;)
Is Asheville a happy place?
Sunday, January 6, 2008 
Imagine the wonders of Switzerland. The charms of the U.K. The rapture of Bhutan in the Himalayas. How about the joy of Iceland, Thailand, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands.
Do think Asheville could play in that company? One writer says yes. Eric Weiner, author of The Geography of Bliss, has included Asheville in a list of his "nine happy places" in all the world.
You can go and read the book summary, or click on the links below to read a little about Asheville. But i want to know what you think. Is Asheville really a blissed out village of the happy-go-lucky?
Sure, a lot of carefree people live here and have been moving here. I know a lot of happy people in Ashvegas. And it seems that more and more people come every day. Which doesn't make those of us already here so happy.
It seems to me that Asheville's history is one of divisiveness. City vs. county. Urban vs. rural. Natives vs. newcomers.
Ashvegas seems to me to be a bit mired in cynicism. People often don't come together for a positive purpose. They do come together to complain or protest.
What do you think? Does Ashvegas deserve to be a list of the happiest places in the world?
Boston.com writes about Nine Happy Places.
Here's the Asheville page on the list.
Loyal reader Scott put me onto this. Thanks!
Reader Comments (28)
I'm happy here for several reasons:
1. Damn, it's beautiful. Even the view from the local laundromat kicks ass on anything I've seen outside of Asheville.
2. The food. OMFG, the food. Whether I'm eating out or hoovering the stalls at the farmers' market, I can get amazing, fresh, locally-grown, healthy and organic food with so little effort it makes me downright weepy.
3. The people. Asheville - where everyone's an ethnic minority of one. Gotta love it. Sure, it means protests in the street and brawls on the Mountain Xpress blogs. But hell, it beats beaten-down, what's-the-point apathy (which is the norm in SE Missouri where I came from) any damn day of the week.
4. The culture. There's a festival going on every 30 seconds somewhere nearby. I've got more openly gay people living around me in my neighborhood now than I knew about in my home town. (Not that they're not there, just that they're afraid to tell anybody.) I've seen more ethnic minorities here than I have in my whole life (and I've been around). And don't even get me started on Lower Lex.
5. The politics. Jesus H. Christ on a stick - Mumpower and Brother Christopher in the same room. Need I say more?
Sure, I can see the divisiveness and cynicism, but to me that's part of what makes it a happy place - the people here care enough to take stands, hold rallies, whip up insta-petitions re: partisan voting, chain themselves to trees and so on.
But I'm living in a place where I can eat locally and well as a vegetarian with an organic jones; see the best views this side of heaven on every routine trip around town; find people who actually care about stuff like greenways, alternative energy and mass transit; attend arts, crafts, music and food festivals (usually for free) all year round; and enjoy being part of a melting pot that keeps getting stirred up but never boils dry and where the local people, ideas and politics come in every color under the sky (and, I think, venture into the ultraviolet and infrared) instead of black, white and a few shades of subtle gray.
What's not to love?
Which is a damn shame.
But the one reason it can never make my top 10 happy list is that it is a TERRIBLE place to have to drive in.
I can't remember a week where some driver didn't attempt to kill me with their car. The city has really bad road planning, and if you combine that with a lot of out of town traffic having to change lanes wildly at the last minute, it equals extreme driving anxiety.
I only disagree with the ethnic minority thing, but that's because I was raised in NJ, where there are a ton of different types of people, so it's just because of my frame of reference.
Ash, I think this makes Asheville a happy place, because it makes those of us who live here happy.
We were happy to find Asheville because of the people, the culture, the food (!!!!), the incredible mountains, and the active community. We can't imagine living anywhere else now. So yes, it makes us happy being here, and I think that mindset is shared by a lot of our friends.
Take care,
-Frank
Have you ever had to drive in Boston?
Our roads originated from old native american hunting trails. We live in the heart of the mountains so think about the fact you are lucky you don't need a donkey anymore. Do some research on the road conditions only a hundred years ago in WNC and you might have some more pride in this beautiful city.
Hope,
you described perfectly why I live here. I 'smile test' people, and I have to say everyone (except the clientele at Earthfare South) makes me feel like we all really do matter.
:) Great post Ash.
