West Asheville - From Worst Ashevile to FIRST Asheville!

Men's Journal Magazine recently named West Ashevile one of the best neighborhoods in the Southeast. According to Britta Waller, editor, “Even after nearly two decades of growth, West Asheville is still basically what downtown Asheville was like a decade ago. Keeping it funky was a priority for a population young enough to not yet care about saving for retirement.”

There are two commercial hubs in West Asheville, both off Haywood Road (its main street for more than 100 years). One creative cluster is just west of Interstate 240, home of Harvest Records, Blue Ridge Biofuels, dressmaker Brooke Priddy, Izzy's coffeeshop and The Admiral, a bar with an eclectic collection of music in its juke box. The other cluster surrounds the Westville Pub, a walk-to restaurant that's an after-hours place for young professionals who live nearby. Orbit DVD, Digable Pizza, West End Bakery are all there, too.

North and south of both areas are tree-lined streets that are decades old. Grocery shopping for many on the west side is an easy walk away (the Grove Corner Market has moved into the space where the Haywood Road market co-op was).

West Asheville is one of the few places you can actually walk to the restaurants and shops, and you just don't get that everywhere. It has that small-town feeling.

In 2007, Natural Home Magazine ranked West Asheville as its top eco-friendly community. Revitalized in the 1990s, West Asheville has affordable, renovated and fixer-upper bungalows and cottages, plus a fashionable commercial district, tree-lined streets, historic architecture and a small-community feel.

Winter Green

It’s still several days away from the first of November and we’ve already had some snow! Last year, at this same time, we hadn’t even had our first frost. But, the weather has definitely taken a turn toward cold and I’ve been running out every evening and again in the morning, to cover and uncover my tender, cool weather plants. I have row covers over my cabbage and radishes and cold frames (sort of – it’s really discarded windows on top of 3 by 5 bed raised bed frames) over my lettuce, spinach and bok choy.

Today it reached a high of 51 – better than the 41 yesterday. I went out this morning and uncovered everything and then this evening before it got dark, covered it all up again. I plan on repeating this until it’s useless to do so. So far, my plants look healthier than before the cold snap.

It’s a lot of trouble but worth it. I’m having fresh salads every other day. And it’s organic. I’m also saving some money. But this “chore” is more than that. I am in control. I am avoiding the cost of shipping in food that I can grow for myself. I feel independent. Yes, I know there are still hundreds of other products that are shipped in that I need and buy, but this is one small step toward not participating in that vast dependency that we are ensnarled in.

I think though the greatest reward is that covering and uncovering my plants every day is the reconnection I have with nature. During the winter, I want to withdraw and be in the warm comfort of my home. Who wants to be outdoors in the cold, windy air? If it weren’t for the small fall/winter garden, I’d just go from house to car to building to car to house. All day long. Ignoring the fresh air, the sounds, and the touch of the soil. So I am grateful for my little patch of land.

I wish that everyone could feel the experience and the beauty in this small action. I know many people want to and can’t. And I know many people can but won’t. I hope, as a eco-realtor that I can help those who want to. I hope as a writer that I can help those who can - will.

Communication

We do this with each other all day long. I tell you about how I think about or feel about something. You hear it and it feels and sounds to me as if you understand. The same is reverse, and so it goes with many more people for each of us all day long.

How do I really know that what I just shared with you and what you understand about that is the same understanding that I have? How can I know that what’s in my head is in your head and that we’ve reached a mutual agreement?

I recently read about Elizabeth Newton, a psychologist, who did an experiment about just that. She divided two groups of people and asked one group to rap out, with their knuckles on a table, a song they were hearing from earphones. Another group would listening to the rap and try to recognize the song. Before starting the experiment, she asked the rappers to estimate how many times the listening group would understand the beat of the music from their knuckles. They estimated it would be about 50% of the time. But the results of the experiment revealed that the listeners only got it right 2.5% of the time.

Granted, we can use mutually agreed upon meanings for words and visuals like our body and hand movements to help ourselves be understood. But even so, just a look around the world and our own sphere of influence, and we can see there is a lot of misunderstanding.

How can we minimize that, not only in our business, but also in our lives? We have to be aware. I think we have to constantly remind ourselves that it’s very possible that what’s in my head is not the same as what might be in your head.

“Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.” I’m the first to admit, mostly because of what I experience in my head, that most of us have narcissistic tendencies. Most often, we first seek to be understood.

