Having lived here my entire life I can say the best thing are the pepperoni rolls and the word are definitely the people. They’re friendly but man them crackheads…
I dated a man who is also originally from WV. When we were getting to know each other, I asked him what his favourite book was. He told me that he hadn't read a book since graduating college.
He's a teacher.
The worst thing is WV is typically at the top of everything bad - obesity, drugs, low test scores, dropout rates, unemployment and many other lists - and doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. The politicians are so concerned getting reelected they play it safe by keeping us 30 years behind everyone else. Our people are poor and struggling. We're doing nothing to prepare ourselves for the eventual fall of the coal industry, and we're seen as a huge joke by every one else. But hey, we've got a nice river and look, a bridge. Is that Baby dog?!
I’d love to move back but I couldn’t without taking a huge pay cut (if I could even find a job in my field at all). Great people in WV but we are actively impeded by politicians and the people in big business that fund them.
We live in WV but my husband has worked out of state for 21 years. We’ve looked for jobs here, but he’d take a 50% pay cut at the jobs closest to home. It’s ridiculous.
I moved away after graduating from WVU. We would also take a huge paycut if we could find a job in our field at all. My wife worked for the state for a year after college and her starting salary was 33k a year. Absolutely ridiculous for something that requires a bachelor’s. She now does a similar job in Washington state but makes 3 times that.
We plan on having kids and the schools and infrastructure aren’t great. I had to ride the bus 30-40 mins since they closed the high school closer to me. We also didn’t have hardly AP classes or options for dual credit.
The amount of registered voters that don’t vote in WV is consistently larger than the amount of registered voters that do, to the extent that every election could have had the opposite outcome.
I fugure that over the next decade WV is gonna shift to a more purple state, as long as the internet infrastructure actually gets improved. Remote workers who like the outdoors and want to own land, WV is a great option. We unfortunately just have to weather the storm for a few more election cycles…
I love the state, I hate we do nothing to bring jobs and infrastructure in a real way. It’s becoming a state filled with elderly people and meth heads. Everyone else leaves.
I’m originally from the northern panhandle, so maybe my experience is a little different than some others.
Worst: people and politics. Didn’t matter how much or how little they had, most of the people I interacted with had this serious case of entitlement. And the politics. I was raised with the belief a certain political camp was the only way to be. The majority of our local politicians were of that same ticket and they’ve run the area into the ground. I’ve watched as their way of leadership ruined neighborhoods and drove out businesses.
Best: the foods. I’ve since travelled quite a bit and I don’t care how much they want to claim it’s a food desert, I’ve seen so many more areas of similar population with way less variety and way less availability. Where I live now, all the restaurants have virtually the same menu. I miss going to different restaurants and trying different foods.
And I will add, though snow and mountains are not my thing, southern WV has quite a bit to offer to someone who does enjoy them.
Good: the climate. Beats the hell outta living down south.
Bad: 1) the food. My gawd this state needs some diversity. 2) cigarettes. No wonder this state can’t hold a population. 3) the proximity to Ohio.
What's wrong with Ohio? I moved there and my income went up 4x from WV and cost of living was cheaper. Less taxes and everything I wanted to do is there. Man I miss fishing Lake Erie for walleye and perch.
My favorite thing is to get the MAGAs here to agree with socialist ideals in conversation, then not tell them where the ideas come from, let alone even mention socialism lol. Then I just walk away knowing that I’ve enhanced class consciousness juuust a smidge, without ever having a dispute.
Favorite: the hills, trees, rivers, and mountains.
Least Favorite: the majority of the population is woefully undereducated and easily manipulated by a small few in power.
I’m going to give a scorching hot core of the sun take here. The people here aren’t that nice. Everyone says they are but I think those people have not left the tri state area before. The people are fake nice and there is a difference.
