Asheville Revisited

This is the last recap, praise the lord. These took much longer than I expected! And I've run out of steam, so this one will be pretty short, too.

Asheville is very pretty, being nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I don't feel the need to go on about how pretty the mountains are, they just … are. And that has the added benefit of making the city terrain hilly, so I'll get my exercise when I walk about town.

The architecture in Asheville varies. Downtown still has some old buildings that are attractive, and some big old southern homes. But it's not all beautiful. Asheville's half-a-skycraper is about as boring as you can get. And outside of the old southern homes, there's not a lot of cohesion to the housing. Some are good-looking and modern condos, some are 1950 ranches, some are … you get the picture. The man-made objects in Asheville are not, on the whole, ugly. But I don't remember Asheville for its man-made beauty either.

The people are very nice. Like central North Carolina, people seem courteous and willing to talk for a while with strangers. I'm a little worried about the greater Asheville area being labelled a “evangelical epicenter” – I just kind of think I won't fit in there. But my own observations and Paul and Heather's statements make me think Asheville itself would be a pretty good fit for me, with people being rather liberal and open-minded and accepting of differences.

A non-too-ugly church in Asheville.

I don't have many friends there, but I have at least three, which is more than I would hope for in a fairly small and out-of-the-way city like Asheville. I also spent some time with my friends' friends, and wouldn't mind seeing more of them if I lived there, so I'm confident that between the people being nice and having pals to introduce me to people, I'll find a social circle that fits me well.

Things I think I'd like about Asheville:

• It's real funky. Lots of artist studios, independent restaurants and businesses (i.e., not chains!), community activities like drum circles, theaters, etc.
• As the smallest city on my list, I'd like the pace and the ease of things. Now, because it's in the mountains, Asheville is kind of sprawling (it can't spread out evenly in a circle). But the up side of that is most of the drives are easy, if a little on the long side. Prices are reasonable, waits are short, that sort of thing.
• The physical environment, from the mountains to the weather. Asheville gets all four seasons, with mild winters and not-too-hot summers, plus a mix of sunny and rainy days. And I've never lived in the mountains but think it would be a real treat.

Two not-too-ugly buildings downtown.

Things I think I'd dislike about Asheville:

• Similar to Raleigh, I'm a little nervous about some of the ugly attitudes that can be found in the South. And western North Carolina (outside of a few larger towns) is not exactly a bastion of enlightenment. It's where, for example, people like Eric Rudolph go to hunker down after bombing abortion clinics and the Olympics. (Not to say that crazy people can't be found everywhere, but I don't think it's a coincidence that a religious whack job would feel at home out there.)
• It's not super accessible from other places I might want to be. It's kind of a long drive to Cleveland, but a shorter one to DC. Because it's small, there are fewer flights in and out of town than I'm accustomed to, and my searches usually can't find direct flights to either DC or Cleveland.
• Could I find a job there? Almost definitely not in my niche field of the law. Maybe in another field of law? Would I run into the problem of not being from the area? I don't know if Asheville is provincial when it comes to hiring in “conservative” fields like the law. Maybe I'll call my pal Kenny, see what he thinks. He's originally from Virginia, so he'd have an outsider's perspective.