Moving to North Central WV near Pennsboro (Wheeling, Morgantown: income, living in)

[David Kennedy]

If I were moving in and saw the neighbors...I would wave at them and smile.

Jack and Judy Westvirginia would be on your doorstep to help you unload the trucks...
they might also bring a 6-pack and a pizza for the after-unloading party.
Just give them a big thank-you and send over an apple pie when things settle down...its the way things are done in the mountains...they will tell you about the schools and the churches and where you can find the nearest Gabriels...(Clarksburg on the top of Bridgeport Hill, behind the Holiday Inn)

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by ourkidzrmylife

in 1995, my husband and I moved to a community nearby to Pennsboro. We moved from there within 3 years. I never felt welcome in that area. If you were born there you were accepted. If you like a very small town, this may be a good place for you. however, there is not much there at all. The closest shopping mall is 30 -40 minutes away. There is not much in the area. Good Luck

Sorry you and Pennsboro didn't gel, but I'm glad you took responsibility for it and relocated to where I presume you are happier.

Not everyone can find what there is to appreciate, from both sides of that coin. Someone could look at a forrest and only see lumber. A native american would see his ancestors. Neither are wrong until they think they're the one who is right. Can you see in yourself your need for acceptance as a requirement you have of the community you would be happiest? Nothing wrong with that. That's just YOU.

I've got a buddy in chicago, terribly introverted, who ran screaming from his new apartment building in less than 3 months. It seems that there was so much hospitality from his neighbors 'getting in his face', that to his hermit lifestyle, it was unbearable. He's happier now, living where people don't burden him with hello when he checks his mailbox. Go figure.

No matter where you go, there will be folks who allow envy to excuse their own lack of esteem. There are gossips who haven't a life of their own trying to live vicariously through yours. There are folks who might as well have had their headstones written twenty years ago, because evolving their opinions with new information isn't in their vocabulary. That's when long handled spoons work wonders.

People get along best when it's one big pot luck supper. It's what I love most about America itself. Where you're free to try it all out, but your preferences decide what gets pushed aside on your plate. No need to insult the cook who made it. Too many leftovers speak loudly.

It's good to remember that you're cooking a dish for them, not a dish that's your own preference. How would gifting cupcakes to diabetics work out?

To the person who started this thread about pennsboro-
My traveling experience suggests that you be very aware of what is valuable to you and what isn't. What makes you happy is all about you, and where you put yourself is all about how compatible that life picture in your head is with an area. Sometimes that picture in your head changes based on new experiences. I've never seen forcing that picture in your head on others work.
Communities are either of like minded folks with tight affiliations (mormons, amish, jewish, klan), or have loose affiliations more tolerant of cultural differences (buddhists, liberals, hippies, artsy folks, unitarians, jewish cooking kosher meals for amish building a barn for a mormon lol), which is another form of like mindedness.

Go visit, get your feet wet. Put the local fare on your plate and try it, what have you got to lose? It's entirely subjective. If the difference is a store, and there are others who wish there were a store, opening a store could be an option that completes the picture you yourself painted.

[AsTheNight]

My significant other and I moved to Pennsboro from another state 17 months ago. We were warmly welcomed everywhere we went and folks couldn't have been more kind and helpful.

Much of the social life here revolves around church, and "what church do you belong to?" is the most common question we were asked. We're not church-going people so we'd always answer that we haven't joined a church and so were always warmly invited to come to that person's church.

But here's the most perfect example of the kind of people that live in Pennsboro:

Before we bought a house here, we lived in rental property for several years so we didn't have lawn equipment. One of our neighbors asked if he could mow our lawn for us until Rod got the used lawn tractor he bought running. He refused payment, and refused money for gas while he mowed almost the entire season.

The flip side of living in Pennsboro is that to do any kind of quality shopping at all, we have to drive about 40 minutes to either Clarksburg or Parkersburg. But most of the time, I'm too busy enjoying the great views and wonderful people who live here to mind much.

[vec101]

Welcome (belated) to WV. Glad you are enjoying your move. People in WV are great.

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by AsTheNight

My significant other and I moved to Pennsboro from another state 17 months ago. We were warmly welcomed everywhere we went and folks couldn't have been more kind and helpful.

