Asheville, North Carolina

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“Undoubtedly one of the kindest places on the East Coast. Nice nuggets, a lively and experimental music scene, and the overall friendly atmosphere make this town a must for nomadic freaky friends! I’ll see you when I roll through town.”

“One thing i have noticed over the past few years is that the hippies have gotten richer. a lot are weekend hippies now! there are a lot of unique and awesome people here, and then again there are a lot of rich people too…”

0 thoughts on “Asheville, North Carolina”

  1. I just left Asheville…
    nothin going on except rich kids growin herb, house music, and major CRACK problems !
    I got so fed up that I left like half of my crap there….
    rrrrrrrrr……….

  2. I’ve lived all over the nation and have had a good time doing it. I always managed to find a nice house and a decent job. Well, I moved to Asheville 15 months ago and have never been so poor in my life. There isn’t a decent job in a hundred miles. If you can find one for $8 per hour you are in high cotten. Now let’s talk about the cost of living. I rent a 4 room near shack that was the cheapest single unit house I could find and it costs $600 plus all the utilities. I Very hard to pull off on my wages. I am from just north of Chicago originally and I have never seen this many bums up there. Now I know why. No work and no affordable housing. I have been trying to leave for many months now; but find that I can’t. I don’t make enough money to cover my regular monthly bills no matter how hard I try, much less get up the funds it takes to flee here. Asheville is a dismal place unless you have already made your money elsewhere and are in a retirement mode. And can live outside of town far enough to be safe. I would walk through downtown Chicago at 1am before I would walk down Tunnel Rd. I suggest anyone thinking of moving here bring an armoured truck full of cash or think about moving elsewhere.

  3. Hi- I might be moving to Asheville sometime soon… I saw some comments saying that the cost of living is real expensive, I was wondering how bad can it be? If anyone could give me the heads up then that would be great.
    Thanks-
    Forever Grateful
    …music stopped, lights on, back to reality…

  4. I THINK ALL YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP BITCHING AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIVES HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YET THAT NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO IN LIFE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE AROUND MESSING SHIT UP AND DOING WHAT THEY WANT TO NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY OR DO SO GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR OWN LIVES AND ABOUT THE PANHANDLERS AND WHAT YOU WOULD CALL WASTED YOUTH OR WHAT EVER THEY ARE JUSTING HAVEING FUN AND DOING THERE OWN THING AND WHENE THERE GONE AND HAVE MOVED ON THERE WILL BE SOMEONE ELSE THERE IN PLACE OF THEM SO GET USE TO IT OR TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU WHERE LIKE WHEN YOU WHERE YOUNG AND DONT EVER FORGET THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE DONT GET THE SAME CHANCES IN LIFE THAT SOME OF US DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. All of you need to calm down. I was born in Asheville but raised in the mountains surrounding the city. All the horrible things you all have posted about Asheville are half-truths. First of all, the locals don’t like foreigners because you post things like this on websites. Why are you people even on a hippy website in the first place? Asheville is the best place in the Southeast for “hippies”. I wouldn’t recommend living inside the city limits because of the cost of living, but who would want to anyway? My family lives in the mountains and grows their own food and makes their own liquor. These natives know how to live off the land, listen to good music, and grow the best …. Asheville is wonderful. Don’t listen to the crackheads….

  6. Review of Asheville from an Old Hippie–beatnik–formerly of NYC; I’ve been living here for a couple of yrs. now; I loved it from the beginning though there were some unforeseen things about the place that kind of hide under the rug, so to speak. On the surface everything is beautiful: friendly people, beautiful mountains, weather, waterfalls, etc. Love the festivals, drumcircles, music and Earthfare (Meeting Place Central). But if you don’t have a good career–like medical–or own a business or have some savings or retirement or trust fund, then you might not want to live on the average wage of eight dollars an hr. & have to show a master’s degree for a menial job. The cost of homes is rising rapidly–while I feel apts. are relatively inexpensive (compared to the northeast).
    There are lots of hippie types and hippie wannabees; a diverse culture, lots of artists, writers, cultural happenings, etc. and Peace demonstrations, lots of activist groups and a very large gay population.
    But don’t forget, Asheville is the “buckle of the Bible belt,” and you have the pious mountain people who still make moonshine and don’t like outsiders. For the most part, they live and let live. But then you have the homeless who are moving here in droves and although I am a tolerant liberal type, they are becoming a nuisance and ruin a lot of the events downtown with their rowdiness and bold tactics.

    Despite it all, I love it here. Life is never boring.

  7. I LOVE Asheville, I live a few hours away so I don’t get to go as much as I want, but I love going there, the people, the shops, and the restruants, its all great!

