Is Eastern/Southeastern Kentucky bad as i hear it is? (live in, car)

[highliner]

Are you trying to get me to post a reply to this bilge? Here goes: to wit, yes, eastern Kentucky is largely poverty stricken and hopelessly run down. Please stop posting these pathological, pie-in-the-sky ,mayberryesque fairy tales about Pikeville and its environs. Oh , please , please!

[bw87a]

also to mention that kentucky has 120 counties (the 3rd highest in the US). kentucky are relatively small compared to other states and so this is most definitely why there are so many counties on the list.

[fairbanks101]

I lived in the southeast for awhile as a kid. Its where most of the pot grown in the US comes from. Me and my dad saw the cherif of Monticello driving down the road with tons of pot hanging out of his trunk and falling into the road. We also had it start growin wild in our front yard in the spring. I'm not joking.

[Nurse3]

I live near Pikeville and work in downtown Pikeville. If you like big city life then this is definitely not the place for you. My husband is a coal miner and we have children in school. This is a good place to raise children. They can get out and play with out the worries of keeping your eye on them at all times. As for being a bad place to live, has anyone that lives here noticed the signs that say "Welcome to Pikeville, one of the 100 best small towns in America"??? That should say it all. We also have a college and community and technical college. Oh and by the way we have a medical school at PC. Our medical center has been rated one of the best in America also. As everywhere in America you have people that draw checks, and although I don't agree with the way it is determine if someone needs to draw a check, they still do.

[fujikochan]

Pikeville is a great place to live in and visit. It's easily the biggest city in Eastern KY aside from Ashland, and it's got quite a lot to do, with more things being added all the time. They've got a nice movie theater, some great local and national restaurants, plenty of shopping, and an excellent university. It's where other people in the surrounding counties go to in order to have fun.

The rest of the region is terrible, though, and should be avoided (although Prestonsburg and Hazard are not too bad, either). If you are remotely different in appearance or thinking, you will become a target for someone's narrow-minded bull****. There are a lot of poor, run down areas, and the culture of poverty is difficult for people to break out of. It's easy to see the side effects of coal mining (bad roads thanks to overfilled coal trucks, soot everywhere, coal flying out of trucks and hitting cars, undrinkable water).

[Sweetnsour13]

It depends where you're coming from, but YES it is bad around here. There is nothing to do in this area! "Pillbilly" is a term you will hear often, unfortunately. Most people are not open-minded and it is a very religious area. You can look up a particular town's [domain blocked due to spam] forum and you will see how much gossiping and bullying goes on around here. AGAIN....there is NOTHING to do in this area of eastern KY!

[PilgrimsProgress]

So how is it ten years later? Pikesville and Paintsville seemed nice judging by youtube videos. I'm retired and researching where to move. I figure KY GA SC have a low cost of living. I'm not a lady of leisure who goes on cruises every year. I will be renting but it's surprisingly hard to find apartments, at least using the bigger apartment search websites.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress

So how is it ten years later? Pikesville and Paintsville seemed nice judging by youtube videos. I'm retired and researching where to move. I figure KY GA SC have a low cost of living. I'm not a lady of leisure who goes on cruises every year. I will be renting but it's surprisingly hard to find apartments, at least using the bigger apartment search websites.

My mother and her family are from the southeastern part of Kentucky. She went back over there this past December for the holidays, to visit some distant relatives.

Still the same, for that particular region of Middlesboro, Barboursville, Corbin, London, Hazard, etc.--few jobs in general, and very few high paying jobs except medical, government and maybe education. The region continues to be very insular, and social activities revolve around church first, and school second--where everyone knows everyone else-or at least some of their family.

It can be perceived as somewhat of a hostile and standoff-ish area, to those not growing up around southeastern/eastern Kentucky.

My mom describes that region as "suffocating" - in terms of tight valleys, widespread poverty, limited mindsets, and church - centric viewpoints. But, hey, to each their own.

The region is so slow growing and/or stagnant, that few new residents move in, and those that live there know everyone else, and there's a ton of poverty, with people stuck in cycle after cycle, generation after generation--unless you move.

I'm sure someone moving in with means could live a wonderful life there though, as long as they enjoyed the rural Appalachian mountains sort of life.

Key is to have money, and then you could have what you want, and leave and come back when you want.

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

My mother and her family are from the southeastern part of Kentucky. She went back over there this past December for the holidays, to visit some distant relatives.

Still the same, for that particular region of Middlesboro, Barboursville, Corbin, London, Hazard, etc.--few jobs in general, and very few high paying jobs except medical, government and maybe education. The region continues to be very insular, and social activities revolve around church first, and school second--where everyone knows everyone else-or at least some of their family.

It can be perceived as somewhat of a hostile and standoff-ish area, to those not growing up around southeastern/eastern Kentucky.

My mom describes that region as "suffocating" - in terms of tight valleys, widespread poverty, limited mindsets, and church - centric viewpoints. But, hey, to each their own.

The region is so slow growing and/or stagnant, that few new residents move in, and those that live there know everyone else, and there's a ton of poverty, with people stuck in cycle after cycle, generation after generation--unless you move.

I'm sure someone moving in with means could live a wonderful life there though, as long as they enjoyed the rural Appalachian mountains sort of life.

Key is to have money, and then you could have what you want, and leave and come back when you want.

As always, it depends on what you are looking for. I’ve known people who have relocated to the area and think they have found heaven on Earth and others that find it miserable. I have noticed people who are inclined towards church seem to adjust better, but overall if you are someone who craves a lot of distractions outside of home and hearth it probably isn’t a good region to move to - regardless of income.

[Jzer21]

You might want to watch these videos made by a Youtuber called Peter Santenello. He travels to lots of different locations (the Appalachia area is among them) to get a balanced, unfiltered take on things. These videos represent the poorest of Eastern KY and WV where you'll find both the good and the bad, plus a history lesson on the area.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3O6bKdPLbw&t=1402s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9lSZlDJAC0

Hope you find it helpful.