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I grew up in Southern Illinois (2 hours south of Champaign) and thunderstorms like we had in IL is one of the things I definitely don't miss. LOL Our schools up there were a lot worse than here, but I have to agree with the groceries. They are awful here (WNC/NGA). But take heart... I was up in IL a few weeks ago and gasoline was .50 higher per gallon up there.
The things I miss most.... good sweet corn fresh out of the field, a good deep-dish pizza, excitement over high school basketball season, and of course hearing "588-2300-EMPIRE" commercial everyday on WGN watching the Cub's.
I remember that commercial well! In southern Illinois the land starts to get prettier but you also can't see as far. Maybe that's why I liked the storms. You could watch them from dozens of miles away. Not like here where the storm is on you quickly.
Yeah once you get south of Effingham it's gets pretty rural pretty fast. The schools take a big hit because of that. I was lucky..we had about 10 high schools within 20 miles better than all but 1 public school here. However, because it's so rural and nobody retires there, you can also get cheap food and a 5 year old 5,000 SF updated home, with barn, lake, and on 30 acres for 300-400 thousand. A lot less than here. So it's not all bad. We are looking at moving back to either the Carbondale area or Paducah, KY area possibly in a few years because of the home prices and proximity to family. We home school so that's not an issue. Day to day life will be a little more boring however you are a weekend trip from Chicago, Indy, St. Louis, Nasheville, Memphis, and Lousiville as well.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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Originally Posted by oneluckymug
I remember that commercial well! In southern Illinois the land starts to get prettier but you also can't see as far. Maybe that's why I liked the storms. You could watch them from dozens of miles away. Not like here where the storm is on you quickly.
Yeah once you get south of Effingham it's gets pretty rural pretty fast. The schools take a big hit because of that. I was lucky..we had about 10 high schools within 20 miles better than all but 1 public school here. However, because it's so rural and nobody retires there, you can also get cheap food and a 5 year old 5,000 SF updated home, with barn, lake, and on 30 acres for 300-400 thousand. A lot less than here. So it's not all bad. We are looking at moving back to either the Carbondale area or Paducah, KY area possibly in a few years because of the home prices and proximity to family. We home school so that's not an issue. Day to day life will be a little more boring however you are a weekend trip from Chicago, Indy, St. Louis, Nasheville, Memphis, and Lousiville as well.
Best of luck to you! I don't think anything could pull me out of the mountains now that I've been here awhile. At least you'll be as close to the mountains as you can get in IL in the Carbondale/Garden of the Gods area.
[quote=oneluckymug;36194453]I moved from Champaign-Urbana to Asheville (there are actually a few of us here from central Illinois). Some things I miss about central Illinois are the thunderstorms, good schools, cheap groceries, safer areas, cheap housing, and Dos Reales in Champaign...although there is something about Avanti's bread (gondola) that I miss too
[B]Crime-There are places you want to avoid. It's not nearly as safe I don't believe as Bloomington. I think the Bloomington-Normal stats are probably a little elevated compared to what you may expect because of the rise of assaults with what you see at a university but overall is a safer area with less property crime than here. That said I feel safe raising my family here. A lot of people walk places here, especially if you get a rental close to downtown, so just use common sense when you are walking around. Get some buddies and don't walk alone. [/b]
Where are these places that the OP should avoid? Overall I have no problems at all with crime here in Asheville. You have your characters who reside at Pritchard a Park however they aren't a big problem. Don't get at all your suggestion for getting a buddy to walk around with to be safe.
I moved from Champaign-Urbana to Asheville (there are actually a few of us here from central Illinois). Some things I miss about central Illinois are the thunderstorms, good schools, cheap groceries, safer areas, cheap housing, and Dos Reales in Champaign...although there is something about Avanti's bread (gondola) that I miss too
[B]Crime-There are places you want to avoid. It's not nearly as safe I don't believe as Bloomington. I think the Bloomington-Normal stats are probably a little elevated compared to what you may expect because of the rise of assaults with what you see at a university but overall is a safer area with less property crime than here. That said I feel safe raising my family here. A lot of people walk places here, especially if you get a rental close to downtown, so just use common sense when you are walking around. Get some buddies and don't walk alone. [/b]
Where are these places that the OP should avoid? Overall I have no problems at all with crime here in Asheville. You have your characters who reside at Pritchard a Park however they aren't a big problem. Don't get at all your suggestion for getting a buddy to walk around with to be safe.