  8. I think Ashville is a very small town, a matter of fact it is but it is so great. The Beautiful views off the mountains sides are great 2!!!!! but i think the people set ashville off the most i mean i have family dwon there so evrytime i go down there i meet new ppl. well 2 sum everything up it’s a great place 2 live and visit, if u have never been u should try it. There also alot of history down there 2. But anyways bye everyone!!!

    love yours truly,
    Mercedes

  9. “Asheville, a nice place to be on a hot summers day.”-Gus McGillicutti of Iron Fist says it best. I’m 16 years old and i’ve lived in Asheville for most of my life. I lived in Orlando also and it doesn’t compare to Asheville. Asheville has the dankest herb and some of the best southern hip hop. Every city has squatters and the reason Asheville has so many is because it accepts them and they love it here. I’ve met plenty of homeless people on Lexington ave downtown and I remember someone talking about Tunnel rd. and being afraid to walk down it?? What’s that about? Do not listen to these people putting Asheville down. If i was homeless and got to choose where I squated, it would be in Asheville. If you do have money and want to buy a nice little cabin or a house that to is a good thing that comes out of Asheville. I lived in an apartment based on your income and it was a 2 bedroom, one bath, with a den, living room and kitchen with a porch. My mom and I were paying around 250 a month. Also, what’s all this talk about moving here? I bet alot of people would like to visit Asheville. Don’t turn the people away either, let them see for themselves what a great city it is. PEOPLE ASHEVILLE IS GREAT! Also, once you make friends here it is amazing. Kids here are extraordinary and so are the adults. I got camping every weekend with atleast 10 people minimum on the parkway or near hot springs or go to house parties in montford right downtown. Sooo many stores downtown and head shops and the owners of them are real nice people. If anyone has any questions about Asheville, Weaverville, Hot Springs, or any other city that is near Asheville, e-mail me at AshevilleKlepto@hotmail.com. I’ve lived here for a while and experienced alot of great things and very view bad things (i add the bad things were my fault.) Peace.

  10. I have to agree with everyone on the board, Asheville is a nice town. TO VISIT ONLY! It has an influx of old people and everything is getting very expensive, especially housing. The so called “hippy stores/pipe stores, etc.” are slowly starting to dry up which is sad. People are nice on the outside but, once you get here you start to feel that you really aren’t wanted.

  11. Well, before I moved away from WNC, I hated it and had many comments to make. Now I would give anything to go back. But now about this asheville thing, i learned some of what i know about asheville and the homeless underground scene and the “crack” problem from someone i used to work with. Who I found out was homeless. And on crack…whats this thing about the “block” the drive thru or delivery service for drugs…do they still do that? And I know that i had to tell this guy to get out of my car once because he stopped and talked to a “friend” and the next thing i know he’s saying…give me the back of your earring…Im like Whaaaat…get out of my car….and he says’ Thats cold…and I’m like gosh. And one time I drove by a guy begging on his KNEES a little old woman for money…and this same guy says…thats the Unabomber… (I guess` street people in asheville have names and all)….we call him the “unabomber”…and SO the moral of this story is this…if you dont want to be begged on your hands and knees in broad daylight by guys looking like the unabomber..then make sure you have transportation. And dont transport people you work with who like to sing in your car at the top of their lungs…”its a jungle out there” Asheville also has pretty mountains.

  12. hi fellow hippies….i am a homosexual male living in the asheville area and i am looking for a buddy. if there are any homos out there looking for a big black cock with a couple of nice large hairy balls then please contact me… i am really horneeeey!!! notatruesmoker@hotmail.com….please reply i am in need.

  15. I was looking for information on Western North Carolina and stumbled on this web site- gee that’s typical of me .

    Anyhow, there appear to be a large number of people subscribing to this site that have strong opinions regarding NC.

    I am interested in them all; pro & con– I had no idea there was another ‘Hippy Haven’ besides Woodstock NY, where I grew up in the 50’s-60’s.

    I never really thought about it but I guess I was a hippy. We had that ‘big party in White Lake– I still have a threadbare tee shirt– Three Days of Peace & Love!!

    Not to digress; I am interested in Western North Carolina– the Boone County area sounds nice– and info is appreciated.

    Tanks!!
    John From Long Island
    *** jl559@optonline.net ***

  16. Asheville is amazing. First off, the people that surround you in Asheville are extremely nice and excepting. I have no idea why most of the people posting think differently. This “hippy haven” is full of some of the coolest artwork and music in the Eastern part of the United States as a whole. There are coffee houses you can sit in and speak with the locals – Galleries to walk into with the artists there to speak with. It is so welcoming. How could anyone not enjoy Asheville?

  17. read the comment from lilyander posted on june 6th of 04……did not make any sense whatsoever…get off the drugs and get your life straightened out…

  18. I spent about a few months in Asheville. It has the potential to be anything you want it to be. Sure there are tons of stupid and ignorant people like anywhere else. And there are lots of problems too. But on the whole it is a very inviting place for alternative people. It does seem to be becoming some kind of “trendy” place to be and perhaps has lost some of its laid backness. But for the south it really shines, and the people I found to be EXTREMELY friendly and open compared to other southern places. I think that people living here like any other place would really do best to buy a big piece of land with other folks and start sharing their car, etc.. Otherwise its a little expensive to buy a house intown compared to wages. Luckily acreage on the edges of town seems to be reasonable. Suburban dread is definitely creeping but it is not yet at all omnipresent. Just don’t neccessarily expect to move here and live “well” without making some sacrifices. One issue I had was with the bikability/walkability. It is a mountainous city and generally, with the exception of the expensive intown neighborhoods, pedestrian usability seems to be way on the back burner. Many other southern cities are more bikeable just because they are flatter and have more sidewalks.

