pikeville was just what I thought it would be (Lexington: houses, neighborhoods)

[censusdata]

The main problem with Pikeville is simply how far it is from any major cities. I think it's 120 miles to Lexington & 200 to Louisville/ Cincinnati - a pretty good hike for concerts and museums

I know by statistics that Pikeville has major drug and poverty problems, but as far as just driving through it I've always thought it seemed much nicer than most small towns. It almost feels like a tiny city with several large office buildings and hospitals.

[GaBoyinPike]

I lived in pikeville for some years now. It has it ups and downs. Where to start? Well! You have your nice people and you have your bad people. I am a African American, They are not use to Black People in that area. When I first came here, I was unsure about Pikeville. I came up to play football for the college. The closer I got to Pikeville the more people said they never heard of it. So I Was really nervous. I thought I was on a wild goose chase. Came up to play football where the recruited lots of African Americans from South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and So on. They Criticize the football team in the newspaper saying that the college went out and recruited gang bangers, drug dealers and Rapers. I am like what did I get myself into. The people will stare at you like you are some kind of Alien. These are the ignorant people in Pikeville. Who only Portray Black people by what the see on TV. I guess that is common for some people there. My first Hillbilly day Festival, we had Spring football practice during the time it was going on. I heard things from students about going down there because the KKK are going to be there. On my way to the Gym to get read for practice this truck rove by with writing on the side that said #1 Clan, I freakout. I called home told my mom I am not putting up with this BS the Klan is riding around town. They explained to me that it was the shriners yada yada. I am like whatever. I told coach he had to cancel practice or we are not going to practice. Some of the football players where hooking up with these White girls and there families where finding out and threathning to come kill them, some girls were disowned by there families. The next thing is that when I when I call over the phone about an apartment to rent it is available. No one hasn't came by to look at they say you are the first, but when you get there to look at it the tell you that we have someone renting it. SOUNDS LIKE RACISM TO ME, My friends rented this apartment up in Chloe Three Black Football players, These girls will always come over to sit and talk and there other neihbor which where a white guy tell the girls don't go over there sit with Coons they are bad business, So the girls told my friends about what this guy said. They brushed it off. A week later they were sleep in the apartment and they smelled smoke. They guy tried to burn them up iun the house when they were sleeping. Talk about ROSEWOOD. From then on I start calling the the state of Kentucky (KLANTUCKY) They got had previous charges for arson. He didn't go to jail or anything. LOL, I know!!!!! The other bad thing about Pikeville is the weather. The weather changes every 20 minutes. Well the good thing is that all people are not like that in Pikeville, They take you under there wings. The churches provide alot for the town. They are the cornerstone of the city. I love every church that I went to there. They treat you like you are family. Going to college 9 hours alone without family you need that from a town that is Predominately White, I mean like 400-1. I met my fiance there in Pikeville, her family is the best thing that ever happen to me. They never once look at me in diffrent way. Never ask her why she want to date a black man. They took me for who I am. When we go out to eat the stares we get. Good OLE Pikeville. LOL.

[alvwith3kids]

hello,

my husband and I are wanting to move to pikeville to get trained as a landman. We live now in California. I was not able to find any homes to rent. Can anyone help me.

Angela

[famousamos]

I would like to respond by saying I can speak first hand about Richmond, Louisville, and Pikeville, Kentucky. I went to Richmond to Eastern Kentucky University where I graduated in three short years with a Bachelor's of Science. Richmond was a cozy little town that had a small mall and some interesting local restaurants. After graduation, I relocated to Louisville and attended Spalding University for an internship. I really and truly LOVE Louisville and miss it very much. I love Thunder, Derby, the malls, the restaurants, the state fair, Six Flags, etc. I moved back to Pikeville where I was born and raised and yes, it was quite a culture shock. Not having the convenience of almost anything you want at your fingertips has been very difficult for me. However, I have two young boys now, one 6 months and the other will be three soon. Having that said things are not so bad. I live on a beautiful golf course on top of a gorgeous mountain among some really lavish homes. I have great neighbors and my children can play in the front or back yard without a strong worry of them ending up on the side of a milk carton or their picture hanging at the post office. Yes, there a some serious rednecks and hillbillies and some truly rough areas I'd rather not visit or raise my children. The West and South end of Louisville would also meet this criteria. The East end, where I lived, was fantastic, but there are rough places everywhere and ignorant people as well as educated professionals. My Uncle lives in Seattle and is an engineer for Boeing. He bought me a t-shirt he found there that reads"I see STUPID PEOPLE" (Mocking the Sixth Sense, "I see dead people".) Apparently, they sell those out there. So, North, South, East or West, you can find what you're looking for depending if you look at the glass half full or half empty. "Let us not judge or be judged".

