pikeville was just what I thought it would be (Louisville: fit in, home)

[gotide4]

after getting slammed in a previous thread about my views on eastern kentucky my wife and I decided to go down there for the weekend. It was just like I thought it would be. The people were wonderful and charming but beyond that was a weekend full of disappointment. We went with an open mind but for the most part the sterotype rings true. It was like going back in time twenty years. We asked the locals for suggestions on what to do for fun and were repeatedly told to drive to lexington. This town has nothing to offer folks for entertainment....god knows what high school kids do here for fun other than 'cruise'. Its a depressing area and a run down forgotten place. Most of the people with any potential or higher education leave to get it and don't come back....no opportunities for them. At applebees we met a young couple and chatted with them. He moved back there for a job and she came with him but is miserable there and joked for us to take them back with us...ha. Like I said very nice people but if they ever want more for there region things and attitudes need to change or they will keep loosing there own to better places with more opportunity .

[missymomof3]

I find that very sad. It's a shame people have to leave where they grew up to have opportunities

[rnc76]

I met lots of extremely smart, motivated people from Eastern KY when I went to UK. I can't think of one that went back after college. Culturally, rural Appalachia seems to frown upon people that go off and get educated because you are somehow betraying your roots. I think you see the same dynamics in poor, inner city neighborhoods sometimes.

[daswampmama]

Originally Posted by gotide4

after getting slammed in a previous thread about my views on eastern kentucky my wife and I decided to go down there for the weekend. It was just like I thought it would be. The people were wonderful and charming but beyond that was a weekend full of disappointment. We went with an open mind but for the most part the sterotype rings true. It was like going back in time twenty years. We asked the locals for suggestions on what to do for fun and were repeatedly told to drive to lexington. This town has nothing to offer folks for entertainment....god knows what high school kids do here for fun other than 'cruise'. Its a depressing area and a run down forgotten place. Most of the people with any potential or higher education leave to get it and don't come back....no opportunities for them. At applebees we met a young couple and chatted with them. He moved back there for a job and she came with him but is miserable there and joked for us to take them back with us...ha. Like I said very nice people but if they ever want more for there region things and attitudes need to change or they will keep loosing there own to better places with more opportunity .

I read your comment about Pikeville with interest. I lived there for three years and was glad to leave. To me, the people are "nice," but "warily nice." If you are not "from there," you will rarely, if ever, be invited into their home . . . nor will they come into YOUR home if you invite them!

Ignorance is all-pervasive, and most seem "proud" of it. I actually met people who believed maggots come from rotting chicken! (Not flies laying eggs on rotting chicken) Anyone who tries to "speak properly" will be ridiculed mercilessly.

I grew up in Mississippi, and have traveled and lived all over the Southeastern United States, but had to live in Pikeville to find grown men who still call their mothers, "Mommy," and couldn't leave Pikeville for a better life because the couldn't "leave Mommy." (Take her with you was apparently not an option)

Pikeville is all about "politics." If you don't know someone, or aren't related to someone, or aren't willing to sleep with someone, you WON'T get a "good job."

Wonder what the kids are into? I can tell you. Satanism. I have seen new housing developments with dead cats stuck to the front doors by a butcher knife. While we were there, four teenagers from Betsy Lane (about five miles from our house), killed the father, mother, and 6 y/o daughter of a family returning from a Jehovah Witness convention, execution style. Tied 'em up, lined 'em up, and shot 'em in a ditch. The 2 y/o son lived, but was blinded in one eye where they had shot him.

I took my four children and left Pikeville for Louisville seven years ago. I am so thankful that my children have had, and will have, opportunities that people in Pikeville can't even imagine.

[Off Topic]

I've lived in Kentucky all my life, and leaving a bigger metro area for the rural areas is still a shock to my system. I think you are being generous when you say it's like going back in time only 20 years. I think 40 is more like it.

I can completely understand why a smart young person would leave as soon as possible. Of course, that's an issue for rural areas all over the country, and not just Kentucky.

Having said all that, rural areas still have a lot to offer if your circumstances are right. I would not hesitate to recommend the Murray area to someone retiring, for example.

[Floridahater]

Wow! This is all so strange. I am an educated individual with an MA in Education and an MA in English, and I have lived in big cities all of my life (in CA and the East Coast). I was thinking about relocating to the mountains of Kentucky. I hate Florida and large cities. Also, who is teaching at the junior colleges in Pikeville or Hazard? One is required to possess at least an MA degree.

I suppose that I would not have a chance for employment if acquiring a good job depends upon being a member of a family that goes back for generations. I am a conservative guy who would like to relocate to the mountains; however, based upon the responses on this thread, I can only surmise that I would not have much of a chance in obtaining a position in the field of education (or I would not be fully accepted by the locals). Indeed,these thread responses sure have shed some light on my desires; or, are my conclusions incorrect? I still do not want to live in another major city. I prefer solitude (especially since I write novels and short stories), but I definitely would not want to be rejected as a outsider if I did relocate! I would appreciate more responses concerning this matter. After all, there are good people everywhere in this great land of the USA!!
Thanks!

[chgannon]

My father was from the Pikeville area growing up there in the 30's.Many times before he passed away,He referred to it as "going back there".The last time I was in Pikeville,was for my grandmothers funeral in October 1982,and the above daswampmama is correct,nice but if you are'nt 1 of them,you may as well be from space..I guess maybe,I have never had the desire to go back,even though my fathers family(Gannon)is from there.

[Miss Blue]

Why do you people only come to any thread about Pikeville to insult the people here? You tell untruths, make fun of us, why? When was the last time you were here? When was the first time you were here? You don't know us, you watch what Tv and movies show you..I was not born here, I chose to live here in order to not raise my children in the large metro areas of Ohio where I was born. The people from my own beloved State of Ky are shameful in their portrayal their fellow citizens. I am leaving the Ky forum and don't think I will come back here. I am tired of coming here only to be saddened and hurt and insulted.

[missymomof3]

blue don't go just because of other's ignorance! You are a wealth of information and I am proud to have you here myself. I think it is wonderful you do all you can to bust the stereotypes

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by Floridahater

Wow! This is all so strange. I am an educated individual with an MA in Education and an MA in English, and I have lived in big cities all of my life (in CA and the East Coast). I was thinking about relocating to the mountains of Kentucky.

To be blunt, I would reconsider - you will not fit in.

There is nothing wrong with Pikeville, depending on your ties to the area or what you are looking for. But someone who grew up in big cities and has an MA is just not going to be happy in Pikeville, imo. That's not necessarily a knock on Pikeville (and I have been there on several occasions) but it's just too different from what you are used to. Every area has something to offer to someone, but you'd be bucking the trend. Again, imo.

Murray would be a better fit. A nicer area, local college, lots of educated retirees.