Asheville - Seattle of the South

by Laura Frisbie
(http://beat-depression-naturally.com)

I first heard of Asheville while living in Knoxville, TN and made a few visits. I called it the Seattle of the South. But in no way did I allow myself to even dream of moving here.

My son was born in TN in 1981 and I ended up staying in TN until 1996, when he went to live with his Dad. I moved to Seattle for 5 years and LOVED it. My parents and siblings lived in Knoxville, TN and there was a sort of nuclear meltdown around my sister's Bipolar Disorder. So, I moved to Knoxville - which felt akin to a death in life sentence.

Still in Knoxville, I discovered what mild depression is like. Even though there were many messages for me "to dance" I didn't do it. FINALLY I went to my first contra dance and couldn't stop smiling. The dancers told me to attend the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF, just outside Asheville) for off-the-top dancing.

I was at LEAF, alone and feeling ALONE. Went to a dance. A man asked me to dance with him a second time, which was the last dance of the set. Then he invited me for a beer. That same afternoon he said, "Do you want to live in Asheville with me?" and I said yes.

Well, the rest is history. We've been married for 6 years and we are happy. It did take a while, but we did it. We live on 2 wooded acres with a creek. We are adjacent to a long valley pasture with mountain ridges as a backdrop. I have a successful telephone alternative therapy practice. Funnily, we don't get out much. Just too content, I guess~!

Tree's reply:
Thanks, Laura! What a great story!