I grew up in a small city in south east Virginia called Franklin. It wasn’t always fun but it’s home and that’s that. Since leaving Franklin, it feels like the city has gotten less ‘fun’ and dare I say, appealing. I realize that may not be fair to say since I generally go back to visit once a year but when I’m there, I can see the change. Recently, USA Today listed Franklin as the worst city in Virginia to live. Yep, the absolute worst.

One day, I was scrolling on Facebook and noticed a few folks sharing posts that contained the words ‘worst’ and ‘Franklin’. Obviously after seeing this multiple times on my timeline, it piqued my interest.

According to the article, here are a few stats about Franklin, VA:

• the population is 8,334
• median home rate is $186,000
• poverty rate is 16.6% (the state is 11.2%)

The article also states that 9.3% of workers in Franklin are out of a job, which is the highest unemployment rate in the state. Let’s be honest here: these numbers aren’t great. And if you’re basing the worst city in Virginia on numbers and money – well, Franklin would fit right in.

Living in the ‘worst city in Virginia’

So what was it like growing up in Franklin? Honestly, it was a little boring BUT my friends and I made up for that. We went to house parties, basketball games and took day trips to the beach – you know, the usual high school shenanigans. The city is small, as you can see from the population number above, but since living there, there’s a been a decrease in residents.

Part of that decrease could be the increase of crime in Franklin and various businesses closing. Before Franklin being dubbed as the worst city in Virginia, I remember meeting friends at the movie theater or randomly playing miniature golf – both aforementioned businesses are now closed. Actually, they’ve been closed for a really long time. My point is, economic development has A LOT to do with the fact that Franklin is on this list, which directly affects population too.

Whew. Yeah.

Growing up in Franklin, VA wasn’t the most exciting time (let’s be honest) but growing up there helped me become who I am today. It allowed me to appreciate the places where I’ve lived since Franklin. And even though Franklin wasn’t always an exciting town it wasn’t without…well, excitement sometimes (if we can even call it that). For instance, in 1999, a hurricane ripped through our city and the entire downtown was underwater. It was so bad that the Today show even made an appearance in Franklin.

source: City of Franklin

The city rebuilt and recovered and we all went about our merry little way. Most of us left the city after graduating from high school, never *really* looking back. I’ll admit, Franklin doesn’t have a lot of ‘bells and whistles’. It has its share of fast food restaurants and other chain-type stores and it’s a city that has some problems (like most cities). Franklin needs a fresh identity besides the one USA Today has placed on it.

Franklin may not be the best but it doesn’t have to be the worst.