r/asheville

hi! i’m 23 and i’m looking to build friendships and hopefully a romantic relationship. but all the dating apps suck and i don’t really have coworkers (i work with kids) so im kind of stuck. where do i go to make friends and such?

I’m a 47 year old male who just had a relationship of 3 and a half years end. The problem is the relationship was my life. I mean, we were engaged. Now I find myself feeling very lost and alone because I neglected to find community outside of my relationship. I have a lot of varied interests, consider myself to be a pretty alright guy but just in need of some community to help me move forward. I feel embarrassed posting this, but it is what it is.

Good news to see! Has anyone experienced something positive at their apartments with the stock being high? Someone i know had their rent last year actually decreased because it went up only 10 bucks or so, butbgot one month for free.

Vote accordingly.

Leela Livis, 32, was found dead in her Jackson County home Dec. 1. Her mother, Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel, 53, a former Asheville business owner, is now accused of poisoning the wine at their 2025 Thanksgiving dinner. Casper-Leinenkugel is charged with first-degree murder.
This is Leela's story.

Watch out out there folks. I just got a call repeatedly from a very southern sounding gentleman who claimed to be from the Buncombe County sheriffs office asking about why I missed my jury duty summons and making it seem very urgent that I do whatever he was gonna tell me to do next. I did not wait for the rest of the scam pitch, told him to send me whatever you needed to send me via certified mail and hung up.

Edit: I reported this to the buncombe county sheriffs office. Fuck scammers

After students and families spoke up about how much the orchestra program means to them, our School Board did nothing, thought nothing, and delivered nothing. In sharp contrast, Asheville Middle School Principal Blair Johnston listened—and, most importantly, looked for a creative path forward.

Rather than simply allowing the program to disappear, he has created an opportunity to rebuild it. An after-school strings club will begin in September, and if we can generate enough student interest this fall, orchestra may return as an elective in the spring semester.

This is exactly what thoughtful leadership looks like! Mr. Johnston gave our children something important: hope and a genuine chance. He listened to students and parents, worked collaboratively with families, and found a way for us to demonstrate that this program can grow and thrive.

Now it is our turn to make that opportunity count.

If you have an Asheville Middle School student who currently plays a string instrument—or might be interested in learning—please check the information posted today on ParentSquare about the strings club. Please also share this post with other AMS families. You never know which child may be waiting to discover the instrument, teacher, friends, or community that makes school feel like a place where they truly belong. As a club, it's stress free, grade free: an opportunity to practice a strings instrument with others.

Here is Principal Johnston’s announcement, shared with the identifying information of the parent volunteer removed:

———

Orchestra Families,

I’m reaching out to share some positive news related to orchestra at Asheville Middle School. I have been able to collaborate with an AMS parent, who is acting as a liaison with other families, to advocate for the return of the orchestra program.

The good news is that there’s a real chance that orchestra will return as a class during the second semester of this school year. The first step is to start an after-school strings club in September, and if enough interest is built this fall, we’ll be able to schedule orchestra again in the second semester. More details to come.

Students are the best recruiters.

In Community,
Blair Johnston
Principal
Asheville Middle School

———

Approximately 25–30 students have already found music, friendship, confidence, and belonging through this program. Let’s help the next group of students find it—and show that strings have a future at Asheville Middle School.

Please share widely with AMS families. Let’s make this work. 🎻

When I looked into taking online courses at A‑B Tech, I was shocked to discover that nearly every course I considered required a Cengage subscription or similar access code costing around $200 or more. These materials have no resale value, and because they contain required coursework, students have no real choice but to buy them. Meanwhile, other community colleges charge roughly $22–$25 per credit hour for course materials, making the total closer to $75–$100 per class. A‑B Tech’s costs can therefore be two or even three times higher. For a college intended to help local people—particularly those with limited incomes—improve their lives, this feels profoundly contradictory. Based on my experience, I would caution anyone considering online study to compare the required-material costs carefully before choosing A‑B Tech. Found much better pricing at Blue Ridge and many others, worth knowing if you're studying online, for sure.

EDIT - Here is a sample from the current business course offerings, keep in mind tuition for 3 hours is around $230 a 3 credit hour course:

BUS 115 – Essentials of Business Law Connect Access Card, $ 202 New (only option)

BUS 125 – My Lab Finance with Pearson eText, $213 & Access Code $186 New (only option)

BUS 137 – Connect Access Card for Contemporary Management $207 New (only option)