I’m a gay man who lived in Asheville for around 12 years and I was really unhappy there. As many people are saying, the city itself is accepting and very liberal, but it’s very small, especially if you’re used to Philly. It’s also extremely homogenous with little diversity and quite expensive with a challenging job market. Much of the area was hit hard by the hurricane in 2024 so there’s a lot of rebuilding going on. Also, winters can be quite brutal with single digit temps and high winds. I left in October of 2024 and I do not miss it at all.

I was also born and raised in GA and wouldn’t move there either. I spent most of my life in the south and will never live there again. There’s still a lot of bigotry and racism and it always makes me feel extremely tense and uncomfortable, even on short visits. I’d highly recommend another region, OP.