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There are some interesting area facts about Asheville on http://www.homefacts.com/North-Carolina/Buncombe-County/Asheville/communityinfo.html. Great source for neighborhood info.
I never comment on blogs – but I have to put in my 2 cents here. I live in East West Asheville, between the French Broad River and Haywood Road; in the neighborhood that extends behind the Rocket Club. I’m a young female and bought my house with a friend a little over 2 years ago. And let me say – I LOVE my neighborhood. I know there has been a lot of hype about W Avl (anyone remember that awesomely hilarious Disclaimer article some years back with the headline: "West Asheville Announces Has Fallen in Love with Self; Wants to Marry Self" Ha – so true at times.) I didn’t live here then and, having grown up in North Asheville and certainly heard all the "Worst Asheville" stereotypes all my life, I’m sure I never thought I would be a proud advocate of the whole Love West Asheville movement. But now, I must say, there really is a great sense of community and MY experience of our neighborhood at least, is that it’s as safe as any other non-gated, non-ALL-rich community, convenient, diverse, and full of interesting yet different people.
I walk my dog all the time – people are friendly and say hello; we know the owners of all our great local businesses – from the Admiral to Custom to Harvest Records to the new Izzy’s (yay for that!) I walk to the Admiral and back at night with friends, to Sunny Point on Sundays, down to the Westville Pub for trivia, to the Wedge for a drink. I can walk downtown; I can get to work in less than 5 minutes (I work downtown), and when we had the gas shortage and resulting freak-out, I proudly didn’t participate – just parked my car and was able to get around solely by bike and foot with no problem. I love my own quiet little city-neighborhood type street – it’s diverse and friendly, a true hodgepodge of people that all sit out on our porches and wave to each other as the neighborhood kids bike by. No, it’s not Lakeview Park and doesn’t have the huge beautiful homes of North Asheville, but I for one truly feel safe, I love my neighbors on all sides, and almost every day when I walk my dog, I smile to myself and am grateful I wound up here. You guys can hate all you want – but that is my true personal experience, no propoganda. From my own experience these past few year, I think our accolade was well-deserved.
well, i live in west asheville, 1 block from the coffee shop and pub i moved here in 92. i paid 28k for my house. my parents and grandparents are all west asheville residents (although i grew up in north asheville near kimberly). i feel i can speak to this subject pretty well. i used to come to west asheville to visit my grandmothers …
i can speak to the fact that since i have lived here i haven’t seen violent crimes. ‘course i don’t hang in pva. otherwise, i feel fairly safe. my only concern is the gentrification of west asheville and all the bullshit greenbuilt development that is happening in my mountains. in addition it is friggin’ annoying to watch every one moving in here and making it hard for locals like my sons to afford to buy a home or compete in our job market. 200k for a 1000 sq ft 90 year old house is absolutely ridiculous (but if i were to move away, i’ll take it!)
i do love it here. i’ve made a home here since i moved here with two little boys in the early 90s when it offered nothing but a grocery outlet, winn dixie and then beanwerks coffee. i live in an amazing neighborhood with most of the folks coming from all walks of life living here almost 20 years or more, not just the hip & trendies who have started moving here in the past few years. (there is not a lot of people buying/selling on our street we come & stay put!).
i dunno, i don’t feel any safer or happy since w. asheville shifted from a primarily working class are to whatever the population is now. i liked it before and i like it now.
so, i will just sit back and enjoy my house, large garden, safe streets to walk, good place to raise kids, convenient grocery shopping (grove corner market opens tomorrow!), organic tailgate market & hitting beanwerks for the best coffee in town.
"get out of the virtual space and actually go outside and meet people, roll up your sleeves, support all worthwhile local ventures, and utilize some of the verbal energy into positive change."
I’ve witnessed enough.
I was born in Malvern Hills in W.Asheville 45 years ago & still live in the area. It’s fine, much changed but fine nonetheless. It’s not shangri-la & it definitely has areas that I don’t feel safe going to, but hey–at least that house I bought 23 yrs ago for $40,000 is worth $280,000 now : ) Articles like this one creating too much demand for one area are part of the reason we have out of control development around here. Please note I said "part" of the reason….
