Asheville leaves a lot to be desired (Waynesville, Black Mountain: to buy, cinema)

[LumbeeNDN]

...my sense is that tourism is not hurting, but the high real estate prices I'm sure put alot of pressure on the businesses downtown. Many of those businesses probably find it hard to turn a profit. Folks who own those small businesses downtown (but not the property), many of whom are semi-retired are watching their 401K's plummet are deciding to get out of break even or not so profitable businesses.

[Mr Yuck]

We have a business downtown that is doing fine but our neighbors are complaining. The gas shortages a few weeks ago may have nailed shut the coffins of a few places that were struggling already.

I would be very careful opening or buying a food or tourist-related business here. An awful lot of folks move here and do that. They don't get the local economy and they don't last.

If things get so bad that tourism dries up, you must be able to make it on the needs of the locals.

[happytrailsnh]

Well as a old hippie and most people have no clue. It sounds to me that it may be a place to escape the racial bull**** of the inner city.
I am looking for quite country. Mountains,pastures and riding my harley and horses. In hopes of meeting other like me. A little earthy, free spirited, hippie, that love the earth and nature.
I am studying to be a art teacher and will research the schools in the area. But I must say the attitude I am reading is really scaring me off.

[Mr Yuck]

Originally Posted by happytrailsnh

Well as a old hippie and most people have no clue. It sounds to me that it may be a place to escape the racial bull**** of the inner city.
I am looking for quite country. Mountains,pastures and riding my harley and horses. In hopes of meeting other like me. A little earthy, free spirited, hippie, that love the earth and nature.
I am studying to be a art teacher and will research the schools in the area. But I must say the attitude I am reading is really scaring me off.

Scaring you off is the intent of certain posters here. There is a strong nativist streak to these mountains.

I'm new here at City-Data but not to NC. If you click on me for the e-mail link I can send you some links that'll help you think about it.

[blloyd]

This is the dullest place I have ever experienced. Small town? This place makes Spot, Montana look like L.A.

[Calipso]

I signed up for this forum just to sign in here.

I'm born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. If you think people in Asheville are unfriendly, come visit us. If you don't get flipped off, cussed at, threatened, cut off while driving or called an ***hole within 30 mins of being in city limits....I will give you $20.

I lived in Asheville from Jan 04 - Jun 05. I liked Asheville. It was a nice change of pace, quiet etc. The people here say traffic is bad and I can't help but laugh. One inch of snow in Asheville shuts everything in the area down. It's hilarious.

There is truth to southern hospitality. The people who were native to Asheville and NC were very friendly to me while I lived here. Even the "country boys" who lived in Madison and worked in Asheville. I was the "yankee" of my company and I heard it alot. Guess what though? Those guys who were a little slow-witted and stereotypical of the south were FAR better than the liberal jerks who migrated here from various parts of the country.

I got used to the homosexual community, Christians, "Rednecks", and various other southern groups. Guess what? It sure beats living up in Boston. While I did deal with alot of rude people in Asheville, I have to say......the amount of jerks I met in Asheville in one month I deal with in Boston in a day. No matter where you go there will be people you don't like.

My biggest problems with Asheville........lack of jobs and low wage. I'm here in Boston, getting $13 an hour as security and going to school full-time. Guess what? Car insurance starts $150 minimum if you live in the city limits of Boston. Apartments start at around anywhere from $800-$1,000 for a studio or 1br. If you're lucky you'll end up finding roommates and living with 3-4 people for still $500-$600 a month in a crowded apartment. The cost of living here is astronomical and as of last year the 3rd-4th highest in the country behind San Fransisco, New York, DC.

Back to Asheville though. I was making $8 an hour if I was lucky at the various jobs I worked. I had to bust my ass. My apartment was only $400 a month in North Asheville (1br/1bath). I'm former military and it didn't help. There is just a several lack of jobs in Asheville when I lived there (04-05) and I can imagine the problem is far worse now. Last time I talked to my family down there....gas prices were $2.75 there when they were $2.30 here. (When I lived in North Carolina the prices were always higher in the Northeast, but the last 2-3 years the roles have reversed.)

I think Asheville needs to stop advertising for people to move to the city and look for more companies to invest into opening shop in town. It seems either you work at the hospital, retail, trade work (plumming, HVAC, construction) or you own your company. I remember the hundreds of people with bachelor degrees who were stuck at jobs paying $7 an hour because of the lack of SERIOUS jobs in the area.

Anyways, I'm coming back down to Asheville in 1-2 years. This time I'm more prepared. I am saving $30,000 and going to be finishing my degree at UNCA. Education down there is far cheaper than up here, and if I don't get a job related to my degree.....I won't be in much of a different situation than I am now.
BTW, Asheville is VERY boring. Just to touch on what other people said. It's a sacrafice though. I go to Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins games and various concerts but the prices for such events are extremely high. For every bad thing you people mention about Asheville entertainment.........other people can mention about entertainment in their cities. (Don't even get started at the prices of sporting events, concerts in NYC.)