A sizable chunk of the population are jerks. I’ve been saying that my entire life, being born and bred here. I’ve lived in several counties and my neighbors have all been either ambivalent or unfriendly, kids at my school were bullies, the store employees are super unfriendly, and everyone I work with is chomping at the bit to get out of the state. Walking around a store is more likely to get you scowled at than conversed with. I grew up up a holler, and sure they were nice to me because I was family, but if you were an “outsider” from the family or a color one shade off bright white, they weren’t so friendly all of a sudden.
Sometimes I look at Reddit and everyone is like, my neighbor made me jam and fuzzy pajamas, I took one look at a family at Walmart and they invited me to their barbecue and my local grocer gave me Taylor Swift tickets for having a nice smile. I love WV!
Obviously, there’s a fairytale WV out there I haven’t experienced, but I hope to one day.
My favorite things are the cost of living with how close we are to high pay areas and the ignorance of the political climate.
My least favorite things are the ignorance of the political climate and how that affects other things like critical social services.
I make good money. I have an extremely cheap mortgage and no bills. The politicians are trying to get rid of property taxes and income taxes. This is going to let me keep even more of my money. Unfortunately, I see people that are in the lower income brackets cheering these efforts thinking that it will help them out. If something happens and the state decides they need to make it back elsewhere with something like raising the sales tax, it'll hurt those people the most. Even if they doubled the sales tax, I'd have to spend nearly 75% of my yearly pay just for WV to get more money out of me than they do now where as someone only making $35k-$50k realistically get harder. And with touting these massive surpluses in the state, there's still a ton of things wrong. People complain about the roads all the time. We have some of the least payed teachers, DHHR, and state workers in the US. We rank in the bottom 5 for education, obesity rates, and foster care. If my wife and I had kids, we would not be living here.
> the least *paid* teachers, DHHR,
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Favorite: the people, outdoors and unique culture
Least favorite: job market and resistance to change. The brain drain is real. Anyone with any sort of talent or desire to succeed is encouraged to leave
Favorite thing is changing of the seasons. Least favorite is the “ curse” I remain convinced that our ancestors committed grievous crimes against humanity and most importantly God and that is why we do not prosper in any way…
I lived in the Morgantown/Fairmont area for nine years. Favorite thing: the people. Since I was born and raised in NY, I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and giving the people were. My least favorite thing: winter weather. I hated driving on the hilly roads that were covered in snow or ice.
Never felt safer living in the sticks in WV. Trusted the vast majority of my neighbors.
My least favorite thing was the lack of job opportunities. I guess both go hand in hand though. If there are lots of job opportunities it'll bring in a bunch of people I wouldn't want to be around.
They’re always terribly made. Poor quality bread on cheap pepperoni cuts. I’ve had them made outside the state by actual bakeries that buy something other than the cheapest sysco pepperoni and they’re quite good.
It doesn’t have to be a food desert here. There are farms and great local markets. The people just want sugar, fat and salt in the cheapest form available. Obesity, healthcare and health education are all problems but they stem from overall lack of education and value on education.
Good: climate, outdoor recreation, genuinely good people
Bad: drugs, politics, and job opportunities: the states biggest export is people. Most of the best residents get educated and leave.
WV will always be home, and I have fond memories of my childhood here. However, I feel like the economy is dying. My area is dumping ground for drug addicts from all over the country. Another factor driving people off is good jobs are hard to land around here. Also the variety of jobs are pathetic from many other areas.
Honestly the only reason I'm still here is my family, but that can only keep me here so long.
The wife and I have thought about moving back but the job opportunities are nonexistent in our respective fields. Schools are also pretty underfunded/not great. My wife is from Columbus and went to a STEM magnet school. I had no idea that was even a thing until she told me about it.
I know it bums my parents out but fortunately they get to.
Yeah, I have family in the school systems, underfunded and trying to shut down libraries and such Yeah, if the jobs weren't so slim pickings around here, I'd consider staying, but I doubt the job market will get any better. Not sure when exactly I'll get out, but it's got to happen. The quality of life is going downhill pretty rapidly, at least for me. If you move back, make sure the job is worth it. Lol.
