Asheville: The Booming Appalachian City Transforming Its Future

Appalachia. To many it means poverty, addiction, and cold. But in Asheville, North Carolina, that couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, I have my first white neighbor, so that's kind of cool. You know, things are changing, but I think change is just a part of the city developing, but it brings them back. The whole landscape's totally different. Definitely. For better or for worse, you think drive around, you see a lot of the pride flags here. Everywhere you look, you see pride flags.

They pushing the agenda. What's Ashville like? Pretty crazy. mostly a micro brewery town, but it's super friendly and super open. You're never going to find any more just voluntary art anywhere else. Dead serious. This boom town is among America's fastest growing cities, averaging 17% population growth over the past two decades. Even after Hurricane Helen rocked the city, it's continuing to boom. But is that growth reaching the hollers around the city and the hoods within it? Is it destroying the culture and nature that make Appalachia so special? To find out, come with us to Appalachia's boom town, Asheville, North Carolina.

Our journey started out in Barnard'sville, a rural community 20 m north of Asheville that was devastated by Hurricane Helen. On these quiet fields, Asheville's boom feels far, far away. They're building like a $1.2 million house up on this mountain. Oh, wow. So that's what a lot of the locals don't like that coming in and defacing the mountains and stuff. North Fork, instead of turning on this road, you go straight on up here. Say they're putting a big housing development up towards the end of it with like 35 houses. So people are like, "Why are you doing that?"

How is it different in this area now compared to when you grew up? Totally different. Totally. Um when I grew up here, obviously it was less populated and I knew everybody that went up this road. I know nobody I grew up it was like everybody's stopping like you did to say hello how's it going you know how's your mom and dad blah and they're not my age most of the people my age I'm 56 now none of my friends are out here anymore because they moved to the city or they move away both uh I think a different type of people moving in you know growing up my grandfather had a big garden like those fields were a garden and tobacco you know people not with tobacco now. People not growing great big gardens for their

whole family. You know, you going to run the Engles fresh market. This whole area, like Asheville, is still recovering from the hurricane. And as we headed toward Asheville, we stopped by a trailer park that we had visited after that storm. So, back when we had like 20,000 subscribers on YouTube, we came down here after Hurricane Helen and we were right here. We met this guy who's living in a tent because this whole trailer park here have been wiped away all the way down this river. Did you live in one of these trailers? There's six of them gone. Where's your gone? Gone. Six of them, man. I ain't never seen no [__] like here. It's crazy. So they start coming through here and it looked like a bomb right now.

Oh yeah. As soon as you came down that hill, that's when it was like cuz obviously that's the closest place to the creek. But yeah, it's it was insane. But yeah, it's everything's fine now. Kind of getting back to normal a little bit cuz I actually grew up like I live most of my life. I told you the national forest up there. I lived beside it growing up. So how's it different now? Oh dude, it's just it doesn't look the same. And I don't think it ever will in my lifetime. It'll never look the same. I guess you would call it the next little Florida kind of. Yeah. Which like I said, most of the homes I work on,

those like $10 million homes and stuff though, they're secondary homes. Most of them. Wow. Yeah. If you want to work, I mean, if you don't have money, you just you're just not trying. Like we're having a hard time hiring people where I work. That's how like it's it's ridiculously hard to hire people. Like I said, us being having Asheville as an anchor. There's a ton of work in Asheville just and it's what 25 minutes from here. So, you know, it's there if you want to work. Now, we'll go to the million-dollar homes that man was talking about next. But first, hearing about Asheville's boom made us think of today's sponsor, Current. Current is a banking app that

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Carolina responded with smart investments and marketing that positioned Asheville as Appalach's hub for culture and the outdoors. Today, transplants are flocking, like this woman who lived in South Asheville among mansions and country clubs. Driving through here. The landscapes are beautiful. The houses are beautiful. Everything. Is it as good as it seems? It is. We're retired. I think there's a lot of people retired that choose to move here because for the full year it's really moderate temperature.

