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I am a late twenties newlywed and I moved to West Asheville from Atlanta a few months ago. My husband and I are from Atlanta and both have a soft spot for ATL with it being where a lot of friends and family are and there is a lot going on artistically. We left after getting sick of all the crime and sprawl, not to mention the brutally hot summers. I have been looking at Asheville for many years especially after living in Boulder, Co for a while and loving it but it was too far from my family. We decided to move here after visiting for several months. My husband got a job at the local co-op (he has a lot of experience in this area- worked as a buyer for a co op for years) and everything seemed like it was working out. A week before we moved he found out he didn't have a job after all (the person who hired him got fired) they couldn't find his application anywhere so after talking with GM they agreed to work him in when he got here. Well, that never happened. They ended up hiring a couple of other people and he didn't get so much as a phone call. That same week, a couple we had planned on meeting here to look at a cottage for rent flaked on us at the last minute. I didn't even find out til I called the day of to see what time we were meeting them and they said they had rented it out yesterday - this was the main reason we had come up that day, a 4 hour drive, to meet these people. We thought, "OK this was a fluke no big deal we will find jobs soon" Nope. I am in school so I thought that would make it harder for me but it took my husband just as long and he had totally open availability. He got called in THREE times by Whole Foods but never got a call back even though they said they would. We both also interviewed with several local businesses and never heard back from them. Nothing! My husband did some side work for a woman who owns a local restaurant and he had to literally go to the place to get his pay because she kept avoiding his calls and even then she left without paying him and he had to get the cook to write the check. Luckily we have both found work but it pays barely over minimum. I don't get it. It's starting to feel like there is this attitude here that we should be willing to work for less because Asheville is so cool but I have yet to see the evidence. Cool to me is respecting someone enough to call them back when you say you are going to just to let them know they didn't get the job instead of leaving you to wonder what the hell happened. I know this a little long winded but the point I am getting to is what is going on? Is this typical of this city or are we just having bad luck so far.
I am already starting to consider relocating after I graduate if things don't improve in a while but I really don't want it to come to that. There are many likeable traits about Asheville and for us it seems like it would be an ideal place to raise a family but after moving here I am starting to think otherwise. I guess what I am curious to know from others who have been here longer is what is up with the low wages and high rent? and people not calling you back or doing what they say they are going to do? This seems like a widespread problem here. I have lived in places similar to Asheville before and have never had so many issues not to mention those other towns started you out on way higher wages. I'm really questioning whether or not it is going to be possible to make it here.
Sorry you are having these problems. It is not totally unexpected, unfortunately.
The low wages and high rent have been discussed many times on this forum. Low wages are the result of 1) no substance to the local economy, whose two major industries are medical and tourism, and 2) A much larger supply of workers than demand for workers (jobs). The two combine to make sure there is no upward pressure on wages. In fact, most of the pressure is downward. Asheville is not alone in that situation. Most places that rely mostly on the expendable dollars of tourists go throw that, unless they are savvy enough to attract some anchor employers.
Even with the influx of small brewers and expansion of a few light manufacturers, those sorts of jobs are still in too short supply to make much of a difference. It is basic supply vs. demand when it comes to labor. I do not see it improving dramatically anytime soon.
That probably also explains why potential employers aren't calling back: they don't have to. They have exponentially more applicants than positions. Some probably would call back but the level of effort involved is too great. Others just don't care. The underlying tone is you (the job seeker) needs them a lot more than they need you.
I am not picking on "those evil business owners/managers." The lousy dynamic is not all on them. I know several people that own businesses, from restaurants, to retail, to services in one form or another. They all complain about the struggles of finding good employees and a generally less than desirable work ethic. I know two that have had employees either help themselves to a bonus out of the receipts or falsify their time records to get paid for more hours than they worked. In once case, the guy keeps "sticky fingers" on because he can count on him to open the shop on time and otherwise handle things well. As he told me, if he fired him, whoever I hired would probably be worse (A thief with a poor work ethic). As for the one who had employees falsifying time records, she pays a better wage than the average for her type of business in the area, and was rewarded with that.
Housing is generally skewed by the number of retirees in the area and, you guessed it, supply and demand. High numbers of retirees push up demand for housing (and a number of other things) without putting any upward pressure on wages since they are not in the workforce. Then add in the impact of second homes and the cost of acquiring/building and maintaining a rental home or apartment and it adds up. I don't expect that to change anytime soon, either.
