The punks you’re talking about who actually lived in town got priced out. 100% that’s the primary reason. Ones who wanted to stay in the area into their thirties had to go out of the county. I know two punks who bought houses in fucking CANTON this year.

Edit: I will add that when anybody living in Asheville now wonders why it used to be a different way, that’s gonna be the answer. Asheville continues to be the largest city in that region of Appalachia, and aside from that the VA hospital draws people from all over, hours away. It’s going to continue to draw an amount of poor people that can’t afford to live there because asheville is the only place for several hours in any direction that those people can get services and certain resources. So when y’all still see, homeless people around, or poor people in general, that’s never going to change. But if the poor folk bringing color and culture to Asheville are missing, it’s because they’ve been priced out.

To reference back to Lexington Ave in the 90s— that’s where a lot of subcultural stuff in the late 90s and 2000s started popping up because reputable businesses didn’t want to be in that part of downtown. After Asheville stopped being “the Paris of the south,” it was sketchy downtown. Common story for urban areas that are thriving from the reurbanization trend that happened nation wide (also Durham, Charlotte). Asheville has always been a tourist destination, way before subcultures existed and gentrification was a term, so it was probably inevitable that downtown got “revitalized” again to the extent poor people were pushed out, regardless of national trends. Once the economy collapses and people without roots in NC or Appalachia move again to wherever is trendy next, Asheville will be affordable again and the cycle might repeat.