Friendly to "outsiders"? (Elkins, Grafton: fit in, low crime, house)

[TDAILEY]

My husband and I are planning on relocating to southern WV (Mercer County) area in the fall. I have heard that the local people are not very friendly to new people to the area. We are moving our family from Ohio and it concerns me because our daughter will be attending school there when she is older. Is this just a misconception?

[corgis]

I guess it just depends on your attitude when you move. We don't like people coming in here and telling us we have to change our way of living. If you don't have an attitude or expectations of what someone can do for you and if you try to learn about your new town and if you wave, speak, smile, stop and chat with a stranger, you'll be fine.

[westvissouri]

What corgis said.

That is KEY. Most new people who move here - a good bit of them are stuck-up, selfish snobs who think they are too good to associate themselves with "those people" (us) even though they are the ones who moved here.

Keep your nose out of the air - wave, be friendly (not that you aren't...just be yourself) and as they say "When In Rome, Do As the Romans Do"....

Blessings in finding your alls way around and making friends, etc.

[vec101]

Yea, you get what you give. Be friendly and you will get it in return.
And... for heavens sake - don't say "we did it this way in Ohio", "in Ohio we had", etc. -- that is one sure way to NOT make friends.

[pknopp]

I'll have to chime in with the same advice. If you want to fit in you will fit in.

[hrhf]

Originally Posted by westvissouri

What corgis said.

That is KEY. Most new people who move here - a good bit of them are stuck-up, selfish snobs who think they are too good to associate themselves with "those people" (us) even though they are the ones who moved here.

Keep your nose out of the air - wave, be friendly (not that you aren't...just be yourself) and as they say "When In Rome, Do As the Romans Do"....

Blessings in finding your alls way around and making friends, etc.

Actually, as somebody who once moved to the opposite end of the same county in WV (Mingo), there ARE areas where outsiders are looked upon with a great deal of distrust.

I'd guess it varies from community to community.

[JRLudi]

I moved out here from SoCal, where I was born and raised. In CA we never talk to our neighbors. Maybe a quick "hi" or "How's it going?", but that's it. So imagine my surprise when we moved out here to Grafton and the neighbors started coming to the door with baked goods and macaroni salad. I've never met such friendly people and I know all my neighbors our here. Now, sometimes when I'd go to the store I'd get the, "I don't know you vibe", but it's a small town and after while they not only recognize you but they'll start to remember what you always buy. I mean you pretty much always go to the same store, there aren't that many to choose from. One of the things I've noticed is there are very few homes with fences out here. It's not like CA where every house has a fenced in yard and you stay in your yard and I'll stay in mine. I think not having fences is indicative of a friendlier nature or at least a more trusting one.

Sometimes I run into a language barrier. Being from CA my accent is different than it is out here and at times I find it hard to understand what is being said, but for the most part I can finally catch on. There are some words and phrases that are different out here, like a living room suite is pronounced 'sweet' in CA but it's pronounced 'suit' out here. Peonies (Pee-oh-knees) are pronounced (Pie-knees), Chipmunks are Fairydiddles and Ramps are a wild garlic-onion thing that grows in the spring and fall and people cook 'em and eat 'em and then smell like them for three days.

All in all, I'd say that WV is the friendliest place I've ever lived.

[vec101]

Well welcome to WV. Glad you are enjoying your neighbors, etc. Must be quite a change from CA.

You HAVE to try ramps - at least once. But going to a church fundraiser and eating the ones which have been preboiled then fried in potatoes does NOT count. They have boiled away the true potency of the ramp. If you can't find any in Grafton - head to Elkins to Crazy Harry's. Ramp season is in the spring (not sure exactly when - you can't buy fresh ones anytime of the year). You have to get fresh ramps and cook them up with fried potatoes. Gosh, it's been a while since I made them but it is the green of the ramp you want to eat - not just the bulb like with a green onion. Even better to fry the ramps and potatoes in bacon fat. Trust me, ramps are unlike anything you have ever eaten -- yum, yum, -- and they will stink up your whole house (and you too). Just promise me you won't wimp out and eat the ones that have been boiled then frozen or whatever. Those are sissy ramps and not at all like fresh ones.

As to the language barrier - you will find different dialects and accents throughout the state. We also at times have a hard time understanding folks from a different area of WV.

[JRLudi]

Well, I may have to give them a try now. There are a lot of churches that have Ramp dinners and I've thought about trying them but now I'll have to get some fresh and cook 'em up like you suggested. There are folks that sell them by the side of the road and I've seen them growing in my yard. They start growing even before the grass starts and it's getting to be that time of year.

Yeah, WV is in a way, almost the antithesis of CA. Green trees, abundant water, fresh air, friendly people, low crime, little traffic. In WV street gangs are high school kids wanting to wash your car. A multi-car pile up is called destruction derby. Traffic congestion is when both traffic lights in town turn red at the same time. Rush hour is two minutes long. Vacations are called hunting season. A board meeting is when you run into your neighbor at the lumber yard. I could go on but I'm sure you get the point.

[snorpus]

Originally Posted by JRLudi

...
Traffic congestion is when both traffic lights in town turn red at the same time.
...

Your town has traffic lights? TWO of them?

What's it like to live in an urban area?