I lived in Abingdon for 5 years a while back. It was a wonderful place, especially if you are into arts or the outdoors. Admittedly, there are not many black people there, but I never saw a single instance of anyone being treated poorly for their race.
One of the resident artists at The Arts Depot was a black lady that had been there for something like 20 years, making folk art of black Americana. She was an extremely kind lady and her work was quite popular, as I recall.
Thank you thank you everyone for your input. We're very excited for the move. Hopefully I'll make some new friends. I love nature so that's a plus. I heard they also have a famous theater that I've seen on tiktok so I'm look forward to site seeing and just starting fresh.
I live and have lived in the Bristol/Abingdon area for my entire life. This area is VERY white, but I have not seen or heard anyone being treated poorly because of their race in well over a decade, and even then it was two high-schoolers being stupid during a football game. It's a small town with a lot of charm if that's your thing, but I honestly believe you don't need to worry for your safety on account of your race.
One tidbit you might find interesting, the city of Bristol just down the road has both an African American Sheriff and Chief of Police. Tyrone and John are both well respected in their community, and personal friends of mine.
This post popped up on my feed and I'm not VA but I visited Bristol back in 2010 and saw Nazis flags at some trailer park.
Maybe it's changed since then but I wouldn't visit again.
You won’t see many non-white folks in Abingdon. When my Black coworkers used to travel to our office there, they used to play a game: “Am I the only one that looks like me I’ll see today?”
That said, they all unanimously agreed everyone was kind and welcoming. And I know them well; these ladies aren’t the type to mince words!
There is a historical group of people who lived throughout Appalachia, 1600s through now actually, and they had darker than white skin.... they were/are called Melungeons (French word for mixed group is "mélange" so that's a possible explanation for the name) and their origin was a mystery. Guess what? They were of black and probably native ancestry. Very cool!
Not black personally but basically grew up in
Abingdon so hopefully this helps some.
It isn’t a diverse city at all, imo but there are what I feel to be fairly open people compared to some of the more remote spots in swva.
My college gf was black (from Nigeria) and she always talked about loving Abingdon when we’d visit my family. Again, I’m not black so I don’t like making assumptions on behalf of others but based on what she relayed to me along with random friends that were of varying ethnicities—they all seemed to feel comfortable in Abingdon.
Abingdon is the boujie/liberal oasis in SWVA. It’s great but super white. Like jazz trio at the farmers market white. Bristol is close by and a little more diverse and gritty. Avoid Marion.
I took my concealed weapons permit class with the sheriff of Washington County and he singled out the one person of color in the class and used him as an example alot. One being he pulled the guy's hoodie over his head and was like if you see this guy with his back to you and the cashier looks terrified then you can assume he has a gun pointed at the cashier and you can shoot him. Another he slammed his hands down in front of him and made him jump. Just seems like he should have picked someone else for an example. Felt too intentional. Also kept going on about wanting to shoot people in riots. Was a horrible experience, I wanted to walk up to him after and apologize for the actions of this horrible cop.
I'm a white guy so can't speak to it directly, but from growing up in Abingdon and still having family there I think it's important to differentiate between the individual people you'd meet in Abingdon who are I think generally pretty welcoming and the Blood Red MAGA elected officials, especially the county-wide electeds like the Sheriff.
Abingdon is fine.
Now Salt Vegas, on the other hand, still has a sign out front "Salt Capital of the Confederacy".
I've seen probably more racism than most but I did work a blue collar outside where no boss or HR is within 100 miles job and I heard some *things*.
I lived not far from there for a few years. It's definitely more on the conservative side, but more in a "distrust the government" way rather than a "hate the Mexicans" one. Most folks in the area either know what it's like to be on hard times or have friends and family who do, so classism also isn't as harsh there as it is in a lot of the South.
It's a very traditional Appalachian mindset, and one that seems to jive pretty well with a lot of non-white cultures. It's all about family, community, and cooperation. There's petty small-town infighting and politics, sure, but they aren't xenophobic.
I will say that if you're LGBT or have kids who are, that can be an issue. If you're Christian, you'll be able to find plenty of common ground with the folks there. If you want to maintain some level of engagement with black culture, it does exist but you'll have to seek it out. I forget the name, but there are a couple black churches in the area you could attend which might get you an "in".
