Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm super interested in these more or less abandoned towns and small cities in upper Appalachia, mainly in WV and PA.
Think something like Welch, WV. Tiny town now, way down from its peak population in the 20th century. But beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc.
A DENSE artist village in the mountains...kind of my dream.
I'm super interested in these more or less abandoned towns and small cities in upper Appalachia, mainly in WV and PA.
Think something like Welch, WV. Tiny town now, way down from its peak population in the 20th century. But beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc.
A DENSE artist village in the mountains...kind of my dream.
These places will never, and I mean never get gentrified or grow in any way, shape, or form unless large amounts of climate refugees start coming into the region or until a 1 bdr costs 3k a month in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Yeah, unfortunately there’s nothing to incentivize people to want to live in these towns. I’ve never been to Welch, although it looks beautiful in photos, but it’s 4 hours from the nearest sizable city in Knoxville, TN. There’s no economy to support the already fleeing population.
People still want to live in big cities where they can travel and meet other people. The fact that the internet exists makes these small towns difficult as they lack the internet infrastructure needed to do many WFH jobs. So you don't have a lot of bars or foodie restaurants people like to go, lack of airport to travel to other places easily, lack of internet infrastructure, any town without these things will fail in the 21st century.
Towns that have done well at this have managed to hold on to their populations or even grow. It's less to do with the setting and more about what the town itself offers, not just the mountains.
Think something like Welch, WV. Tiny town now, way down from its peak population in the 20th century. But beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc.
How did you even find Welch, WV on a map? I was looking at some houses there that were valued less than $12,000.
I'm super interested in these more or less abandoned towns and small cities in upper Appalachia, mainly in WV and PA.
Think something like Welch, WV. Tiny town now, way down from its peak population in the 20th century. But beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc.
A DENSE artist village in the mountains...kind of my dream.
How did you even find Welch, WV on a map? I was looking at some houses there that were valued less than $12,000.
i'm not even sure. i think i saw a picture of it once, and was just really struck by the density of the downtown in contrast with the surrounding rolling hills.
I'm super interested in these more or less abandoned towns and small cities in upper Appalachia, mainly in WV and PA.
Think something like Welch, WV. Tiny town now, way down from its peak population in the 20th century. But beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc.
A DENSE artist village in the mountains...kind of my dream.
You mean the 10 or so years before every house costs $1 million dollars and the only artists that live there have 3rd or 4th vacation homes?
These places will never, and I mean never get gentrified or grow in any way, shape, or form unless large amounts of climate refugees start coming into the region or until a 1 bdr costs 3k a month in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
^^This. Besides, these Appalachian ghost towns are ghost towns for a reason. Not only are they not anywhere near major cities, they're not near even the smallest commercial airports and are miles away from the nearest interstate highways. They're far too remote and far too removed from "civilization" to ever be gentrified.
The OP's example of Welch WV is a good one, one that will remain insignificant in our lifetime and that of our grandchildren. While Welch itself was never that big (its population topped out at only 6600 in 1950) it's the county seat of McDowell County which had a population of 99,000 in 1950 but today has only 27,000. Here's a picture of downtown Welch in 1947 and one of downtown Welch today. (from wikimedia)
Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of artist community situated in the downtown core of a place like this? Lofts, studios, performance spaces, etc. A DENSE artist village in the mountains...kind of my dream.
A few to check out:
- Jim Thorpe, PA
- Shepherdstown, WV
- Lewisburg, WV This book has suggestions for other states.
I'd happened to hear about Shepherdstown and Lewisburg by word-of-mouth, but they're two of the three "Ascend Communities," where a WV entrepreneur is offering cash grants to young in-migrants. It's telling that the program is targeted to bring additional talent and investment to three towns which already have substantial asset bases (lively downtowns, population & job growth, large employers, existing artists & young people) -- rather than trying to start from scratch in someplace cheaper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by smokehousecheddar
beautiful setting, and EXCELLENT bones and some cool old architecture
Problem is, people might say that they want all of these but ultimately don't prioritize them. They're third-order considerations that might be a tiebreaker when someone's deciding where to live. Almost anyone's first- and second-order considerations in a location decision are much more basic things -- close to work, close to family & friends, sufficient space for the price, acceptable infrastructure and services, etc.
1. "Beautiful setting" is oddly plentiful. There are thousands of lovely mountain valleys, especially in the Appalachians; problem is, few of them are easily accessible to where people already live. (Same goes for beaches, really.) Besides access to the wider world, also consider how useless wilderness is on its own: 1/6 of Americans say hiking on trails is fun, but many fewer enjoy bushwhacking.
2. "Excellent bones" is the kind of thing urban designers care about, but not something that matters to 99% of end users. They want ease of use, and frankly that often means a more suburban setting. People would understandably rather live near an actual coffee shop than a building that has the potential to be a coffee shop.
3. "Cool old architecture" is again, oddly plentiful in this part of the country, but doesn't matter to most people. About 0.1% of Americans are "members or supporters" of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, if that gives you an idea of its constituency. Most people want working plumbing, not "cool old" plumbing -- even more so if the working plumbing is cheaper.
Think about it: how often does anyone mention "excellent bones" as one of their must-haves on HGTV House Hunters? Again, it might be a nice-to-have, if it's ever mentioned at all.
Last edited by paytonc; 07-08-2021 at 08:17 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
