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I love bringing out-of-state friends and family to WV, showing them around, them watching them realize the media stereotypes they’ve heard their entire lives are either completely untrue, or maybe rooted in some truth, but vastly exaggerated.
I’ve said this before on other threads, but I’ve never once hosted someone in WV and heard them say “yup, this is exactly what I pictured”. Every single person will say things like:
“Wow, I never knew xyz existed here”
“WV has so much more than I expected”
“I’ve never been somewhere with people this friendly before”
“I can’t believe I’ve overlooked this place”
“Why do I always here negative things about this place, there is so much going on”
“I want to live here” <-I’m actively recruiting multiple people who can’t wait to move here, all inspired just by a couple weekend visits.
I don’t mean this to toot my own horn, but I have found over and over again that once you get people physically here, their pre-conceived expectations (mostly based around media stereotypes) completely shift.
The most negative, degrading things I’ve heard are people who have never even been here. I know that because it’s the first thing I ask when someone criticizes me when I say I’m from WV. “How much time have you spent in WV?” The answer is almost always none, then they share some story they heard growing up, Deliverance or Wrong Turn (neither of which were filmed here) or some other movie/TV show.
Truly, the only way to counteract the negative press is to get people here and share all of the good we have to offer. WV’ians tend to be our own worst critics too, but that’s an entirely different discussion.
Well said! I have had the same experience when I bring people to WV! The usual response is that they are impressed, it was better than they realized, and they are eager to come back!!!
I live in NY now, and hear mixed opinions about WV. The negative opinions are from people who have never been, while NYers who have been absolutely love it!!!
I love bringing out-of-state friends and family to WV, showing them around, them watching them realize the media stereotypes they’ve heard their entire lives are either completely untrue, or maybe rooted in some truth, but vastly exaggerated.
I’ve said this before on other threads, but I’ve never once hosted someone in WV and heard them say “yup, this is exactly what I pictured”. Every single person will say things like:
“Wow, I never knew xyz existed here”
“WV has so much more than I expected”
“I’ve never been somewhere with people this friendly before”
“I can’t believe I’ve overlooked this place”
“Why do I always here negative things about this place, there is so much going on”
“I want to live here” <-I’m actively recruiting multiple people who can’t wait to move here, all inspired just by a couple weekend visits.
I don’t mean this to toot my own horn, but I have found over and over again that once you get people physically here, their pre-conceived expectations (mostly based around media stereotypes) completely shift.
The most negative, degrading things I’ve heard are people who have never even been here. I know that because it’s the first thing I ask when someone criticizes me when I say I’m from WV. “How much time have you spent in WV?” The answer is almost always none, then they share some story they heard growing up, Deliverance or Wrong Turn (neither of which were filmed here) or some other movie/TV show.
Truly, the only way to counteract the negative press is to get people here and share all of the good we have to offer. WV’ians tend to be our own worst critics too, but that’s an entirely different discussion.
What part of WV do you live in? Lol where are you recruiting your friends to move to?
West Virginia. In a state hemorrhaging population faster than anywhere else in the nation, does it really matter?
Not true. NY is losing more population
Honestly just curious where in the state you are trying to recruit people to move to. WV is pretty high up my list of states I like. It's incredibly beautiful and the people I've interacted with all all friendly and I get the impression it's genuinely friendly not fake friendly.
I'm ok with losing population that means real estate prices are still affordable unlike east TN which have tripled.
Honestly just curious where in the state you are trying to recruit people to move to. WV is pretty high up my list of states I like. It's incredibly beautiful and the people I've interacted with all all friendly and I get the impression it's genuinely friendly not fake friendly.
I'm ok with losing population that means real estate prices are still affordable unlike east TN which have tripled.
I’m realizing today I came off way more defensive and abrupt than I should have, my apologies. I currently live in the Eastern Panhandle, but have traveled with these folks all over the state. Southern WV/New River Gorge (where I used to live), Charleston, Canaan Valley, to name a few. So I guess one could say I’ve recruited them all over the place. Their responses are similar no matter where we are. It’s fun seeing them appreciate things we often take for granted, like friendly people, less traffic, an abundance of mom and pop-type places, natural beauty everywhere. You would think a spaceship landed the first time my NJ family saw deer grazing along the road, yet we don’t even flinch because it’s so normal for us.
You’re right, people tend to be genuinely friendly versus the “what do you do for a living so I can determine how you can benefit me and my success” friendly you get in other places I won’t mention by name. People truly care about you as a person, not your income or status.
I, for one, am troubled by our population loss. When companies can’t stay open, schools are consolidating, young people are leaving because they can’t find jobs in their field, it’s very concerning. I’m not suggesting we bring in hundreds of thousands, because like you said, it can create the opposite effect with housing, infrastructure, etc. But, WV desperately needs to diversify its economy and bring in some people to each region to help stop the population loss. Or, at the very least, do everything it can to keep young people here.
