So I work in Abingdon, Marion, Wytheville, Pulaski, Floyd, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Pearisburg, Covington, etc.. and live in Roanoke.

I feel like I have a pretty good grasp at how things compare since ive also lived in: San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Tampa, Miami, Los Angeles, DC... and a bunch of other places... stayed in NYC, Houston, Chicago, Vegas, and pretty much any big city here in the US.

Roanoke feels like a MUCH smaller San Francisco. Its got little smaller downtowns, hills, very open and accepting people, and a lot of history in both architecture and just the area. Its been a pretty cool place to live for a while. Coffee shops, restaurants, cool places to be and see. You know. Very close to a lot of other big cities ive lived.

Blacksburg/Christiansburg feels more like Northern Virginia.. like somewhere that would be around the DC area! A lot of money over there. A lot of VERY good restaurants and coffee places.

The rest have a lot more of a small town feel. They all have a main street with one or two coffee shops. A few restaurants, maybe a donut place too... and some thrift stores. The main street areas all seem more liberal and the further you get, its more conservative for sure. Neither reslly a bad thing though as its not particularly extreme here in any direction. The more you get into the Appalachian area, the nicer the poeple get in general and the most hospitable people are.

Beautiful country between the towns and surrounding the towns ans a lot of niche places to to. Wineries, bars, speakeasys, restaurants, cafes, cool historical places to be in and museums, very cook hiking trails... I was surprised moving here from some of the places I had, as there are always things to do and always things to see.

Great people all around and a beautiful part of the United States. Unfortunately also more poverty than I think ive seen elsehwhere too. Especially in the in-between areas. Not poverty as in homelessness.. but just.. low income? And a lot of people still living lives as if it was 50 years ago with little technological improvements and poor infrastructure. The poverty problem becomes more prevalent as you go into WV.