Much of the social life here revolves around church, and "what church do you belong to?" is the most common question we were asked. We're not church-going people so we'd always answer that we haven't joined a church and so were always warmly invited to come to that person's church.

But here's the most perfect example of the kind of people that live in Pennsboro:

Before we bought a house here, we lived in rental property for several years so we didn't have lawn equipment. One of our neighbors asked if he could mow our lawn for us until Rod got the used lawn tractor he bought running. He refused payment, and refused money for gas while he mowed almost the entire season.

The flip side of living in Pennsboro is that to do any kind of quality shopping at all, we have to drive about 40 minutes to either Clarksburg or Parkersburg. But most of the time, I'm too busy enjoying the great views and wonderful people who live here to mind much.

40 minutes, in exchange for a great group of people? Sounds like a good exchange to me!

[Drapermill]

Thanks to all who have replied to me about moving to Pennsboro, WV. Here in central Delaware, the folks here are not nearly as friendly as they are as in West Virginia. You can see the difference by driving down the highway. People up here won't pull over in the right lane if you want to pass or go faster. They will pull out in front of you in a heartbeat. We like our church here (Nazarene) and are used to how people are here. People are friendlier in your shoppping malls and restaurants than they are here. My wife and I will probably make a move in your area one of these days when we are ready.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

Your acceptance will be determined by the level of frendliness. If you are a friend, you will gain the friendship and loyalty and protection of people who will give you the shirt off their back..If you arrive in your new neighborhood as an expert from the best place in the world and tell everyone how great things were in Podunk, you might get off to a less than great beginning. My sister-in-law did that when she moved back home from Ohio and it took years to establish any rapor with the community. She was from here...we tossed it off as hormonal...
To boil it all down...You get back what you give.

You speak of Delaware as some foreign place...well, we are too...most of us in WV are Irish....and Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Negro, Black, African/American, Native American, Cuban, English, Mexican, Chinese, Korean, Malayisan, Japanese, Indian, Nigerian, Ethiopian ...just simple folk, doing the best we can...West Virginians...Americans...all of us. These are the people in my neighborhood.

You left out probably the biggest group in Northcentral... German.

You will find anything you want in that region, from the very small communities like that one to nice towns like Clarksburg, Fairmont, and Morgantown. I suggest you take some time and look around the area, then decide about the level of urbanity that suits you. The people of that area are among the nicest anywhere.

I'm originally from Wheeling, but have been living in the NYC area for the past 15 years. I now have residences in both Connecticut and Morgantown, and will be an official West Virginia and Monongalia County resident in two weeks.

[Sharedspirit]

I love Pennsboro. I find it to be very friendly compared to other towns in the area. I think part of that is because it's not the county seat so you don't have a lot of those dynamics going on in the town....politics and such.

One thing people need to consider before moving here is medical care. The nearest hospital is a half hour away. The local doctors are country doctors and can treat a stomach ache or a few stitches but usually for any serious medical care, you'll need a doctor in Parkersburg, Clarksburg or Morgantown. Rural medicine has a long way to go here.

[vec101]

Originally Posted by Drapermill

Thanks to all who have replied to me about moving to Pennsboro, WV. Here in central Delaware, the folks here are not nearly as friendly as they are as in West Virginia. You can see the difference by driving down the highway. People up here won't pull over in the right lane if you want to pass or go faster. They will pull out in front of you in a heartbeat. We like our church here (Nazarene) and are used to how people are here. People are friendlier in your shoppping malls and restaurants than they are here. My wife and I will probably make a move in your area one of these days when we are ready.

One place I notice the friendliness is when shopping - don't get me wrong, we get grouchy about long lines etc but....

There have been times when I am in a store looking at something and have made a comment about said item to the person beside me. They just converse right back with me. (I've also been on the other side of this equation).

I have been in other states and have done this (I'm just so used to it) and the other person has looked at me like I have 2 heads and doesn't reply.

As to driving, people are also generally nice about letting you pull out onto the road.

[Threerun]

If you dial the wrong number around here, chance are you'll get into a conversation with that person. Happens all the time, and I like it that way..