The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan Lagniappe columnist

Oh dear….oh dear. Kevin and I spent last weekend in Asheville visiting my brother and sister-in-law. Well actually, we only spent about 12 hours together. I arrived Friday evening and left on Sunday afternoon. Kevin arrived Saturday evening for a running workshop on Sunday. So we were just kayaks passing in the night (this is the Blue Ridge Mountains; there are no ships).

“How did you like Asheville?” I asked Kevin on Monday evening when we finally connected again via cell phone.

“I think we should move there,” Kevin said, just like that. Oh, dear (another four-letter word came to mind, but I’ll leave the foul language to Boozie).

Now, I’m here to tell you, no way I’m moving someplace so backward they don’t let the kids out of school for Mardi Gras. Not that Kevin and I have kids (we don’t), but it’s the principal of the thing. I know Kevin was just yanking my chain – he loves LA as much as I do – but still….

Let’s try to put all this in perspective. When Kevin and I moved to Mobile, it was our third move in three years. Two of the moves were my idea; one was Katrina’s idea. None were his idea. Kevin made it perfectly clear the next time he heard the words, “what would you think about moving to…,” I was going to hear the words “you’re served.”

So why the sudden urge to move? Lack of oxygen, from all that running at high altitudes? The aftereffects of some greenery he found while hiking the backwoods? No telling, but I have to admit I was pretty smitten with Asheville myself.

There are some obvious differences between Asheville and Mobile. Asheville is a good bit smaller (about 70,000 people vs. about 200,000 or so here), somewhat cooler and lower humidity (although not much more so in August) and much hillier. There are no beaches or palm trees there (bless their hearts). There’s a square-dancing, dulcimer-picking vibe that’s totally different from our Gulf Coast culture. I saw a shop there named Jubilee, but I bet you won’t find many people who know their way around a real Jubilee. My brother had a coffee table book about living with bears (Is it all that different than living with alligators? They both just want to eat us.).

When I checked the key stats on Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” Web site, I saw more similarities than differences. Asheville and Mobile have similar demographics. We’re a little younger (34.3 vs. 38.9 years) and fatter (28 vs. 26 BMI). We’re a little less educated (59.3 percent of Mobilians have completed some college vs. 62.7 percent of Ashevillians), but we both have roughly the same amount of money to spend (about $53,000 per family per year) once you take into account the cost of living.

So what’s so different – and special – about Asheville that Kevin would dare to utter the “m” word, knowing I still have the 800 number for PODS in my cell phone?

Let’s just say Asheville is my (and his) vision of Mobile in five years. It has a vibrant, thriving downtown: block after block of restaurants, sidewalk cafes, shops, you name it.

But Asheville’s appeal is about much more than just a hip and happening downtown. The most striking thing is the emphasis on local business. Nary a CVS or Mickey D’s or Starbucks in sight, at least in the main part of the city. From the Drip-a-lator Coffee Shop to the Malaprops Bookstore and the French Broad Food Co-op, every restaurant, every coffee shop, every grocery store we saw appeared to be locally owned. And these locally owned businesses seem to make an extra effort to sell goods produced by other local businesses. There’s even a big farmers’ market – the 36-acre Western North Carolina Farmer’s Market – open seven days a week year-round. And there are a number of other tailgate markets around town, open weekends and some weekdays.

OK, let’s face it, it’s easy to go somewhere for one short weekend and see nothing but greener grass and lattes brewed from Fair Trade beans. There’s no doubt Asheville has its issues, like every other city. And this little piece of paradise didn’t just happen. It’s been evolving over the last 15 years with many challenges along the way.

We got panhandled once. This seems to be a real issue; the local equivalent of the Downtown Alliance has a program to combat panhandling. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise – they didn’t have this problem 15 years ago because they didn’t have any people downtown 15 years ago.

Parking was somewhat challenging, as it is in Mobile. But there are three public parking garages downtown that offer cheap-to-free parking. Houses cost a lot more there than they do in Mobile (median price of $169,000 vs. $131,850). And I’m sorry to report they do have the occasional Wally World and CVS, discreetly hidden away off the interstate a few miles from town.

So no, Kevin, I’m not moving to Asheville, thank you very much. But I do think there’s a lot we Mobilians can learn from the mountain folks there. Against the odds, they are hanging onto a local culture you won’t find anywhere else, and local businesses are thriving in that culture.

If you have the chance, take a trip north to Asheville and see what the future of Mobile could look like a few years from now.

Sharman Egan is Lagniappe lagniappe columnist. Contact her at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com.

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