    But if you can deal with all this stuff and make some sacrifices then asheville could work for you. The people definitely have a good spirit and holisitic conciousness that is VERY RARE in the south.

  19. Hi,

    I am a recently divorced, well-educated, fairly hip mom, with a 16-year old daughter. We are planning to move to Asheville area and I am going to be working in Weaverville. We would like to rent a house (preferably an older one, preferably in-town — NOT in the middle of nowhere.) We are not into “suburbia” at all. Any recommendations on locales and tips regarding schools?

    Thanks, Jeanne

  20. I just got back from visiting Asheville for 6 days, and I really liked it alot. I happened to be able to experience ‘Bele Chere’ and it was quite impressive, although many locals are growing tired and less tolerant of the downtown event.
    Asheville is near ground zero for outdoors enthusiasts, which is a big draw for me. And Hippies?? TONS, young and old alike. Yuppies too though. The 3 most common makes of vehicles seemed to be VW, Subaru and Land Rover. Big gas guzzler Land Rovers were everywhere so I don’t know just how clean their air is…
    Downtown feels like a big city downtown with international cuisine everywhere, and yes, lots of homeless people on the streets asking for change. But along those same tokens there are lots of street musicians also.
    All in all I was impressed with Asheville, and would seriously consider relocating to the area. I know housing costs are high though.

  21. Asheville is beautiful! In 2003 I was living with my family in ETenn (Jonesboro) — For work related reasons – Found that I spent a lot of time in Asheville! It was a ‘world’ away from ETenn, let me tell you.
    The homes, the merchants, the music, the scenery, the people, and most of all the food! Yum … Have you eaten a Rosetta’s Kitchen? How about seen a show at the Orange Peel?
    I also frequented Mans Ruin tattoo (Heather and Zoe – You rock!) for tattoo work and a couple piercings.
    The vibe that you get there is one of a kind.
    The botanical gardens offer you fresh air and a place to let your kids run wild in the nature – on the trails of course …
    Since 2003 we have moved back to Southern Oregon (Jacksonville to be exact – and we love it here too). But, something is still missing. We are heavily thinking about making a permanant move back to Asheville.
    And yes, I drive a new VW Beetle — and dropped change to the street people … They had a good vibe too.
    Peace

  22. Hi! I am getting ready to visit Asheville (my mom lives here and I presently live in Charlotte) and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations of where is the best place I can meet hippies? I am not familiar with the area, so any advice will be welcome!

    Thanks,
    Becca

  23. Yes to everything everyone said. Asheville is great if you want to live in a segregated community – that is, straights and locals vs hippies, artists, musicians, environmentalists, plus vs wealthy retires. don’t come to Avl if you have asthma or want clean air. The air is dirtier than LA or NYC. Don’t buy a fixer upper unless you can do the work yourself or have friends who can because the locals will ream you something awful. I have never met (and this includes the city govt and the judges and the realtors) so many unethical and/or incompetent and/or malicious people. Avoid locals unless you find some with a good heart, and even then, watch your rear. They don’t like northerners, they don’t like people from out of state…. On the other hand, even though all the organic food is overpriced and from CA, there is a lively music, arts and crafts scene. There are lots of funky stores. There are lots of environmentalists and activists. It’s small and easy to get around. It’s relatively beautiful (well, if you’ve lived in the Bay Area, it doesn’t begin to compare) and for the south, the climate is pretty nice. Watch it if you move into someplace on a steep hill in the country, because in the winter, your road will be iced, and you’ll be stuck for several days. Panhandlers are annoying, but on the whole, the scene is hip – but new. Don’t expect to find a lot of support in city hall. Your kind of people aren’t integrated into the power structure like they might be in San Francisco, Berkeley or Burlington or Woodstock. The hip scene is mostly recent, and that makes a difference for those of us who’ve been living someplace that made the change in the 60’s.

  24. Becca.
    The hippie scene is downtown. Can’t miss it. Biltmore Ave, Broadway, the Orange Peel, the food co-op. It’s all walkable.
    Also, the little town of Black Mountain nearby is transitioning from conservative Christian to hip.

  25. Hey ‘Sageworks’:
    Hope you glance back here to catch my message to you! Can you elaborate a little more on the Black Mtn area? We are moving from Oregon — to the Asheville area — lived close by (but not in Asheville) a little over a year ago.
    Our main focus is a good area for our children to go to school in — No overcrowding, etc …. We’ve been warned to stay away from west Asheville due to overcrowding, and a little increase in crime. On the other hand — don’t want to live too far from Earthfare either.
    Love the hippie scene there, not an issue with us, but thanks for enlightening us in regard to the hardcore locals/government!

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