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Why has Asheville has become so tolerant of drugs and related misbehaviors that occur in public housing, vulnerable neighborhoods, Pritchard Park downtown, and other places? Why are so many content to just "do nothing " as the problem grows?
The Mayor wants to use the "change" they owe us from over charging on our property taxes, for more greenways? Is she serious? How about a big homeless shelter to keep the homeless people in, until they can get help, get job training, and find their way out of their current situation? How about some increased police presence in the open air drug markets we have here.? How about jailing these repeat drug dealing offenders instead of letting them out until they have their hearing?
Pritchard Park as presently "managed" is just an incubator for misbehavior, drug deals, drunkenness, public urination, and worse. Pack Square will be complete within a year - with the potential to be something special or just a larger and more sophisticated "freak" incubator. It is important that we get our act together now, stop pandering to special interests and political correctness, and confront these lewd, unlawful misbehaviors for what they are. We do not help anyone get to a higher place by allowing their self-destructive and socially harmful behaviors.
People who visit our downtown area are laughing at us!! They like to come here to see the freak show downtown! Come to Asheville and Fly Your Freak Flag... Believe me, I am not making fun of true homeless people. I am talking about the whackos all dressed up in their costumes for the day..who hang out in Pritchard Park and parade up and down the streets as though they were on stage. I saw a guy last week who had a Sheperds hook staff, massive amounts of dreads, burlap bags for clothes, leather belts, studded leather boots, filthy face...he was drunk and mumbling about being Jesus.
People come here for the specific reason to go downtown and stare and laugh at our sites. There are people who go home at the end of the day, after sitting on the streets all day pretending to be poor and homeless.
Any community that surrenders to open air drug markets is abandoning the true concept of community...
There are some strange people here, that's for sure. No one can deny that.
There are public housing and vulnerable neighborhoods everywhere. They are working on the homeless problem (LINK (http://www.ich.gov/slocal/10yearPlanAnnualProgressReports.html - broken link)) and Pritchard Park (news LINK) as well.
The initiative to improve the sidewalks and expand the greenway system will help the image of the city, and enhance it's reputation as a great place to be outdoors.
Seeing a bunch of weirdos downtown is nothing new. Ever since Asheville revamped the downtown area homeless people, punks, etc. have flocked to that area. Lots of traffic makes for easier pan handling.
Really though, you can find an area of odd/homeless people in any large or growing city. It's just what happens. I live in Denver now. Anyone ever cruised Colfax? LOL! Makes Asheville's downtown problem look pretty tame in comparison.
People have been saying that Asheville is becoming the little San Fransisco in the East. Guess it just more evidence that this is true.
Seems like there was a study last week that said one out of every 260 something people in San Fran are homeless.
Asheville is a weird, weird place. Something out of a time warp or something. I moved here a few months back and had visited a number of times before doing so. I can honestly say that I never imagined this place was as weird as it is until it was too late and I was already here. I posted an older thread a couple of weeks ago and someone said that sometimes people don't really pay attention to the bad stuff in a town when they're getting ready to move there because they are excited about the move. When I first read it, I thought, "nah, that's not me." Reality, it was.
I come from NYC originally and was in S FL for a few years before coming here. This place is by far the freakiest and weirdest place I have ever been. It reminds me of a place called Nimbin in Australia that I went to once when travelling there. It's a freaky weird hippy colony where everyone is bugged out on LSD. Now I don't think Asheville is that bad, but it seems to be heading that way. Asheville is a trap. It's like you get here and you're almost sucked in to the way these people think....they all talk about art and writing and music and yet they really don't know what's going on in the real outside world. Most of what happens or goes on in Asheville is second rate, if that. It's like a bubble universe and so many think this bubble is the utopia of the universe.
I'm so tired of seeing people everyday that need a bath, stink and overall need a haircut and a shave. I can't say I know too much about the drug scene although it's obviously here.
Jcat is right. People who come here are really sitting back and looking at this place like it's some sort of freak show.....it's one of those things, sort of like a car wreck where you don't want to look, but something comes over you and you just have to.
I'll be leaving next month, back to where I came from. It has been a real eye opener for me here and I will be a stronger man to have lived here for a few months.....but I can honestly say I will NOT look back on this experience with fond memories.
What a freaky town this is........
PS.....San Francisco of the East? Paris of the South? Whoever coined these phrases must have worked for the Chamber of Commerce. This town is nothing like San Francisco or Paris. It doesn't even have as much class as Detroit. And Detroit is a dump.
I love to "people watch" in downtown Asheville. I love the hippie costumes, artists, and the street performers. I DON'T enjoy the panhandlers (although I've only seen a couple) or the outright bums hanging out in Pritchard Park.
I do hope when the new Pack Square park gets finished downtown will start looking better again.
Good luck to you. Are you going back to FL? We were from Palm Bch County. Miss it, but not the Hurricanes and the HEAT . Sorry it did not work out ehre. I understand though. We have a family here, so we can't just hop back..you know? Hopefully the good guy on City Council, Dr. Carl Mumpower will help this city CHANGE> HE works really hard, and makes people aware. He pushes the Mayor, ALL THE time to do the right things here.
It is strange downtown...really strange. And, I hate dreadlocks...makes me sick. :}
I am going back to FL....Miami. I obviously left Miami looking for something different, but I quickly realize Miami is really home. Not crazy about the hurricanes either, but to be honest after Wilma I had some damage to my car and some trees, but for the most part the power outage was the worst part. But because of the lack of power, my entire neighborhood sort of rallied around nightly, cooking whatever was left in the fridge on the grill and drinking and laughing. Might sound strange, but I made some good friends then. The heat doesn't bother me at all. It never did.
