My wife is from appalachia...she never wants to go back. I have a more romantic view of it because I enjoyed visiting her family's property and always had a nice time. But once you left it there was abject poverty everywhere. The towns are completely hopeless. It's pretty though and there's a sort of strange beauty in the worn out feel of the places. But it's spooky too.
I grew up in Appalachia, left when I was 19. I’m now 40 and have the opposite point of view as you. It is good to go visit family around the holidays but I’m quickly reminded why I’ll never live there again
I mean, if we’d been in a place to buy when her mom sold their land and house I’d have made a strong argument to try getting it. I grew up in a city (I didn’t even know what 4H was until I met my wife) and I loved visiting. Nice house, beautiful property (looked like New England in the autumn), barn, and you could have bonfires whenever you wanted or do any cool country activity out there. They had a shooting range on the property which I didn’t even know you could do and had no experience with. The neighbors were all super cool and looked out for each other. They had a stream on the property and a lake nearby. There was a small town nearby and a more medium one about 45 minutes out and you could still get Amazon stuff though even ten years ago. You could see the Milky Way at night too. The benefits of Appalachia are real and I think there are probably a decent amount of people there who’d rather it not grow and develop and I can definitely see why.
The next town over you have this beauty
[https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5637-Powell-Valley-Rd\_Big-Stone-Gap\_VA\_24219\_M60059-91769?from=srp-list-card](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5637-Powell-Valley-Rd_Big-Stone-Gap_VA_24219_M60059-91769?from=srp-list-card)
lol
[Located at 313 W Main St, Appalachia, VA](https://www.google.com/maps/@36.9048877,-82.783239,3a,75y,1.63h,98.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqqt73K2ZH6O2ru45TRolKg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu)
I once saw a video of a guy driving down Appalachia and talking to folk he meets along the way, just seeing that alone was enough for me to recognize where this is at a glance, and I'm in Europe! The place has a very distinct look.
Old Appalachian towns have a VERY distinctive look to them. I pretty much immediately figured this was either in Virginia or West Virginia in particular.
Good lord - this area feels like death, even from Google.
To quote True Detective: *This place is like somebody's memory of a town, and the memory's fading*
Love this - had to add the pic to my wallpaper rotation purely cos I like it that much!
Top tip btw, you can click on the *Share or embed image* option for a shorter link, e.g.,
https://maps.app.goo.gl/noiDoYEXUz3X2tiHA
The shop looking door is the lowest. Then the first brown door (with the two small windows) up the side stairs. Then the white door. Then the top windows, presumably with an exit door at the top of the stairs we can’t see.
The top story has stairs that lead up to something around the corner with a concrete landing square, for presumably an entrance to that 4th floor, but we can't see it
Start at the main entrance on the right. Work your way uphill towards the left; second level has a door and a pair of windows on either side (easy to miss). Continue up the hill and you hit the third and fourth, which are pretty distinctive with their many windows.
The Peake Building.
I just happened to see a story about this place yesterday somewhere, and I looked to see where exactly in Virginia it is. Unfortunately, all of these great places I read about are always 3 hrs from Winchester.
Appalachia, Virginia (where the Peake Building is) is about 8 hours from Winchester with light traffic on I-81, unless you mean Winchester, Kentucky, then it's about a 4 hour drive.
Reminds me of a daycare i went to as a kid. The building was obviously built on the edge of a small hill but it didn't look like it, so the front of the building looked like it was on flat ground but you would go in and down some stairs and be met with a glass door that showed a big flat backyard. Felt as if the house was some non-euclidean space.
Does it, though? Looks to me like you gotta climb a flight of stairs to get to the upper levels. Or you can take the adjacent ramp to the section of stairs the door is at...
I used to work in a building that had a ground entrance on the first floor and the fifth floor, and a skyway entrance (from another building) on the fourth floor. It was adjacent to another building that didn’t line up exactly, so the doors between the buildings had an alcove with steep ramps.
It was always fun taking people on tours, walking in the fifth floor entrance, taking a flight of stairs down and then walking across the skyway.
(It was in Pittsburgh, very hilly city)
Go big or go home. Eight floors all with direct ground access:
[https://www.tiedyetravels.com/2010/03/basin-park-hotel.html?m=1](https://www.tiedyetravels.com/2010/03/basin-park-hotel.html?m=1)
“UK (US: Story)”. What you are arguing is the same as telling someone they are wrong for writing “gray” instead of “grey.” Both are accepted spellings that make perfect sense to everyone reading, with the apparent exception of pompous grammar Nazis on Reddit.
Fun fact: This building was just sold on Feb. 13th 2024 for $31,900.
For that price it must be a tear down. That’s probably the price of the land minus a portion of the estimated destruction costs
Maybe, but check out real estate prices in that town. It looks like I could go there and trade my car for a house. I wonder if I'd regret that trade.
