Question on high schools and the new kid (Elkins, Junior: buy, college)

[Homeseeking]

In choosing a place to move, I have to consider my two children. My daughter is 8, I dont think she would have a difficult time making friends/feeling accepted.

But my son will be 14. Junior High is hard enough when you grow up with the kids you go with, it will be pretty rough being the "new guy" for him.
I wonder and worry how it will be for him.
Are the kids pretty accepting of new people? Give them a hard time?
I know where Ive lived in Vermont and Massachusetts, it was either one extreme or the other - either the new guy was instantly popular, or he became the one that got tripped in the bus aisle and had things thrown at him and his life made a living hell.

I guess Im asking opinions on how Junior/Senior high school was for everyone. Are there worse/better places in that regard?
Maybe its the same all over, high school = hell on earth lol

[Love2LiveNCities]

just my view. i went to college for my first year in WV. i am a city boy from DC suburbs. i went into there amazed at the life style and how slow it is. i never once offended anyone but it was very very difficult for me to get into a good set of friends and figure them out. I love them west virginia people, but they are not used to outsiders as opposed to big cities. they literally knew each other from the time they were born to that time in college. and you meet someone that didnt know them, and they had 10+ people that they knew their whole lives. its very very tight knit and they like it that way. If he does not offend them and degrade WV and their life styles he will eventually slide into friendship, and when i say friendship i mean life time, he will probably fall in love with WVU and go there with 20 kids he knows, and talk to them for the rest of his life. it seems to be the trend that they do. either WVU or Coal mines, thats most of their mind sets from what i got.

[vec101]

Originally Posted by Love2LiveNCities

If he does not offend them and degrade WV and their life styles he will eventually slide into friendship.

That is so true and probably the main key to fitting in and making friends.

In my own experience, I have always found WV people to be accepting if you are accepting of them. Plus, a person can't just plop in somewhere and expect to be accepted as a friend. Don't you have to get to know a person first? We don't always want to hang with everyone we meet. I'm an adult and I meet people I don't care for and would not want to hang with.

Love2Live, I don't quite agree with a lot of your assessment, however, we all have our own experiences and thoughts. I will respect yours.

[GottaHerdOn]

New kids were instantly popular at our school. Also at Elkins we did not have a full black student, we had a lot of students that were half black but not full. Then my Junior year we got a black student, instant man on campus! He was more popular than the captain on the football team. I would not worry too much about “new kid” syndrome. Generally new students are very well accepted in WV.

[snorpus]

Just to be safe, though, don't buy them any clothes that have "Pitt", "USF", or "Michigan" on them.

[Threerun]

Or God forbid the Terps

Within the first 3 months of living on the eastern panhandle we had our car vandalized. UofMD sticker on the back. (Of course that was back when Maryland was playing good and WVU not so good...)