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Yeah, yeah. You can change the population of any place by adding on as much, or as little, of the area around it. If I'm talking about a "city" ... I think it's confined to the actual city. Not some arbitrary grouping. Some of them are so large an area, it's ridiculous. It doesn't reflect how many people use the city.
Actually, it does. That's one way that they determine what's included in a metro area.
Actually, it does. That's one way that they determine what's included in a metro area.
Far too many of them include areas that are 100 miles away from the city. Those people aren't using that metro on a regular basis. At least not more than a few of them.
Far too many of them include areas that are 100 miles away from the city. Those people aren't using that metro on a regular basis. At least not more than a few of them.
That's typically not true of metros the size of Asheville and Eugene.
I don't know Asheville, so I'm only judging by statistics. But ... if you think it "destroys Eugene in every category" ... well, you're mistaken. You may prefer it, but it doesn't destroy Eugene.
Let's start with Eugene is twice the size of Asheville. The median age of Asheville is 39. Eugene it's 33. The University of Oregon dominates the city ... with the students. The young, college-aged students. It's known as a party school. So I think that more than accounts for your #2.
1.) This is the Willamette Valley. And Eugene is hippy central. There are plenty of organic options, farmers markets, farm stands, etc. Not to mention a thriving restaurant scene, and a growing food truck presence.
2.) I'd imagine that Eugene could match Asheville festival for festival.
3.) Eugene's transit system is about three times the size of Asheville's, both in number of buses, and in ridership. It's a major biking city, as well. The city is served by Amtrak, with two commuter trains a day passing through headed northbound, and one line running north and south. That'd be north to Vancouver, Canada and south to San Diego, California. Eugene is on I-5, again, which runs from border to border of the nation. Though as usual, I've never understood how anyone thinks it's a great feature of any city as to how easy it is to get out of it, to somewhere else.
4.) Seriously? Yeah, there are a few mountains around Eugene ... the only flat way out of town is to the north. The coast is 50 miles in one direction, and Crater Lake National park about 100 (mountain miles) to the east. And plenty of rivers, including the Willamette River that runs through the middle of the city. Plenty of hiking, biking, rafting, hunting, etc., or most any other outdoor activity you can imagine.
5.) Diversity? Okay, Asheville has more blacks. Eugene is only 5% more "white" than Asheville, though. It has four times the number of native Americans, three times the Asians, and about 50% more Hispanics. Eugene is just about split evenly male/female, while Asheville is about 5% more female than male. Eugene also has a higher percentage of people who are foreign born.
Again, I'm not saying that Asheville's not a lovely place. It looks to be. But to say it "destroys" Eugene is kind of silly. They're fairly comparable with their "attractions."
So you've never been to Asheville...interesting opinions you have about the place based on your internet searches.
So you've never been to Asheville...interesting opinions you have about the place based on your internet searches.
What "opinion" have I expressed about Asheville? I stated some statistics regarding Asheville, but any other comments were limited to what Eugene has to offer. Other than, of course, that it didn't seem to "destroy" Eugene. Now to compare Asheville to New York ... you could certainly say that New York's amenities would "destroy" Asheville. But two fairly comparable cities? No destroying going on.
The population of each city, the size of the transit system, the ridership of the systems ... those are all facts. They don't require a visit. I do know how to do research.
How well do you know Eugene? Have you even been there? You're the one making the claim of "destroying." Just what are your qualifications for offering that opinion?
1.) This is the Willamette Valley. And Eugene is hippy central. There are plenty of organic options, farmers markets, farm stands, etc. Not to mention a thriving restaurant scene, and a growing food truck presence.
Anarchist hippies and rednecks. Fun mix. No wonder Eugene is slow growing compared to the nicer cities in the northwest.
Twin city Springfield is the charcoal briquette capital of the country.
Yeah, yeah. You can change the population of any place by adding on as much, or as little, of the area around it. If I'm talking about a "city" ... I think it's confined to the actual city. Not some arbitrary grouping. Some of them are so large an area, it's ridiculous. It doesn't reflect how many people use the city.
And I'm not saying that Eugene is preferable to Asheville ... just that the "destroys" part is silly. It doesn't.
Using that logic, Miami is only about 410,000 people and should never be considered more than that.
When did metro and urban areas become arbitrary?
Back on topic, I have ties to both states so I call it a draw. :-P
We've lived in Eugene for 6 years (also lived here for a while in the 80's and Portland in the 90's) and lived 45 minutes from Asheville for 4 years. We made many trips to Asheville and are fairly familiar with it. Other posts have addressed many issues, but here is my take:
1) Strict urban growth boundaries have mitigated the urban sprawl in Eugene. The city is dense and property dimensions are small--but it's nice driving a few miles out of the city and being in the country. Asheville is sprawling. Every direction has another subdivision taking over farmland and another mountain top being leveled for housing. That was very disappointing since we have been traveling to Asheville for 45 years and a lot has changed. I prefer growth boundaries to sprawl.
2) Eugene is the track capital (Olympic trials, NCAA outdoor championships, etc) of the U.S. and has many dedicated running and biking trails. Just along the Willamette River there are 20 miles of paved trails that are very popular. Asheville seemed to have a lot of biking--but mostly on the road. It's fine to share the road--but I enjoy the dedicated paths best.
3) Houses are ugly in Eugene--they lack charm, personality and brick. The yards are too small (as mentioned in #1).
4) I don't recall seeing a train system in Asheville--but Eugene has Amtrak and it's nice to catch the 5:30 a.m. train and be in Portland two hours later. It goes from Vancouver BC down to San Diego and opens up some vacation choices.
5) We've hiked all of the southern Appalachian Trail and many parts of the Pacific Crest Trail. They are both outstanding--but there really aren't any mountains in North Carolina. You kind of need glaciers and year round snow. Our last drive to Crater Lake was 'snowed out'--on July 31st. Having lived in the southeast U.S. most of our lives, we were not prepared for that.
6) The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the nicest road trips I've ever been on. The NW has some decent roads with snow-fed streams, herds of elks and lots of wild turkeys--but they don't beat the Blue Ridge drive.
7) There are over 200 vineyards within 1 1/2 hrs of Eugene. We've only been to a few of them--but there are a lot of wine tours in the area and some of the vineyards are gaining world class attention.
8) Restaurant and micro-breweries are about the same in both cities, but downtown Asheville is cleaner and more appealing than downtown Eugene.
9) I'll take wet winters over humid summers any day--one of the reasons we moved from the south. It's great working in the yard (or going for a walk) in the summer and not having to shower upon return. I don't miss the humidity. We can enjoy sitting on our deck without being tortured by incessant flying insects. No fire ants, horseflies, copperheads or cottonmouths--I don't miss them either.
Both cities have a lot of appeal and it's a difficult decision.
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