If it sounds like a gloomy picture, it is on the subjects of economics and business climate (in all facets). Both my wife and I are fortunate that our livelihoods have no dependency at all on the area (I telecommute to a business in Virginia she has her own business with the closest client being probably 400 miles away). I've said many times if our survival depended on jobs here, we'd most likely have to pull up stakes and move on.
The area has a lot to offer. But jobs, a dynamic economy, and a healthy business environment are not on that list. That's why some of us get a little annoyed and displeased when someone announces they are moving to the area with no job in hand and people encourage them. The odds of that working out are not great, and they will likely find themselves substantially underemployed or working several jobs to make ends meet. I don't care if the area is the most beautiful place on earth, if you are left with no time or energy to enjoy it, it might as well be Detroit. In your case, there was a job in hand (although apparently not in writing?) and that still did not work out.
I wish you the best, and hope it works out despite all that. While the odds are long, they are not zero.
Lesson learned unfortunately. Never move anywhere if you need employment, without securing bona fide employment in writing.
Additionally, so many people move to the area because they loved it during vacations, etc.
Then, they move and look for a job.
Then, they are not going to take the job because they didn't do their homework as to the cost of living between where they are from, and where they are going. They refuse to work for the low wages offered.
There are also many retirees who take some of the low paying, or part-time jobs just to keep busy.
Add to this equation that people are not leaving the job they have. So there is not the normal attrition.
Hope the OP can hang in there and report back with a positive experience !
Sadly, what you described could have just as easily happened anywhere in this country.
As others have said, just consider this a rocky start and stay optimistic. Things will fall in place and then you can breathe more easily and take some time to really see how you feel about the area.
Good luck -- and do let us know how things work out for you and your hubby.
As I agreed with The Mule, I also agree with anifani821: that situ could be written up in nearly any smaller metro area in the US, imo. Hellsbells, I have friends with 'kids' with big time degrees/MBAs, and a few years 'experience' in their fields, that can't get a job 'anywhere', inc the usual suspects of NYC area, Chitown, ATL, Left Coast, et al.
I am a happy RetiredBum, and I enjoy my 30+ year career, but I would not want to have to get work, of any kind, in this econ climate, whether it's western NC or, NYC as I used to live near.
Good Luck to the OP & her hub...
BR, mD
Thanks for the replies! It does make me feel better at least knowing a little more about why things are the way they are . I've heard about the retirees and the effect it's had on the job/housing market prior to moving here but I just didn't know how much it really does effect everything. I was wondering who lived in those giant houses dangling off the side of the mountain
QuilterChick- What I was having issue with was that the cost of living (and rent) is really not that different from where I came from but the wages are way lower here.( which I wasn't totally surprised by after hearing friends from the area talk about it but I guess it's just unfortunate). That and I've noticed that employers will want the best of the best (say in the field I'm going in, massage therapy) but they only want to pay you the bare minimum. It is pretty insulting really but I will agree with others here that it is unfortunately not uncommon nowadays.
We were also expecting a child when we moved here but I miscarried right as we were moving and when hub found out he didn't have employment after all so we came pretty close to backing out but we had made a deposit and I was already in school so we decided to go for it.
I guess more than anything it was starting to bum us out because we REALLY want to make it work! I can't really think of anywhere in this Southeast I would want to live so we are definitely going to commit to being here as long as it makes sense. Thanks again
I am a late twenties newlywed and I moved to West Asheville from Atlanta a few months ago. My husband and I are from Atlanta and both have a soft spot for ATL with it being where a lot of friends and family are and there is a lot going on artistically. We left after getting sick of all the crime and sprawl, not to mention the brutally hot summers. I have been looking at Asheville for many years especially after living in Boulder, Co for a while and loving it but it was too far from my family. We decided to move here after visiting for several months. My husband got a job at the local co-op (he has a lot of experience in this area- worked as a buyer for a co op for years) and everything seemed like it was working out. A week before we moved he found out he didn't have a job after all (the person who hired him got fired) they couldn't find his application anywhere so after talking with GM they agreed to work him in when he got here. Well, that never happened. They ended up hiring a couple of other people and he didn't get so much as a phone call. That same week, a couple we had planned on meeting here to look at a cottage for rent flaked on us at the last minute. I didn't even find out til I called the day of to see what time we were meeting them and they said they had rented it out yesterday - this was the main reason we had come up that day, a 4 hour drive, to meet these people. We thought, "OK this was a fluke no big deal we will find jobs soon" Nope. I am in school so I thought that would make it harder for me but it took my husband just as long and he had totally open availability. He got called in THREE times by Whole Foods but never got a call back even though they said they would. We both also interviewed with several local businesses and never heard back from them. Nothing! My husband did some side work for a woman who owns a local restaurant and he had to literally go to the place to get his pay because she kept avoiding his calls and even then she left without paying him and he had to get the cook to write the check. Luckily we have both found work but it pays barely over minimum. I don't get it. It's starting to feel like there is this attitude here that we should be willing to work for less because Asheville is so cool but I have yet to see the evidence. Cool to me is respecting someone enough to call them back when you say you are going to just to let them know they didn't get the job instead of leaving you to wonder what the hell happened. I know this a little long winded but the point I am getting to is what is going on? Is this typical of this city or are we just having bad luck so far.