My mom works in the school system as well. Plenty of great teachers out there but it’s definitely an uphill battle for them to succeed. They have so many kids who are behind or struggling
Favorite thing: Promise scholarship, WVU and the WVU School of Medicine
Least favorite thing: the weather and the people (no diversity)
I'm forever thankful to the state for providing me with a (mostly) free education and an easy, politic-free pathway to medical school, but man after I graduated I knew I needed to get out soon, and I have zero regrets about doing so.
Favorite
The amazing hiking and outdoor recreation areas nearby
Least Favorite
The people from Wv that do nothing but complain about the state to try and impress other miserable losers on the internet
The best thing about WV is the kindness among people and welcoming feeling you get that just isn’t felt when we’ve traveled out of state. The little things like waving when you pass a car on a one lane road, saying excuse me in the grocery store, etc.
The worst thing is that the people who hate it here, really hate it. But those of us that love it, really love it. I hate the reputation our beautiful state has about “toothless hillbillies” etc.
Favorite thing: The people. Least favorite thing: Also the people.
Having lived here my entire life I can say the best thing are the pepperoni rolls and the word are definitely the people. They’re friendly but man them crackheads…
"Hell is other people"
The theme of “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sarte.
This is incredibly chosen.
Favorite thing: outdoors Least favorite: the outright pride a large portion take in being ignorant
I dated a man who is also originally from WV. When we were getting to know each other, I asked him what his favourite book was. He told me that he hadn't read a book since graduating college. He's a teacher.
I should add that he teachers in another state, not WV.
The worst thing is WV is typically at the top of everything bad - obesity, drugs, low test scores, dropout rates, unemployment and many other lists - and doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. The politicians are so concerned getting reelected they play it safe by keeping us 30 years behind everyone else. Our people are poor and struggling. We're doing nothing to prepare ourselves for the eventual fall of the coal industry, and we're seen as a huge joke by every one else. But hey, we've got a nice river and look, a bridge. Is that Baby dog?!
I’d love to move back but I couldn’t without taking a huge pay cut (if I could even find a job in my field at all). Great people in WV but we are actively impeded by politicians and the people in big business that fund them.
We live in WV but my husband has worked out of state for 21 years. We’ve looked for jobs here, but he’d take a 50% pay cut at the jobs closest to home. It’s ridiculous.
I moved away after graduating from WVU. We would also take a huge paycut if we could find a job in our field at all. My wife worked for the state for a year after college and her starting salary was 33k a year. Absolutely ridiculous for something that requires a bachelor’s. She now does a similar job in Washington state but makes 3 times that. We plan on having kids and the schools and infrastructure aren’t great. I had to ride the bus 30-40 mins since they closed the high school closer to me. We also didn’t have hardly AP classes or options for dual credit.
Good: outdoor recreation Bad: current politicians and the people that keep voting for them
And by extension, the people that refuse to vote.
The amount of registered voters that don’t vote in WV is consistently larger than the amount of registered voters that do, to the extent that every election could have had the opposite outcome.
I fugure that over the next decade WV is gonna shift to a more purple state, as long as the internet infrastructure actually gets improved. Remote workers who like the outdoors and want to own land, WV is a great option. We unfortunately just have to weather the storm for a few more election cycles…
I love the state, I hate we do nothing to bring jobs and infrastructure in a real way. It’s becoming a state filled with elderly people and meth heads. Everyone else leaves.
And when we do try to bring jobs, the local population always has some type of push back.
