relocating to Morgantown, WV (Huntington, Fairmont: job market, weddings, theater)
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We do have a community symphony now ...the opera is imported from Pittsburgh and uses some of our local talent.
Could it be that making friends establishes a life-long commitment and if a person seems transient, then the effort of making friends with him is diminished from the begining.
In Wv...friends ARE family. Sometimes more so than blood relations...
All of these opinions are foreign to me. I can't believe you found a person that has never left the state. I've been here my entire life and I know of *zero* people that haven't ever left the state. Even more bizarre that they are in Morgantown and are within a 10 minute drive to PA. It's just too unbelievable for me, sorry.
And your experience at Ruby sounds troubling. You are probably correct about the rural parts of the state having poor care...they do...but we're just talking about M'town, I thought. Personally, I've never had anything but a great experience with WVU hospitals. I even did clinical rotations there and got a peek behind the curtain so to speak...I thought everything was top notch and compliant with guidelines. I'm working in the Pittsburgh suburbs right now and the facility I'm at now is affiliated with UPMC and frankly isn't as good as Ruby.
With Morgantown just being classified as a metro area by the Census Bureau, the area is getting looked at more closely by national companies. That's probably why Morgantown didn't get its first major bookstore until several years ago.
I never thought Morgantown as being unfriendly to outsiders. It seems like half the of city is either from Pittsburgh or New Jersey anyways. But if you don't respect the natives, they will not respect you. They won't be mean to you, they just won't have anything to do you.
As far as families, this is West Virginia still and the entire state is filled with Appalachian culture. Families are extremely important. Frankly I don't see that as a negative trait. But if you are a good and trustworthy friend, than you become a member of the family in a way.
Also it's unfair to judge a much larger city to a city with only 30,000 residents. Let's compare Morgantown to other college towns with a similiar population. That seems fair.
What makes you think I am a corn shucker? That fact that I am from Indiana? That's like me saying that anyone from West Virginia is a redneck or a hillbilly, and I AM NOT SAYING THAT AT ALL.
If Morgantown has more culture than Indianapolis, where are all the museums? Where are all the professional sports? Where is the symphony or the opera? And yes, I did attend these events when I lived in Indianapolis. As the 12th largest city in America, it does have a lot to offer, but that does not make me a cosmopolitan either. West Virginia's culture is very different. It is very family oriented and based on the extended family. There is more to culture than family.
I disagree that it has been my attitude that has affected people's willingness to accept me. They usually stop talking before the get to know me, so my attitude and personality hasn't even had a chance to come out. People ask where you are from and I tell them Indianapolis, they immediately shut up and I never get to tell about who I am. I think the biggest problem with people accepting outsiders in Morgantown is that the city is very transient. People are always coming and going, whether it be as a stepping stone to something else or just deciding that Morgantown is not for them. IMO the native West Virginians aren't as welcoming because of that. If you are an outsider, they know they likelihood of you staying for a long time and they they choose not to befriend those that will only be here for a short period. If you are an outsider and you plan on staying for a long time, like retirement or something, you may find it easier to be accepted. But adjusting to the culture still takes a bit of time.
Again, it is not my intent to offend. At the beginning of my original post, I stated that Morgantown was generally a good place with low crime and nice place for someone with a family.
How in the world do professional sports equate to culture? Morgantown is a college town, and thank God it is not a big city with the kinds of crime and associated problems that you find in a place like Indianapolis. As to your notion of friendships, it is like that anywhere. I was an outsider in Indiana and making friends took time and effort. You get what you put into it.
Your critique about the bookstores is interesting, to say the least. You likely forgot that although the national chain bookstores are new, there was a fairly large local private bookstore in town for many decades. As an example of the rapid development taking place in Morgantown, there are now two national bookstores there, so your characterization as some kind of backwoods place is becoming a little passe:
Your assessment of West Virginians as being unwelcoming and unfriendly does not match with that of most folks I have met. You say they stop talking with you when they find out you are from Indianapolis? Why don't you try to talk with them about things around Morgantown? Join some organizations (I had to do that in Bloomington), attend church, get involved with community activities. Before you know it, you will have legions of friends. It is as much your responsibility to make them as it is theirs.
Personally, I found the medical care in Morgantown to be generally superior to that available in Indiana. Physicians overall must think that is the case since they elected a WVU Medical School graduate as President of the AMA.
Nobody said Morgantown has all the amenities of a big city. It is not a big city. It also does not have most of the negative aspects of a big city, and is reasonably close to one if you are looking for what one has to offer.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 04-19-2009 at 04:07 PM..