My husband looked up years ago where in the United States is the best temperature year round. It was here or Carmeal Valley, California. So, why'd you decide to leave Carmemell and come here? Much less expensive. Yeah. Cost of living is much less here. Is it Are a lot of people around here? Is it mostly transplants or a lot of southerners too or Carolina? It's a mix. There's people I think these people like across the road have been here for a long time, but um there's like I said, there's a lot of people that have retired here from New York, Florida, or sometimes people have

a lot of second homes here, too. I mean, if you want to raise a family, I think this is a great place. Thousands of older, wealthy transplants like her have fueled a boom in everything from construction to pickle ball. Some though worry it's gone too far. I moved from California with a couple kids. So this was 23 years ago. There were late night advertisements on TV sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Asheville. I didn't move here because of that, but you're just watching late night TV and all of a sudden a picture of the Buildmore house and the hills and the first time I ever heard the word Asheville. But they were selling it, in other words, nationwide.

Yeah. Wherever they could buy time. Well, the it's interesting to us because we shot a lot of videos around Appalachia and all over Appalachia. Every town you go to, they say like, "We want to be Asheville." Careful for what you wish for. Uh hopefully businesses will pick up and all, but I pity young people moving here because prices are high. Yeah. Because people moving here don't have to get a job. They have pensions and can buy whatever they want and never have to worry about money. But people your age working at Starbucks or scrambling to get something, they can't afford starting 600 to $800,000 houses. Rents 3,000 a month,

you know. So indeed, rents and home prices are soaring of 50% just since 2023. Luxury highrises are going up everywhere, threatening the city's character, while high rents are forcing many out of the city, particularly black residents. The city's white population has jumped 26% since 2000, while its black population has fallen 20%. Once black areas are quickly becoming white, as we learned in the city's hood, so right now we're in like what would be the hood of Asheville. It's really small. It's pretty tame. But here you see right here, right down here is all public housing. Then at the top of the hill is a beamer, a bunch of new buildings. Pure gentrification right here. I mean, it's it couldn't be more

stark that compared to this. Shallow where I'm from is like one of the last um black neighborhoods as actual houses. But this is like the hood. This is the hood. Yeah, this is the hood. You in the y'all in the middle of the hood. Doesn't feel too bad. I told it's not that bad. Hey. You don't normally see golden doodles in the hood. Oh, I've seen a lot of change in shallow. A lot of gentrification, urban renewal. Um, I think it's good and bad depend on depending on the perception. I mean, I have my first white neighbor, so

that's kind of cool, you know, because even in my neighborhood, the property taxes have risen for like the people that live in Shiloh that are, you know, older. So, Mfort was historically black and if you were black and had a home in Mford, you were wealthy. And then again you get urban renewal and gentrification. These people move in and people can't afford their taxes. They might pay the house off but then the taxes are you know through the roof or you know even going back to Shala with the flood we were like I live on Caribou. My mom's flood insurance went up on the policy like significantly amount and you know and she's on a fixed income. me and my siblings are able to help her, but if we weren't, that would

be, you know, something that would push a person out of their home. And mom's been there since 1972, I think. No, 80 82. Yes. She's been there a long time. Others we met like her, didn't mind the changes, but had some concerns. A lot of backyards nobody using outside. Nobody's going outside cuz technology. So, they'll like they'll take that lot right there, build a whole new house right there. that person own that they can make more money by just selling that lot to somebody else and build a house right it's got to be good for business though right yeah somewhat all right so if you are ever in Asheville North Carolina you got to get

something clean janitorial services we're going to troy atcleanashurenet that's right Troy big Troy As you get older, you think you'll stick around Asheville? No, I won't be here. I mean, I have a daughter, of course. I'm I'm probably going to move somewhere in Houston. I'm a party man. You feel what I'm saying? Like, Asheville is not a party city. You know what I'm saying? Why? [__] man. Money and [__] Houston's better than like Atlanta or I think Atlanta, you know, not saying nothing against the LGBTQ, but I'm just saying Atlanta got a lot of DL,

a lot of transgenders. I don't obey those type of things. You know what I'm saying? I don't [__] with those type of things. That's funny cuz you drive around, you see a lot of the pride flags here. Everywhere you look, you see pride flags. They pushing the agenda. They Why do you think they're doing that? To [__] with the younger generation's head. Honestly, I feel like, you know, they got it in books now. You know, they making it popular in school now. Like, I just I honestly don't know why, but I don't like it. But what about Asheville is attracting so many people? To find out, we headed to the River Arts District, which is rated best arts district in the US by