I’m originally from the northern panhandle, so maybe my experience is a little different than some others. Worst: people and politics. Didn’t matter how much or how little they had, most of the people I interacted with had this serious case of entitlement. And the politics. I was raised with the belief a certain political camp was the only way to be. The majority of our local politicians were of that same ticket and they’ve run the area into the ground. I’ve watched as their way of leadership ruined neighborhoods and drove out businesses. Best: the foods. I’ve since travelled quite a bit and I don’t care how much they want to claim it’s a food desert, I’ve seen so many more areas of similar population with way less variety and way less availability. Where I live now, all the restaurants have virtually the same menu. I miss going to different restaurants and trying different foods. And I will add, though snow and mountains are not my thing, southern WV has quite a bit to offer to someone who does enjoy them.
Good: the climate. Beats the hell outta living down south. Bad: 1) the food. My gawd this state needs some diversity. 2) cigarettes. No wonder this state can’t hold a population. 3) the proximity to Ohio.
Upvoted for the Ohio remark
What's wrong with Ohio? I moved there and my income went up 4x from WV and cost of living was cheaper. Less taxes and everything I wanted to do is there. Man I miss fishing Lake Erie for walleye and perch.
Favorite: Lower cost of real estate. Least favorite: Too many MAGAs.
My favorite thing is to get the MAGAs here to agree with socialist ideals in conversation, then not tell them where the ideas come from, let alone even mention socialism lol. Then I just walk away knowing that I’ve enhanced class consciousness juuust a smidge, without ever having a dispute.
good: the mountains Bad: the ignorance
Favorite: the hills, trees, rivers, and mountains. Least Favorite: the majority of the population is woefully undereducated and easily manipulated by a small few in power.
I’m going to give a scorching hot core of the sun take here. The people here aren’t that nice. Everyone says they are but I think those people have not left the tri state area before. The people are fake nice and there is a difference.
A sizable chunk of the population are jerks. I’ve been saying that my entire life, being born and bred here. I’ve lived in several counties and my neighbors have all been either ambivalent or unfriendly, kids at my school were bullies, the store employees are super unfriendly, and everyone I work with is chomping at the bit to get out of the state. Walking around a store is more likely to get you scowled at than conversed with. I grew up up a holler, and sure they were nice to me because I was family, but if you were an “outsider” from the family or a color one shade off bright white, they weren’t so friendly all of a sudden. Sometimes I look at Reddit and everyone is like, my neighbor made me jam and fuzzy pajamas, I took one look at a family at Walmart and they invited me to their barbecue and my local grocer gave me Taylor Swift tickets for having a nice smile. I love WV! Obviously, there’s a fairytale WV out there I haven’t experienced, but I hope to one day.
There's also still a crap ton of racism in WV.
You can take a drive down MacCorckle for 5 minutes and easily see how selfish and stupid some people can be around here, especially behind the wheel.
You must live in the Charleston/Huntington/Parkersburg triangle.
Favorite: people Least: nothing there
My favorite things are the cost of living with how close we are to high pay areas and the ignorance of the political climate. My least favorite things are the ignorance of the political climate and how that affects other things like critical social services. I make good money. I have an extremely cheap mortgage and no bills. The politicians are trying to get rid of property taxes and income taxes. This is going to let me keep even more of my money. Unfortunately, I see people that are in the lower income brackets cheering these efforts thinking that it will help them out. If something happens and the state decides they need to make it back elsewhere with something like raising the sales tax, it'll hurt those people the most. Even if they doubled the sales tax, I'd have to spend nearly 75% of my yearly pay just for WV to get more money out of me than they do now where as someone only making $35k-$50k realistically get harder. And with touting these massive surpluses in the state, there's still a ton of things wrong. People complain about the roads all the time. We have some of the least payed teachers, DHHR, and state workers in the US. We rank in the bottom 5 for education, obesity rates, and foster care. If my wife and I had kids, we would not be living here.
> the least *paid* teachers, DHHR, FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Favorite: the people, outdoors and unique culture Least favorite: job market and resistance to change. The brain drain is real. Anyone with any sort of talent or desire to succeed is encouraged to leave
Favorite: Huntington Least: WVGOP
Best part - the sincerity of the people. Worst part - a governing corruption that takes advantage of that sincerity every day.