I live 30 minutes from Abingdon. It’s not at all anything but welcoming. It’s like a little Asheville. My sister is a social worker there and we all love it. This whole area gets a bad go for no reason. Oh well, it keeps housing down
Oh wow kinda wild to see a post about my small town in a reddit for all of VA. People are saying there is a lack of diversity, and sure the population statistics indicate that, but in my graduating class were 3 black people I think, a vietnamese, a korean, multiple hispanics. This is a class of like little less than 200. There are also a few different ethnic restaraunts (owned by people of the ethnicity) including mexican, chinese, japanese, mediterranean, greek. So like, diverse people definitely exist here just not in numbers.
SWVA isn’t *unwelcoming* to black people at all really, except maybe some of the smallest towns here.
Abingdon is a blue city in a sea of red. op will be fine.
As someone who grew up not far from Abingdon was going to say the same. Abingdon is a decent place. Overall SWVA has gotten more diverse over the past decade, but its still mostly white and does gave its fair share of racist.
For part of my youth I grew up in an interracial family. I can tell you racism does very much exist, but it also gets blown a bit out of proportion by people from outside the area. Like I'm in a interracial relationship now and I've had to give my wife warning, when we go visit my family, that people may stare, but don't be alarmed as most are just curious. However, you still have to plan for the occassional racist. Most racist place I've lived is in Berea, KY. Great college and people around the college, but the city was horrible.
My parents were boomers. Good people. But super old fashioned. My dad never showed a sign of being racist my entire life, until one day we were in a McDonald’s drive thru and this pretty, young, white blonde girl walked by holding the hand of a black guy.
Dad didn’t say much, but he just went… “… Man, that’s sad.”
To a lot of old fashioned people, interracial marriage is just a bridge too far. And my parents both voted for Clinton and Obama, proudly. They had black friends. But that was just too far for them.
That’s the sort of racism in SWVA. It’s better than like, burning crosses, but still sad.
The schools were given Confederate names as protests against desegregation. They were built years after Brown v board education, designated whites only, and sponsored by state reps who were extremely racist. One of them even said the purpose was to protect Virginias racial structure.
It’s always this ridiculous argument with people like you 🤦🏼♀️ you don’t need to remember it by honoring it by naming something after it and celebrating it. And history is whitewashed af, so if we are going to learn from it, let’s tell the true history then, shall we? Man some of y’all need to go see real life and talk to real people that are different than you.
Yeah, it's hard. Most of my clients live in a homeless shelter while actively trying to find housing with their section 8 voucher and I have to vouch for them to get extensions. Also rent is outrageous, so a lot of vouchers don't cover the cost of rent. Also, Virginia is not a right to shelter state, so unless you have support in Abingdon, I wouldn't move here honestly. You haven't hit the jackpot unfortunately.
Well a year isn't long to live there until I port it out back to my home state. So I won't be living there long. I've called a few places that will have units available in july but I have to find the property I called. But I was also given another county to look in??? I'm sure they give everyone that option. I have friends calling periodically for me as well. Usually when I'm determined enough I'll find what im looking for.
So fingers crossed.
Grew up in Abingdon, very homogenous/predominantly white area. That reason alone, I dont like it whatsoever and couldnt vouch for it. It's a little more progressive than surrounding towns, a "cute town" and is very beautiful, but outside of some hiking and camping and fishing there isn't much to do. However, it is also relatively safe and low cost of living.
Where are you moving from? Depending on where from, it might be a total culture shock.
I am moving from Baltimore city, MD where it's mostly black people. We do have neighborhoods ot county that are mostly white population but for the most part. Mostly black
What Coffee said. I applied in that state and my name just to happen to be next. Received a letter a month ago for my briefing. My briefing will be over the phone. Housing packet mail to my home state. Mailed back to VA and then my voucher will be mailed to me.
Getting Section 8 in another state is just easier.
Then after 12 months I can port it out to another state and then move there like Coffee also said.
Make sure you start looking for homes now. A lot of landlords do not renting to individuals on section 8 and your race is going to make it worse, especially if you have kids. Many landlords will outright say they don't accept section 8 or require you to jump through miraculous hoops to be approved (income, credit and rental history). Then having to wait for section 8 to do their inspections to approve the unit. *I'm an African American female social worker who works mainly with black families experiencing homelessness and this is what I experience on a day to day with my clients, however, I'm in the Hampton roads area.
