coming my way

Hi there -- I'm a Miami resident, and have recently made some tentative inroads into the Peak Oil/Long Decline discussion with my family. I've convinced them to begin thinking about moving out of Miami in the next five years, and part of that was suggesting we move to Asheville, North Carolina. They like that town. I lived in NC (durham) for five years and spent many summers in hendersonville, and it's one of my favorite parts of the country.

But even though I'm learning more every month about sustainability issues and localized communities, I still don't know specifically about the situation in that area North Carolina. I guess before I keep pushing my family there, I would like to know more. As an NC native interested in 'powering down', do you have any thoughts on NC or asheville specifically as a promising place to relocate? Are there resources that I should look into?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Best, Craig

Hello Craig,

It’s great to hear about someone considering a move to North Carolina as a response to peak oil and the coming energy decent. There are two locations in NC that I think would make especially good relocation destinations. One of those is the Chatham County Area- including Pittsboro, Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The folks in this area are forward thinking and in many cases well aware of the larger energy issues beginning to affect our nation. Some resources to begin with concerning this area would be:

Central Carolina Community College These are wonderful folks teaching some standard community college courses but they are also very involved in courses concerning sustainable agriculture, bio-diesel production, solar power, etc.

Piedmont Biofuels If you’re interested in a co-op concerning recycled oils as fuel.

The Chatham Marketplace – Tami Schwerin and the gang just opened a new food cooperative.

Blue Heron Farms Community – Wonderful people experimenting with all sorts of sustainable aspects of living. Sally Erickson lives there and is working on a documentary called, “What A Way To Go”. I saw a preview at the Triangle Peak Oil Conference in Durham this past spring.

I bring all this up as examples of all that’s going on in this community concerning sustainable living.

The other location that I think would be an excellent choice concerning a sustainable relocation to North Carolina would be the Asheville area.

Asheville and the surrounding communities are very in tune with these same issues. Home to an established ecovillage and at least one co-housing community the general feeling is Asheville is of progressive individuals who are living with an eye towards sustainability. Black Mountain would be well worth a visit when considering your final destination. When returning to North Carolina I thought Asheville was an excellent option but ultimately chose to be closer to family.

Earthaven - Ecovillage

Westwood – Co-housing

Western Farmers Market in Asheville NC – Open all year long 7 days a week!

Buy Appalachian – Community Supported Agriculture in the NC Mountains

Asheville Homepage - A quick visit shows the focus of this community on quality of life

I hope this helps as a jumping off point for your possible relocation. I should hasten to add that there are plenty of individuals who believe city life is sustainable. Public transportation, established relationships and the safety of numbers all lend credence to the idea that living outside of town may not be a better idea than living in town. It probably all boils down to the scale of the city. Rebecca Carter of greenerMIAMI covers sustainable issues right in your current backyard. Just thought I’d mention it.

If you move forward with your relocation to NC please let me know. I would like to keep up concerning your move in advance of global oil peak and also I would be willing to help with logistics in any way possible. We’ve got a guest room and we’re two hours from Asheville. Stay in touch!

Best Wishes and Good Luck,

Aaron