In my design business, it is imperative that I understand my client’s problems and desires. I have to ask questions. I have to interpret their answers. I have to understand their business and what their problems are. At the beginning of a client consultation, I have to listen deeply and forget about everything I think I know.

I like this quote from Andrew S. Grove, co-founder of Intel in Fortune Magazine in 2005: When everybody knows that something is so, it means that nobody knows nothing’. It becomes harder for us to look beyond what we already know. When knowledge and expertise increases, creativity and ability to innovate taper off. I think once we’ve become expert at what we do or know, it becomes almost impossible to look beyond and imaging not knowing what we know.

So, how can we increase our ability to understand? First, be aware that it’s easy to misunderstand the other. Second, have the intention to understand. Thirdly, ask questions, listen deeply. Set aside your own assumption. Come to the conversation with a beginner’s mind. And finally, remember communication only happens when there is a shared understanding. There are many ways to confirm a shared understanding: in deign, a client agrees on a comp; in real estate, the buyer and seller have signed a contract, or in our personal lives, it can be as simple as showing up at a certain time to see a movie, as enthralling as saying marriage vows, or a complicated as resolving a conflict.

Land and Legacy

It’s been six months since my last blog. I’ve been very busy in the busy world doing lots of busy, busy things.

However…it’s the end of the year – and almost at the start of another one – that we often allow time to slow down, take stock and reflect on what has been and what may be.

For me, this January 1st, I will do the opposite of what I was doing on January 2005. I will be driving to Manhattan, rather than away from it. That was the day I moved to Asheville from NYC.

I’m off for a few days to see a couple of clients and visit old friends.

But, when I return, the year promises some changes in my life because of the changes I made in my life recently.


I earned my real estate license, and I’ve spent the last several months immersing myself in all the available opportunities to learn about the market. I’ve also finally got serious about looking after my investments and paying attention to the financial market. I’ve gotten a thorough education on just have closely those two are related. I think we all have.

I’ve always had an interest in this area of life –now, I have an opportunity to hone in on them and use the knowledge to help create the life that I want for myself.

If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know I’ve had a keen interest in gardening and sustainability – mostly since my short stint in Byron Bay, Australia. Real estate is, after all, primarily about land – who owns it, controls it, uses it, improves it, and wastes it. It is natural that I am interested and involved.

I guess I became intensely interested when I discovered that Asheville has an Eco-steward certification. I love this! Agents who go through this 36-hour program are in a position to advise clients toward better, more sustainable and energy efficient homes. Perfect for me, because I sometimes think I’m a perpetual student – I love going to classes and learning. I need the structure (I’m a triple Pisces - need I say more?) and I appreciate the discipline.

When I took the Asheville Board of Realtors Orientation a short while back, I was thrilled with my choice of getting my real estate license when the instructor asked me to read aloud the Preamble to the Code of Ethics for the National Association of Realtors:

“Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization. REALTORS¨ should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.”

I learned from my grandparents – small farmers in the southeast – that when you own your land (whether we can really “own” land is another blog for another day), you are your own person. You can feed yourself and shelter yourself. You can not only survive but live a more healthy, both physically and spiritually, in world of nature and earth.

The land was here before us, and will be here long afterward. We must respect it and protect it. And return, we are bountifully rewarded. If not – well, we reap what we sow.

May the New Year bring us all love, peace, respect, and joy.

Small Adventures in Real Estate

I decided, although I’m not sure why, to come down to Port City Java this morning. It’s a short ride – about 5 miles from where I live – but with long-range mountain views. Dripoleter is closer, but the guitarist was not there last week. Although not the only reason to go to Dripolater, the music did -hyphen- off a specific and special part of the week - the time to contemplate, to think, to observe other humans and life around me.

I recall the last time I drove here, I was struck by an unblemished blue sky with a bold, brash morning sun. Today, there is no blue to be found among the thick voluminous clouds, traveling with the strength of the wind. The ground looks spotty where some of the fuller clouds have decided to relieve themselves from their wet burdens.There is a fireplace to my right, a window to outside world on my left. The music is awful, screaming men and guitars. Fortunately it is turned down low, so I can almost ignore it. A few people are beginning to walk in and order coffee to go, but none stay. Other than the barristers, I have the place to myself.