USA Today, but was devastated in the hurricane. What's Asheville like? Pretty crazy. mostly a micro brewery town, but it's super friendly and super open. You're never going to find any more just voluntary art anywhere else. Dead serious. Also, probably some of the nicest and most understanding people been here for the past oh wow 20 years now. Uh I'm actually down from South Florida. Way too much stress, ways too much dazzle out there, man. Came up here. It's a much slower pace. Living qual like living quality is pretty solid, too. like everybody worried about the state of the world right now and whatnot. It's not hard to make a living out here. I think that's probably pays into why everybody's so chill.

In general, I would say from a business perspective, things have gotten better. Still need a lot more. you know, they you don't want the stop of that, but because everybody is reliant on people that come down here and shop and eat and do those things. I'm originally from Chicago, but I've lived here for 11 years, but you know, it's that's a big city and this has a lot more out opportunities. I love to fly fish. I like to hike. I like to do things outdoors and can't beat Ash for that. Everywhere you look, music. A heavy metal guy over here. Bluegrass over there. Another blueg grass. Some kind of rockers at the other end.

I'm from Columbia, South Carolina originally. Moved here from Seattle. I'm 22. Just working jobs, getting out here. How is it here? Yeah. Oh, it's beautiful, man. You know, it's one of those towns where like if you embrace others, others will embrace you and like you can just go out and just see your friends. You don't really have to like make any plans. It's a mecca of a lot of things, but one thing I can say is there's a lot of really good local up and cominging artists here. A lot of voices on the streets, a lot of voices in the venues all around.

Everybody's just kind of supporting one another, getting by. It's really sweet. What's really cool is this town brings a lot of people from all over the Southeast. And um if you're willing to put yourself out there, you can make an impression. Will somebody run Glendale train this morning? Will somebody run Glendale train? And I swear I ain't lying. I went military and I got out hung out my place for like 4 years and then come here and like so 30 years. How's the city changed those 30 years? How has it changed? It's the drugs. It's horrible. And you know a lot of things they're allowing to happen. I'm I'm going What are you trying to pull that Oregon thing? you know, where they just

let you do whatever pretty much, man. Cuz there's people running around with like a chicken with their head cut off and nobody's doing nothing about it. I mean, it's beautiful. It's lively. There's a lot of people out. There are also a lot of homeless people. There's some kind of sketchy characters in this little park here. But overall, it's a beautiful downtown and seems to be thriving compared to so many other places we go to. Before leaving, we headed back out to the country to meet Joseph, a chef from Minnesota who now operates the Smashville food truck. He took us into the mountains to show us what Asheville is really all about.

Blooming our dog woods, so that's it's the start of wildflower season right now, which is really cool. We tell folks the spring is the best time here with all the wild flowers and everything coming back to life is the time to be here. Yeah, it's funny because when you, you know, when you're in Asheville and you're talking to people, everyone's like, "Oh, you know, it's a great outdoor destination, great art, great music, but you always hear outdoor." You hear it, then you come up here and just look at this. It's like, this is what it's all about. This is to me what really the whole area is all about. It's just the simple, free, beautiful things that you can enjoy and everyone should be able to enjoy.

Asheville proves that Appalachia can be the basis of not just poverty but prosperity. Whether it can do so while retaining its unique people, values, and culture, though remains an open question. So, can Appalachia both prosper and keep its character? In Asheville, the experiment to find out is underway. So, we just stopped at the smoothie shop here in Asheville. I got this delicious small business, the best kind of thing you can do. A real made with love kind of smoothie. And it just reminded me so much of the mission of this page. Capture the world without bias or fear. We believe in having putting our heart into every story we do. Okay? This is not some corporate media where they're

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