Last summer, I stopped writing here at Asheville Explorer because I got unexpectedly laid off (unexpectedly laid off might sound like an oxymoron, but sometimes there are signs; in this case, I was under the impression I’d be getting a raise soon). Initially, I thought well, I’ll have even more time to blog, but to be frank, my finances weren’t exactly funemployment ready and North Carolina unemployment benefits were drawn up by someone who believes more people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, so I—wisely, if I do say—decided to focus all of my free time on applying for jobs or working on paid writing assignments.
While it felt like forever, I was really only unemployed for 3.5 months. By mid-September, I’d secured a start date—October 1, 2024—for a new job (one I’m happy to report, I’ve retained). I spent the last week of September going on what felt like a victory lap of Pennsylvania, visiting friends and family at various locales—Lancaster, Philly, the Philly burbs, the Catskills—before going back “home” to Northeast PA to attend a childhood friend’s wedding on September 28th. I planned to return to Asheville on September 29th, have a day of rest on September 30th, and start my job on the 1st, resurrecting this little passion project sometime after I felt sufficiently acclimated.
Of course, though, Helene decided to visit my now home city on September 27th, and I ended up spending a bulk of that wedding scouring Twitter and YouTube, watching places I’d just been a week prior get washed away. I didn’t return to Asheville until the following weekend, and even that was short-lived. I work remotely, which means reliable wifi is a necessity. Since that wasn’t a reality in Asheville till the week of Halloween, I spent the bulk of October being a digital nomad with stints in Louisville, Wilmington, and a very nice AirBnB 12 miles up the road in Weaverville I had to book last minute one Monday morning when the wifi that had returned the Saturday prior, decided to conk out.
Once I was firmly ensconced in Asheville, though, it just didn’t feel right to start blogging again, especially not on this blog. Asheville Explorer was originally concieved as a palace for me to document the most fun parts about exploring a new life in Western North Carolina—breweries, places to eat, hikes, watering holes—and at that point, not only were many of the places I loved oging not able to open (remember, we didn’t have potable water till almost Thanksgiving), but some—Zadie’s, Zillicoah, my beloved Tiki Bar—had been irreprobably damaged.
Additionally, I didn’t want to create content that felt like it was benefiting in any way from the storm. I had plenty I observed and wanted to write about and had a million blog and essay topics floating around my brain —and while I have several notebooks full of half thoughts, I’m kicking myself in the ass for not keeping a proper journal during that time—I saw other content creators making moves that made me feel gross (while I understand that the any attention is good attention philosophy has some merit, in this case it just wasn’t for me). While I’ve come to terms with there beng real validly in feeling depressed and displaced and sad about everything Helene related as a WNC resident, as someone who wasn’t in the area at the time of the storm, wasn’t impaired financially, and had everyone I care about make it through mostly unscathed, I didn’t think that was my story to tell.
However, as they’re apt to do, things have changed.
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Asheville’s back! The tourism board decided it. So did Good Morning America. The city’s once again courting tourists, but at the same time, it’s still struggling. Highlighting local businesses now feels imperative.
And, much like Asheville and the greater Western North Carolina area, Asheville Explorer is back, with a bit of what folks in the content world would call a brand pivot. Without Helene, Asheville Explorer as a moniker was becoming less and less relevant. I’ve officially been here for over five years—I’m starting to understand the (both problematic and warranted) disdain for tourists, I have a favorite secret hiking spot I don’t tell anyone about, andI’ve considered getting a thigh tattoo this year for Christ’s sake—and have explored more, than, frankly many people who’ve lived here longer, have a network of friends, and see my future here. Now, I’m exploring something new: navigating being part of a region attempting to come back from an unprecedented natural disaster. There are plenty of stories to explore, local businesses to highlight, policies to interrogate, and, thankfully, plenty of hipster nonsense to mock. Now, I feel like my voice is a welcome addition to the narrative here.
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