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^^^ VBmom, I remember you from the FL threads! Glad to hear you moved up to WNC; I didnt even know you had done so! We moved to the AVL area from Orlando recently!
Yes, finally made it in late 2007. It took another year to sell our house but we are settled and happy. How do you like it up here?
I just re-transplanted here 9 months ago (lived here for 2.5 years starting in '05), and I feel like I am adjusting well. I already had a couple of friends when I moved here, so that helped a lot, but I have met and become friends with lots of cool people. I'm in my mid-20's, though, so maybe it's easier for people my age, I don't know. Also, I'm originally from Alabama, not NY/NJ, so that wasn't a factor, but I have met many people from the Northeast and I treat them just the same as anybody else. I don't understand why everyone says "Oh if you're from [insert random place here] you just won't fit in". It doesn't matter where you came from, it matters how you act when you get here. And if you're nice and friendly and genuine, I can't imagine people would have a problem with you.
^^^ Love it! Lived here before during college yrs (moved here from Orlando). You're lucky you all were able to sell your house down there in 2007!
Well, we didn't sell the house until early 2009! We paid rent and a mortgage for over a year. Bad timing I guess. It was all worth it in the end. I have wonderful friends here and hope to stay for many, many years. We were lucky that my husband was able to find a great job and that I was able to find a job as well. Children seem to be happy and doing well. All in all one of the best choices we have ever made dispite the house issue.
is this thread just about asheville? is charlotte in western part of north carolina? i have no idea, sorry. i'm going to go ahead and pitch in cause i relate a lot to the posts in this thread so far and imagine people will be able to relate to mine too.
i've adjusted well to the increased level of chattiness. i actually like talking to strangers. i was wary at first, lol, but i learned quickly that it's just normal. i like the slower pace overall. it's much less stressful when people aren't rushing around. no one criticizes you for not understanding either and there is always someone willing to patiently explain something to you. there's no stigma in being stupid or slow.
i have a hard time with the slowness in certain cases, though. it doesn't bother me if i'm ordering a cup of coffee, but i've gone to the e.r. 3 times (once as a family member, twice as the patient) and the wait was simply unacceptable. the first time, they made my grandfather wait 1 hour after he had symptoms of a stroke. the 2nd time i was pushed through the e.r. without my knowledge or consent, and the third time i was made to wait 3 hours with blood gushing out of my fingers. the e.r. wasn't busy with more severe cases. the doctors were standing around doing nothing. there is no room for slowness in the e.r., period.
i had a hard time with the religiousness and cultural evangelism. people here wear their religion on their sleeve and expect the same of you. i'm an atheist but i just find it easier and safer to let people think i'm a christian. it may be dishonest but it only took about two conversations about how i'll see and hear again if i find jesus when i quickly decided not to even let that idea enter people's minds. i am not deaf blind because i'm atheist and gay. that's ridiculous. there are christian gays, deaf christians, blind christians, and deaf blind christians.
this is probably more of a rural thing than a southern thing, but i hate how car-oriented everything is. the bus comes on one route every 90 minutes. there are no sidewalks. when you go anywhere, there are more people in the drive-thru than inside. there's no concept of walking places, or even just walking around to enjoy being outside.
the food has been a hard adjustment. food here is very starch and fat-oriented. practically everything is fast food, fried, or imbalanced. the options for ethnic foods are extremely limited. again that might be more of a rural thing, but i definitely thing the amount of fried food that is available is a southern thing. on a positive note, though, i love sweet ice tea. i've been converted, lol.
is this thread just about asheville? is charlotte in western part of north carolina? i have no idea, sorry. i'm going to go ahead and pitch in cause i relate a lot to the posts in this thread so far and imagine people will be able to relate to mine too.
i've adjusted well to the increased level of chattiness. i actually like talking to strangers. i was wary at first, lol, but i learned quickly that it's just normal. i like the slower pace overall. it's much less stressful when people aren't rushing around. no one criticizes you for not understanding either and there is always someone willing to patiently explain something to you. there's no stigma in being stupid or slow.
i have a hard time with the slowness in certain cases, though. it doesn't bother me if i'm ordering a cup of coffee, but i've gone to the e.r. 3 times (once as a family member, twice as the patient) and the wait was simply unacceptable. the first time, they made my grandfather wait 1 hour after he had symptoms of a stroke. the 2nd time i was pushed through the e.r. without my knowledge or consent, and the third time i was made to wait 3 hours with blood gushing out of my fingers. the e.r. wasn't busy with more severe cases. the doctors were standing around doing nothing. there is no room for slowness in the e.r., period.
i had a hard time with the religiousness and cultural evangelism. people here wear their religion on their sleeve and expect the same of you. i'm an atheist but i just find it easier and safer to let people think i'm a christian. it may be dishonest but it only took about two conversations about how i'll see and hear again if i find jesus when i quickly decided not to even let that idea enter people's minds. i am not deaf blind because i'm atheist and gay. that's ridiculous. there are christian gays, deaf christians, blind christians, and deaf blind christians.
this is probably more of a rural thing than a southern thing, but i hate how car-oriented everything is. the bus comes on one route every 90 minutes. there are no sidewalks. when you go anywhere, there are more people in the drive-thru than inside. there's no concept of walking places, or even just walking around to enjoy being outside.
the food has been a hard adjustment. food here is very starch and fat-oriented. practically everything is fast food, fried, or imbalanced. the options for ethnic foods are extremely limited. again that might be more of a rural thing, but i definitely thing the amount of fried food that is available is a southern thing. on a positive note, though, i love sweet ice tea. i 've been converted, lol.
As one of my friends from up north has asked......"how's life in the deep-fried south"? I want to start a supper club and try new foods with new friends.....think it would catch on?
We've lived here for over 19 years. We adjusted right away. My husband is a home remodeler and we are still good friends with some of his first clients. I started training dogs after a few years here and we now have a multitude of friends from all walks of life through that network. We never found this area to be materialistic or snobish. Maybe it depends on what area you originally land in. We lived our first year in Kenilworth, moved to North Asheville, then Riceville and and now north of Weaverville. We've made friends everywhere we went. Don't get me wrong, my husband and I really do keep to ourselves a lot but we never lack for friendship when we feel the need to visit with someone outside of the two of us.
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