On January 1st, I celebrated my first two years here in Asheville. I remember how much of an adventure it was. I guess my definition of adventure is not knowing what’s coming next. There was little I was certain off – where would I live, where would I work, who would be my friends, what would I learn. So many of those questions are answered now. So, I guess the period I am entering now is a time of consolidating and expanding. The first two years were buying a better car, buying a house, and buying furniture. I have added to my life what I believe will be a rich and endearing friendships. I have a routine now – I plan my social time not in hours but in months.

So now, I plan to financially plan. I’m also looking for the right real estate investment. I am also starting to finish out the second story of my house. It looks like this area is going to continue to grow. I heard from a realtor that housing grew 9% in Asheville this past year. I read in the paper that North Carolina is now the 10th most populous state, edging out New Jersey.

I hope that the local governments can guide the growth with sustainable practices. Certainly Asheville seems to be on track with that. There is only one republican on board, the rest being either Green or at least Democrats. I don’t go to the public meetings, but I do read the reports about them in both the Mountain Xpress (great coverage, by the way) and the Asheville Citizen Times. The Buncombe County Commission has decided to go ahead and enact zoning laws without a referendum. I’m all for zoning and control over developers who bulldoze mountaintops and slopes to build upscale homes for wealthy retirees and 2nd homeowners.

There are a few celebrities among us, most notably, Andie McDowell.So, as the mountains get dusted with homes, we are also losing farmland at an astonishing rate each year. My own real estate ambitions remain fluid. I started with finishing out a small apartment for myself upstairs and buy land in the country – as far away as Mars Hill. Then a friend expressed interest in buy 15 acres or more, and splitting off part for a second home and keeping the rest undeveloped. Then I became aware that the .8 acres with a very small, dilapidated house was with a developer, but the deal was not closing. Mary and I made a back up offer. With its gentle south sloping surface, it offers a long-range view toward the Biltmore property. We dreamed of a gazebo and lots of veggies growing on it. A little nervous about the work and the level of my own skills, I called on Bountiful Cities Project. Darcel Eddins, one of the founders, came out and looked at the house, and wandered the land. Her dreams for the space were even more ambitious than mine. She could see the house being restored using green materials and volunteers. She could see a bedroom for an exchange student intern, a canning kitchen and a stall for the 2 goats city regulations allow. But after much stalling and aggravation, it became clear that the developer would eventually get what he wanted.

I begin to look at other land and found one 12 minutes from downtown that I feel in love with it. The heading of the small classified ad said “Gardeners Paradise.” And for the first time in my experience, the realtor wrote an actual accounting of the space. It was a farm-style home built 20 ago on 2 acres bordered on two sides by Lee’s Creek. As a bonus, the land was sitting inside a small cove with a few other homes, with fruit trees and bushes with a few years of growth on them and a greenhouse. The house was slightly roomier than my present living space. It would need some work – like a new heat pump and roof – but it was priced low enough that the repairs would not stop me.

Unfortunately, just as I was ready to make an offer, someone else beat me to it: two men, one who works for one of the local green grocers. Their dream is to grow and sell organic vegetables to the local stores and restaurants. I am still, after a couple of weeks, feeling the disappointment of missing out on this particular house and land.So, back to the drawing board. Literally. I’ve been drawing the plans for the upstairs. I know that renovations are difficult – workers coming and going, disruptions in my plans and life, and can be expensive.

But at this point, it feels like an adventure. The point before I really know what is going to happen next. The place I sometimes think I most like to be.

Following My Lead

Asheville. Lot’s of cool stuff happening in this little progressive, mountain town.

The first signs of spring are all around. The surest is the Organic Growers School held every year at the Blue Mountain Appalachian Community College in Flat Rock. I felt the excitement surging through my bloodstream as I worked my way through the crowds and classes of farmers, gardeners and wanna-bes (like me) yesterday. This is where I strike up conversations with strangers as I sip coffee at breaks or while waiting on my friend Mary, who attended for the second time with me. I met a guy who has 20 acres near Boone and primarily produces berries for sale. I got several good tips from him for my 3 blueberry bushes. A woman told me about how she and her husband bought their farm over 12 years ago while still living in Charlotte. A couple of years ago she had enough of the city life and moved there full time while her husband drives up on weekends from his job. She said her grandchildren beg for turns to come stay weeks at a time. She calls her place the anti-Disney – no TV, gameboys, and cell phones, but rather plenty of live animals and fun chores they love to do. When actually given a choice from an over saturated media/consumer lifestyle, even children instinctively know that something truly important is missing from their lives and reach for it when given the opportunity.