A lot of it will depend on where and when she is walking and where she lives. Maybe I am overly cautious but I think most young women should take precautions and not walking along.....especially after certain times and in certain places. Not sure there are any places off limits during the day, but places I've had problems from early evening to middle of the night....patton ave (south of 240), south merrimon ave, montford, New Leicester Highway, Merrimon North of beaver lake until weaverville, and by Mission Hospital.
Like I said; Asheville is a place I feel comfortable raising my family. However, some precautions should be taken based on the persons circumstances. Property crime is more the problem here; and taking a few precautions should protect you here from any violent crime as it's not an unsafe place. Where the OP is from, is a pretty safe city, especially for the size..twin cities with 110K +. It's especially true if you aren't a student on campus in the OP's town, as the majority of rapes and assaults are campus related.
I'm not saying asheville is dangerous, just comparing the crime to the OP's home town which is below the national average and Asheville which is 25% over the national average. If I compared it to my home town I would be saying "STAY AWAY FROM ASHEVILLE" as you are 6 times more likely to be a victim of a crime.
In a place with 85k residents a young person, especially a woman, should use common sense when heading out alone, especially in certain areas.
Oneluckymug, you have a broad list of places that you state "I've had problems from early evening to middle of the night". Can you tell us what you were doing at those times? Are you saying that you are a young woman who was walking alone in those locations and at those times? I read the newspaper and watch the local news everyday. There have been very few incidents reported of violent acts on people unknown to the perpetrators. Recently, there were two incidents of attacks on homeless people downtown by a gang of youths in one case and what was probably a drug related attack in another. Walking around anywhere alone in any city in the middle of the night isn't smart. Like many smaller urban areas, what violent crimes occur here seem to be drug/gang or domestic/family related. I can't recall in the 1 1/2 years living in the city of a mugging of a tourist or a random shooting of strangers. There's a group of people here and now everywhere in the US who believe that they need to carry a gun everywhere, but those people are insecure and paranoid. Your description of anticipating being attack here, in my opinion, seems exaggerated, but tell us more about your personal experiences.
There's a group of people here and now everywhere in the US who believe that they need to carry a gun everywhere, but those people are insecure and paranoid. Your description of anticipating being attack here, in my opinion, seems exaggerated, but tell us more about your personal experiences.
Your comment seems presumptuous and judgmental. Have you ever lived in a place where the potential exists to find yourself in a life-threatening situation? Is it paranoid to want to protect one's own life?
Daveatgso, I lived in the inner city of New Orleans 30 years and experienced more personal incidents of violence than I can write about here. As a child I lived in a public housing project there. I moved away after a "final straw" when a crazed junkie tried to break into our home when my children were 6 months old. I had a gun during that incident, but the guy cut his arm when he broke the door glass and was bleeding badly and ran away. I would have certainly shot him in that case. I am an Army veteran and still have firearms in my home. However, public open carrying of guns and conceal carry everywhere is extreme and unreasonable in our culture. This discussion is about feeling unsafe in Asheville, not New Orleans. My son just bought a house there. My first advice was to keep a firearm in his house. Feeling safe is relative to where you live and who you associate with. I am not concerned about feeling unsafe here.
Last edited by Imhere now; 08-23-2014 at 08:23 AM..
Daveatgso, I lived in the inner city of New Orleans 30 years and experienced more personal incidents of violence than I can write about here. As a child I live in a public housing project there. I moved away after a "final straw" when a crazed junkie tried to break into our home when my children were 6 months old. I have a gun during that incident, but the guy cut his arm when he broke the door glass and was bleeding badly and had to run away. I would have certainly shot him in that case. I am an Army veteran and still have firearms in my home. However, public open carrying of guns and conceal carry everywhere is extreme and unreasonable in our culture. This discussion is about feeling unsafe in Asheville, not New Orleans. My son just bought a house there. My first advice was to keep a firearm in his house. Feeling safe is relative to where you live and who you associate with. I am not concerned about feeling unsafe here.
