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Sorry, I'm being thorough... thus a long post.
I hope to find some who can give me their perspective or thoughts about my ideas?
After researching online for about a year, we're pretty set on moving to Asheville, and we've never even been there! That may seem crazy, but I think it's a good kind of crazy... I read forums, looked into online groups, photos, read blogs, perused lists of businesses, social services, hospitals, schools, looked at maps, public transportation hubs, highway vs. main street locations, potential employment situations, and followed some local news there, watched the real estate market perform (or not), rentals, jobs, etc. etc... spent time just about every week for two years now. We're not kids... I have a grown daughter at college! We know what we're looking for. We choose Asheville because, it seems to be a place full of positivity and activity. Lots of ideas, projects, opportunities, events, good people, and things to see and do. I'm also drawn to temperate weather and the natural surroundings. We don't have trust funds, and we will need to find work full time in the first 6 months there... but we live very modestly. We are "crunchy," as it were. We're very outdoorsy, into wildcraft and foraging, yet we're bookish homebodies too. We are into gardening and we like music festivals, dark beers, farm markets... I own and play congas!
I don't need to live in a "bubble of liberal" by any stretch. I believe it's possible to avoid alienating others and handle conversations honestly without coming from a place of prejudice, or automatically presuming them prejudiced. Others in talking about the south claim to have little "generic" statements to dodge the inevitable "did you find a church yet?" I have been known to have conversations of real depth about many faiths and I don't have to shy away. Yes, in the south. That has been my experience, and I'm agnostic/ sort of Buddhist, mostly scientific.
We are not concerned with making tons of money, because our lifestyles are not at all "about that"... but we don't want to fail...so we do have nice chunk saved for this move. I will have "some" income from online stuff... but we will need to get "set up" with incomes within the first year.
My bf has been a cook for about 12 years, and has had some classes in culinary arts. He's not interested in more time at school. He is very smart and has tons of experience... It's all he really wants to work at, so he'd probably be readily able to get a line cook spot, and/or work up to a sous chef job. He's quite shy to those he's not very familiar with, and you might say he's eccentric.
I have an A.S. in Communications. (Great at public speaking/facilitating groups/ trainings, and I have some graphic arts training.)I have a background in sales and marketing (cell phones/retail/ commission/ financial products) I had a change of heart and did some years in social services...That's where my focus is now, though I can pitch a mean sale, and could do well at outreach/ grantwriting/ fundraising... just want to help out, work hard, and I'm very fast to learn what I don't know. To get some experience and meet people in the area, I would work part time anywhere, and I love volunteering, and feel it's a great way to find your place in a community and get off on the right foot.
Currently I'm in an online program through PSU, so I can "move" anytime... In August, I'll complete the B.A. in Psychology. I was thrilled yesterday to discover a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling available at the UNC Asheville. It would be perfect to transfer right into the M.A. program there. My goal is to provide therapy to help at risk youth OR those with clinical mental illness...(Art therapy?) For example, I found a listing for a Master's level position at a center for addicted teens that offers wilderness and art therapies... Of course I'm not "there" yet... but this is an example of what's right down my alley!
My bf works at a university and is routinely unemployed here through the summer. We are planning to come down for 2 weeks in June, learn our way around a bit, put in a pile of resumes and applications, apply to the Master's program at UNC, find an apartment near the amenities we need, pay the lease for the whole year to secure ourselves, get our utilities squared away, Whew! 2 weeks? Maybe 3! Then go home, pack our things, and make the move!
I'm looking at the area northwest of Asheville, perhaps on New Leicester Hwy area/ Enka? near AB Tech / close to National Forest /UNC Grad School /Public Transport hub/ looks like good Downtown Asheville access... I have a little car to use for work or whatever, but my bf does NOT /will not drive. Hoping to find a 2 bedroom place, duplex, half-double or small house around the edge of Asheville in an OK neighborhood for around $750./mo., with a yard, and maybe with some utilities included... Say... somewhere a 15 minute walk from a bus stop to get to downtown within a 20 min. bus ride? Does that sound remotely realistic? Any other spots I should look into?
I do think we have a great plan and still have 6 months before our visit, and 8 months before we would move, and are still saving up and looking into prospects... And truly, if any of this sounds like absolute hogwash, I hope someone who's knowledgeable can set me straight. I may be full of ideas, but I really want to be realistic as possible. I do still believe that sometimes "realistic" really can be "really positive". I've seen all kinds of perspectives on these threads, but so far nothing and no one's put me off Asheville yet.. .and I've heard about some of the "warts".