But the difference is most boston traffic is so congested that your looking more at a frustrating wait or a dinged fender kind of situation.
In asheville you get more of a "Wildly swerving across lanes to make an exit ramp at speeds of 45+ mile per hour" or "Desperatel trying to slam on the breaks as some overly intitled trustfundafarian walks across an intersection in the middle of a light and then glares at you the whole time" scenario.
Boston = Frustration
Asheville = High Anxiety.
It's not the worst driving city on earth, but it sure isn't a good one is the point I'm making.
What Frank said. I think a place populated by happy people becomes a happy place. Of course, I realize that not everyone who's here is happy, but I've met more people who are happy to be living here than I met people happy to be living elsewhere over the course of several years.
Also, it seems to me that Asheville is a destination sort of place - a place people go to on purpose, like NYC or San Francisco - whereas the majority of other places are places where you were born to (and don't or can't move out) or wind up in by default or lack of options. Likewise, those who are native Ashevillians and don't care for it would most likely move out, as well. Which means that the majority of people here want to be here because it makes them happy, creating a happier place.
It's either that, or all those fairies down on Lex (I'm talking about the ones wearing fairy wings, cher) have been sprinkling happy dust all over the place.
roads aren't some magic, organic thing that just evolve from indian trails. They are planned out by guys in suits in cramped rooms.
Your gonna a litte hippy on me. I generally like to keep my arguements in the same decade, nevermind the same century, lol.
Everything in our city is where it is because of history.
Let's compare different US cities layouts and their history
Miami roads were developed mostly in the 20s onward, thanks to the railroads coming in. In was designed in as a grid numbered system along with the canal system.
Highways followed, expanding with the sidestreets south and west.
Boston (to keep it in the arguement) is a dense NE, one of America's oldest, cities. There are neighborhoods that developed hundreds of years ago with a rail/highway system that was built above the streets.
Asheville was a frontier town. Hard to access until the railroad came through, and Buncombe Highway. trails (first used by hunters) were the natural choice in quite a harsh enviroment for settlers. Coming into these mountains on horse/carriage, according to written accounts, was a nightmare.
Our streets developed after our town had a center, then with a road heading to Sulphur Springs, up to Weaverville, down to where the Biltmore Estate is and out to Haw Creek.
We were late in the nation to create our city and our surroundings made it impossible to design something simple and standard.
hippy??? too damn responsible to be a hippy.
http://www.untraveledroad.com/USA/Utah/SaltLake/SaltLake.htm
I think your problem with driving in Asheville is not shared by people in general.
Or, maybe drivers are more anxious here than they are in other places, but there aren't more accidents here than there are in other places. At least not in North Carolina.
I compared the North Carolina counties. Buncombe ranks 7th among NC counties in population, and 9th in automobile accidents (data from 2005).
Actually, Durham County and New Hanover (Wilmington's county) have fewer residents and more accidents. But generally it all pans out as one might expect. Most counties have about the same number of accidents per resident.
I can't contest the gist of what you're saying: you are anxious about driving in Asheville.
On the other hand, when you look at the data with some objectivity, a person can determine if Asheville actually has more accidents than other places.
Buncombe County turns out to be about the same (for driving safety) as other places.
Im a sucker for this stuff.
But Asheville was probably like that as soon as the trains rain through town, sucking in artisans to build Biltmore, and so on.
You think 'I can't stay here', and you look out at the mountains and downtown and think of the alternatives, and it ties your insides in knots. I've spent decent amounts of time in places that deserve the word 'bliss', but I'm not sure if I could have made a sustainable, feasible living there.
So I don't think it's a happy place: it's always bittersweet. But that's quintessentially Asheville.
For example, NYC actually has a fairly LOW rate of accidents per population, but would you ever consider NYC traffic safe?
It's just that people there have learned to drive in a state of constant, anxious awareness.
That's pretty much what happens here. If you live hear long enough, you know to tense up and pay attention when you get near the 240 exits into downtown.
You learn to slow way down and whisper a prayer every time you have to use a ridiculously uncessary traffic circle.
Living in the state of driving anxiety is not bliss. And as someone who has lived here for a few years now, I agree. The Driving here can suck.