OK, but you're the one who broadened the scope to include everywhere, thus my response. Relative to your inner-city NO situation, what's the difference between being safe in your home, and being safe in your person wherever you choose to go? Though I don't want a gun (because I don't want to ever have to regret killing someone; it's a risk I choose to take), I respect those who take responsibility for their own safety by carrying. I saw a guy in scrubs the other day in the supermarket with a handgun strapped to his side. Why should that make me feel any different than seeing a cop with gun in the supermarket? It made me feel safer because criminals with evil intent don't like the idea of confronting people with guns. However, I do agree that open carry of rifles and assault-type weapons is unnecessary, impractical and counterproductive.
Daveatgso, I lived in the inner city of New Orleans 30 years and experienced more personal incidents of violence than I can write about here. As a child I live in a public housing project there. I moved away after a "final straw" when a crazed junkie tried to break into our home when my children were 6 months old. I have a gun during that incident, but the guy cut his arm when he broke the door glass and was bleeding badly and had to run away. I would have certainly shot him in that case. I am an Army veteran and still have firearms in my home. However, public open carrying of guns and conceal carry everywhere is extreme and unreasonable in our culture. This discussion is about feeling unsafe in Asheville, not New Orleans. My son just bought a house there. My first advice was to keep a firearm in his house. Feeling safe is relative to where you live and who you associate with. I am not concerned about feeling unsafe here.
I had the same experience in NYC, and I carried 24//7. I keep a firearm in the car and in my home in Asheville, however I don't feel the need to conceal carry. In 4 years here I have not experienced even one incident of even minor crime.
Oneluckymug, you have a broad list of places that you state "I've had problems from early evening to middle of the night". Can you tell us what you were doing at those times? Are you saying that you are a young woman who was walking alone in those locations and at those times? I read the newspaper and watch the local news everyday. There have been very few incidents reported of violent acts on people unknown to the perpetrators. Recently, there were two incidents of attacks on homeless people downtown by a gang of youths in one case and what was probably a drug related attack in another. Walking around anywhere alone in any city in the middle of the night isn't smart. Like many smaller urban areas, what violent crimes occur here seem to be drug/gang or domestic/family related. I can't recall in the 1 1/2 years living in the city of a mugging of a tourist or a random shooting of strangers. There's a group of people here and now everywhere in the US who believe that they need to carry a gun everywhere, but those people are insecure and paranoid. Your description of anticipating being attack here, in my opinion, seems exaggerated, but tell us more about your personal experiences.
I also didn't mention I was assaulted at a movie theater. The previous instances were due to just walking, 1 because I had car trouble in an area I wouldn't have normally been in on foot. I work 12-16 hour shifts, which means if I want to get stuff done (go shopping, go to a movie, get some food, etc) I am often out much later than I want to be. Sometimes that puts me in places I wouldn't normally hang out late at night, but wouldn't think anything of during the day.
Most assaults, especially sexual assaults on women aren't reported because of laws protecting their privacy. So not seeing something in the news has no relevance. The reported crime stats however do.
I think whomever you are and wherever you are proper precautions are universal. The vast majority of inter-sex assaults resulting in serious injury are male on female. It's just a fact. I personally believe you would have to be ignorant or just plain stupid to not take that fact into account whether you are in Chicago or Mayberry. It doesn't mean women are helpless. It's just doing ones due diligence. I am a large intimidating looking male and so I draw attention for the exact opposite reason one would cause women problems. I don't draw single men trying to cause a problem. However I seem to get groups of idiots trying to prove how tough they are. In my dumber younger days I would accept the challenge. In my more mature days I have learned to let them shove me, yell, whatever....then concede to their toughness and walk away. I don't feel the need to use a CCW here. I don't feel like I am always about to get into a scrap.
This topic went really off the deep end. I say use proper precautions and all of the sudden it's like I am comparing Asheville to cabrini green. I assumed a 24 year old single female would want to be out on the town to meet new people in an area she isn't from. So I assumed she wasn't going to be heading home regularly at 9:30 and might be out late.....so just advising to not walk alone (especially late at night) and use proper precautions and she should be fine.
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