Looking around Prestonsburg, KY (Ashland, Pikeville: crime, daycare, public schools)

[scremer1]

Hi I am going to be working in the Prestonsburg area very soon and I am looking for a town to live in. I really prefer having dining, shopping, daycare, and things to do. Any advice? I was looking at Pikeville, Morehead, Ashland )maybe too far). thanks!

[No More Propaganda]

Ashland is better than Morehead (everything centers around the college), Pikeville is still too stereotypical. Ashland borders Huntington, W.V. which is W.V.'s second largest city. Housing is low by comparison to most areas, as is the cost of living. Prestonsburg is about a 45 min. drive on the scenic rt. (not sure by the highway). We have malls, museums, art center, broadway shows, concerts, all types of restaurants. Local bus system that connects to W.V.'s. Amtrak stops here as does Greyhound (the old CSX train depot has been refurbished and used for both), crime is low, schools good with plenty of extra cirricular activities. We have a boat dock & park, an extensive genealogy collection at the library. We have an excellent library where you can rent, game consoles, games, cds, books, etc. Several times a month they have things for kids & adults of all ages (Boyd County Public Library, Ashland, Kentucky) that are free. In July there's Summer Motion 2007 - Welcome for several days that have free concerts in the park and boat docks. This year we had Lee Greenwood, Starship and several other big names. There's a couple of flea markets and several farmer's markets. The list is endless. I always call Ashland Kentucky's best kept secret. I've been to the other 3 places several times but Idon't think I'd want to live there especially with kids and their low tolerance for boredom. lol.

[gotide4]

don't move to any of them..! It sounds like you would want a sense of civilization.....you won't find it in any of those towns. Eastern ky as a whole is a run down depressing place to be. You feel isolated from the rest of the world and twenty years behind the times. As far as raising kids there; don't. There is not enough opportunity for them there...not enough things to do which leads to boredom and then trouble...if not your kids then there friends. The public schools stink and are ranked at the general bottom of the state. If you want to live in ky...go to northern kentucky. It is full of top ranked schools ...public and private. There is shopping; pro sports; real culture, any thing you want is there or across the river in cincinnati. It is a very white collar area and your kids will thrive there. They will be around other kids that want to go to college and are expected to do so...not so much in eastern ky. Eastern ky is a pretty place with kind people but it got a sterotype for a reason...unfortunately the rest of the state must suffer due to the image they portrayed in the past. Health care is awful there too...anything serious must be dealt with in lexington...the hospitals in eastern ky stink and aren't really equipped for anything to serious. Live in lexington, northern kentucky, or louisville and you will love it....its beautiful and part of civilization. This post is negative but is true...you won't like to live there...its too isolated and behind the times.

[US_UK]

The Prestonsburg area is too far from Ashland or Morehead to comfortably commute from. As far as living in Pikeville and driving to Prestonsburg to work, the road is full of loaded, speeding coal trucks and is heavily traveled. May I suggest checking into Paintsville, in Johnson county? Paintsville is a 15 minute drive north from Prestonsburg and seems less "Eastern Kentucky" stereotypical than the rest of the towns along Rt. 23 (North to south are Ashland, Louisa, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Pikeville)

[highliner]

To quote the late, great comedian Richard Pryor. " Let's all drink a big old toast to None Of The Above"!