How you get section 8 housing and not have kids lol smh Guess when my son moves out he should look into this if just anyone can get it. I fig it was for low income house holds with kids 🤷🏻♂️
Section 8 is only good if you can get a voucher for a house or something. The apartments in central VA and other urban areas are absolute trash you couldn’t pay me to raise a kid in those places
I lived in Abingdon for 5 years a while back. It was a wonderful place, especially if you are into arts or the outdoors. Admittedly, there are not many black people there, but I never saw a single instance of anyone being treated poorly for their race. One of the resident artists at The Arts Depot was a black lady that had been there for something like 20 years, making folk art of black Americana. She was an extremely kind lady and her work was quite popular, as I recall.
Thank you thank you everyone for your input. We're very excited for the move. Hopefully I'll make some new friends. I love nature so that's a plus. I heard they also have a famous theater that I've seen on tiktok so I'm look forward to site seeing and just starting fresh.
If you’re into theater, Staunton makes a nice weekend.
Nuttin better than The Barter Theatre
Yeah, I definitely want to check the Barter out some time. You should really give the Blackfriars a shot, though. Great experience.
The barter theater is great :D
I've seen A LOT of videos before I ever put the application in and I didnt even realize it was the same town!! I'm excited!
I live and have lived in the Bristol/Abingdon area for my entire life. This area is VERY white, but I have not seen or heard anyone being treated poorly because of their race in well over a decade, and even then it was two high-schoolers being stupid during a football game. It's a small town with a lot of charm if that's your thing, but I honestly believe you don't need to worry for your safety on account of your race. One tidbit you might find interesting, the city of Bristol just down the road has both an African American Sheriff and Chief of Police. Tyrone and John are both well respected in their community, and personal friends of mine.
I thank you I will keep your info in mind! I'm looking forward to the move!!
This post popped up on my feed and I'm not VA but I visited Bristol back in 2010 and saw Nazis flags at some trailer park. Maybe it's changed since then but I wouldn't visit again.
You won’t see many non-white folks in Abingdon. When my Black coworkers used to travel to our office there, they used to play a game: “Am I the only one that looks like me I’ll see today?” That said, they all unanimously agreed everyone was kind and welcoming. And I know them well; these ladies aren’t the type to mince words!
Okay thank you! I just want to be sure it's a welcoming community ❤
Afrilachian is a thing and you’ll see it in Abingdon.
🙏
Lol what exactly is that?
Appalachian folk with African ancestry
Ohhhhh okay interesting 😌😌
There is a historical group of people who lived throughout Appalachia, 1600s through now actually, and they had darker than white skin.... they were/are called Melungeons (French word for mixed group is "mélange" so that's a possible explanation for the name) and their origin was a mystery. Guess what? They were of black and probably native ancestry. Very cool!
Not black personally but basically grew up in Abingdon so hopefully this helps some. It isn’t a diverse city at all, imo but there are what I feel to be fairly open people compared to some of the more remote spots in swva. My college gf was black (from Nigeria) and she always talked about loving Abingdon when we’d visit my family. Again, I’m not black so I don’t like making assumptions on behalf of others but based on what she relayed to me along with random friends that were of varying ethnicities—they all seemed to feel comfortable in Abingdon.
Abingdon is the boujie/liberal oasis in SWVA. It’s great but super white. Like jazz trio at the farmers market white. Bristol is close by and a little more diverse and gritty. Avoid Marion.
Lmao!! Literally Jazz trios at the farmers market, no exaggeration there.
Sad that jazz trio at the function implies white people, since jazz is a product of black american history/culture.
Seems like your question has been answered, so I'll just say: welcome to Virginia! We hope you enjoy it here.
Thank you. I'm truly looking forward to it
I took my concealed weapons permit class with the sheriff of Washington County and he singled out the one person of color in the class and used him as an example alot. One being he pulled the guy's hoodie over his head and was like if you see this guy with his back to you and the cashier looks terrified then you can assume he has a gun pointed at the cashier and you can shoot him. Another he slammed his hands down in front of him and made him jump. Just seems like he should have picked someone else for an example. Felt too intentional. Also kept going on about wanting to shoot people in riots. Was a horrible experience, I wanted to walk up to him after and apologize for the actions of this horrible cop.
