Greetings all,

Was curious if anyone on here is from or knows anything about Asheville, NC. My wife and I are looking to leave Pittsburgh in a year when she is done with her residency.

So, any information about the area would be appreciated. My wife is an ER doc and is looking to work in a small/community based hospital. I am looking to get a job with one of the Fire Depts. down there. Also, any info. about this would be great!

Are there fun places to hang out? Live music is something that my wife and I enjoy. We re also big on the outdoors, so places to camp, and or buy a camp would be great.

Thanks in advance!

pgh_medic

 

I get out of the Navy in about a year, and that's the exact area we're looking into! We took a vacation there about a year ago, and it's absolutley gorgeous. I don't know much about the local economy, but I'll be looking for a job in the area soon.

 

Cool man! Thanks for your service!

I have been tryig to find a decent realty site as well, if i do, i'll post it here. So far, I have heard good things, it is said to be absolutely gorgeous there at the foot of the mountains. If you find anything out, post it here, i'll be checking back often!

Thanks!

 

My wife actually has tons of information, I'll get some of it from her when she gets in... I'm from Louisiana, lived in southeast GA for 8 years, and to look out and see mountains everywhere...absolutely breathtaking...

 

Asheville is a very cool place guys. I've lived there for the past 10 years, after my dad got transferred there via the USDA. I hated it at first, being a 16 y/o coming from New Orleans where the world was your oyster, so to speak. But now, I would never want to live far away from there. I'm in grad school in Knoxville, but I go back at least twice a month to see the parents.

For camping, I'd go west of Asheville, nearer to the Smoky Mountains. Or, a little bit south somewhere along the French Broad river.

Nightlife is quite better than most think. Definitely keep your eyes peeled for what's going down at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville. From there, it's only a couple blocks to the heart of downtown and a wide range of pubs/bars to choose from. There's always a band playing somewhere.

If you'd like to know more, just hit me up via e-mail, AOL IM, or Yahoo! IM.

ETA: Cool to see another LA boy movin' to the mountains. 98Lariet4x4, if there's anything else you wanna know too about Ashevegas, just let me know.

 

Funny you should say that, southern GA was also a place we looked. We spent some time in Savannah. Its a nice city, but I just dont think its for us. The Fire Dept. was awesome there, but we had a hard time finding a nice place to live. Maybe we just looked in the wrong places, I dunno, might have to go down again.

This crappy weather we have been having here, rain and 50's for the last 6 days straight, has realy got me wanting to get the heck out of here!

 

I'm actually in that area right now on vacation. While the area AROUND Asheville is very nice, friendly people, nice scenery, great roads, etc... Asheville itself is kinda weird. It's a haven for lesbian, gays, hippies & granola's. After talking with the staff at the local Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealer I learned that the local politicians championed the cause of the oppressed which is why the place is a magnet for them. This is my second time down here and you can't go 5 feet without seeing:
1. dreadlock having, no showering, pope smoking hippie POS
2. 300lb butch dykes
3. dudes holding hands/kissing
4. some idiot with a brand new, never touched water (must have it for image???), kayak strapped to the roof of a Subaru
5. you get the point...

Check out Maggie Valley, they have a sizable health center and it's small town America at it's finest. The wife & I like Gatlinburg, TN quite a bit as well.

KC-10 FE out...

 

^^^I must agree with the hippie/gay/lesbian stuff. But you get used to it. Certain parts of downtown are the worst, though, and I try to avoid them.

The Maggie Valley part is quite true. Very nice, quaint town to live in.

 

Spend some time in the Asheville area, and you may find that it is a REALLY nice AREA, but downtown Asheville itself is probably no more appealing than any other large city, unless you LIKE that sort of thing...

The Asheville AREA is another story. You have interstates to get you in and out quickly. Go west, and you have the mountains - Knoxville, Gatlinbug and Pigeon Forge, some touristy areas, yeah, but other fun things to do as well, and the Smoky Mountains are beautiful, as is Cade's Cove, and the park has a lot to do for either a couple or a family.

Cherokee (or even Pigeon Forge) can be fun when Hot Rodders, Muscle Car collector's, bikers, or others have meets there to show off their rides. The Shelby Mustangers seem to have frequent meets all over NC.