I would love to have some specific, or general feedback on any or all of my ideas, I would greatly appreciate that!
Well, Sir, I thank you very much for your vote of confidence *BIG GRIN*
I was heartened (is that a word?) to read your response this fine morning!!! Or is it afternoon now? :P
I've looked into it a bit further, and found apartments in the neighborhood for exactly the price I've mentioned... not the kind of place we'd like for the long term... but a perfect start! The program at NCU looks very promising... The job/small business startup prospects in our chosen fields will likely hold on/recover over the next year... I'm an artist, and the thought of finding a community of artists and craftspeople all around just makes me tear up.
I will really enjoy meeting all kinds of people, and with a wide wilderness we couldn't hope to fully explore in a lifetime, temperatures that won't do me in before my time and really just everything important to us waiting there, I have a lot of faith and can hardly wait...
I hope I'll garner a few more responses?
Well, heartened certainly is a word, and heres hoping y'all don't become in any way dismayed or disheartened, should you not receive the replies you're hoping for! Embrace that passion, it'll serve you well!
I'm looking at the area northwest of Asheville, perhaps on New Leicester Hwy area/ Enka? near AB Tech / close to National Forest /UNC Grad School /Public Transport hub/ looks like good Downtown Asheville access... I have a little car to use for work or whatever, but my bf does NOT /will not drive. Hoping to find a 2 bedroom place, duplex, half-double or small house around the edge of Asheville in an OK neighborhood for around $750./mo., with a yard, and maybe with some utilities included... Say... somewhere a 15 minute walk from a bus stop to get to downtown within a 20 min. bus ride? Does that sound remotely realistic? Any other spots I should look into?
The area you're looking into is a nice area in SOME spots, but I personally would try to avoid Enka/Candler, at least at first. This town is really different from most places, and Enka/Candler has a bit of a strange feel to it. I don't know how to describe it, but I have pretty good instincts, and I always feel a bit uneasy when I'm in that area. Now, if you look towards Leicester, once you get out in the nice, rural area out there actually IN Leicester, it's very nice. A lot of houses have some nice views, and there's a lot of room. It's surrounded by mountains, and there are lots of open fields, mostly for farming, lots of dairy cows in that area. It's got a very rural feel to it, and I love it. BUT, if you need access to downtown/AB-Tech/UNCA, it's going to take a good 20-25 minutes from out there. You might want to be more in the city itself, it sounds like.
In that case, I would look at Oakley and North Asheville first, and then West Asheville second. West Asheville has some really nice little neighborhoods springing up, but there are also pockets of crime and bad neighborhoods mixed in, so you have to be careful when you choose a location over there. Oakley is a great neighborhood - I live here myself, actually - with many different types of people on every street. You can drive down one street and see lots of nice, newer houses with newer-model Subarus in the driveway, and then the next street over will be older homes with old trucks in the driveway and totally different people. The nice thing is, I NEVER feel unsafe in Oakley, no matter what kind of people are around me. The old redneck type guys with their old trucks, chilling outside on the porch, they're always real friendly. Same with the young couple next door. It's just a cool mix of normal, working people over here, and I like it a lot. North Asheville is a very nice area, but you can expect to pay a lot for a nice place. I think $750 is just gonna be too low to be in North Asheville unless you get really lucky. Keep your eyes peeled though.
The whole thing about wanting to not drive and take the bus and all that. It's just not gonna be a pleasant experience in Asheville. You really are gonna want to have a car here. The bus service is very slow and unreliable, and it's extremely frustrating when you have somewhere to be. Even if all you can get is an old junker with 180k miles on it, it's worth it, I promise. The way this town is, you have a good likelihood of not finding a job in a place that's easy to take the bus to. You're going to want to be able to drive to where you're going. You can keep the miles down on your car by driving smart and frugally, and I promise life will be SO much easier that way.
Oh, one more thing: the weather. The weather here is not exactly known for being predictable and sunny and pleasant all the time. It is cloudy a good bit (you are in the mountains), and it gets very cold sometimes in the winter. It will snow every year; not that much usually, but it will snow, and these hilly roads are pretty tough when they're covered in ice. The spring and fall here are absolutely spectacular, the summers are hot (though not as hot as the flatland areas of the South), and the winters are cold (but I love it, so I think it's great). One thing that will really get you in the winter is the wind. It can cut right through fleece jackets and such, so buy yourself a nice coat and some good wool socks. You will thank yourself when it's 15-20 degrees outside some morning. But don't think this place is an icebox, like I said, it's amazing here for a solid 7 or 8 months out of the year.
