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Hi Folks,
I started a thread called "Colorado mountains to Western NC" but I don't want this question to get buried there so I'm starting a new one. I know we live in a mobile society but some areas tend to have more stable populations then others. How about rendering me some opinions on how stable the population is in and around Asheville.
Hi Folks,
I started a thread called "Colorado mountains to Western NC" but I don't want this question to get buried there so I'm starting a new one. I know we live in a mobile society but some areas tend to have more stable populations then others. How about rendering me some opinions on how stable the population is in and around Asheville.
In terms of stability, are you referring to mentally or how anchored they are to the area?
Understand my baseline for comparison is Washington, DC and Northern California. Both of those area have their share of in and out movement of people. There is some of that here, but I not enough that I consider the area transient or view every new friendship temporary until proven otherwise.
As you know, a common cause of transience is job bases that encourage (or requre) relocation from time to time. Sad to say that we have such a small job base that is not a problem. Tourism-related jobs or those in health care do not trigger that inherent movement (I do realize people in health care can and do find opportunities for growth elsewhere and opt to move on). Plus, there are a fair number of people telecommuting, so we avoid that issue unless those arrangements fall in extreme disfavor with our employers.
What transience there is comes from people losing jobs or not finding jobs that can enable them to sustain a lifestyle they can handle. We've all seen that and some of the people posting here have dealt with it personally. It is why every inquiry about moving here for someone not self-sufficient is met with the advice they need to secure their employment first. Some come here thinking working two or more jobs to piece together a living sounds like a fair deal, but a few years of that wears people out.
That said, in our circle of friends and acquaintances, we know one couple moving due to a new job (effectively a promotion), one who is leaving because she can't make ends meet and another couple who will probably come to the same conclusion barring some dramatic change in their situation. So, there is certainly some movement, but no more than I would expect for an area of this size with shallow long-term job prospects.
As it is currently, Mule hit it dead on. Those who want to make something of themselves have to leave the area to do that. There isn't really a "young professional" crowd because that group can't make it in asheville. I'm one of them. I'm a WNC native and I had to move a few months ago because after graduating college I was never able to find a job I could live on.
There is a huge influx if retirees and independently wealthy and those who have worked in restaurants their whole lives and don't care about making more money. It has really changed the area especially in the last 7 or so years.
^ Spot on. This is definitely a transient kind of area, and it's a city so you won't know everyone like you would in a nice, small town. Also, there are a TON of these bohemian, hipster, you-must-acknowledge-that-I-shop-exclusively-at-thrift-stores type of people, and I find a lot of them to be highly pretentious, especially if you aren't that way yourself. People love their "Namaste" and Ghandi bumper stickers, and they will make sure that you know they voted for Obama, and they're PROUD of it. Nothing against Obama myself, but rabid political nuts are, well, nuts. And those hipster types are pretty transient people. They'll come here, keep the front license plate from wherever they moved from (Oregon seems to be the most common lately), hang for a few years, and then move elsewhere, often to the Pacific NW. The whole "punk"/"freak" thing is big here, too.
And Saucy is TOTALLY right about having to leave the area to have a decent career. Unless you get extraordinarily lucky, you are highly unlikely to find gainful employment here other than tourism - hotels, restaurants, etc. I dunno, it's just that there's no industry here, so people move here for a while, enjoy the view, and then leave once they realize that making a living here is about as easy as boating in January in the Arctic. Not that it's a bad thing about these people, but every single one of my friends who are under 30 (and some who are over 30) are on food stamps, just to be able to pay their rent. Obviously it isn't that bleak for everyone, but that is the economic climate here for sure.
And that, in my opinion, is what creates the transient nature of this place.
Asheville is in Buncombe County NC and is a City with its own "flavor"; it is an artsy craftsy mecca which is a great visit and a tourist attractkion.
Asheville itself is not representative of what can be found in 90% of the small towns in Western NC, which is mostly rural, relaxed, and folks thrive on an excellent quality of life.
Here is an interesting factual article in the Hendersonville, NC newspaper this morning regarding Henderson County NC. Hendersonville is a bit southwest of Asheville, as the crow flies about 20 miles. You can be at the NC / SC state line in another 20 miles and 35 miles to Greenville SC or Spartanburg SC for the "bigger city" atmosphere.
Asheville itself is not representative of what can be found in 90% of the small towns in Western NC, which is mostly rural, relaxed, and folks thrive on an excellent quality of life.
I wish more than anything that that were still true. But it's just not, in a lot of cases, because so many long-time locals have been pushed out by gentrification in many parts of WNC. I have a friend from Highlands. He grew up there, and his family had been there for three generations, and they had to leave about 6 years ago because they just couldn't afford it anymore. I have another friend who is from Black Mountain, born and raised. Exact same story. I mean, sure, there are lots of transplants enjoying an excellent quality of life, but there a lot of locals being pushed out of their homes.
Many, many people here in the Blue Ridge (and Smoky) Mountains enjoy a great quality of life. But some folks read these uber-positive posts and come up with rose-colored glasses on. This is a great place, yes, and I love it here (well, WNC more than Asheville proper), but don't come up here expecting Shangri-La. It's cloudy a lot, it drizzles a lot but rarely thunderstorms, the roads are poorly maintained, and it gets very cold in the winter compared to the rest of the South. And there are other things I could mention too, but you get the point.
Not bashing the area, because I really do love it here. I just want people to make sure they know the facts, the raw, non-sugar-coated facts, before they give it a go. Because I will have to leave here after graduating due to a complete lack of available jobs, and it breaks my heart. But that's just the way it is. I can only take these restaurant jobs for so long until I get fed up with it.
^ Western Carolina University. I am getting a degree in Natural Resource Conservation Management with a concentration in Forest Resources. My goal is to get a job working for someone like that Forest Service or a private consulting company, whatever I can find that has me working out in the field. I kind of had an epiphany last year that I had absolutely no interest in a Business Management degree (my previous choice), and that I love being outdoors more than anything else, so why not do it for a living?
Thanks for the well-wishes. I am still about two years away from graduating, as I will be starting my degree program in the autumn semester at WCU, assuming everything goes right. I am 5 credit hours from finishing my Associates at AB-Tech. I am also much older than your average person at this point in their college career. You might say that I took the scenic route through college, heheh. But yeah, it's very exciting to have goals, and very rewarding to accomplish them. And the bigger the goals are, the bigger the rewards when you complete them. Thanks again.
^ Western Carolina University. I am getting a degree in Natural Resource Conservation Management with a concentration in Forest Resources. My goal is to get a job working for someone like that Forest Service or a private consulting company, whatever I can find that has me working out in the field. I kind of had an epiphany last year that I had absolutely no interest in a Business Management degree (my previous choice), and that I love being outdoors more than anything else, so why not do it for a living?
Gosh Ships, we sound like the same person sometimes. I was following the medical path and did genetics graduate work and had intended to be a Physician assistant. And then last year I went out west and did a program working with wolves and. I can't explain it. I had this overwhelming happiness and knew. I want to do something with wildlife. Unfortunately, I can't afford to go to grad school in clemson right this moment. But after a year or two of paying down loans, I intend to go back and do wildlife management. OK! Sorry to hijack this thread. Thanks for letting me.
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