Being from Palm Beach I'm sure you can understand this, but I find a lot of people bash FL here yet when its quid pro quo no one is willing to turn the bashing finger on themselves. Good luck in Asheville. Maybe someday this town will become what some so desperately want it to be. In the meantime though other schools of thought about the town are appreciated by many. Your post on the good, bad, ugly was a really interesting perspective. It was the first time I had read anything about Asheville on this thread that wasn't a glowing review. One or two in particular are constantly raving about how they (and their hubby) love Asheville and encourage others to come on down. It gets tiring.
Anyway, I'm heading out soon. I can't wait to smell the ocean air, grab a cuban coffee and see a gorgeous woman.
I agree with you and the original poster, absolutely. My husband and I have lived in Asheville for 2 years now, and at the end of this month we are closing on a home in the Greenville/Spartanburg area. Asheville is a weird, freaky place and many want to keep it that way.
One thing I have learned about Asheville is encapsulated in a statement by a realtor originally from Ohio who lives in Greenville "Asheville is artsy/fartsy and Greenville is cultured." I couldn't agree with her more. We love the beauty of the mountains but Asheville is not for us. I hate the stuff you see downtown.
I've also heard Asheville called the San Fran of the south. The reason why is the gay population, which we don't care for and we don't care if that's politically correct or not. I was told by a co-worker that Asheville was not like that until about 15 years ago they got a gay mayor and then Asheville was promoted heavily in areas like San Francisco with signs "Asheville, NC is friendly to gays and lesbians. 2977 miles-move there."
Asheville is now the New Age capital of the USA because it's been determined that the "crystal vortexes" are stronger here than in Sedona, Arizona, so of course people who are into that are moving here by the droves.
If you like all that, plus the drugs, old hippies, panhandlers, rich kids who like to pretend they are homeless, witches; gays who like to have public displays of affection, killings in the wooded area behind the Bi-Lo at River Ridge by a HUGE homeless community that even the cops won't go in at night, then you will LOVE Asheville.
But don't try to get a decent job here. Unless you work in the medical field or the few government agencies here, you won't be able to afford a middle class lifestyle.
It's ironic that for 15 years I longed to live in Asheville. But my main experiences were in the Waynesville area, not Asheville proper. I now live in the city, east Asheville, and while "people watching" downtown is kind of fun in the beginning, it got old for us.
We can't wait to get out of here.
Susan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Why Did I
Asheville is a weird, weird place. Something out of a time warp or something. I moved here a few months back and had visited a number of times before doing so. I can honestly say that I never imagined this place was as weird as it is until it was too late and I was already here. I posted an older thread a couple of weeks ago and someone said that sometimes people don't really pay attention to the bad stuff in a town when they're getting ready to move there because they are excited about the move. When I first read it, I thought, "nah, that's not me." Reality, it was.
I come from NYC originally and was in S FL for a few years before coming here. This place is by far the freakiest and weirdest place I have ever been. It reminds me of a place called Nimbin in Australia that I went to once when travelling there. It's a freaky weird hippy colony where everyone is bugged out on LSD. Now I don't think Asheville is that bad, but it seems to be heading that way. Asheville is a trap. It's like you get here and you're almost sucked in to the way these people think....they all talk about art and writing and music and yet they really don't know what's going on in the real outside world. Most of what happens or goes on in Asheville is second rate, if that. It's like a bubble universe and so many think this bubble is the utopia of the universe.
I'm so tired of seeing people everyday that need a bath, stink and overall need a haircut and a shave. I can't say I know too much about the drug scene although it's obviously here.
Jcat is right. People who come here are really sitting back and looking at this place like it's some sort of freak show.....it's one of those things, sort of like a car wreck where you don't want to look, but something comes over you and you just have to.
I'll be leaving next month, back to where I came from. It has been a real eye opener for me here and I will be a stronger man to have lived here for a few months.....but I can honestly say I will NOT look back on this experience with fond memories.
What a freaky town this is........
PS.....San Francisco of the East? Paris of the South? Whoever coined these phrases must have worked for the Chamber of Commerce. This town is nothing like San Francisco or Paris. It doesn't even have as much class as Detroit. And Detroit is a dump.
My husband is from Asheville. We got married last year (October) and I had the pleasure of going "downtown". I am from Morganton and visited a cousin from time to time back in the early or mid eighties. Asheville was a very nice town and I loved to visit then. My husband had told me that I wouldn't believe how much it had changed...he just wanted to see the expression on my face! One Saturday afternoon, last fall, we drove through that down town area. I could not believe what I saw. This was around 4:00 in the afternoon. I saw people strung out on drugs, prostitutes, and a lot of "freaks". Those people definitely looked nasty. There are bars everywhere you look. Maybe if they'd shut down some of those "freak" hangouts, those people would leave. Maybe they'd consider getting a job. My husband, thank goodness, didn't expect me to move there so he's here in Morganton with me. I feel bad because he has to commute to Asheville to work everyday. I told him that we'd move closer to Asheville but please not in Asheville. I've heard that drugs were a problem in Asheville's schools too. I have an eleven year old daughter and I wouldn't expose her to that way of life. I'll take small town America anyday over that!
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Pritchard Park as presently "managed" is just an incubator for misbehavior, drug deals, drunkenness, public urination, and worse. Pack Square will be complete within a year - with the potential to be something special or just a larger and more sophisticated "freak" incubator. It is important that we get our act together now, stop pandering to special interests and political correctness, and confront these lewd, unlawful misbehaviors for what they are. We do not help anyone get to a higher place by allowing their self-destructive and socially harmful behaviors.
Weird...........
