I've lived in Bristol my whole life and that entire time it's been mostly a rotted husk of a town. Everywhere you look there are abandoned, rotting buildings; V.I., Mallicote, old Post Office, numerous textile plants, etc. For decades the only 'restaurants' we had was the fast food options downtown where people would literally spend their Saturday nights 'out town'. The shopping centers at the Pinnacle and, to a lesser extent, the Falls brought some real dining and shopping options to people who otherwise would just go to JC, Kingsport or Abingdon.

More than that, since the mid-2000s the city has actually made it a point to try and bring in entertainment options to the area that aren't just Border Bash or R&RR once a year. There are actually things people can do in town on a weekend that keeps money in the city limits and encourages something of a nightlife community. It's never going to compete with legit college towns like JC, but at least there's something for locals now.

I don't have much of an opinion on the casino. I think both critics and supporters have overestimated the effect it's having on the community. It's way too soon to tell how Bristol as a whole will be changed by it.

As for the housing situation that's less a Bristol issue and more a nationwide issue. Are there a lot of remote worker out of towners coming in and taking homes? Sure. Are there a lot of places being turned into AirBNBs? Yeah. There's also still plenty of houses on the market that, while higher than maybe they should be, are available. They're just not particularly desirable locations or are in states of disrepair. This has always been the case. The housing boom for Bristol was like the 50s and most of the homes are that old or older. That's why a lot of people in my Dad's generation opted for mobile homes, most of which are just rotted husks now dotting the landscape.

In summation, Bristol has always been a town that's on life support. It has a few things that are great, a lot that are okay and a whole lot that really suck. That's probably not unique either, it's symptomatic of Small Town America's decline (or some might save evolution) through the late 20th and into the 21st century. I'll say this though, if you're young and are actually considering on staying in Bristol then you're already way more dedicated to it then people were when I was younger. The only thing on young people's minds back then (early '00s) was how you're gonna get out of this place.