I am already starting to consider relocating after I graduate if things don't improve in a while but I really don't want it to come to that. There are many likeable traits about Asheville and for us it seems like it would be an ideal place to raise a family but after moving here I am starting to think otherwise. I guess what I am curious to know from others who have been here longer is what is up with the low wages and high rent? and people not calling you back or doing what they say they are going to do? This seems like a widespread problem here. I have lived in places similar to Asheville before and have never had so many issues not to mention those other towns started you out on way higher wages. I'm really questioning whether or not it is going to be possible to make it here.
But what has any of this got to do with Asheville? Jobs fall through, a woman tries to stiff your husband of his pay, friends stand you up? Surely there is no one like that in Atlanta.
Sounds like you quickly experienced some of the things which took me a while to see that are very common in Asheville. Just chock it up as experience and move back to ATL. And I say that with good intentions, because I'd never move back to Asheville. Wait till you discover the grocery store monopoly.
Thanks for the replies! It does make me feel better at least knowing a little more about why things are the way they are . I've heard about the retirees and the effect it's had on the job/housing market prior to moving here but I just didn't know how much it really does effect everything. I was wondering who lived in those giant houses dangling off the side of the mountain
QuilterChick- What I was having issue with was that the cost of living (and rent) is really not that different from where I came from but the wages are way lower here.( which I wasn't totally surprised by after hearing friends from the area talk about it but I guess it's just unfortunate). That and I've noticed that employers will want the best of the best (say in the field I'm going in, massage therapy) but they only want to pay you the bare minimum. It is pretty insulting really but I will agree with others here that it is unfortunately not uncommon nowadays.
We were also expecting a child when we moved here but I miscarried right as we were moving and when hub found out he didn't have employment after all so we came pretty close to backing out but we had made a deposit and I was already in school so we decided to go for it.
I guess more than anything it was starting to bum us out because we REALLY want to make it work! I can't really think of anywhere in this Southeast I would want to live so we are definitely going to commit to being here as long as it makes sense. Thanks again
Sorry, I didn't mean to put you all in the category of not wanting to take "anything". I should have clarified, that is one of the reasons there are so many looking for jobs in the mountains. "They" came with high expectations without doing due diligence first. So combine that with some more qualified seniors wanting extra money and willing to take less $$, there is a glut of applicants for each job. I was told recently by an H.R. friend in Seattle that 99% of employers only take about 2 minutes to glance over one page of a resume before tossing it into the trash. Two pages hardly get looked at unless page one grabs their interest!
Glad to hear you are going to stay positive. Yes, the wages are lower because of the cost of living is lower. There are not as many opportunities also because the population is not as dense. As you know, in a bad economy/recession the first thing many women give up is going to the spa, or they stretch out the appts.
Those big homes dangling off the sides of mountains many times are second homes, even a few third homes. It's no consolation to anyone, but there are also several of those for sale because even the high income folks cannot afford to maintain them, and many have no equity at all anymore. Sad but true. As MD said, there are so many high earners that cannot find a job either, so many are trying to bail out the same boat these days.
Have you checked the areas within a proximity of Asheville? Hendersonville, Weaverville, Waynesville, Black Mountain ? This might be a useless question, but have you checked with the spa at the Grove Park Inn? or at the Biltmore Estate? the high end hotels etc., some high end B&B's ? The Biltmore Estate always has jobs available, they may not be what you and hub are looking for, but it's a foot in the door. Have you investigated physical therapy businesses as another way to do your massage therapy?
Again, the best of luck to you. Hang in there.
Last edited by QuilterChick; 08-12-2012 at 06:38 AM..
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