[Leahellen]

I really don’t care what ‘outsiders’ think of our area, because to me, their opinion doesn’t matter.
They are just judgmental and ignorant close-minded people, imo, who don’t understand culture unless it’s “designer labeled” culture. But I had to take up for my locals.
To the ‘haters’ of our area:
Why are you in our area in the first place if we have no opportunities? Basically, opportunity brought you to our beloved area, remember that.
You have some quirks about yourself, so let me quickly type them for you.
Nasal accents. Talk too fast, and too loud. Rude. Snobs. Unfriendly. Buys into the ignorance of materialism. Don’t socialize with lower income people. Worried about “social status”. Won’t walk into a Wal-mart to by laundry detergent . And pretend to be something you are not. And for the most part, liars and backstabbers. Like coming to our small towns and brown nosing us with comments like “ We love the mountains“. “We love your accents“. “Everyone is so friendly, we love it here.” Suck-ups.
Some of you came from areas that you can’t walk down the street without seeing some homeless person setting on a bench. Or get anywhere on time because of rush hour. Or stop at a red light without some crack head trying to wash your windshield.. And the transportation in some areas, gross. Who wants to ride in a nasty taxi or smelly subway? Please. Get over yourselves. A lot of you lived/live in the suburbs but still have to go into town or in the city to shop or have entertainment were the freaks are out and about on the streets. Yeah, we have our freaks, but you have your freaks as well, so stop pretending.
And some of you say we don‘t have neighborhoods. We have what you call hollows or “hollers “(as we call them). That’s our neighborhoods.
We are true to ourselves. Most of us are good hearted people. We are all raised together, rich and poor. The rich aren’t snobs and the poor aren’t out casts. We are not raised to think highly of ourselves based on income, or judge others by their income. We are raised to judge a person on personality and good deeds. We respect each other. We go to the same churches, schools, events, and restaurants. So what if there is a mansion and two houses down is a tailor park? So what if one of us wears designer clothes and the other plain jeans and tees? We all know each other and it doesn’t matter. It’s common to have a best friend who lives in a trailer park. We all get along just fine. Why? Because for the most part we are all good people. And some of us even have electricity, running water, and colored TV too, SHOCK. And in some places cell service, LOL on that one...
And last: Our summers are gorgeous. Our autumns are gorgeous. Our snowed covered mountains are gorgeous. So go back to the overcrowded hole you crawled out of and go to college and get a job there.
And I apologize for my unkindness, but this had to be said.

[Leahellen]

And mining isn't the only income. There is engineering, nursing, radiology.
And as I was reading other's comments *I can't find it now to quote it*
The salaries are lower, but the overall costs of living are lower, so you basically even out. For example you'd make 25-30 dollars and hour or more as a nurse say, in Richmond, Mananass VA, or Lextington KY and the likes, but add a few hundred to rent, and a couple hundred on food etc....

[kentuckydad95]

Leahellen, I am in the direct opposite end of the state from you (Murray) and I have always wanted to visit the Pikeville area, but will probably never get there. First off, be proud of your town. The hell with what others say. I have been to the largest city in the nation and most of it smelled like fresh urine. I would take a hillbilly any day of the week over that smell. I will never forget it.