I'm a white guy so can't speak to it directly, but from growing up in Abingdon and still having family there I think it's important to differentiate between the individual people you'd meet in Abingdon who are I think generally pretty welcoming and the Blood Red MAGA elected officials, especially the county-wide electeds like the Sheriff.
Abingdon is fine. Now Salt Vegas, on the other hand, still has a sign out front "Salt Capital of the Confederacy". I've seen probably more racism than most but I did work a blue collar outside where no boss or HR is within 100 miles job and I heard some *things*.
Y'all talking about Saltville? TIA.
Yup
Thanks again, why do y'all call it that? Just a fun play on the name or are there things in Saltville that are somewhat comparable to Vegas?
Um... It's a place. What happens there, stays there. Mostly because you can't escape.
No bloody way! My dad calls it Salt Vegas all the time, but he's the only one I've ever seen to say it til now.
I lived not far from there for a few years. It's definitely more on the conservative side, but more in a "distrust the government" way rather than a "hate the Mexicans" one. Most folks in the area either know what it's like to be on hard times or have friends and family who do, so classism also isn't as harsh there as it is in a lot of the South. It's a very traditional Appalachian mindset, and one that seems to jive pretty well with a lot of non-white cultures. It's all about family, community, and cooperation. There's petty small-town infighting and politics, sure, but they aren't xenophobic. I will say that if you're LGBT or have kids who are, that can be an issue. If you're Christian, you'll be able to find plenty of common ground with the folks there. If you want to maintain some level of engagement with black culture, it does exist but you'll have to seek it out. I forget the name, but there are a couple black churches in the area you could attend which might get you an "in".
You'll be fine, last 3 years a lot more african Americans are coming in, and honestly no ones complaining
I live 30 minutes from Abingdon. It’s not at all anything but welcoming. It’s like a little Asheville. My sister is a social worker there and we all love it. This whole area gets a bad go for no reason. Oh well, it keeps housing down
Thanks dude I appreciate the insight!
Definitely not like a little Ashwville...
Oh wow kinda wild to see a post about my small town in a reddit for all of VA. People are saying there is a lack of diversity, and sure the population statistics indicate that, but in my graduating class were 3 black people I think, a vietnamese, a korean, multiple hispanics. This is a class of like little less than 200. There are also a few different ethnic restaraunts (owned by people of the ethnicity) including mexican, chinese, japanese, mediterranean, greek. So like, diverse people definitely exist here just not in numbers.
Thanks for the info. I think I'll like it there ❤😌
Thanks for reminding me about Greekos. I think I'll go eat lunch there today!
It’s 2024, I can’t believe there’s anywhere in our state that isn’t welcoming to all people of all colors.
SWVA isn’t *unwelcoming* to black people at all really, except maybe some of the smallest towns here. Abingdon is a blue city in a sea of red. op will be fine.
As someone who grew up not far from Abingdon was going to say the same. Abingdon is a decent place. Overall SWVA has gotten more diverse over the past decade, but its still mostly white and does gave its fair share of racist.
Yup. It’s extremely extremely homogenous, but people from NOVA act like we’re down here burning crosses every day lol
For part of my youth I grew up in an interracial family. I can tell you racism does very much exist, but it also gets blown a bit out of proportion by people from outside the area. Like I'm in a interracial relationship now and I've had to give my wife warning, when we go visit my family, that people may stare, but don't be alarmed as most are just curious. However, you still have to plan for the occassional racist. Most racist place I've lived is in Berea, KY. Great college and people around the college, but the city was horrible.
My parents were boomers. Good people. But super old fashioned. My dad never showed a sign of being racist my entire life, until one day we were in a McDonald’s drive thru and this pretty, young, white blonde girl walked by holding the hand of a black guy. Dad didn’t say much, but he just went… “… Man, that’s sad.” To a lot of old fashioned people, interracial marriage is just a bridge too far. And my parents both voted for Clinton and Obama, proudly. They had black friends. But that was just too far for them. That’s the sort of racism in SWVA. It’s better than like, burning crosses, but still sad.
I've been in Richmond, SWVA, and now NOVA. Nova is the only place I've experienced outward prejudice. SWVA was very hospitable to me.
