Quality of life and things to do in Bluefield WV

[David Kennedy]

One of the untapped resources of this state is the multitude of old city buildings that still exist...just waiting to either be destroyed, so city planners can create parking lots and divert water...OR brought back to life with restoration....the smaller towns await...excellent brickwork and stone pediments...signs of the wealth of our past...many are being rescued by the insightful people who come here...in this particular post I wasnt to say thank you...after they are destroyed they are completely forgotton...We have plenty of undeveloped land for the new Costcos and Walmarts...they need to be seperated anyway as they will be destroyed as they wear out...aprox 20/30 year life for those disposable buildings..

[willndenver]

i grew up in bluefield and in the 30 years i've been gone, in talking with friends and family it seems somethings have and havn't changed.most of the southern end of bluefield is well kept and white, with the exception of a smallish black area close to downtown that is steep and could be called the "middle income" area for black folk. the north side is largely poorere blacks and some poor whites.i am a pro musician (classical) and can't speak to the jazz scence, if there is one in town. there are three colleges in and around bluefield(bluefield state, bluefield(american baptist) college just over the city line in va. and concord university about 30 miles away. each of these has a music school whic does productions, but an orchestra or synfonia would make you drive 100 miles to charleston wv, roanoke or blacksburg va for a listen. probably the strongest music making hapens in the city'd mainline churches. mot every church (mainline. not snake handling) has a pipe organ and there were half a dozen churches with well trained and gifted full time directors, something ofen hard to come by in towns/cities 10 times the size of bluefield. there is an arts center in the former city hall downtown. the once popular "communiy concert series has long since been shut down.
as for predujuice it can still be found there but not nearly as outspoken as in earlier times. the middle and senior high schhols are diverse because of necessity, but not so much in the neighborhoods. for a small wv town: when i was a kid bluefield had a black well respected police chief and homecoming queen!bluefield is not mcdowell county- home to the southern wv coal miner. i'd say in many ways you'd not know you were in wv, if not tld. generally the weathe never gets to extremes. the "nature's air conditioned city" is pretty correct in the summer months.

[WVmamaof2]

I live in Bluefield. It CAN be a wonderful place, and it can also be bad at times. The schools are decent, the city park is pretty good. The park has a bike/ walking trail, a nice area for children to play, shelters, and a mini train to ride. The people are generally nice. I have not seen segregation other than a community in Northside. I find that the college and the sports teams bring in a variety of people. I consider myself a mutt (thoroughly mixed with many races) but I have noticed the police and officials (mainly state police) being very demeaning and racist. As with everywhere there is a drug problem it worsens going into McDowell county (where I was raised). They call us four-season country. We have a mild spring and fall, a cold winter and a warm summer. It reaches 90° anywhere from 4-15 times in the summer. Usually there is one large snow storm and then dusting throughout the winter (some years prove us wrong). I am generally happy here, but if I had the money I would move to an island...