Quote:
Originally Posted by cpeterson85
I want to know from people who live in the areas full time. Where would be best for a young couple to move to, especially when it comes to job availability, housing, and entertainment. My fiancee and I are going to be moving up in about six months possibly from Orlando, FL. I want to move to Asheville because I have family there and have lived in Hendersonville every summer for the last six years and going to Asheville was always awesome and just felt like home. My fiancee is more interested in possibly moving to the Raleigh area because his friends are there and he thinks there might be better job opportunity there for his field.
I am in Hospitality Management so I feel I could really go anywhere, but my fiancee is a Motorcycle Technician so his areas are slightly more limited than mine.
So would you all who can please tell me how the job market is there for both fields if possible and also all the other stuff mentioned previously. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
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Raleigh and Asheville are very different in almost every significant way.
Employment: jobs in general are more plentiful in Raleigh, especially white collar jobs (which doesn't seem applicable to either of you). Asheville is obviously a tourist hotspot, so Hospitality Management jobs should be relatively plentiful (keeping in mind that the economy in general is pretty depressed right now). I'm not sure about Motorcycle Maintenance, but motorcycles are very popular in this area as well, given the proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the abundance of scenic drives (i.e., Tail of the Dragon). Whether that translates to more jobs in motorcycle maintenance, I'm not sure. But Raleigh has a much greater population (500k vs 75K), so that's something to consider. The bottom line though is that jobs are tough all over. The only way to find out is to begin searching for jobs in both places (and ideally at least one of you have something lined up in advance) *before* you move.
Culture: Asheville is more laid back, friendly, and hospitable, from my experience. Raleigh is faster paced, more competitive, more "keep up with the Joneses". Asheville has a lot of older, traditional homes, and Raleigh has a lot of cookie cutter subdivisions. Asheville is more individualistic, rebellious, and "do your own thing", while Raleigh is the home of the white picket fence, suburbia, and soccer Moms. Having said all that, these are obviously generalizations, not hard and fast rules.
Entertainment: Asheville is obviously home to a lot of outdoor recreation, although Raleigh too has some nice natural areas (Umstead Park, Jordan Lake, Lake Wheeler, etc.). Asheville has much better restaurants, hands down. Raleigh is more chain food-driven. Asheville has a much better music and art scene, though Raleigh, being a city of 500K, has some of that too.
Intangibles: Your comment that Asheville "just felt like home" should not be underestimated, imo. Home is where the heart is, not where the job is (although I certainly sympathize with the pragmatic aspect of choosing a place to live). And to a certain extent, "no matter where you go, there you are".
Best of luck.
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