North Carolina

Hey Folks,

Alright, so the wife and I (central New York and southern Sweden natives, respectively) are looking to relocate from our current home in Northern California and have been weighing our options to possible new places to settle down. One spot that has cropped up on the radar is North Carolina, specifically Asheville, or Charlotte. A little backgroud, I'm a wildlife biologist, my wife is a personal trainer/freelance photographer. We're both avid boulderers but also enjoy road/mountain biking, skiing, and other general outdoor activity. So how are these places to live? Climbing-wise, it looks pretty solid, but some local opinions would be great. Other than that, culture? Jobs? Any good coffee places? I think i pretty much just outlined the 4-5 basic things I look at as far as how a place could be to inhabit. Coffee especially. Anyways, any locals want to chime in, that would be awesome, what do you like, what do you hate. Spray me down!

Asheville is neat. A few cool coffee shops. Close climbing, a few half decent ski areas.

I've never been there, but I was at a slide show once (I think it was Todd Gordon's) where the presenter said "If someone told me that for the rest of my life I could only climb in North Carolina, I'd say, 'great!'"

Apparently there's some good rock out there!

Out of those two my recommendation would definitely be Asheville. I grew up there. It's a small city with a really great outdoors community--lots of low-key trail running, climbing, biking hardpeople. Also a big local food community, hipster community, evangelist Christian community, gay and lesbian community...it's a pretty diverse place but the city center tends be a young/progressive zone and the outlying suburbs the opposite, with rural areas a cool mix. Pretty much all of the good climbing spots in the state are within an hour or two of Asheville. I'm more of a runner than a biker but areas like Bent Creek (just outside town) and Tsali (west of Asheville near the Smokies) are east coast mountain biking hotspots, I'm told. Whitewater is also good. I've only ever been skiing once. There are a few areas but skiers I know say it's not great, and prefer to trek to WVA or the Rockies.

Maybe the best way to put it is that when I went to UNC saying I was from Asheville immediately made everyone think I was much cooler than I actually was/am. Everyone of a certain age in NC wants to go there/live there, and that makes the job market tough. BUT with your professions I bet you could find a niche. Unfortunately, public transportation there sucks. Check out West Asheville, which has its own cool vibe.

Don't have much to say regarding Charlotte. There's that whitewater center there, which sort of weirds me out. I think Asheville is a better fit for your careers.

Other good things about Asheville:

America's best brewing city (or some similar award)
lots of cool bands come through town
so many good restaurants

NC rules! I only lived there for two years, in Chapel Hill, and have since moved back to CO, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss the NC climbing. Asheville is an awesome town in terms of lifestyle, but if after-work bouldering is a high priority it's not the best- really the best close bouldering is at Rumbling Bald, which is like 45 to an hour away. If you are ok to be a weekend warrior or have a flexible work schedule then you are psyched- The Bald, Looking Glass, the Linville Gorge(!), Moore's Wall(!), Boone, etc. all all absolutely sick. For bouldering, Boone is obviously world-class, but there's good stuff to be found all over the state. One thing to consider is that there's not much sport climbing, so if you are hoping to get on a rope at all you should consider learning to trad climb. That being said, NC has hands down some of the best single-pitch trad climbing in the country! Pitch for pitch I'd put it up against any so-called climbing state in the country, no doubt. Also, the scene in NC is super chill- not alot of ego/ spray but a whole lot of hard climbing! Pretty tight-knit group of climbers who are in general very welcoming to newcomers and psyched to show you around.

Hopefully this gets you psyched. Happy to talk more if you'd like or to give you some bouldering contacts in the Asheville area.

Chandler

Thanks for all the replies guys, this is awesome! I'll sport climb once and a while, and spent a pretty significant amount of time plugging gear before I got psyched on bouldering, so all that sounds pretty solid. One thing I did foget to mention/ask about in my original post is the proximity to the closest gym. I'm big on training, so I feel like I need some descent plastic to pull on and access to a campus baord at least a couple times a week and in the off season. Anything?

