|
West side, North Carolina’s best |
|
|
|
Thursday, 30 November 2006 |
by LILLIAN HOGAN
There’s a reason you see your friends twist up their fingers and represent Westside in pictures.It’s because Westside is the best side.
I grew up in Asheville, quite possibly the best place to live in the country. Here are the top 10 reasons why Western North Carolina is the best:
1. Diversity
Lifestyles and beliefs coexist peacefully in WNC. Within a 20-minute
drive you can find country folks with affection for homemade moonshine
and getting married on horseback to downtown dwelling hip-hoppers
trying to make it in the music world by selling homemade beats.
2. Mountains
The Appalachian and Great Smoky mountains are a top destination. The
Blue Ridge Parkway – 250 miles of unadulterated nature – offers good
driving, picnicking, hiking, swimming holes…dozens of outdoor
activities plus a view.
3. Weather
There are few places that can claim four solid seasons. WNC is one of
those places. The low humidity and refreshing mountain breezes are much
better than the sticky heat in coastal Carolina.
4. Hospitality
WNC oozes friendliness. People smile at each other on the streets and
wave to strangers in their cars. WNC residents may have “locals only”
bumper stickers but they’ll still be your friend.
5. Food
The best way to describe WNC food is Southern-infused organic. In WNC
you can find healthy biscuits and gravy and perfectly made sweet tea.
Somehow WNC figured out how to make hearty southern cooking good for
your health. Shout out to Tupelo Honey Cafe in downtown Asheville and
Coyote Kitchen in Boone.
6. Music
On any given stage in WNC you can hear bluegrass, hip-hop, reggae,
rock, blues or jazz and all the fusion in between. From cozy bars with
cheap beer and an intimate stage to civic centers with capacity to hold
thousands of people, WNC brims with ear-pleasing live music.
7. Dialects
WNC has many flavors of a southern-urban blended accent that are always charming and unique.
8. Appalachian State University
Appalachian is the most underrated university in the UNC system. The
enrollment, at just under 15,000 students, is big enough to boast a
national championship football team yet small enough to know all your
professors personally.
9. Nature
WNC offers tons of rivers, like the French Broad, to make it a hub for
water sports. Outdoor enthusiasts are drawn to WNC from around the
world.
10. Asheville
Asheville, the largest city in WNC, is considered an awesome place to
live by its residents and Rolling Stone. Asheville High School, the
primary public high school, was named in Newsweek’s top 100 high
schools in the United States. The city is also a creative mecca for
artists and musicians alike - there is always something interesting to
hear or see in Asheville.
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments