Mar 8
By Beth Newberry
Photos by Jeremy Brooks and Darrell Mankin
Air Devil’s Inn is most alive on a summer night when the humidity is high, and the heat makes your clothes feel a little closer to your skin, a little heavier on your body. Air Devil’s Inn, or ADI to the regulars, is the first bar I found when I moved to Louisville. Read more
In 2008, Katie McCaskey made the decision to move from NYC, back home to Staunton, Va., where she could afford to own a house and open a business. Even though Staunton is small, she still enjoys downtown amenities, the town’s historic character and walkability, the same things she loved about urban living. Becoming an entrepreneur hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but the experience has made her a passionate advocate for small towns, ‘micropolitans’ as she calls them, and their potential. She’s written an inspiring manifesto encouraging others to invest in them as she has. She recently shared her discoveries with The HillVille.
By Cyerra Crumrine
Five breweries. One cidery. And many scenic views. That’s the idea behind the Brew Ridge Trail, the most intoxicating tourism trail in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Read more
By Beth Newberry
Whether you’re driving or flying home to the mountains for the holidays—pack an extra bag. You don’t want to have to relegate those jars of your mamaw’s homemade preserves or that box of MoonPies to the corner of a suitcase with socks and dirty clothes. Nope, that’s no way to treat regional delicacies you can’t find in the flatlands. Here’s a short list of staples some of our readers will hoard on trips home this year. Read more
By Niki King
The holidays can be stressful, especially if you’re having to travel far to get back home. Fortunately, there are some prime places tucked away in the mountains where the wearied traveler might find some serious respite. If you can squeeze an extra day or two into your holiday schedule, treat yourself. Stop off at one of these fine establishments for rest, good eats, drinks and merriment. You’ll feel refreshed when you show up at your families and you can go back to work after the holidays feeling like you actually had a little vacation.
Niki King and Beth Newberry are excited to soon launch The HillVille, a weekly online magazine for urban Appalachians.
And just who are urban Appalachians, anyway? Good question. We’re a diverse bunch. We are exapps, folks who grew up in the region, but moved away for school, work or whatever. Some of us are second- or third-generation exapps, born to Appalachians, but raised in cities outside the region. Others live in one of the many cities and towns actually in the mountains, like Knoxville, Tenn., and Charleston, W.Va. or cities on the edges—to the north (holla Pittsburgh), to the South (bring it Birmingham) and the mid-west (isn’t that right, Cincinnati?). Read more
The HillVille 