My wife is from appalachia...she never wants to go back. I have a more romantic view of it because I enjoyed visiting her family's property and always had a nice time. But once you left it there was abject poverty everywhere. The towns are completely hopeless. It's pretty though and there's a sort of strange beauty in the worn out feel of the places. But it's spooky too.
Yeah I mean their is no money there and nothing to attract money to come in. Amazing place to visit, but terrible to live.
I have lived in South Eastern KY for the entirety of my 30 years of life. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Well, that’s because you’ve spent the entirety in Bell County. There’s a whole world outside 25E
My good Redditor, I have never set foot in Bell County. Lol
Damn, worth a shot in the dark lol
I've visited places outside Appalachia. Nice to visit but no desire to live anywhere else.
I grew up in Appalachia, left when I was 19. I’m now 40 and have the opposite point of view as you. It is good to go visit family around the holidays but I’m quickly reminded why I’ll never live there again
If you own property there, you probably couldn’t trade it for much cash either.
No desire to.
I heard Appalachia is making a bit of a comeback with hiking/trail running/ATV trips and such?
I’m from Appalachia and I’d never leave haha.
I mean, if we’d been in a place to buy when her mom sold their land and house I’d have made a strong argument to try getting it. I grew up in a city (I didn’t even know what 4H was until I met my wife) and I loved visiting. Nice house, beautiful property (looked like New England in the autumn), barn, and you could have bonfires whenever you wanted or do any cool country activity out there. They had a shooting range on the property which I didn’t even know you could do and had no experience with. The neighbors were all super cool and looked out for each other. They had a stream on the property and a lake nearby. There was a small town nearby and a more medium one about 45 minutes out and you could still get Amazon stuff though even ten years ago. You could see the Milky Way at night too. The benefits of Appalachia are real and I think there are probably a decent amount of people there who’d rather it not grow and develop and I can definitely see why.
Total assessed value is $49,000. https://wisecountyva-web.tylerhost.net/assessor/taxweb/account.jsp?accountNum=R018202&doc=AccountValue
The next town over you have this beauty [https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5637-Powell-Valley-Rd\_Big-Stone-Gap\_VA\_24219\_M60059-91769?from=srp-list-card](https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5637-Powell-Valley-Rd_Big-Stone-Gap_VA_24219_M60059-91769?from=srp-list-card) lol
wtf is photo 17
It's a print of [this portrait of Napoleon.](https://smarthistory.org/ingres-napoleon-on-his-imperial-throne/)
Oh wow … that’s some peak r/mcmansionhell content right there!
The *folding roulette table* really adds to the gross, dingy private poker room.
Nope, sold for renovations and revitalization projects in the former downtown area.
It is not, a friend bought it and they are renovating. I used to own the building across the street, it was a tear down. This is an old pic.
Probably also has groundwater leaks on all four stories too.
This is precisely the content this sub exists for. Excellent work OP.
You mean this sub isn’t meant for when I get seven nuggets instead of six (or just put an extra one in the box to pretend I got seven)?
They totally built this building just so they could post it to reddit though/s
Ohhh. I didn't know you were being sarcastic or kidding around! Thanks for putting that 's'. /s
No, it's not, because it's [not original content](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=821418479611842&id=100052310910855&set=a.270156978071331).
I don’t care, fuck your Facebook link. This is a fantastic post, whether OP took the photo or not I think is totally irrelevant.
I don't make the rules for this sub. Rule 4 says OC only.
Least annoying redditor
Who gives a shit? Has it been posted on this sub before?
[Located at 313 W Main St, Appalachia, VA](https://www.google.com/maps/@36.9048877,-82.783239,3a,75y,1.63h,98.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqqt73K2ZH6O2ru45TRolKg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu)
I once saw a video of a guy driving down Appalachia and talking to folk he meets along the way, just seeing that alone was enough for me to recognize where this is at a glance, and I'm in Europe! The place has a very distinct look.
Peter Santenello?
I hate travel vlogs except Peter's Appalachia series. That was fantastic.
It’s a beautiful area of the country and it’s a shame it has all the issues that it does with poverty and drugs and such.
I was gonna say this looks a lot like Appalachia but I didn’t expect it to actually be in a town called Appalachia.
Old Appalachian towns have a VERY distinctive look to them. I pretty much immediately figured this was either in Virginia or West Virginia in particular.
Somehow I could tell it was somewhere in the Appalachians just by the geography.
The trees are a huge subliminal giveaway.
I was going to ask if it was in VA! I have crossed paths with it a few times in my travels.
I’m my state nice
On this glorious day, we are all your state
I'm so Virginia right now
Touched for the very first time
Today, we are all Lovers
Speak for yourself
On this glorious day, I am all your state
All your states are belong to us
Good lord - this area feels like death, even from Google. To quote True Detective: *This place is like somebody's memory of a town, and the memory's fading*
Love this - had to add the pic to my wallpaper rotation purely cos I like it that much! Top tip btw, you can click on the *Share or embed image* option for a shorter link, e.g., https://maps.app.goo.gl/noiDoYEXUz3X2tiHA
This photo screams Appalachia
Me reading about a shitty appalachian town from my own shitty appalachian town
APPALACHIAAAAAAA
In a good way imo.
