I’m a writer, marketer, Pennsylvania ex-pat, and former high school teacher living and working in Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve been in Ashville since 2019 and relocated here for a job I no longer work (I’m a post-pandemic remote work devotee), but I stayed because…it’s a pretty great time.
I started this blog because local travel blogging was one of my earliest passions, and how I initially transitioned from teaching high school English (what feels like a lifetime ago) to writing full-time (check out paweekendfun.com, for my old project if you feel inclined, but don’t judge too harshly…like Miley Cyrus, I used to be young), and because exploring where Iive is how I spend a bulk of my free time.
While I’m not necessarily new or exploring Asheville in the traditional sense anymore (I get annoyed with tourist-laden locales, which I think is a hallmark of not being green to Asheville anymore), there’s still plenty I haven’t seen yet (I’ve yet to say, take a weekend trip to Boone…or check out the art museum). Additionally, now that I’ve gotten a feel for Asheville, it’s been fun to delve into the city’s and area’s layers. It’s at once great, frustrating, and a parody of itself, which makes it ripe for content :).
In addition to this writing, I’m a regular op-ed contributor to the Asheville Citizen-Times. I write marketing content with illustrious titles like “Five HR Trends You Need to Know for 2022” for my 9-5. My non-fiction has appeared in GQ.com, The Good Men Project, Charlotte Observer, and Durham Sun-Herald. My short stories have appeared in The Wilderness House Literary Review, Drunken Monkeys, Bookends Literary Review, a Weasel Press Anthology, and Litro Magazine.
AshevilleExplorer also has an Instagram you could follow because I know what’s hip and cool. If you have any questions comments, or want to pay me money to pretend that I’m not endorsing but just loving your products, my blog email is pat@ashevilleexplorer.com, or you could be super hip and cool and slide into my Instagram DM’s.
AshevilleExplorer 