Boone, North Carolina

How is Boone Changing

BOONE NC - Nestled in the Mountains of Western North Carolina lies a small town that is growing at a rapid pace. Watauga county is Home to Appalachian State University as well as the 18,036 people who live in the small mountain town. Boone has always been a popular destination for tourists and vacationing families for all that the town has to offer as far as sights and destinations. On top of that Boone is also home to Appalachian State University, which has been steadily growing and expanding along with the town but we have started to see how the increased goal for students that the state has given the school has caused problems in more ways than one. It is no longer that the school is expanding with the town because the town really does not have any room to expand yet the Appalachian state is still steadily increasing their acceptance rate and allowing more people into an already overcrowded town. Even the school itself seems to be bragging about how much the school is growing which continues to be grossly negligent to the fact that they are causing many of the problems going on in the town right now.

We had the opportunity to sit down and speak with David Jackson, President and CEO of The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. He gave some much needed information to people who may not be from the area or who simply were not paying attention. He explains the background of Boone and how the impact of the state, the naiveness of former board members, and how the school have all come to form this massive wave of housing instability and insecurity in the small mountain town. He also discusses how “This is not a one pronged issue”, when we are seeing dramatic shifts if people are able to secure housing to come to our community and not just for students but also for working professionals that would be coming to be a part of the economy up in Boone. If we are unable to find housing for people coming to work for the hospitals and school systems that drastically impacts everyone in the high country. It's scary to think of what Boone could soon become if we are unable to provide and find housing for members of our community and students then how do we as a community continue to grow. Boone has been feeling the strain of housing difficulties even since the 90’s so it is a known issue and something that needs to be on the back of everyone's mind but difficult trying to play catch up when the root of the issue is not a new thing. We cannot continue as a community to keep putting temporary fixes on everything. We need to fix the root of the problem before we are unable to bring in people to Boone for any reason.

In wake of all of the housing instability and how difficult it is in general to find housing, Students took it upon themselves to create a new campaign: “Boone Sucks, Tell Your Friends”. Now there are people on both sides of this argument and while some see it as a fun joke to talk about how over crowded we are. The other side of people do not take it so lightly. Many people think that it does nothing for us other than make us collectively as a town look bad. I can't say for certain how everyone could take the slogan but Many locals and long-time residents of the town find it very untasteful because it is not a reflection of who we are as a town. When people come to Boone they are expecting southern mountain hospitality and instead on their way into town would be greeted with a college student whose bumper sticker says “Boone Sucks, Tell Your Friends”. It is important to make everyone who comes to this small town feel welcomed because that IS who we are as a community and we also have to remember as much as it is not fun having to sit in traffic a little longer; those tourists are coming to contribute money to our economy and that is beneficial to everyone who calls Boone their home.

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