And for what it’s worth, “losing more population” is a tricky statistic. Without having looked at the numbers, I would say of course NY has lost “more population”, because it’s a state of 20M people versus 1.7M in WV. It’s makes for an eye-catching headline, but context is important. What is the percentage of population lost compared to each state’s total population?
I’m realizing today I came off way more defensive and abrupt than I should have, my apologies. I currently live in the Eastern Panhandle, but have traveled with these folks all over the state. Southern WV/New River Gorge (where I used to live), Charleston, Canaan Valley, to name a few. So I guess one could say I’ve recruited them all over the place. Their responses are similar no matter where we are. It’s fun seeing them appreciate things we often take for granted, like friendly people, less traffic, an abundance of mom and pop-type places, natural beauty everywhere. You would think a spaceship landed the first time my NJ family saw deer grazing along the road, yet we don’t even flinch because it’s so normal for us.
You’re right, people tend to be genuinely friendly versus the “what do you do for a living so I can determine how you can benefit me and my success” friendly you get in other places I won’t mention by name. People truly care about you as a person, not your income or status.
I, for one, am troubled by our population loss. When companies can’t stay open, schools are consolidating, young people are leaving because they can’t find jobs in their field, it’s very concerning. I’m not suggesting we bring in hundreds of thousands, because like you said, it can create the opposite effect with housing, infrastructure, etc. But, WV desperately needs to diversify its economy and bring in some people to each region to help stop the population loss. Or, at the very least, do everything it can to keep young people here.
And for what it’s worth, “losing more population” is a tricky statistic. Without having looked at the numbers, I would say of course NY has lost “more population”, because it’s a state of 20M people versus 1.7M in WV. It’s makes for an eye-catching headline, but context is important. What is the percentage of population lost compared to each state’s total population?
Thanks I genuinely appreciate the perspective and your thoughts.
What is your opinion on Elkins WV? Honestly what's the good, bad, ugly and awesome?
West Virginia. In a state hemorrhaging population faster than anywhere else in the nation, does it really matter?
Supposedly, WV actually saw population growth for the first time in 2023 (Jan 23 - Dec 23) since 2012, estimating it to be the 19th fastest growing state in the US. This is according to the state, other websites use predictions based on previous Census results. The most recently published Census estimate however, only concludes up to July, which showed a small decline amidst a strong uptick in net domestic increase, which is the equivalent of the last few years combined.
I’m realizing today I came off way more defensive and abrupt than I should have, my apologies. I currently live in the Eastern Panhandle, but have traveled with these folks all over the state. Southern WV/New River Gorge (where I used to live), Charleston, Canaan Valley, to name a few. So I guess one could say I’ve recruited them all over the place. Their responses are similar no matter where we are. It’s fun seeing them appreciate things we often take for granted, like friendly people, less traffic, an abundance of mom and pop-type places, natural beauty everywhere. You would think a spaceship landed the first time my NJ family saw deer grazing along the road, yet we don’t even flinch because it’s so normal for us.
You’re right, people tend to be genuinely friendly versus the “what do you do for a living so I can determine how you can benefit me and my success” friendly you get in other places I won’t mention by name. People truly care about you as a person, not your income or status.
I, for one, am troubled by our population loss. When companies can’t stay open, schools are consolidating, young people are leaving because they can’t find jobs in their field, it’s very concerning. I’m not suggesting we bring in hundreds of thousands, because like you said, it can create the opposite effect with housing, infrastructure, etc. But, WV desperately needs to diversify its economy and bring in some people to each region to help stop the population loss. Or, at the very least, do everything it can to keep young people here.
And for what it’s worth, “losing more population” is a tricky statistic. Without having looked at the numbers, I would say of course NY has lost “more population”, because it’s a state of 20M people versus 1.7M in WV. It’s makes for an eye-catching headline, but context is important. What is the percentage of population lost compared to each state’s total population?
For the young people part - schools can also be tricky. Can't draw in younger families in drove (especially since we're talking about EPH here...those cheap housing while only adding 30 minutes or so to commute for a hybrid worker out of NoVA or Maryland can be quite enticing) when schools are kind of meh. Sure, EPH is still growing quite a bit (aka the only part of the state that's really growing) and yes, it's actually a very pleasant area (I'm MDer, been to EPH a few times).
The state otherwise do have a huge aging problem. All the younger people leave for greener pastures due to better oppotunities elsewhere.
Thanks I genuinely appreciate the perspective and your thoughts.
What is your opinion on Elkins WV? Honestly what's the good, bad, ugly and awesome?
Elkins is a great little small town/city. With a nice rail trail. Surprisingly, real estate isn't as cheap there as you'd think. But very nice. Highly recommended.
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