It’s funny how soon some of us forget that no more than 10 years ago Montford (the "holy grail" of Asheville) was a staple topic on the nightly news for prostitution, crack houses, and all other sorts of sundry vices. Of course Montford too still has its share of problems (like all corners of the city) but the community coalesced, City Seeds brought a community garden to the mix, and many visionary young families moved to the area to work hard for a safe, green and beautiful community. I graduated UNCA in 1997 and many houses in Montford could be had for less that $100,000. Why is it a bad thing that it has become a highly sought-after neighborhood with homes averaging in the $300-400,000’s? Good for those hard-working visionary investors..shame on me for not tapping into the revitalization spirit when the getting was good.
So…maybe you think West Asheville is a dump…join me and my family who live there now, invest in the community (you think its pricey now…I hate to tell you..it’s not going to ever go back to those mythical Mens Journal days of $130,000), get out of the virtual space and actually go outside and meet people, roll up your sleeves, support all worthwhile local ventures, and utilize some of the verbal energy into positive change.
"greenasheville, looking at your comments here and your blog, it would appear that you don’t like much about the world in which you live. Life’s too short to be a hater."
Whole Nutter Thang: Indeed, I don’t like at all what has become of Asheville, but, oh contrar, I am not a hater. I bitch because I love this place and hate to see what it has become. I moved here over 15 years ago because it was affordable and charming. It has become expensive and pretentious. Please do not call me bitter or scournful because I speak the wisdom of truth. I am in the process of buying my Turtle Island, a ridgetop slice of paradise in the Smoky Mountains that cannot be destroyed by greedy developers. Hopefully it will remain affordable and charming there for at least the next 20 years. And, I’m not going to say where it is because I don’t want everyone moving there and making it expensive and pretentious! Cheerio!
Ok ok, so maybe West Asheville isn’t the safest, but I live in North Asheville, near Beaver Lake, and who knows, one day we might have our fair share of crime. I used to live in Bent Creek and loved the area. I have good buddies that live in West Asheville and love it and experience more of a community/neighborhood feel than I ever will in N. Asheville. All I know is I drive out of my way to support the great businesses popping up in west like Custom, The Admiral, Two Spoons, Lucky Otter, Minx, diggable pizza, West End Bakery, etc. THat has to account for something. Oh, and think of how wonderful it would be if all these people commenting here put our minds together and actually worked to find a solution to the crime in the area instead of just ranting about it!
It is every bit as bad as I say it is. You just wanting to see faux community that Haywood Road puts on as West Asheville. When W Asheville includes everything I mentioned and more. Its still dangerous, as ever it was just because you paint over rust doesnt eliminate the rust.
Other parts of the city are much better then W Asheville, what about the guy that was robbed so many times he had to close up shop?? This happend less then a mile from the Sunny Point in W ASHEVILLE.
The facts are skewered because most people are enamored with the Colony of Haywood road, they consider it W Asheville in its entirity, when in fact its not.
of all the areas in this city, west asheville is definitely the most undesirable. i know they have tried to gentrify it in recent years, but the person who said it was mostly sketchy is right on target. i feel bad for those folks who bought expensive places at crest center and have to travel thru the ugly stretches of emma rd, patton ave and leicester highway.
east asheville is somewhat better and south asheville is just too developed. without a doubt, north asheville is far more attractive in terms of a place to live, amenities and beauty. i don’t think this poll has any meaning at all. just my 2 cents worth about worst asheville.
greenasheville, looking at your comments here and your blog, it would appear that you don’t like much about the world in which you live. Life’s too short to be a hater.
I think I’d better take the "Save Our Slopes" sticker off my car. I wouldn’t want it to be exposed to the filth, crime and freaks of West Asheville.
greenasheville, yes a true gem, just like Tunnel Road and Airport Road and Hendersonville Road and Merrimon Avenue and… well, you get the point.
Kaleb, to each his own, i suppose. i avoid south Asheville at pretty much all costs.
I would not choose to live in 28806 when there are many other areas of Asheville that are so much nicer, more attractive, have better amenities and a higher quality of housing stock. Yes, there are a few nice streets, but for the most part 28806 is sketchy. The area around Emma Rd is especially bad and run down and Patton Ave is a long strip of ugly establishments. Some areas have improved, but for the most part, I’d avoid it.
and lets not forget Patton Avenue, the Fucking Jewel of the Blue Ridge!
