Questions From a Newbie

It has both its good points and not-so-great points. The common misconception is that everyone who lives in rural Appalachia is dirt-poor and uneducated (not true at all). Many people choose to live there because they are attracted to the way of life, affordable living, and of course, the mountains are gorgeous!

 

It's a good life, but, much like anywhere else, there are downsides. Drugs are a big issue, mostly of the illegal prescription "Hillbilly Heroin" variety, yet somehow the crime rate stays pretty low. The worst thing that's every happened to me was having a digital camera stolen by a guy we had hired to do odd jobs around the property who turned-out to be a pillhead.

Beyond that, the schools aren't great -- if I had kids, they'd be home-schooled; and, there are few decent blue-collar jobs unless you want to mine coal or drive an 18-wheeler, meaning a lot of people who grow up here and aren't into the idea of college end up moving away to find work. There are lots of welfare queens and old retirees here for the low cost-of-living -- best not to try shopping on the 1st or the 3rd of the month, unless you enjoy crowds. Winters are cold. Get used to driving a fair distance for entertainment.

The pluses are beautiful scenery, (mostly) great people, the low cost-of-living, and a general small-town appeal.

 

Very true and well-said.

 

I've often thought about moving to a rural setting with a nearby, decent-sized university. It seems that you can almost have it all. Many of the SEC schools (like UGA, UA, Auburn, MissState, Ole' Miss) or even smaller schools like Clemson or Appalachian State offer all the benefits of a campus but are not part of a big city. UGA, for example, is in a city of about 100k, but a 15-30 minute drive can put you on a dirt road somewhere where it's cheap and quiet.

 

I'm about 2 hours from Marshall University and maybe 90-min. from Virginia Tech -- less than an hour from Concord University; the only things closer are community-colleges, both of the 2-year and 4-year degree-granting variety, but you're point is spot-on.

By the way, I came very close to enrolling at Tiffin for my Masters in CJ, before ultimately settling on APU's M.A. program because it's so much cheaper.

 

I would have also gone to APUS for CJ if they'd have been regionally at the time. I go to AMU now for a history degree and really like it.

After spending 23 years in Atlanta your locale sounds great to me.

 

I like the feel of APU/AMU so far, but my first actual class doesn't start until 3 Sept.; as I said before, the price and the fact that they're well-respected are what attracted me. A friend who works in the Federal Correctional system just completed her MA with them in April/May and has already snagged a transfer/promotion to a facility down south with a decent bump in pay.

I'm sort of in cost-saving mode with respect to me education, so the price tag there is much appreciated. I made some bad decisions with loan money when I was younger and had no intention of ever going to Grad-school, and now I'm having to penny-pinch to be sure there's enough loan eligibility (without taking-out private loans) for me to be able to get the degrees I want, up to and including a Ph.D.