too! So I thought we would be comfortable in liberal Asheville, now I am not so sure! So Hendersonville would be better for us perhaps?
I have a husband and small son and looking for a happy and healthy type place with health food stores, and people who could care less if they know we are Buddhist or northerns, to relocate. I have though of Raliegh, or somewhere along the coast (?). I am not sure where else, any helpful options you know of would be great! Thanks! I sure would prefer the mountains.

[westvillemama]

My family's personal experience with Asheville is that this area will test you when you move here. Think of it as a character building exercise! We encountered a total reversal of plans after we moved here two years ago, but the direction it sent us in was better in many ways than we ever could have predicted.

Anytime one relocates, I think it is imperative that any judgement of an area be suspended for a minimum of a year. That year imo is best spent getting acclimatized to the cultural/regional differences and settling in to a different way of life. Expectations can only serve to get in the way of enjoyment. Sure, there are many times that an area turns out not to be a good fit for an individual or a family for a plethora of possible reasons, but there is no need for fault-finding if that turns out to be the case. I mean, my family found ourselves in FL and absolutely hating it for three straight years, but I am not going to say that is the fault of the state of FL, just that it was SO not a good fit for us because we needed a different lifestyle in order to be content. You know? We had different priorities and dreams than most of the folks we encountered, so we weren't a good fit for that area, and we left in search of a steeper, more moderate climate, more suitable schools and more easy-going people. I am thankful to have found what we were looking for in WNC. If we had discovered that we didn't fit here either it would have been back to OR for us, by whatever means necessary, without judgement for the area but with a renewed understanding of our needs as a family.

Is Asheville overrated? Maybe, in some cases. It's underrated as well though, as any area which is discovered to not be a zion or a mecca or a utopia of some sort can certainly be. Do people have to work for a living here as well as anywhere? Absolutley? Does one generally need to have a sense of community and belonging to find happiness? I think so, and I also think that if one cannot seem to find their niche that's probably more a case of either knowing themselves and their needs very well, or a case of inflexibility-- which can often be one and the same! I know it was the case for us on both counts.

We did our research and had (i think) realistic expectations by the time we relocated to Asheville, and you know what? We still had to go through an adjustment period. For us, it has been worth the early trials. I can see how that may not be the case for others. We do love it here, because we know all too well what it is like to live in a place which does not fit and are so thankful to be somewhere which suits our lifestyle and values more frequently than it does not. Call me Pollyanna if you'd like, but truly, I am not such a rose-glasses sort, just someone who is so glad to feel at home again somewhere, warts and baggage and all.

[the Parkies]

Amen! Amen!

[jrnygrl]

I had been thinking of relocating to asheville and after reading these posts I'm almost certain that I will! It sounds like a great place to me!

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by EarthWoman

So I thought we would be comfortable in liberal Asheville, now I am not so sure! So Hendersonville would be better for us perhaps?

Not in my opinion. Hendersonville and Henderson County is much more traditional (conservative) values than the City of Asheville.

[EarthWoman]

Thank you all for your answers!! They are helping us.

I do like a conservative town. Hendersonville does have a lovely Buddhist temple, and the town has a nickname of 'little Asheville'? I heard a few people say that. I will continue to look into this, so far Hendersonville sounds a lot more 21st century than some of the places I have lived or read about. Thanks again much!!

[jam 5]

asheville is a boring city i used to live there but i moved because it was boring there but i moved to a city in georgia called columbus georgia and i love it better downtown here in columbus georgia anyway i have also lived in the rocky mountains also for 3 years but someone told me that asheville had tall and pretty mountains so i moved there to see if it was a good city and if it had tall and pretty mountains when i got there i was very dissapointed in asheville they have mountains in asheville but they are little and small mountains and the mountains are old and rusted and they are falling apart with trees on top of them see where i use to live in was in the rocky mountains i lived there for 3 years and there in the rocky mountains where i use to live the rocky mountains are pretty and taller than the ones in asheville so asheville does not have any tall mountains like the rocky mountains do i guess i was so use to living in the tall rocky mountains and when i moved to asheville there mountains in asheville looked smaller and little compared to the rocky mountains and plus it does not hardly snow in the small and little mountains in asheville but anyway i use to live in the rocky mountains also and they are alot taller and pretty and it snows all the time and snows more in the rocky mountains than it does in the little mountains in asheville so i was very dissapointed in ashevilles mountains because when i got to asheville and saw how small and little there mountains were i just started busting out laughing at there mountains in asheville

[jam 5]

see and how asheville does not have a picture thread i guess i will post them here i will show you the rocky mountains where i use to live for 3 years the rocky mountains are way taller and pretty than the mountains asheville has

[jam 5]

[jam 5]