Good luck on your move. Asheville is great place once you get to know it. It might take some time, and some people never really do get it, but once you embrace this area and all the incredible things it has to offer, you will understand why people are willing to scrap money together month after month to live here. It's worth it if you really love this place.
Hope you don't mind the long reply by the way. Your OP was long, so I figured you were up for some reading.
Thank you so much!! Your post is very helpful!! I am really grateful you took the time!!
Gheesh, with google maps, it's so amazing! You zoom in, and can see what it's like to drive around the neighborhoods! Just to gain some perspective, I found townhouses for rent along Patton (I presume this to be "West" Asheville area. ) for $750. 2 bdrm. Not a dream, but a start!!
This looks pretty much like the area we're in now ... a bit "strip-mall-ish"... a bit "rural" heading out that way.
I also saw some jobs advertised in Mental Health social services working with kids...about a mile or two from there... looks like a great place to work? I also found there's a shortage of social service workers in NC. I found they're actually offering a very helpful living stipend for grad students of WCU at the WCU Grad center at NCU Asheville as an incentive to go to school if you agree to then work for the state for a year afterward...
We're near/in mountains in PA... now we live about 20 min. from the mountains, along a river where it's often pretty windy. I "know" winter. Driving in 4"of snow once a week for 2 or 3 months, and then maybe having to dig out of 1,2 maybe 3 feet a time or two.... We've had 50 + inches in 2 days here in recent years...
And the freezing ice/sleet/slush... Nothing to do.
To buy a house, really all we need is a little 2 bdrm fixer upper, with some storage in basement/attic crawlspace, and a nice little flat yard for a pooch and a garden.
I'm used to trucks and skoal and coon dogs... and I've lived in rural south before, and even Los Angeles/Venice Beach area too! We enjoy any good people with real character of nearly all stripes, really.
I do have a car, and I'm the one who would have more opportunity for employment/commuting a bit. He does not. He is used to finding employment he can get to, and then walking to work and home... He has done it all his life. So we don't want to be too far outside of town. A 30 minute walk one way, say 2 mi. ? So a 10 minute walk to be at a hub, a 10 minute wait and a 10 or 20 min bus ride is no trouble for him. He "won't" drive no matter where we ever live. I actually think Asheville's one of the more navigable areas for him without moving to a major city. Evenings, weekends, we use my car to run errands and so forth. Some occasions, I've run him to work or picked him up. Sometimes he gets a ride home, but he's always prepared for the walking. He did it in Burlington for 4 years. In their winters! He's a hippie weirdo! One of the things I love most about him!
We live in a town of only about 4000 people now. There's a lot of nepotism, good ole boys clubs, and weird power trips at county level in the hierarchy of management in social services here... I don't doubt there's power trippers everywhere? But when you live here all your life, and you know half of everyone, sometimes familiarity breeds contempt.
But there's really just no jobs for either of us.
He's employed now, but it's really not worth sticking around. Drive around town here, and in in 5 minutes you can locate every opportunity he has for employment. He just wants to cook... for real. So he will not work at a "Denny's".
To buy a house, really all we need is a little 2 bdrm fixer upper, with some storage in basement/attic crawlspace, and a nice little flat yard for a pooch and a garden.
I'm used to trucks and skoal and coon dogs... and I've lived in rural south before, and even Los Angeles/Venice Beach area too! We enjoy any good people with real character of nearly all stripes, really.
I think you just opened yourself up to more opportunity, then! However, your major problem is your husband's refusal to drive a car. Is it for environmental reasons? Does he have a phobia of driving (a friend of mine actually does)? What's the deal? Because you could open up some wonderful opportunities as far as places to live if you could convince him to drive. Most of the really beautiful areas are farther from town, and you just can't walk to town from those places. Not even a bus stop really. The bus service here, I will repeat, is truly awful. Plan on that. You will lots of good people with real character in the mountains of WNC, but again, you're gonna have to drive to work to live in the mountains.
Quote:
Originally Posted by llw5090
He did it in Burlington for 4 years.