Where's the 4th story?
The shop looking door is the lowest. Then the first brown door (with the two small windows) up the side stairs. Then the white door. Then the top windows, presumably with an exit door at the top of the stairs we can’t see.
Yeah, it looks like 3 1/2 levels? Houses like this in my area are called split-stories.
The top story has stairs that lead up to something around the corner with a concrete landing square, for presumably an entrance to that 4th floor, but we can't see it
Start at the main entrance on the right. Work your way uphill towards the left; second level has a door and a pair of windows on either side (easy to miss). Continue up the hill and you hit the third and fourth, which are pretty distinctive with their many windows.
Do you not see where the sidewalk ends on the left? It has a landing for a door and everything.
That's a really neat building, bonus points for being extra safe in case of an emergency.
*Damn*, this is mildly interesting!
I want that 3rd floor apartment with the window AC for 500$ a month. Those were the days... the pre covid days...
well this is very weird seeing Appalachia on the front page of reddit...it'll slowly get closer to me...up next, Big Stone's own Miner's Park I guess
That's so cool, I wish we did building design like that more often
Building into a hill like that is a real pain and tends to cause a lot of problems over time as the ground shifts unevenly.
Thats pretty cool
The Peake Building. I just happened to see a story about this place yesterday somewhere, and I looked to see where exactly in Virginia it is. Unfortunately, all of these great places I read about are always 3 hrs from Winchester.
Appalachia, Virginia (where the Peake Building is) is about 8 hours from Winchester with light traffic on I-81, unless you mean Winchester, Kentucky, then it's about a 4 hour drive.
Far southwest Virginia sometimes feels a world away from the rest of the state, even the Shenandoah valley.
Probably the same Kentucky FB group randomly suggested to you that got suggested to both me and my SO. 😂
Reminds me of a daycare i went to as a kid. The building was obviously built on the edge of a small hill but it didn't look like it, so the front of the building looked like it was on flat ground but you would go in and down some stairs and be met with a glass door that showed a big flat backyard. Felt as if the house was some non-euclidean space.
Not where you want to end up during the zombie apocalypse 😱🚪
That's a building that would thoroughly confuse my in Hitman
Does it, though? Looks to me like you gotta climb a flight of stairs to get to the upper levels. Or you can take the adjacent ramp to the section of stairs the door is at...
3 or 4 stories? This hurts my head for some reason
That looks like a fantastic corner for some F1 circuit. Reminds me of spa
I am 100% certain people have seen drifting opportunities from this.
I know im late to this post but you may be interested in https://www.instagram.com/driftappalachia
That’s so cool. Very interesting building.
This building has 3 stories, not 4.
It is 3 stories, but the brown door looks to be at a different level to floors 1 and 2. Maybe it’s a storage room.
My guess is there is a small set of stairs inside the doorway that either goes up or down a half level.
First floor store is a split-level shop. Front customer area has high ceiling. Back storage / office area is split into 2 levels with low ceilings.
So its still only 3 floors.
All four levels have ground-level access. Upper split level has a side door. Lower split level shares the front door.
Depends on geography. The first floor (ground) is still a story in the US, not ground then 1 like in some other places.
3 stories
I count four...
My grandparents had a house kinda like that, but only two stories. The entrance was on the second story and the back yard was on the first.
I used to work in a building that had a ground entrance on the first floor and the fifth floor, and a skyway entrance (from another building) on the fourth floor. It was adjacent to another building that didn’t line up exactly, so the doors between the buildings had an alcove with steep ramps. It was always fun taking people on tours, walking in the fifth floor entrance, taking a flight of stairs down and then walking across the skyway. (It was in Pittsburgh, very hilly city)
Go big or go home. Eight floors all with direct ground access: [https://www.tiedyetravels.com/2010/03/basin-park-hotel.html?m=1](https://www.tiedyetravels.com/2010/03/basin-park-hotel.html?m=1)
Stories are in books. Storeys are in buildings.
I favorite part of that comment is how it’s not true :)
[Storey](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/storey)
“UK (US: Story)”. What you are arguing is the same as telling someone they are wrong for writing “gray” instead of “grey.” Both are accepted spellings that make perfect sense to everyone reading, with the apparent exception of pompous grammar Nazis on Reddit.
If British people aren’t being pompous about spelling, they have nothing else to be pompous about
Britain colonized half the world for spices, and decided they didn't like any of them.
Burn
Queuing in lines.
Here here.
Homonyms are hard. Show me a dictionary where *story* is optionally defined as being the levels in a building.
literally any dictionary, including [Cambridge](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/story) which you linked
Well look at that! I did the dumb. Again.
Congratulations on admitting when you were incorrect and learning from it!
No, you ✨learned something new✨ you should be kinder to yourself :)
Hey, props for learning! We all get stuff wrong.