[anifani821]

Why is the assumption made that humble mountain folk are "on the dole?" You have seen them use food stamps? I have known many families who live near-subsistence lives - and they consider it embarrassing to take anything from "the government."

So I find it interesting that the assumption is being made that people who live back in the hills and are basically living off the earth are taking your tax money. I find that quite insulting, actually.

[ShockedinAshevegas]

I've been on and off living in the area since 1979. Hendersonville use to be like a different world compared to Asheville. I just recently moved back here for my family reasons and agree with most of the negative things here. I run away to Highlands when I can. It is very small but much more of what I'm use to. Of course Highlands is a resort town compared to Aspen, CO but at least I have a chance of being with people of a higher standards of everything there. And it's only a short beautiful drive to get there. My occupation is in legal admin. and what has me confused most about this town and the surrounding area is the blatant corruption of the elected law officials. I can't understand how the D.A. can be well known as one of the biggest cocaine dealers in the south east and has been for years, and he is still in office! I searched this site for his name and there hasn't been entry here about it. Maybe I should look for Bobby Medford. HMMMM
ShockedInAshevegas

[blloyd]

Originally Posted by Calipso

I signed up for this forum just to sign in here.

I'm born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. If you think people in Asheville are unfriendly, come visit us. If you don't get flipped off, cussed at, threatened, cut off while driving or called an ***hole within 30 mins of being in city limits....I will give you $20.

I lived in Asheville from Jan 04 - Jun 05. I liked Asheville. It was a nice change of pace, quiet etc. The people here say traffic is bad and I can't help but laugh. One inch of snow in Asheville shuts everything in the area down. It's hilarious.

There is truth to southern hospitality. The people who were native to Asheville and NC were very friendly to me while I lived here. Even the "country boys" who lived in Madison and worked in Asheville. I was the "yankee" of my company and I heard it alot. Guess what though? Those guys who were a little slow-witted and stereotypical of the south were FAR better than the liberal jerks who migrated here from various parts of the country.

I got used to the homosexual community, Christians, "Rednecks", and various other southern groups. Guess what? It sure beats living up in Boston. While I did deal with alot of rude people in Asheville, I have to say......the amount of jerks I met in Asheville in one month I deal with in Boston in a day. No matter where you go there will be people you don't like.

My biggest problems with Asheville........lack of jobs and low wage. I'm here in Boston, getting $13 an hour as security and going to school full-time. Guess what? Car insurance starts $150 minimum if you live in the city limits of Boston. Apartments start at around anywhere from $800-$1,000 for a studio or 1br. If you're lucky you'll end up finding roommates and living with 3-4 people for still $500-$600 a month in a crowded apartment. The cost of living here is astronomical and as of last year the 3rd-4th highest in the country behind San Fransisco, New York, DC.

Back to Asheville though. I was making $8 an hour if I was lucky at the various jobs I worked. I had to bust my ass. My apartment was only $400 a month in North Asheville (1br/1bath). I'm former military and it didn't help. There is just a several lack of jobs in Asheville when I lived there (04-05) and I can imagine the problem is far worse now. Last time I talked to my family down there....gas prices were $2.75 there when they were $2.30 here. (When I lived in North Carolina the prices were always higher in the Northeast, but the last 2-3 years the roles have reversed.)

I think Asheville needs to stop advertising for people to move to the city and look for more companies to invest into opening shop in town. It seems either you work at the hospital, retail, trade work (plumming, HVAC, construction) or you own your company. I remember the hundreds of people with bachelor degrees who were stuck at jobs paying $7 an hour because of the lack of SERIOUS jobs in the area.

Anyways, I'm coming back down to Asheville in 1-2 years. This time I'm more prepared. I am saving $30,000 and going to be finishing my degree at UNCA. Education down there is far cheaper than up here, and if I don't get a job related to my degree.....I won't be in much of a different situation than I am now.
BTW, Asheville is VERY boring. Just to touch on what other people said. It's a sacrafice though. I go to Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins games and various concerts but the prices for such events are extremely high. For every bad thing you people mention about Asheville entertainment.........other people can mention about entertainment in their cities. (Don't even get started at the prices of sporting events, concerts in NYC.)

I hope you enjoy it down here. Forget about the Celtics and the Red Socks! Wait until you spend night after night watching the sports reports on TV as the local, high school football coaches explain their winning strategies and rev you up about their Star 16 year old quarter-backs. I tell you, nothing like the small town teams to get you excited about the game!

[SunnyKayak]

debate topics and not each other