On the one hand, you don’t want West Asheville defined as only Haywood Road. But on the other, you don’t want to consider other areas. It’s all in the 28806 zip code.
So the question is – how do you define West Asheville? Haywood Road and Pisgah View Apartments?
I’m not ignoring the problems of West Asheville. But my point is that it’s not as bad as you say it is. And it’s better now than it was five years ago.
There is, but the fact you are ignoring that W Asheville bad parts and propping it up as something its not. You are saying that its not as dangerous as I claim but it is, every bit as so. Those Public Housing effects the entire area I live next to one so I know, its a nice neighborhood but what spills out of their does harm the area.
What about the ownr at the bottom of Diaper hill in WEST ASHEVILLE that was robbed so many times he had to sell and move? Thats safe? And that has happened in the recent memory.
Leicester HIghway to the locals is considred Leicester and Alexander respectively. Bent Creek is Bent Creek. Thats like saying Shiloh is part of Biltmore or Biltmore forest.
Asheville Dweller, you’re the one that’s not seeing the big picture — all you apparently focus on is the public housing complexes. There’s a lot more to West Asheville than that. I agree with you that there’s more to West A than Haywood Road.
Look at Brucemont Circle. Look at the new developments going up further out on Leicester Highway. Check out Bent Creek.
PVA says it all and from what the other poster mentioned West Asheville is not the Land of Milk and Honey that everyone so desperately try to make it. Lets see West Asheville extends beyond the Colony of Haywood road;
so that include the the resturant near the bowling alley where someone got shot in the face, and the place has been a constant magnet to illegal activities?
I mentioned PVA, but lets not forget Bingam Heights, Deaverview Apartments, Hillcrest Apartments All in the same area.
And lets not forget all the other streets in W Asheville that have been read about almost daily iin in the AC-T for drug busts.
But we forget to look at the big picture just like we forget that for every aspect of Asheville. Asheville Extends beyond the colony of Haywood Road, The Tunnel, Biltmore and the bridge.
Jamie, where are there trailers in West Asheville? I thought Leicester had pretty much cornered the market on trailers. General blight? Do tell.
West Asheville is not north Asheville, with its Kimberly Avenues and Country Club Drives. West Asheville is not south Asheville, with its apartment and condo complexes. And West Asheville is not east Asheville, with its Haw Creeks and bucolic parks.
But overall, I think 28806 is solid. It’s no worse than Oakley. It’s no worse than those trailer parks off Merrimon Ave. and Airport Road. It’s no worse than some parts of Montford, and all of South French Broad. It’s no worse than any public housing complex in the city.
if you like living with freaks then Worst Asheville is for you!
West Asheville is indeed WORST Asheville. There has been some improvement in a few select areas, but the place is still pretty down-at-heels and has more than its share of trailers, junked cars in yards and general blight.
greenasheville, speeding and dogs running wild is a far cry from "violence."
prostitution and drug dealing can be found all over Asheville, not just West Asheville.
and there’s no serial killer on Craven Street. period. stop spreading that falsehood. a man was arrested and charged with assaulting a woman. he has not been charged with anything else.
What about the prostitution, drug dealing and our very own serial killer on Craven Street just to name a few of the highlights of W. Asheville. I’ve lived in Worst Asheille for over 10 years. The only thing that’s really changed is the population increase. I can’t walk my dog down the street without stray dogs attacking or almost being run over by a car going 60 mph down Riverview Drive. The new people who have moved in have no respect! They let their dogs run loose and speed everywhere!
Asheville Dweller: West Asheville is a "fairly violent place"? Really? Do you have the stats to back that statement up?
From what I can tell, the Weed and Seed program the past few years has cut down the number of serious incidents at places like Pisgah View. But my sense is that violence – assaults, rapes – are pretty rare in other West Asheville pockets.
Lol Obviously they left out PVA as being in West Asheville. Too bad all they did was visit the Colony of Haywood street and thought "nice". If they looked a little deeper they would of seen that West Asheville is a fairly violent place.