I’ve noticed recently that the leadership aspect of myself has been coming to the fore. I’ve never considered myself much of a leader before, usually preferring to follow someone else’s vision when it matched my own.

As you know, I moved here from NYC so that I could be closer to the land. I bought my house and small lot and have worked at enriching my soil, growing veggies, fruit trees and shrubs. I had no concerns about living in close proximity to my neighbors in West Asheville because after NYC and apartment living, it seemed quite spacious. But I’ve known from the beginning that it wouldn’t be enough. I want land. And there are many women in Asheville who want the same thing. In fact, Mary and I noted that well over half the attendees at the Organic Growers School were women. One class I took – How to obtain Credit for your farm – all but one of the self-identified “want to farm” people were women.

A couple of weeks ago I invited two women I know who are interested in owning and farming land to dinner. They did not know each other. I had a good feeling about them both – or as we might say here is Asheville, they both had good energy for me. They instantly bonded, having Cleveland, Ohio as their connection. Our purpose: to discuss the possibility of creating an intentional community together. We plan, over the summer, to invite another 3 or 4 women who share our vision to join us and then start searching for land within 30 minutes of Asheville. Our goal is to buy it within two years. Over the next several months we plan on getting together for projects and activities so that we become more acquainted and comfortable with each other. We hope to buy about 30+ acres so that we can have about 5 acres each and some shared land – preferably with a stream, creek and/or pond with it. I’m very excited to have partners who share my vision and are willing to work together to make it happen.

My first memory about community living came to me as a senior in high school when I wrote a paper about Communal Living (I still have it too – I didn’t make a very good grade). I wish I could remember why I chose the topic. Was it because the teacher gave us a list to choose from or did I pull that out somewhere from the headlines? It was after all 1971 and I would have been influenced by the decade of the 60’s. Perhaps it stems from some deep psychotically need to be associated with counter culture of some type. I have a love/hate relationship with mainstream: I want to “fit” in, but I often at conflict of what mainstream represents – which is usually centered around money, what you have and don’t have. Or perhaps I instinctively knew early in life that I want to live a more connected life with others – in community, with shared vision.

Recently, I joined the board of the Bountiful Cities Project. It’s a non profit centered around the idea of creating community spaces on urban land, growing food in abundance and fostering a learning environment for social justice and sustainability. Our website is http://www.bountifulcitiesproject.org and if you want some recent pr about us, I refer you to
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770225012.
I wrote the press release and was pleased that A C-T printed verbatim. I’ve written a lot of pr before, some while I was in New York City, and seen my words printed, but this one brought more joy to me than the business writing that I have done over the years. It is the idea of community and urban gardens that I am enthusiastic about. I think this group is poised for some tremendous growth and I’m happy to offer my years of experience in advertising, marketing, and pr to a nonprofit that I can feel passionate about.

Another sign of my leadership side taking hold is that I have been trying to organize our neighborhood to deal with the beautiful piece of land in our neighborhood, and at the end of my backyard. Mary and I tried to purchase it late last year but were unsuccessful. I held a meeting at my house and invited the City of Asheville Neighborhood Coordinator to speak to us. We invited the potential buyer of the land to come to, but he declined. The coordinator offered some alternatives of how what we could do, but so far, it seems as if it’s too much work for them. I’m sure if I wanted to do all the work, they would support it. I’m in the process of trying to organize another meeting specifically with the potential buyer. I’m not sure how much I want to proceed if all my neighbors want is for me to do the work.

According to Diana Leafe Christian, author of “Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovilages and Intentional Communities,” a leader must certainly have vision – without which nothing will happen. Now that I’ve been in Asheville two years, I am trying to fine-tune the lens on my vision glasses. It is becoming clearer to me and I am taking the steps in the right directions. As with all our hopes, plans, and intentions, I believe we must also be adaptable because life is as fluid as the river and takes unexpected twist and turns. As Heraclites first notes around 500 BCE “You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing in.” And as Darwin REALLY said:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” One thing I do know about myself – I am responsive to change. I am a Pisces – as mutable and changeable as the water the fish swim in.