Go a little west of Ashville to Robbinsville, where there are several small resort / "chill out and be alone type areas" (like Eagle's Nest). Someone already mentioned the French Broad River, and don't forget the Nantahala Gorge (Nantahala Village has cabins on the lake on one side of the hwy, and cabins in the mountain on the other side of hwy, either one 5 mins. from the other) area South of Asheville. Go North, up 23 (I think) where there are some more decent ski areas (for being so close) like up in the Mars Hill area.

Also check out the Bryson City area for more mountainy stuff.

Asheville is fairly close to States that border NC, like Georgia, Tenn, SC, and Va. All these States have interesting areas in them, according to whatever you most like to do.

The Atlantic Ocean isn't THAT far away, neither is the Gulf for that matter...

The North Georgia mountains have a lot to do, lots of places to stay, places to fish, AWESOME lakes and rivers to fish in.

If you like NASCAR think about how many tracks that aren't THAT far away.

If you like College Football, think about how many stadiums that aren't THAT far away, where you could pick the best game for that Saturday, leave Saturday AM, get there and buy tickets right at gametime from someone selling out, see a good game and make a day of it...

She doing what she does, and you doing what you do, youse guys should be able to get GOOD jobs anywhere in this Country.

As Lee Greenwood so appropriately put it - "God Bless The USA"

Good luck, keep us posted and let us know where you decide to settle down.

Sowwy for being so long winded, but I HOPE that there is something here that might be of help to someone out there.

 

Asheville is beautiful, full of Hippie-Libs, blah, blah, blah, blah.....

Screw that -- what I want to know is how you nabbed a doctor for a wife!

 

Ok, I'm orginally from Detroit, but have been living in Raleigh, NC for close to 15 years, and first off, Asheville is NOT a large city. Its population was pushing 70,000 in 2000, this guy is coming from Pittsburgh (pop. 335,000+ with another 2,000,000 in the metro area, circa 2000) for God's sake!!!! As my buddy who's from Asheville says, its really just a big town. The bartenders learn your name, you know who your neighbors are, its OK for the kids to ride their bikes all afternoon, etc.

That said, I love A-ville! As many others said there are some hippy, tree-hugging, pot smoking , rainbow flag waving folks around town, but some of you make it sound like you're talking about San Francisco!

Pgh_medic, what kind of info are you looking for specifically? That might help get some good responses.

PS: if you're in the a-ville area be sure to stop in at Barleys and try the Highland Mocha Stout, excellent brew!

 

I agree with all that the others have said previous to me about the town....it is a very beautiful area....


...hey Trav....I am heading your way next week for memorial weekend....course I am taking the womans Kia instead of the FX4......

 

Wow!

Thanks so much for the awesome replies! Everybodys information was very helpful! I think we will give it a try and take a ride down in the near future and check it out!

My wife and I are big beer drinkers! Yeah, I know a Doctor and she loves beer, im a lucky guy! So, any pubs or tasverns that have an impressive beer menu are preferred! Add some good live music to that place, and the bartenders will certainly know us by name.

Still have to investigate the hospital options and the Fire Dept. options there.
She is looking for a small community hospital to work in, not a Level I trauma center.

I am open to pretty much any paid fire job. I currently work as a paramedic/rescue tech. and ride on a heavy rescue truck. I have 10+ years as a volunteer FF and have obtained Fire Officer I thus far. I would love to work on an engine company that does ALS first response. My days in the ambualnce are over, looking to spend the remaining years of my career on a engine or rescue squad.

Keep all the info. coming, everyones help is greatly appreciated!

 

For small-town community hospitals, I'd look west of Asheville in the areas of Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Sylva, and Bryson City. These areas are even more beautiful since you're even more in the mountains than Asheville is. Sylva is a nice place, with more than you'd expect since it's down the road from a university, Western Carolina University. Bryson City is very nice as well. The people are extremely nice, and in this area, you're really in the heart of the mountains. Also, you're about one hour from the Nantahala area, which has excellent camping, river sports, and other outdoor sports.

Any of these towns also have decent sized rescue squads. I'm not in that field by any means, but for most calls that I've seen, it's the rescue squads that go out first. And the further west of Asheville you go, that is even moreso the case.

Come on down to the mountains!