We moved to North Carolina a little over a year ago. We fell in love with its natural beauty, especially the volume of waterfalls in every direction. Having been stuck in Florida for two years, I was desperate for this exciting change.

But I didn’t fall in love with it right away. 

Yes, I love the mountains and waterfalls, but I also lived almost 10 years in Colorado and the Rockies easily beat the Appalachians in magnificent beauty. It probably took me so long to really get a feel for the place because of where we started.

The first space we lived in was a rented bedroom in a house shared with 3 other humans, 4 dogs total, and 3 cats. It was a 45 minute drive to Asheville or to the Tennessee border. I commuted most days 45 minutes to a high-stress job that made me dread any reason to go into the city. We couldn’t really make friends because we didn’t live near people, and even if we did there was nothing to do in the don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it town. Grocery trips were intentionally planned every two weeks.

Don’t get me wrong, I still admired the beauty we woke up to every day. My evening commute had me chasing the sunset into the Great Smoky Mountains with its steamy peaks. But living so far away, I missed the convenience and diversity that I took for granted in Florida.

Turns out, we just needed to be closer to the city.

We ended up finding a place to rent (that didn’t cost a vital organ) just on the edge of the downtown area. It would be a space just for ourselves, which was huge since I was feeling cramped and wound up in our previous arrangement. The heart of downtown is a 10 minute drive, or I can hop on the bus line and get to most places in town. I can walk to the library or grocery store. I can plan a spontaneous hang out with friends. I have more opportunities to make friends! 

It really is amazing how much geography can affect your perspective of a place. Before, I thought Asheville was very bland, very “white” — compared to Florida overall it still very much is — but there is more diversity and flavor here than I thought. The city is definitely growing and definitely attracts a mob of tourists, so even though locals scoff at it, I’m a little excited about it because I see more new and cool things about this city.

Like today, I went to grab coffee with a friend (which took me exactly 8 minutes from the time I left my house to the time I pulled up to the cafe). On a whim, I wandered downtown to a bookshop I heard about and hung out for a bit because it wouldn’t take me long to get back home. And as I walked back to my car, I watched a shirtless man bomb a hill on a Target shopping cart. It’s so weird here, but this is the kind of stuff I missed living so far away.

And when I need to escape the city life, I can hop onto the Blue Ridge Parkway in either direction toward the waterfalls that drew us here in the first place. Not to mention, the traffic here is nothing to sweat about compared to everywhere I lived in Florida.

I think I’m getting used to this.

Now, would I still give it all up to live in New York City? 100%. I’m not that much of a country bumpkin yet. 

But for right now, where I am, I’m content and happy.

It’s funny, many years ago when I drove through the Carolinas on a high school road trip with my friend, I thought North Carolina would be such a great place to settle down. Here I am starting to do just that; and honestly, it really isn’t too bad of a place to do so.

Would still love a bit more diversity in these parts. Even though locals will try to dissuade people from moving here, I kind of hope we get some new flavors in these woods. It’s happening, though. There’s a cool Filipinx fusion restaurant I’m dying to try called Neng Jr.’s, so it seems like we’re on the right path.

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I WISH I got a photo of the guy zoomin’ down Lexington in a Target cart. But here’s a collection of photos that show how beautiful and weird Western North Carolina (especially Asheville) is. I dig it.