#nc mountains

[kimberly40]

This is why they call it the Blue Ridge Mountains!

•Photo taken near the Linn Cove Viaduct in Avery County, North Carolina

[gardenbicycle]

North Carolina

charliebeth.art

[thesingingbullfrog]

[stonermoons-world]

[noordinarysunset]

Sunrise at Linville Cove

Blue Ridge Parkway Linville, North Carolina

[intheholler]

This is in response to your West Virginia anon.

I'm also looking to move to the region and ironically western NC is the area I dream about. I live (unhappily) in a large northern city now but came of age down south - further south, actually, but the Blue Ridge is my happy place. I never wanted to leave the south at all but found myself in a place where I ran out of opportunities and had to leave to survive. Now I feel like my mental health demands I go back that direction.

I'm pretty poor so I don't think I'm much of a threat as a gentrifier but I AM worried about being able to make a go of it. Is it still a place where a disabled, newly sober person with a high school education (I can drive a car, for whatever that's worth, though!) can move in and be ok in terms of finding an affordable place to live and a way to make a living? Is there anywhere in particular you would suggest I go?

ayyy best carolina <333

valid concerns, honestly.

to be frank i do worry about the affordability of it all for you, and anyone else really. WNC is seriously getting fucked by snowbirds and by corps coming in and shearing off ridges to build housing plants and vacation homes.

plus, the last few years, with this weird trend of SpoOkY ApPaLaChIa, there's air bnbs everywhere taking up potential homes. young rich kids keep flocking here, taking up more precious space and giving very little back. (probably bc the only place they reliably could name in appalachia until recently was asheville, but i digress.)

and because everyone's been flocking in for the last decade/two decades, prices are sky high, even in small towns.

that's before you consider the scarcity of job availability, which may also pose an obstacle for you. jobs have always been scarce here, independent of the housing issues. growing up it was all just minimum wage retail, hospitality, gas stations, stuff like that unless you live somewhere bigger, or worked at a hospital/care home.

and there's only so much of that per tiny town with lots of residents. you (plural, general, not you specifically obviously) cant find a job in town A where you live, but you found one in town B an hour and a half away. your low paycheck is gone in the gas it takes to get there n back.

meanwhile, person in town B can't find a job in their hometown cause you done took it out of necessity. so they go to town C and find one. person in town C gotta go to town D now. so on and so on.

it's just... there's just not a lot.

pair that with the recent influx of gentrifiers, and people born here are struggling as is.

god this reply hurt my heart to write. please just let appalachia rest (not you, anon. them.)

as an aside, that is so cool about your sobriety by the way. congratulations, seriously. i know im just some asshole on the internet but im proud as fuck of you and i hope you can find a healthy, happy place to live in our beautiful hills. i'm partial to areas like clyde, sylva and cullowhee personally <3

[nappyrootedrunner1]

Some sights and sounds from yesterday’s hike at Stone Mountain, NC.

First time out there, so I opted for the namesake loop trail that took me by the fall and up to the summit. A nice day to get in a few and take in a view!

Until next time…

[theboookwitch]

Wanted to post more mutual aid/disaster relief information that I've found from friends and organizations on the ground in NC.

The situation is more dire than any news organization is reporting. If you have the means, please give. If not, please share and feel free to add anything else you've found!