Introducing America's East Dunbartonshire
Which is the town of Asheville in North Carolina, according to a survey by Relocate America. I make the Caledonian parallel as that was rated the best place to live in these islands the other day. Rather selfishly, the survey fails to come up with an equivalent to Reading, which rated as our Village of the Damned.
I take East Dunbartonshire's showing with a whole salt mine's worth of salt as the 1,162 people polled had 408 locales to choose from. Unlikely to be statistically valid, I would think. Similarly, I'm inclined to think that Asheville's standing is bunkum (1) as the survey is self-selecting. Mind you, it was the home of the Fitzgeralds, and Zelda ('when it comes to plagiarism, my husband thinks it begins at home') died there, and the rather lovely Ms Andie MacDowell resides in the area.
The town labours under a Democrat Mayor, has a rather comically named baseball team in the Asheville Tourists, and the egregiously awful 'Forrest Gump' was part filmed there.
Apart from the relocators, it has also won plaudits as one of "The 50 Most Alive Places To Be" one of "America's Top 25 Arts Destinations," "Happiest City for Women", one of the "Best Places to Reinvent Your Life", "New Freak Capital of the U.S.", "a New Age Mecca", the "most vegetarian-friendly" small city in America. Source. The place must be crawling with tie-dyed boomers. How very unlike the life our own East Dunbartonshire.....
Chicago proves to be a sweet home too, edging out Cary NC from fifth place.
(1) - Asheville is in Buncombe county: "In 1820, a U.S. Congressman, whose district included Buncombe County, unintentionally contributed a word to the English language. In the Sixteenth Congress, after lengthy debate on the Missouri Compromise, members of the House called for an immediate vote on that important question. Instead, Felix Walker rose to address his colleagues, insisting that his constituents expected him to make a speech "for Buncombe." It was later remarked that Walker's untimely and irrelevant oration was not just for Buncombe--it "was Buncombe." Thus, buncombe, afterwards spelled bunkum and then shortened to bunk, became a term for empty, nonsensical talk". Source
I take East Dunbartonshire's showing with a whole salt mine's worth of salt as the 1,162 people polled had 408 locales to choose from. Unlikely to be statistically valid, I would think. Similarly, I'm inclined to think that Asheville's standing is bunkum (1) as the survey is self-selecting. Mind you, it was the home of the Fitzgeralds, and Zelda ('when it comes to plagiarism, my husband thinks it begins at home') died there, and the rather lovely Ms Andie MacDowell resides in the area.
The town labours under a Democrat Mayor, has a rather comically named baseball team in the Asheville Tourists, and the egregiously awful 'Forrest Gump' was part filmed there.
Apart from the relocators, it has also won plaudits as one of "The 50 Most Alive Places To Be" one of "America's Top 25 Arts Destinations," "Happiest City for Women", one of the "Best Places to Reinvent Your Life", "New Freak Capital of the U.S.", "a New Age Mecca", the "most vegetarian-friendly" small city in America. Source. The place must be crawling with tie-dyed boomers. How very unlike the life our own East Dunbartonshire.....
Chicago proves to be a sweet home too, edging out Cary NC from fifth place.
(1) - Asheville is in Buncombe county: "In 1820, a U.S. Congressman, whose district included Buncombe County, unintentionally contributed a word to the English language. In the Sixteenth Congress, after lengthy debate on the Missouri Compromise, members of the House called for an immediate vote on that important question. Instead, Felix Walker rose to address his colleagues, insisting that his constituents expected him to make a speech "for Buncombe." It was later remarked that Walker's untimely and irrelevant oration was not just for Buncombe--it "was Buncombe." Thus, buncombe, afterwards spelled bunkum and then shortened to bunk, became a term for empty, nonsensical talk". Source
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It is also worth noting that Asheville was the home of Thomas Wolfe (not to be confused with Tom Wolfe of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' fame), who is, or at least was, considered to be one of the most important American writers of the 20th century.
Asheville, under the fictional name of 'Altamont', plays an important role in Wolfe's novel, 'Look Homeward, Angel'. It is a book that is highly revered by many who are considered to know about such things. Personally, I have lost count of the number of times I've started to read it. I have yet to finish it.
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