My Mountain Home

I must credit three people with igniting my interest in my adopted hometown:  First, Mick, a colleague in Bangkok. He's from upstate New York.  When I was thinking about places in the USA where I could return to live, he mentioned that a friend of his heard that Asheville, NC was a cool place.  I remember he said it was a blue dot, surrounded by a lot of red.  Second, cousin Will Woods, who has traveled a lot around the US.  He plugged Asheville, and gave me some great insight.  Third, family friend (and distant cousin) Rimson Solomon, who lives in Highlands, NC.  He said Asheville might really be a great fit for Kade and me. The rest is history!

From e-mails I sent in 2006:

I am kind of looking for a city in the South that's a bit more progressive.  Some remarks about B'ham are quite funny.  Will, if you read some of the facts, Nashville is not as conservative as some might think. Mark, Atlanta and your favorite, Washington, DC, scored high. Was Huntsville not large enough to be considered?  I do recall the library banning a weekly paper because it encouraged "lewd acts." Also, no sign of Tallahassee or Gainesville.  I basically want a city where I could use a segway without someone running me over with their car.  good sidewalks, bicycle paths, good university scene

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=330668

This one was from June 2006:

Will, these are factors I have been considering.  After seeing Asheville, I started rethinking my need to have to be close to the coast.  Needless to say, we were impressed with Asheville - the people, the climate, the downtown, etc..  We still plan to do a run down to Tampa just to check it out.  My guess is that we will be on the move out of Headland sometime next month.  Good point you made about Savannah's business prospects.  In my mind, Asheville holds more possibilities.  Of course, anytime Kade and I think of seafood, Savannah's Crab Shack reigns supreme.  Oh, I cut and pasted the criteria below from a site. Naturally, as with most things, what makes us happy really comes down to personal preference.  Take care and keep in touch.  BTW, had lunch with Nat the other day and bumped into Mike and Val a few weeks  ago.   Hope you are well!

Ten universal elements to look for in a quality urban environment

1. Choose a Close-in Urban Location
2. Position Yourself
3. Seek Out "Mallternatives"
4. Look for Active Sidewalks and Streets
5. Notice Construction
6. Find the Places That Offer Transportation Choices
7. Find Great Urban Parks
8. Seek a Wide Diversity of People
9. Find Creative Places
10. Detect Urban Optimism 

Great list – I find many of those very important as well. I always had a feeling you’d like Asheville. It’s a surprisingly cosmopolitan place for its size, the weather is a bit better (cooler) than most places in the south, scenery is great, etc.