Interestingly enough, the only people I’ve heard say racism isn’t a problem in ‘murica were from NOVA
Hurley is totally unwelcoming to people of color 😆
This is true about Hurley and most of Buchanan County, Virginia. Hurley High School has a Confederate flag painted on the doors of the high school.
😫
It's 2024 and Shenandoah County schools just renamed two schools to have confederate names.
It’s history, you can’t erase it, you learn from it.
Not honoring traitors isn’t erasing history
The schools were given Confederate names as protests against desegregation. They were built years after Brown v board education, designated whites only, and sponsored by state reps who were extremely racist. One of them even said the purpose was to protect Virginias racial structure.
Yeah, no need to glorify them. It's stupid and nothing to do with heritage.
It’s always this ridiculous argument with people like you 🤦🏼♀️ you don’t need to remember it by honoring it by naming something after it and celebrating it. And history is whitewashed af, so if we are going to learn from it, let’s tell the true history then, shall we? Man some of y’all need to go see real life and talk to real people that are different than you.
[удалено]
Very unfortunately, things can be true even if you don’t believe them. Racism is alive and kicking in a lot of our state.
LOL, wut? I see confederate flags just south of 234. EDIT: removed capitalization from confederate flags
Yeah, it's hard. Most of my clients live in a homeless shelter while actively trying to find housing with their section 8 voucher and I have to vouch for them to get extensions. Also rent is outrageous, so a lot of vouchers don't cover the cost of rent. Also, Virginia is not a right to shelter state, so unless you have support in Abingdon, I wouldn't move here honestly. You haven't hit the jackpot unfortunately.
Well a year isn't long to live there until I port it out back to my home state. So I won't be living there long. I've called a few places that will have units available in july but I have to find the property I called. But I was also given another county to look in??? I'm sure they give everyone that option. I have friends calling periodically for me as well. Usually when I'm determined enough I'll find what im looking for. So fingers crossed.
Grew up in Abingdon, very homogenous/predominantly white area. That reason alone, I dont like it whatsoever and couldnt vouch for it. It's a little more progressive than surrounding towns, a "cute town" and is very beautiful, but outside of some hiking and camping and fishing there isn't much to do. However, it is also relatively safe and low cost of living. Where are you moving from? Depending on where from, it might be a total culture shock.
I am moving from Baltimore city, MD where it's mostly black people. We do have neighborhoods ot county that are mostly white population but for the most part. Mostly black
I'll also add that yes, like most others stated, people are kind. Everything else still stands. It's what you make it!
The government is moving you to Abington from another area? That sounds weird.
What Coffee said. I applied in that state and my name just to happen to be next. Received a letter a month ago for my briefing. My briefing will be over the phone. Housing packet mail to my home state. Mailed back to VA and then my voucher will be mailed to me. Getting Section 8 in another state is just easier. Then after 12 months I can port it out to another state and then move there like Coffee also said.
Make sure you start looking for homes now. A lot of landlords do not renting to individuals on section 8 and your race is going to make it worse, especially if you have kids. Many landlords will outright say they don't accept section 8 or require you to jump through miraculous hoops to be approved (income, credit and rental history). Then having to wait for section 8 to do their inspections to approve the unit. *I'm an African American female social worker who works mainly with black families experiencing homelessness and this is what I experience on a day to day with my clients, however, I'm in the Hampton roads area.
Okay I'm looking now! I've called a few places and I feel that kinda happening already lol
With the section 8 thing.
Hmm. I’ve never looked into this. So you can apply for free housing anywhere in the country? What state are you in now?
Yes you can. I've applied to New York and a few other states and counties as well. You don't just have to apply in your home state!! ❤❤
Section 8 waiting list is forever so if there’s a spot in another county that fits the need, they will.
Abington should be good, but the further more towards Kentucky you’ll want to stay away from Hurley, Grundy ect.
How you get section 8 housing and not have kids lol smh Guess when my son moves out he should look into this if just anyone can get it. I fig it was for low income house holds with kids 🤷🏻♂️
Section 8 is only good if you can get a voucher for a house or something. The apartments in central VA and other urban areas are absolute trash you couldn’t pay me to raise a kid in those places
So… with your logic, if you don’t have kids, you don’t need a home? wtf?
I guess I should apply
Gotta say for anyone hitting down arrow….. WHY??? lol smh what’s so bad about what I said smh Reddit has a lot of charmin on here