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Thanks for all the input so far, but come on guys let's hear some more . If you didn't move to Kentucky for a job that you had lined up there, or you haven't moved away if you were raised there (for reasons other than family or work), why did you choose Kentucky and did you ever consider WV?
How about cultural events, both states pretty evenly tied? Hospitals? Progress in education (someone in another thread mentioned KY teaching for tests and not being able to deviate from a set curriculum, is this true?)? Cost of housing in Ky seems a little higher than wv (and a lot higher than wv in some areas of ky) would you agree? What about friendliness towards newcomers in smaller cities/towns?
Off the top of my head, I'd say the biggest difference between Kentucky and West Virginia is that WV is predominantly mountainous and almost the entire state has an Appalachian culture (except for the Martinsburg area which is being absorbed into the DC metro). On the other hand, only about the eastern 1/3 of Kentucky (approx. east of the I-75 corridor) is Appalachian, and much of this area is more hilly than mountainous (although there are definitely mountains in the southeastern part of Kentucky). In fact, far eastern Kentucky could be annexed by West Virginia and the change would hardly be noticeable, except that people would be cheering for different college sports teams.
Knew an older man who said when he met his wife, one leg was shorter than the other. he thought it was a birth defect until he learned she grew up in W. Va. lol
i have nothing against west virginia. from my personal observation, i just know i couldn't live in west virginia. they have no major cities and i'm just a city guy. i enjoy my cultural amenities, restaurants, nightlife, sports, and downtown city life.
The Huntington, WV-Ashland, Ky area is somewhere that is big enough (288,000)that your beliefs will be respected, but is spread out in comparison to other metro areas and crime is low as well as a general cost of living. Ashland, Ky is the best choice of the two cities. It is clean and the economy is good. It has it's own school system and six elementary schools within the city limits that are all newer facilities or extensively remodeled ones. Downtown is super clean and quite charming with 19th century houses lining it's residential districts. The homes around the park are breathtaking. Most of the town's population resides in the hill district known as South Ashland. It has great homes mostly built in the 1920's and 30's with a quaint little shopping district that reminds one of a new england village. The setting is wooded hills in that part of town. The Ashland Town Center Mall is an upscale retail development that is full of tenants. JC Penney just built a ground-up store there and the mall offers all the national retailers standard for malls. We have several National restaurants surrounding this area, mostly built within the last 5 years. Most people work at either Marathon's refinery or AK steel mill. Both places pay good and this is evident with a drive through the area. I am not from Ashland but I always thought it was the nicest place to live. I have been through a lot of towns and this one is much better in comparison to all Ive seen. I often visit ashland to attend events at the paramount art center. They have a constant stream of national based entertainment for the area residents to enjoy. I live nearby to Ashland and trust me I would recommend it to anyone. For grocery shopping they have your choice of two Kroger superstores, Foodland, Foodfair, Save-a-lot, and two Wal-mart supercenters. Plus smaller independent type grocery stores. You can buy sushi in ashland at anytime. It's the best kept secret in the U.S. if you ask me.
to bw87a: Huntington, WV has great sports with Marshall University. The nightlife is great with over 10 night clubs, and 30+ smaller bars. Its true that Huntington is smaller than some cities (51,000) but in a 60 mile radius there are well over a million people and I have lived in Pittsburgh, PA and Huntington and there is nothing that I could do in Pittsburgh that I couldnt do in Huntington. The rest of the state is rural, this is true but Huntington is not like the rest of the state. Due to its rugged terrain, population isnt as dense as a bigger city but the population is still there.
It also depends on what area of each state you are comparing. Eastern Kentucky and most of WV will be very similar. I couldn't live in either area due to the lack of things to do since I don't hunt or fish. If you are not a conservative Christian, you'll have a little trouble fitting in either place, imo.
I think Louisville is far superior to any city in WV, from my biased point of view. But if you are comparing rural eastern Ky to rural WV, I don't see much difference.
As much as I don't like Louisville, I agree that it blows any city in WV out of the water, no question about it. WV is entirely mountainous minus the Martinsburg area near DC. Personally I'd go with Kentucky over WV any day for a few reasons:
1. I like larger cities and Lexington (where I live) is near Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.
2. I prefer a flatter terrain rather than living square in the middle of the mountains so I like Kentucky's rolling hills over the mountains of WV.
3. Travelling (this is just a pet peeve of mine). Almost half of the interstates in WV are toll roads (I-64/I-77 from Charleston to Beckley). No road in KY is a toll road.
4. Pay is higher in Kentucky and older housing like you mentioned you're looking for is much more abundant in KY than in WV (check out Lexington for historic housing).
I'm biased to Kentucky and I would choose it any day over WV. Now choosing between Virginia and Kentucky? That's a whole other story...
Location: Always dancing to a far off tune --- Fiddlefeet
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West Virginia gives me the willies. Kentucky makes me feel like I've come home. West Virginians are strange. Kentuckians are individualistic.
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. If you didn't move to Kentucky for a job that you had lined up there, or you haven't moved away if you were raised there (for reasons other than family or work), why did you choose Kentucky and did you ever consider WV? 