Burlington, you say? So you've lived in Vermont? Well, I will say two things. Vermont is my favorite place in America, and I have spent a lot of time there when I used to live in Mass. There is nothing quite like it. If you lived in Vermont, particularly Burlington, then you have a bit of an idea of what you're going to get here. Obviously the winters are much milder, and the people are different (although not necessarily any friendlier, as I find Vermonters very friendly), but there are a good bit of similarities. Mountains, eclectic, artsy people IN town and country people (not at all a bad thing) outside of town. The lay of the land here is somewhat similar to Vermont, and I would say that WNC is about the size of Vermont with very similar topography, albeit our mountains are twice as big. If you laid Vermont on its side, it would fit pretty nicely into WNC. Interesting that you lived in Vermont and decided to leave. I assume it was the high cost of living and the low pay? Well, it's better here than there, but not by a whole lot really.
Quote:
Originally Posted by llw5090
We live in a town of only about 4000 people now. There's a lot of nepotism, good ole boys clubs, and weird power trips at county level in the hierarchy of management in social services here... I don't doubt there's power trippers everywhere? But when you live here all your life, and you know half of everyone, sometimes familiarity breeds contempt.
But there's really just no jobs for either of us.
He's employed now, but it's really not worth sticking around. Drive around town here, and in in 5 minutes you can locate every opportunity he has for employment. He just wants to cook... for real. So he will not work at a "Denny's".
Well, you're going to find nepotism and good ole boys here too, I hate to tell ya. If you study the history of Southern Appalachian mountain people, you will find that the vast majority of settlers here were Scots-Irish, and they are a clannish people. Don't let that give you the wrong idea, what I mean is that they tend to look after their kin before they are going to look after somebody who just moved from "up north". The natives here are a strong, independent people, and they absolutely do NOT tolerate any sort of nonsense, and you will have to earn their trust in order to gain their favor. Don't let me scare you; they are not mean. They are just VERY independent, and they do not like people trying to change their ways. Not that you would do that, but they might be suspicious for a while if you live out in the country. You won't have to deal with this nearly as much IN Asheville, like I've said, but be aware that that is the history of our mountain people. I can't include myself in that group, as I am originally a "flatlander" from Alabama, but I have done a lot of reading and studying about mountain culture in this region, and I know this to be true.
I don't know how much help this post is going to be to you, but hopefully it will be of some help. I'm just trying to paint a broader, accurate picture of what it's like to live here. I've spent a lot of time in many different areas of WNC since I moved back here, and I have done some good self-educating with the help of books to really immerse myself in this culture. You have to understand it and embrace it, and you will feel very at home here after a while.
LLW,
Since your friend will be off for the summer... altho he could walk into the many restaurants in downtown Asheville and likely get a job in June... you should focus on YOUR work. May I suggest you get online and go to the website for the NC Employment Security Commission here in Asheville. They list jobs in the area, and while you wouldn't have the advantage of talking to a counselor (they can narrow down what you'd be good at and they network), you could still see what sorts of jobs appeal to you, and get a feel for locations they refer to, you'll need a very good map to sort everything out.
Then I would suggest within three months of your plans of moving here, if you see any job you think you would be able to do, try to go ahead and get it, and come here for a quick trip for any interviews. See, if you snag a job, you could always come straight here and get a room in a rooming house, there are listings for rooms in the papers, and just go to work. Your friend can join you later, you can look around for places to live in the meantime, and that way you'll have a place all set for when your friend comes here with all your stuff. I think one of you should have a job before you move here, and I think before you sign a lease, you should have visited here.
I personally would not live out Leciester/Enka way, it is just too far from downtown where most of the work is, lots of traffic to fool with. More convenient is the north side of downtown. That's where UNCA is, too. And your partner can walk or bicycle to downtown, it's THE one neighborhood where you can do that, so he doesn't have to drive to his job at a restaurant in town, altho buses go out to lots of other areas. In addition, even if YOUR job winds up being far away, the north side is still the easiest place to live to get to other parts of Asheville, but try to get a job downtown.
Also, while there are some very expensive houses in that general north area, there are also inexpensive apartments available. If there's any way you can get into the Historic Montford neighborhood (and they have a rooming place on Montford Avenue on a hill across from the park, too), for apartments they split a lot of the old Victorians, that would work out to be a good idea. I used to live in that area, rode my bike to work on the newspaper downtown, made a lot of friends when I was younger, enjoyed walking around the nearby Botanical Gardens at UNCA, it's just a cool neighborhood. And that's just one example. There's also some reasonable places off North Charlotte Street, the Manor Inn apartments are really neat, old old building with lots of apts inside, authentic gatehouse, and they have a rental business on the grounds that covers Asheville, and that neighborhood is friendly to each other. But really, either side of Merrimon Avenue there are lots of diff neighborhoods... just avoid streets close to I-240.