I grew up a about an hour and half from Morgantown. I absolutely hate it, but that is due to the fact that whenever I went there, there was never anything to do-- all that is in the town are bars, drunk college kids and overpriced restaurants.
Morgantown is an acquired "taste" I guess. My husband is from Fairmont, and even he thinks it's not the best place to be. Thus why we are in Huntington. I do agree though, Ruby is an AMAZING hospital, they provided me with excellent care during my high risk pregnancy two years ago, and my father has been going there for his cardiac and cancer care also.
Again... it's all in what you're into... I'm just not into that area. To each his/her own!
BTW-- WV is a very friendly place! I'm born and bred here in WV and everyone I know is always very friendly to "transplants". I have loads of friends from other states who relocated here because of the people and the beauty of the state. Maybe it's just us here in the southern part of the state then... we love everyone.
I grew up a about an hour and half from Morgantown. I absolutely hate it, but that is due to the fact that whenever I went there, there was never anything to do-- all that is in the town are bars, drunk college kids and overpriced restaurants.
Morgantown is an acquired "taste" I guess. My husband is from Fairmont, and even he thinks it's not the best place to be. Thus why we are in Huntington. I do agree though, Ruby is an AMAZING hospital, they provided me with excellent care during my high risk pregnancy two years ago, and my father has been going there for his cardiac and cancer care also.
Again... it's all in what you're into... I'm just not into that area. To each his/her own!
BTW-- WV is a very friendly place! I'm born and bred here in WV and everyone I know is always very friendly to "transplants". I have loads of friends from other states who relocated here because of the people and the beauty of the state. Maybe it's just us here in the southern part of the state then... we love everyone.
You likely haven't been there lately. A lot has happened in recent years in Morgantown that make it a very lively and active place. There is easily as much to do there as there is in Huntington... first class college sports, the cultural activities of a doctoral level institution, an abundance of concerts, and great outdoors activities literally minutes away. What more could you ask for?
I've never been to Myrtle and I don't know what an OBX is. :/
I was actually just in Morgantown a few weekends ago. Still the same to me... but then again, we are pretty laid back and boring compared to most. We don't drink, we don't "party" and prefer to cuddle up and watch a movie at home than go to sporting events. I went to Marshall, but I didn't go to school for the football team... I went to Marshall because they have a great art program and WVU didn't offer a photography degree.
Plus, your ideas of cultural activities are probably different than mine. Besides, I can drive across the bridge to Ashland, KY and visit the arts district and be right at peace along with other artists.
I seriously don't know what an OBX is though. Myrtle is a beach I think... if that is what you mean David, I have only ever been to Ocean City (every year for about 10 years!), Virginia Beach, Cocoa, Daytona and a few others in FL.
I've never been to Myrtle and I don't know what an OBX is. :/
I was actually just in Morgantown a few weekends ago. Still the same to me... but then again, we are pretty laid back and boring compared to most. We don't drink, we don't "party" and prefer to cuddle up and watch a movie at home than go to sporting events. I went to Marshall, but I didn't go to school for the football team... I went to Marshall because they have a great art program and WVU didn't offer a photography degree.
Plus, your ideas of cultural activities are probably different than mine. Besides, I can drive across the bridge to Ashland, KY and visit the arts district and be right at peace along with other artists.
I seriously don't know what an OBX is though. Myrtle is a beach I think... if that is what you mean David, I have only ever been to Ocean City (every year for about 10 years!), Virginia Beach, Cocoa, Daytona and a few others in FL.
Like I said, to each his/her own!!
Have you looked up any of the many artists in the Morgantown area? As you might expect, a doctoral level institution has lots of them as well as several galeries. Next time you are there, take the time to find out. I do like to quaf a stein, but not everyone in Morgantown is a drinker. You have all kinds of people there, but unlike most towns in the State it is actually getting more and more of them all the time.
There's certainly nothing wrong with going to school at Marshall. Like you said... to each his own. Are you working with your photography degree? I have an old friend who was from Sutton and a photography specialist, but she got her photography training at Glenville State.
We do have a community symphony now ...the opera is imported from Pittsburgh and uses some of our local talent.
Could it be that making friends establishes a life-long commitment and if a person seems transient, then the effort of making friends with him is diminished from the begining.
In Wv...friends ARE family. Sometimes more so than blood relations...
That is so very true! That's because we West Virginians are essentially part of a reference group society. We form bonds and stick together no matter what. If the corn shucker had taken the time to make a West Virginia friend, he would have a friend for life.
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