re: So what's the deal with Athens, Ohio? Why is it so poor?

I've been to Athens County several times. The town of Athens is very nice. Ohio University is there and the campus is pretty. There are also some nice areas for white water rafting and camping in the county. Other than that there isn't much there. The rest of the county outside of the town of Athens is very rural. There's a massive drug issue in those areas, particularly with opioids. The neighboring counties of Meigs and Washington are actually probably even more impoverished than Athens. All three though have a lot of issues with drugs though. If you've seen the movie Winters Bone than that will give you a pretty good idea of what the rural people in those areas are like.

There is so little to do in Athens that the college kids, and locals, have to go to Parkersburg WV just to go to a mall. If you live the outdoors then you'd like Athens. National forest there. Hocking Hills etc. It's just a small college dominated town. Nothing wrong with that.

The poverty in SE Ohio and Eastern Ky is among the worst in the country. 12’ x 12’ cabins with a single lightbulb and a wood burning stove/heater. Outhouse and no running water. People with a 6th gr education then off to work the tobacco fields or farms. Coal or manufacturing jobs for the select few. I don’t know what the answer is to the poverty stricken is but it was always puzzling when groups were asking for foreign aid when it was needed so much here

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Hell of a Halloween Party!!! LINK

LINK

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Way too much white trash is Athens.