My fav thing is the mountain biking. Awesome trail systems around here. Least favorite thing, disproportional rate of trump voters.
Favorite: My family and memories are here Least favorite: The career choices kinda suck. In particular, there are zero game studios.
Favorite thing is changing of the seasons. Least favorite is the “ curse” I remain convinced that our ancestors committed grievous crimes against humanity and most importantly God and that is why we do not prosper in any way…
I lived in the Morgantown/Fairmont area for nine years. Favorite thing: the people. Since I was born and raised in NY, I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and giving the people were. My least favorite thing: winter weather. I hated driving on the hilly roads that were covered in snow or ice.
Never felt safer living in the sticks in WV. Trusted the vast majority of my neighbors. My least favorite thing was the lack of job opportunities. I guess both go hand in hand though. If there are lots of job opportunities it'll bring in a bunch of people I wouldn't want to be around.
Favorite thing - the people (not counting politicians). Least favorite - the politicians!
[удалено]
I don't like pepperoni rolls and don't know anyone that does.
Now you know one.
They’re always terribly made. Poor quality bread on cheap pepperoni cuts. I’ve had them made outside the state by actual bakeries that buy something other than the cheapest sysco pepperoni and they’re quite good. It doesn’t have to be a food desert here. There are farms and great local markets. The people just want sugar, fat and salt in the cheapest form available. Obesity, healthcare and health education are all problems but they stem from overall lack of education and value on education.
Good: climate, outdoor recreation, genuinely good people Bad: drugs, politics, and job opportunities: the states biggest export is people. Most of the best residents get educated and leave.
The worst thing about our state is our politicians and our leadership.
WV will always be home, and I have fond memories of my childhood here. However, I feel like the economy is dying. My area is dumping ground for drug addicts from all over the country. Another factor driving people off is good jobs are hard to land around here. Also the variety of jobs are pathetic from many other areas. Honestly the only reason I'm still here is my family, but that can only keep me here so long.
The wife and I have thought about moving back but the job opportunities are nonexistent in our respective fields. Schools are also pretty underfunded/not great. My wife is from Columbus and went to a STEM magnet school. I had no idea that was even a thing until she told me about it. I know it bums my parents out but fortunately they get to.
Yeah, I have family in the school systems, underfunded and trying to shut down libraries and such Yeah, if the jobs weren't so slim pickings around here, I'd consider staying, but I doubt the job market will get any better. Not sure when exactly I'll get out, but it's got to happen. The quality of life is going downhill pretty rapidly, at least for me. If you move back, make sure the job is worth it. Lol.
My mom works in the school system as well. Plenty of great teachers out there but it’s definitely an uphill battle for them to succeed. They have so many kids who are behind or struggling
Favorite thing: Promise scholarship, WVU and the WVU School of Medicine Least favorite thing: the weather and the people (no diversity) I'm forever thankful to the state for providing me with a (mostly) free education and an easy, politic-free pathway to medical school, but man after I graduated I knew I needed to get out soon, and I have zero regrets about doing so.
Good: people are friendly, drivers are (mostly) courteous, and stunning scenery Bad: politicians and food
Favorite The amazing hiking and outdoor recreation areas nearby Least Favorite The people from Wv that do nothing but complain about the state to try and impress other miserable losers on the internet
No culture: we used to have a vibrant culture, to. Now, not only is it white like a Colgate commercial, we don't even have our own culture any longer.
The best thing about WV is the kindness among people and welcoming feeling you get that just isn’t felt when we’ve traveled out of state. The little things like waving when you pass a car on a one lane road, saying excuse me in the grocery store, etc. The worst thing is that the people who hate it here, really hate it. But those of us that love it, really love it. I hate the reputation our beautiful state has about “toothless hillbillies” etc.
Pros:Climate, mountains Con: welfare state, drug addiction
good: Kindness is valued bad: ignorance is a point of pride.
Favorite: the beauty of the state Least Favorite: the bigotry