Barren County Named Best Place to Live in Rural America
ann stewart, barren county, culture, glasgow, hall place bed and breakfast, jeff and susan jobe, karin and gary carroll, rural america,
While living in Arizona in 2006‚ Karin and Gary Carroll had no idea that a new life awaited them in an antebellum bed and breakfast in Glasgow.
Another transplanted couple‚ Jeff and Susan Jobe‚ also found unexpected opportunities here that changed their lives.
They all agree that Glasgow and the Barren County area offered a welcoming mix of small-town charm‚ family-friendly activities‚ business and cultural opportunities they couldn’t resist.
And now it’s official. In 2007‚ Barren County was named the No. 1 Best Place to Live in Rural America by The Progressive Farmer magazine.
Partnered with a real estate research firm‚ the magazine looked at household income‚ household spending‚ home and land prices‚ crime rates‚ air quality‚ education and access to health care – a process followed by onsite visits‚ photographs and interviews.
Out of every rural county in the country‚ Barren County came out on top.
“Pride just overwhelms you‚” says Ann Stewart‚ executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist & Convention Commission. “We’ve had calls from all over the United States asking us for tourism and relocation packets. We’re in the limelight right now.”
But Barren County’s laid-back pace and friendly feel has always held a certain allure.
The Jobes were living a busy life working corporate media jobs in Ohio‚ West Virginia‚ New York‚ Florida‚ Virginia and Canada before landing in Glasgow a few years ago. They now own a thriving‚ five-county community newspaper group‚ commercial printing business and specialty publishing business.
They were happy to leave the fast lane behind.
“The whole region is very community oriented‚” Susan Jobe says. “They want to see success here.”
The Jobes have a small empire of publications‚ including The Barren County Progress‚ The South Central Business Journal and county newspapers in Metcalfe‚ Monroe‚ Hart and Butler counties.
As for the Carrolls‚ they found their historic five-bedroom bed and breakfast almost by accident – or maybe it was fate.
The couple saved money for 10 years to pursue their goal of becoming innkeepers. They tried to buy various bed-and-breakfast inns on the West Coast‚ but those deals always fell through at the last minute.
In April 2006‚ Karin Carroll spotted Glasgow’s historic Hall Place Bed and Breakfast on the Internet.
“I kept coming back to this house‚” she says. “It just felt right.”
The Carrolls sold off some choice antiques to make the down payment‚ and they took the plunge.
But the surprises didn’t end there.
After moving to Glasgow‚ the couple learned that Karin Carroll is a direct descendent of the man who built the home in 1852.
Carroll says she’s just starting to realize that the dream she and her husband worked on for more than a decade has come true.
They couldn’t be happier in Glasgow‚ she says‚ and they’re here for the long haul.
Story by Linda Bryant
Photo by Michael W. Bunch