GG
ShipOfFools, yeah, he sort of has a phobia I guess you could say.
He lived in Burlington, and yes the cost was too much, not enough to go it alone, and irresponsible roommates... disliked the huge wealthy and transient college population attending expensive schools on a seemingly endless flow of "parents' money", living like there's no tomorrow. (read: obnoxious cluelessness) That may be good for business there, and exuberance of youth is wonderful, certain factors can wear on you, when that's overwhelmingly the theme du jour.
What would you say that element is like in Asheville? (we live in a college town now...he works on campus, so it's nothing new)... Many of my friends now are 20 yrs older than me, I'm 42. I am more likely to befriend a creative treehugger retiree these days, or generally those a bit more mature, than hang out with clueless college students. This following post I think says it all.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneluckymug
Although I will agree with you it's not a hippie town.....is is absolutely not a college town. It is about as far from a college town as one can get while actually containing a college in the community. The average age is 40, older then the average age of NC residents by 4 years.
Asheville gets tagged a lot for many things.....but I have never heard someone claim it's a college town. I've been told Boone fits the college town bill for the WNC area....but having never been there I am not sure. However the average age is 21 there, 13 years younger then the average NC resident....so I am guessing this is true.
Asheville is full of the very poor, the well-off retired but not really wealthy, some hippies, many ultra-liberals, some ultra-conservatives, and a bunch of trustafarian kids who preach on global warming and green lifestyles while driving their Range Rovers while walking around with dreads and nappy clothes but have grand in their wallet and a pumpkin spice latte in their hand.
Gigimac..
Thanks for the tip on the neighborhood there. I will certainly poke around more! He would ride bike, though he's not a serious bike rider... we do have bicycles.
The counseling program I mention is for Clinical Psychology... the Master's degree from WCU on the campus of NCU is PERFECT. That program is a kind of hub to all else if I get accepted, that will take 2 full years of keeping my nose to the grind. I'm not expecting life to be a vacation, by any stretch. With 2 degrees and 20 years of work experience I hope to have a job waiting, and then work on my M.A. at NCU campus in the evenings for 2 years. I may qualify for help if I agree to work for the state for a term after graduating, but I may have to be there to gain residency first? I'll still need part time work, or other volunteer work with stipend.. (like Americorps))
I'd really like to work with those with serious issues, think hospitals, assisted living, or support in a family setting.
I found this post to be particularly poignant, and this guy seems to have the attitude I do...
Quote:
Originally Posted by vandemusser
I live in Montford. In the "scary" section, no less. I am backed up against Klondyke, in fact.
I have never had an issue with crime at any point in the past 5 years I have lived here. Nothing stolen out of my car, nothing taken off my front porch, no issues with any person whatsoever. The people that live on my street are all working-class people who take pride in their houses. They are young, old, black, white.
When it's nice out, I walk to the park or downtown. It takes 15 minutes. When it's not nice out, I walk around many of the various streets near my house. I have not been shot at, offered drugs, or propositioned by hookers. Ever.
Take your information from the so-called "experts" with a grain of salt. I enjoy living here, and would much rather live amongst people who work for a living than spend a minute in some of the areas where everyone seems to think are so desirable - the gates, snotty rich people, and 20 minute drives to town just don't seem all that attractive to me.
After a while, you get tired of hearing from the locals about what a craphole Asheville has turned into. It's a nice place to live, especially Montford. And it really doesn't matter ultimately whether anyone else realizes it or not, because I got a good deal on a cute, safe little house within a short walk of downtown.
So often anyone compelled to give an opinion does not make a good respondent to a survey because they see an extreme, and they'd like to voice their feelings. This is much of the info you find in general on the Internet, and it's what's leading to a lot of problems polarizing people in this country. So I walk the middle path... I think I can be very receptive to most aspects of Asheville from this perspective...
We'd like to come down and poke around first, but without youngins to consider, we're free to make a mistake and move on if need be. Taking a vacation there seems costly and unnecessary. I'm extremely well versed on the web...
Oh, and, my daughter, "Miss McFadden", now lives with her grandma while attending college. A scotch Irish decendent of Coal Miners from the hills of West by God Virginia... I lived there for 4 1/2 years, married a hillbilly.... My father lived there for 30 years now. I know clannish mountain culture.
Last edited by llw5090; 11-15-2010 at 12:08 PM..
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