If you could say what would be the worst or most negative thing of living in WV (Charleston: home, camping)

[spldcnd]

We start our trip soon for WV, next Sat. and hoping we will love it, and wondering what the negative of WV is? From looking at the pics. I see the positive, It's beautiful down there !!! And I know the economy is not good, like every where else I'm sure. I'd love to here some feedback....And I have another ( prob. crazy question) are there alot of bears down there....any crazy stories??? Thanks..

[clintsullivan]

Lots of negatives in WV, but probably no more than anywhere else.

The bear population varies according to your location in WV. Here in the eastern panhandle we don't have near the population as elsewhere, but they have made a comeback. The first kill in Jefferson County after bear hunting was restored was taken in the hunt club I used to be a member of. But I've never seen one in Jefferson County, even hunting in the same area. But I've been much more up-close and personal with a bear than I wanted to be while boar hunting in Boone. She didn't take kindly to our pop-up camper location. Ruined an otherwise good hunting trip.

[adam36]

The god-awful humidity. But maybe that's a southern problem.

[BJC]

The negative stereotypes!

[lalaharmon]

I wouldn't say the Worst but the traffic in and around Charleston would probably rank pretty high up on the list. Especially the dreaded Dunbar Crawl.

[spldcnd]

Well, humidity, we have it here too, but maybe worse down there, traffic I can deal with, but really rather not, we want to find a place to call home in the country..We love the outdoor life, (hunting, fishing,camping, hiking) Kinda leaning toward northern or central WV. I've actually never saw a bear(except for zoos) was just wondering how common they are down there...hopefully I wouldn't freak out or something..lol..ahhh something you prob. just get use to. We've never been to WV, so I'm really looking forward to our first trip down there.

[red.ochre]

Originally Posted by spldcnd

....And I have another ( prob. crazy question) are there alot of bears down there

Define a lot.

Last I read there were an estimated 10,000 bears in the state. So with West Virginia having 24,231 square miles, that's roughly 1/2 bear for every square mile? Closest one to me that I know of is a couple of miles away, in South Charleston.

[kookamus]

The folkways will take some getting used to. It takes awhile for people to get to know you.

[David Kennedy]

The shock you will see firsthand is the lack of roadways...aside from the few interstate links that were designed in the 1970's, our roads have not changed much since they were built after the turn of the century (20th). Some improvements have been forced up on them during the years, but all in all, many are the ancient indian pathways of long ago.

Other than the efforts of Senator RC Byrd, no single person or group of politicians have been that interested in making Wv accessible on the whole.

The economy in the upper half of Wv seems to be pretty good...can't be too bad all over, as our crooks at the capitol added 39 million to an already over bloated state budget..took care of everybodies pay raises for the term.

Want to make friends in a hurry...wear a Syracuse ballcap...Go BIG O!

[spldcnd]

That sounds like ALOT of bears...but suppose you leave them be and don't happen across mother and cub, they're prob. like any other animal in the wild...