You mentioned that the mansions there are built next to trailer parks, I have to ask, is there no zoning laws there? I am not making fun or putting the area down, I have always been interested in zoning issues in towns/cities in KY. I work in Benton, KY and they have NO zoning laws. If they do, they don't show it. In one block in Benton, they have a chemical plant, a bank, a Wal-Mart, funeral home, and a few restaurants. In Murray, the zoning laws are so strict here, you can't even have free-standing signs. They all have to be monument-type signs. The car dealers can't even put balloons on all the cars. It's almost like Nazi Germany here.

Also, how much is a 3 bed/2 bath home on 5 acres costing there?

[sandman1]

Originally Posted by Leahellen

I really don’t care what ‘outsiders’ think of our area, because to me, their opinion doesn’t matter.
They are just judgmental and ignorant close-minded people, imo, who don’t understand culture unless it’s “designer labeled” culture. But I had to take up for my locals.
To the ‘haters’ of our area:
Why are you in our area in the first place if we have no opportunities? Basically, opportunity brought you to our beloved area, remember that.
You have some quirks about yourself, so let me quickly type them for you.
Nasal accents. Talk too fast, and too loud. Rude. Snobs. Unfriendly. Buys into the ignorance of materialism. Don’t socialize with lower income people. Worried about “social status”. Won’t walk into a Wal-mart to by laundry detergent . And pretend to be something you are not. And for the most part, liars and backstabbers. Like coming to our small towns and brown nosing us with comments like “ We love the mountains“. “We love your accents“. “Everyone is so friendly, we love it here.” Suck-ups.
Some of you came from areas that you can’t walk down the street without seeing some homeless person setting on a bench. Or get anywhere on time because of rush hour. Or stop at a red light without some crack head trying to wash your windshield.. And the transportation in some areas, gross. Who wants to ride in a nasty taxi or smelly subway? Please. Get over yourselves. A lot of you lived/live in the suburbs but still have to go into town or in the city to shop or have entertainment were the freaks are out and about on the streets. Yeah, we have our freaks, but you have your freaks as well, so stop pretending.
And some of you say we don‘t have neighborhoods. We have what you call hollows or “hollers “(as we call them). That’s our neighborhoods.
We are true to ourselves. Most of us are good hearted people. We are all raised together, rich and poor. The rich aren’t snobs and the poor aren’t out casts. We are not raised to think highly of ourselves based on income, or judge others by their income. We are raised to judge a person on personality and good deeds. We respect each other. We go to the same churches, schools, events, and restaurants. So what if there is a mansion and two houses down is a tailor park? So what if one of us wears designer clothes and the other plain jeans and tees? We all know each other and it doesn’t matter. It’s common to have a best friend who lives in a trailer park. We all get along just fine. Why? Because for the most part we are all good people. And some of us even have electricity, running water, and colored TV too, SHOCK. And in some places cell service, LOL on that one...
And last: Our summers are gorgeous. Our autumns are gorgeous. Our snowed covered mountains are gorgeous. So go back to the overcrowded hole you crawled out of and go to college and get a job there.
And I apologize for my unkindness, but this had to be said.

We are rude? Practice what you preach buddy. You sound a bit too sensitive. The fact you seem to think that college makes someone a snob or a jerk makes you look small and bitter. The fact that you look at others with education and some college in such a negative light strikes to the heart of why eastern kentucky will always have some of the poorest counties in the country and some of the most unhealthy people as well. If you look so poorly on people with education and see them as outsiders then that is what they will be because they aren't welcome and you loose more people to other areas of the state.

[sandman1]

How are we supposed to be friendly when you say that when we mention how nice or pretty it is that we are sucking up what do you suggest we say...with your mindset anything positive will be sucking up. I guess there aren't liars and backstabbers in Pikeville? You managed to insult more people in one post than I have ever seen on here. Way to go and way to represent the wonderful Pikeville. I am open minded enough to know that not all from that area are like you....too bad you can't figure that out about "outsiders"

[kentuckydad95]

Umm...don't they have a college in Pikeville???