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"I am a Life Member of the NRA and it is my understanding that things I can't do in Manhattan, I can do in West Virginia." Ummm, such as? No, you still are not allowed to go around shooting people.
You HAVE to get a car.
Have you lived in Manhattan/NYC your whole life?
If so, you are going to be in for a BIG change by way of conveniences as far as buying certain things/ specialty food items/ restaurants & bars/arts/ etc. (That's not saying we don't have them, that's just saying you won't find what you do in NYC).
On the flip side, you hopefully will love the open spaces (not having a zillion people around you all the time), the outdoor adventures you will find in WV, the people, the quiet, etc.
"I am a Life Member of the NRA and it is my understanding that things I can't do in Manhattan, I can do in West Virginia." Ummm, such as? No, you still are not allowed to go around shooting people.
You HAVE to get a car.
Have you lived in Manhattan/NYC your whole life?
If so, you are going to be in for a BIG change by way of conveniences as far as buying certain things/ specialty food items/ restaurants & bars/arts/ etc. (That's not saying we don't have them, that's just saying you won't find what you do in NYC).
On the flip side, you hopefully will love the open spaces (not having a zillion people around you all the time), the outdoor adventures you will find in WV, the people, the quiet, etc.
Aww, rats... Wait, that's not what I want to do... I'm more looking towards hassle-free lawful gun ownership and places to shoot.
I've lived all over the place... but what I don't look forward to is buying a car...
What are the best neighborhoods? "Best" = not known for drugs, crime, idiots, etc.
When you obtain your residence here you will be in gun paradise. You can buy any legal weapon. Walk into a gunstore pass the fbi check and walk out with the weapon. No permit to own. You need a permit to carry concealed, 75 bucks, background check and a test and it is good for 5 years. Carry anywhere but a school or gov building. Even if a place has a no guns sign, so what. if it's concealed how will they know? and if they discover it all they can do is ask you to leave. I carry a glock 17. 17 round mag and i have plenty of 33 round mags for it. Aks Ar15s sig 556 if you have the money your are good to go.
I am a Life Member of the NRA and it is my understanding that things I can't do in Manhattan, I can do in West Virginia.
I also don't own a car.
What surprises, ups/downs, etc. should I expect?
You'll need to get a car.
And the average philosophy... or a common philosophy that I could describe for you is... it's only illegal if you get caught. At least, that's what my dad taught me.
On a serious note, now, there are MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY things about WV that are different than ANY big city in the U.S. The pace of life is more relaxed, and it will feel as though you are stepping 40 years back in time. I'm not joking about this, either. West Virginia is secluded, and there really AREN'T that many "outsiders" in WV. I hope you can adjust to life well there. I grew up in WV, and I found that I sort of outgrew it, in many ways. I miss many things about it, but... anywho, there are MANY differences between Manhattan and WV.
Huntington will definately be different from NYC, but I think you'll love it here. There are lots of things to do here and there is a great sense of community. You will need a car, but depending on where you live and where you work, you may not need it much. My wife and I live on the Southside near Ritter Park and where we used to use 2 cars daily, we now only use one and don't even use that one every day. I walk to work, we have a grocery store a block down from us, the main city park is a couple blocks away, our church is just a few blocks away and it wouldn't be too far for us to just walk downtown. If you work downtown, there are several newly remodeled condos that would put you right in the middle of downtown and all of the convenience that would offer. Here are some links that you may find useful and let me know if you have any questions about anything!
Tim
You'll want a car, if only to get out of the city and see the rest of West Virginia.
Keep in mind that the two largest cities in WV (Huntington and Charleston) are both only about 50,000 in population. Throwing in the suburbs might double that, but the entire state is less than 2 million.
If you've learned to avoid eye contact... you'll have to relearn that skill. And if you do get a car, wave at other cars, the drivers that let you turn left in front of them (that will happen a lot), wave at pedestrians. And if you're walking, wave back at the cars. It's the friendly thing to do.
You really will want a car... or better yet, a pickup.
I like to tell people from big cities that I can legally walk down the street with my fully loaded Mossberg 500 in plain view with the carrying strap wrestled around my shoulder back home in WV. They become AMAZED. I think in NYC if you carry a shotgun still in the unopened original box and case inside of a giant paper bag, they shoot you on sight or something. I might be wrong about that one, I dunno.
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