Small Adventures in Asheville Real Estate

I decided, although I’m not sure why, to come down to Port City Java this morning. It’s a short ride – about 5 miles from where I live – but with long-range mountain views. Dripoleter is closer, but the guitarist was not there last week. Although not the only reason to go to Dripolater, the music did -hyphen- off a specific and special part of the week - the time to contemplate, to think, to observe other humans and life around me.

I recall the last time I drove here, I was struck by an unblemished blue sky with a bold, brash morning sun. Today, there is no blue to be found among the thick voluminous clouds, traveling with the strength of the wind. The ground looks spotty where some of the fuller clouds have decided to relieve themselves from their wet burdens.

There is a fireplace to my right, a window to outside world on my left. The music is awful, screaming men and guitars. Fortunately it is turned down low, so I can almost ignore it. A few people are beginning to walk in and order coffee to go, but none stay. Other than the barristers, I have the place to myself.

On January 1st, I celebrated my first two years here in Asheville. I remember how much of an adventure it was. I guess my definition of adventure is not knowing what’s coming next. There was little I was certain off – where would I live, where would I work, who would be my friends, what would I learn. So many of those questions are answered now. So, I guess the period I am entering now is a time of consolidating and expanding. The first two years were buying a better car, buying a house, and buying furniture. I have added to my life what I believe will be a rich and endearing friendships. I have a routine now – I plan my social time not in hours but in months.

So now, I plan to financially plan. I’m also looking for the right real estate investment. I am also starting to finish out the second story of my house. It looks like this area is going to continue to grow. I heard from a realtor that housing grew 9% in Asheville this past year. I read in the paper that North Carolina is now the 10th most populous state, edging out New Jersey. I hope that the local governments can guide the growth with sustainable practices. Certainly Asheville seems to be on track with that. There is only one republican on board, the rest being either Green or at least Democrats. I don’t go to the public meetings, but I do read the reports about them in both the Mountain Xpress (great coverage, by the way) and the Asheville Citizen Times. The Buncombe County Commission has decided to go ahead and enact zoning laws without a referendum. I’m all for zoning and control over developers who bulldoze mountaintops and slopes to build upscale homes for wealthy retirees and 2nd homeowners. There are a few celebrities among us, most notably, Andie McDowell.

So, as the mountains get dusted with homes, we are also losing farmland at an astonishing rate each year. My own real estate ambitions remain fluid. I started with finishing out a small apartment for myself upstairs and buy land in the country – as far away as Mars Hill. Then a friend expressed interest in buy 15 acres or more, and splitting off part for a second home and keeping the rest undeveloped. Then I became aware that the .8 acres with a very small, dilapidated house was with a developer, but the deal was not closing. Mary and I made a back up offer. With its gentle south sloping surface, it offers a long-range view toward the Biltmore property. We dreamed of a gazebo and lots of veggies growing on it. A little nervous about the work and the level of my own skills, I called on Bountiful Cities Project. Darcel Eddins, one of the founders, came out and looked at the house, and wandered the land. Her dreams for the space were even more ambitious than mine. She could see the house being restored using green materials and volunteers. She could see a bedroom for an exchange student intern, a canning kitchen and a stall for the 2 goats city regulations allow. But after much stalling and aggravation, it became clear that the developer would eventually get what he wanted.

I begin to look at other land and found one 12 minutes from downtown that I feel in love with it. The heading of the small classified ad said “Gardeners Paradise.” And for the first time in my experience, the realtor wrote an actual accounting of the space. It was a farm-style home built 20 ago on 2 acres bordered on two sides by Lee’s Creek. As a bonus, the land was sitting inside a small cove with a few other homes, with fruit trees and bushes with a few years of growth on them and a greenhouse. The house was slightly roomier than my present living space. It would need some work – like a new heat pump and roof – but it was priced low enough that the repairs would not stop me.

Unfortunately, just as I was ready to make an offer, someone else beat me to it: two men, one who works for one of the local green grocers. Their dream is to grow and sell organic vegetables to the local stores and restaurants. I am still, after a couple of weeks, feeling the disappointment of missing out on this particular house and land.

So, back to the drawing board. Literally. I’ve been drawing the plans for the upstairs. I know that renovations are difficult – workers coming and going, disruptions in my plans and life, and can be expensive. But at this point, it feels like an adventure. The point before I really know what is going to happen next. The place I sometimes think I most like to be.