Asheville = cesspool of SIN

I had my 3rd grade birthday party at ClimbMax! Used to take Mom's $5 and monkey around in my sneaks while she was getting her hair cut down the street. As far as I know it is the only option in Asheville. It's (in my opinion) really good for bouldering. I'm about a V4 boulderer and can entertain myself there easily for a few hours--there's a big cave, several overhung areas, lots of variety. Hangboards, rock rings, system board, but no weight room etc that bigger gyms have. Somewhat smaller than the big commercial gyms but has a home-grown tight atmosphere to it that I like (some of the walls and features are pretty funny in their scraped-together-ness). Roped climbing there is kind of pathetic (short), but like I said the bouldering is pretty great. There is a taller wall outside that I rarely see anyone climbing on, don't really know what the deal is with that. From what I remember the pricing is sort of steep compared to larger gyms given the poor route climbing, but I guess check the website for that.

I live in Charlotte and have been climbing for about a year now, so I'm not much help there. I weekend warrior it up and climb the sport routes at Crowders (45 minutes from Charlotte) and head up to New River Gorge or Foster Falls when I have the time. Inner Peaks is a fun gym to go to: innerpeaks.com.

The culture in Charlotte is something you'd have to actively seek out. It's much easier somewhere like Asheville or Boone where everything is so openly artsy. Charlotte feels stiff and business-oriented.

But goddamn, I love North Carolina wilderness. It doesn't get much more beautiful than Linville Gorge or the Smokies.

Asheville would definitely be the place to live but finding a job may be a little tougher. I am also a wildlife biologist, GO WOLFPACK, and the job market is pretty slim for the field out on the east coast. I've had to work in Louisiana, Texas , and Washington to find any jobs. I'm on a hold out for NC work after this past season so I wish you luck! Let me know if you do make it out this way or if you have any questions about the east coast wildlife market. It slim pickings right now but its still possible with ample experience and a masters degree

So as recent transplant to the Carolinas I feel compelled to put in my two cents. Coming from norcal, you'll probably be used to an open, friendly climbing community that doesn't mind sharing beta, directions, or a spot at the bar at your favorite post-pitch watering hole. NC climbing culture...isn't like that. Because of the history of access issues and "secret" crags in the South,local climbers of a certain area, be it Boone, Asheville, Winston-Salem or wherever tend to keep to themselves until you're recognized as a local. This season, I've bouldered at the Bald every week since mid September, and the only Brevard/Asheville local who has engaged me in conversation or not snubbed me outright was a guy who saw my out-of-state license plate and started a conversation.
Now don't get me wrong, I know there are a multitude of friendly strong climbers in the area, but I commute from SC to the bald, and I don't climb at the Asheville gym, nor have I been climbing at the bald often or long enough to be recognized as a local.
Culturally, NC climbing is also very trad-oriented for better or worse so you'll need to go to Tennessee to get sport climbs that aren't either run-out into the death zone or require gear.

Mikecease wrote:Asheville = cesspool of SIN

I don't know if I'd go that far but it is an odd place. I certainly couldn't live there, or even stand to visit for longer than it takes to stop and grab a bite to eat. I'm not a huge fan of Charlotte either, or any other large city for that matter.

Lots of good info thus far...

Asheville would be a much better choice than Charlotte, but jobs are sometimes difficult to find here. It is a small city and it's main industry is tourism. It's also a magnet for retiree's. For that reason, healthcare is the other big industry here. Beware, the pace is very slow here, particularily on the roadways... There is also a large hipster scene. With that said, Asheville offers some of the best people watching that you could ever hope for. Tons of top notch restaurants that are not overly expensive like many other places. Someone already mentioned the brew thing.

I personally chose to move to Asheville over many other cities (Chattanooga for instance) because I wanted to be close to large multi-pitch cliffs. Chattanooga (and a few other places) have more convenient crags, sometimes literally located right in town, but it's several hours drive to the bigger stuff (mostly here in NC). There is a lifetime of climbing, biking, and trail running within an hour or two of Asheville. For road bikers, the Blue Ridge Parkway comes right through the center of Asheville and makes for easy access to a quick workout. Also, the Mountains To Sea trail parallels the Pkwy through town and offers a quick hike or trail run for someone looking for a convenient lunch break workout.

As a climber I would suggest living in the southern outskirts of town, which will be much closer to the majority of the local crags. I'm 15 minutes south of downtown, but only 30 minutes away from Rumbling Bald, and Looking Glass, for example.

If you can make Asheville work, do it. I spent almost 5 years living and climbing and working in and around Brevard and Asheville. I loved every minute of it. The climbing is amazing, Linville, Looking Glass, Rumbling Bald and Whitesides are all awesome. You'll also be a weekend trip from the rest of the Southeast, The New, The Red, Chattanooga, Moores, Stone, HP40, and everywhere else!

If I hadn't had the opportunity to move to Moab (there's some climbing there too...), I'd still be there. Gosh, I miss that place! If you can land a job, make the move.

Mark

Can anyone throw out a comparison to Salt Lake City? I have some experiance with that place, both driving out from New York and spending sometime there en route to Joe's, and that's another spot we're considering as well. Seems to offer some of the same in terms of access to routes/boulders, how about rock quality in NC? Videos make it look great, but as anyone who's climbed in Joe's can attest, it's world class. Discuss!

Rock quality in NC (and the SE in general) is some of the best you'll find anywhere, it's the weather here that can be a major drawback. It rains a lot in spring and summer! Fall and winter are by far the best season.

I've only visited SLC a couple of times so I can't really comment too much on the local stone, but I have really enjoyed my trips into the Winds... only 5 hours away!

If you're a boulderer then you're going to be blown away by Rumbling Bald and the trad isn't too shabby either. I just heard this Winter it's the third largest bouldering area in the world now(easily the US). I spent a lot of time wondering around those boulders and it's f'n massive.

You'll also be pretty close to Tennessee so you'll be psyched on everything that state has to offer. It's pretty world class when it comes to single pitch trad, sport climbing and bouldering.

Charlotte is a no bueno as far as I'm concerned, but it's actually not that far from a fair amount of climbing as well. Traffic sucks, and yes it actually is just as bad as New York. But maybe Nascar is your thing?

That's my opinion at least...

The rock quality in NC tends to be great IMHO

The Orange Peel in Asheville also has high quality Rock.

Skiing in SLC is in a whole other dimension however. Not much to ski on in NC.

Everyone's hit the high points of Asheville, I'll just say I agree with almost all of them. Way better live music scene (Orange Peel) way better downtown and cultural vibe than Charlotte, but it all depends on your style. Jobs wise it sounds like you'll be better served there than Charlotte.

I've been in Charlotte for 8 years and the best thing I can say about it is that it's an easy city to get out of (3 hrs to Charleston for beach/flatwater, 2ish hrs to Asheville/Brevard, 2 hrs to any of the NC Climbing areas and you've got an airport with a direct flight everywhere). Outdoors wise you've got Crowder's close by, InnerPeaks is one of the better climbing gyms in the SE, and the whitewater center is also here, but if given a choice I'm almost always getting in my car and driving to better destinations.

As to Coffee, you've gotta like the corporate stuff in Charlotte as Starbucks and Caribou are about it.

Mike Best wrote:Everyone's hit the high points of Asheville, I'll just say I agree with almost all of them. Way better live music scene (Orange Peel) way better downtown and cultural vibe than Charlotte, but it all depends on your style. Jobs wise it sounds like you'll be better served there than Charlotte. I've been in Charlotte for 8 years and the best thing I can say about it is that it's an easy city to get out of (3 hrs to Charleston for beach/flatwater, 2ish hrs to Asheville/Brevard, 2 hrs to any of the NC Climbing areas and you've got an airport with a direct flight everywhere). Outdoors wise you've got Crowder's close by, InnerPeaks is one of the better climbing gyms in the SE, and the whitewater center is also here, but if given a choice I'm almost always getting in my car and driving to better destinations. As to Coffee, you've gotta like the corporate stuff in Charlotte as Starbucks and Caribou are about it.

What about The Not Just Coffee Shop or Central Coffee Co?