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.
The Pennsylvania option should probably just say Pennsylvania, not just western PA. A big portion is in central PA, and even the Appalachian Trail is in eastern and central PA.
Draw a line from Williamsport, PA, through State College, Altoona, and Cumberland, MD, and add the territory within 50 miles in any direction -- it's all I'll ever need.
Objectively, East Tennessee. Knoxville and Chattanooga are on fire right now, Kingsport and Johnson City are also doing well by Appalachian standards.
Subjectively, I'm most interested in southern WV, eastern KY, and western NY. Strongly considering including one or more of these areas on one of my first trips after I get max immunity from my second dose.
Eastern KY / Southern Ohio also perks my interest the most; it's different from the rest... It's not mountains and valleys, just a vast maze of steep hills and "hollers", mostly all under the radar.
Pittsburgh is such a cool city cause it's plopped down in terrain like this. And it had more money dumped on it than most of the rest of the Appalachians.
*economy and jobs - Northern AL
*growth overall: Northern AL
*cost of living: Northern AL but if Mississippi were included I would choose it.
*schools and universities: Western Pennsylvania
*outdoor activities: Western North Carolina
*mix of ideal smaller towns: Western North Carolina
*brightest future: Northern AL
*best preservation of nature: Not sure, but likely a less industrialized region would be better preserved.
The Huntsville, AL region has really performed well over the last decade. The region also has a growing minority business community that often goes overlooked in media outlets. The TV show Love and Marriage Huntsville gives a glimpse of the growth and investment going on.
I visited Huntsville for several days in 2018. I was surprised by what I saw in a good way. Huntsville is very low cost and has a nice, diverse economy with high-paying jobs. The area is still undiscovered by many people on a national scale, but it's a great city and area.
The outlying areas of northern Alabama are not my favorite though. They seem very dated and have little outside investment in the towns and cities that dot the region.
Very beautiful landscape too.
It's a nice area low cost area that's not very exciting to live in but has come a long way with amenities.. There wasn't much more than TGI Friday's type places there in the early 2000s. It's underrated and under recongized nationally and at the same time overrated by some of locals there who tout it as the greatest thing since sliced bread.
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.
