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Intuit has indeed chosen Bluefield for its next prosperity hub. The company plans to create between 200 and 500 jobs and locate them in downtown Bluefield in the former First National Bank building on Federal Street.
Intuit Executive Board Chairman Brad Smith, a Kenova native, said Bluefield was chosen from 900 communities across the country. He told MetroNews the city and region should feel proud.
“Bluefield was chosen based on the talent and skills in the region, access to students graduating from multiple institutions, the progressive leadership of the local community leaders. The combination of expertise here and our technology can create the next chapter for the region,” Smith said.
Bluefield was right in the heart of coal mining. History is irrelevant.
All good. I'm surely not saying interbreeding is going on in the hollows today. In fact, what I am trying to say is that the type of thing you are posting above is exactly what I support!
I support reparations for the population of WV. That's what we are giving and we need to give more. We need to give universal health care. We need to plan - we can either make larger state or federal parks OR we can decide to invest in hubs that are centers for more modern technology.
I'm not being "political" about this....but in terms of the last POTUS election, in a nutshell....
One candidate promised to bring Coal Back Bigly...like you never saw before.
The other candidate knew which way the wind was blowing and:
"produced her own $30 billion plan, which would use a smattering of tax incentives and grant funding to support public health, education, and entrepreneurial initiatives in coal communities from Appalachia to Wyoming. "
IMHO, the investment approach is much better than cutting off more mountaintops to enrich some chinese coal broker.
I'd consider WV as a place to have a summer home. I'd likely be bored silly if I had to live there year-round, but I agree that the peace and quiet might be nice in my older years. I've only driven through and yes, the trees and mountains are beautiful.
I'm that way when I have to spend time in a city. I travel for work a couple times a year and work a trade show for a week at a time. We do air-bnb, so end up in apartments. No lawn, tiny rooms, no storage, barely a place to park a car in most. Nothing to do other than try to find a place to go for dinner (and check out the occasional motorcycle shop!). Can't imagine living in a city, especially a large one. The last time I did was in college (and it wasn't very large)-and fortunately we were so busy with homework that boredom was less of a problem. Here in the woods I can walk out the back door and go for a hike, go fishing, toss a canoe in the lake, jump on the bike and hit the backcountry, etc. Even a bike ride in the city sucks with the crowds and traffic. Yeah, I understand that if you're unlucky you might have to deal with city life to land a job. I've been lucky, was able to land jobs in my field in smaller towns with rural areas nearby.
Last edited by Toyman at Jewel Lake; 04-10-2019 at 09:01 PM..
Compassionate, tolerant, empathetic these folks are NOT. Meanwhile, as a rural, open-minded conservative, I'm friends with all kinds of folks. Been all over the country, 49 states (just need to get Alaska) rural and urban, and appreciate the perspectives and stories of anyone I meet. Been to 10 countries, two of them the second and third poorest in the world, and others very well-off. You'll never hear me write anyone off simply because of their zip code, looks, and locale. The thing is, I was intoxicated with this closed-minded "progressive" stuff during college. It only took a few trips to rural Alabama and Arkansas for me to see how foolhardy this stereotyping is. Some world-class folks there, just like there are all over the country.
Get out of your box, people! Open your mind
Thou doest protest too much.
We are discussing macro-economics and the forces behind the causation of great poverty and suffering. You then say "BUT there are good people".....
That's not the point. The reason I support using my tax money for universal health care and investment in places like those is because I know that people are people...
BUT, on the other hand, biting the hand that feeds and/or failing to say Thank You is bad manners. We can all have righteous indignation but I suppose that would be better in another forum.
In the real scheme of life and happiness, do you consider it a good move for a citizen of WV to vote against all their own interests because they think wealthier and more successful people are looking "down" at them?
If so, they are digging their own graves. My Italian and Jewish ancestors were all looked down upon and cursed at and called names. But they didn't vote against their own interests. They were secure in their abilities and did what they needed to do - including MOVE - to gain more success.
There is no effective difference between my ancestors who worked in Hazelton, PA coal mines and are buried in the churchyards there and the people you claim we look down upon.....EXCEPT....our people realized they were being SCREWED and moved on.
Roads built on a mountain will indeed tend to slip from time to time.
Misleading. I can guarantee that the education my kids got far exceeds that of many big city schools.
By your standards.
The house I live in was bought by my wife's parents in the early 60's. They sold it and built a new house up the street. (her mom still lives there). The people who bought it sold it to my wife's grandparents around 25 years ago. (they were getting too old to remain on the farm). We bought it from her grandmother after her grandfather passed away and her grandmother got too old to take care of herself).
That is perhaps more common than other places but all the same..........we own it clear now, I have no desire to "move up" and it will make it so we both car retire at a decent age. (my wife retires at the end of the year at 55). I'll have to work another couple years.
From what I experienced. From what my family experiences. Yup, my standards are probably different. It’s all in what we’re used to. It’s a different culture to be sure.
The groceries? 100% fact. They ARE more expensive. We moved from NJ to WV. My groceries, utilities, and daily living expenses (gas, clothing) were higher. Only housing was less, however our pay was too and there was no opportunity to grow. Jobs were scarce. Options to shop around for better prices were non existent as well.
The best thing to happen were the pipelines beginning. That brought much needed growth to the state. Reopening some mines also helped quite a bit.
The roads? Time to time? The very same areas for the past six years. Untouched. I guess they replace the cone from time to time. But it’s bad and just gets worse.
When it snows, we have had a good chuckle as we pass the salt shed on Rt 2 that has “Salt=$” painted on the side of it. Well there must be no $ as they certainly don’t use salt for the roads. We are just flabbergasted by the state of the roads. But again, low taxes, so some things have to give.
Education is not something I came up with. It’s national standards. I believe Arkansas and Mississippi are the lower ones to WV. That said, education begins at home. If you push your children and don’t just depend on the school to provide every ounce of education, your children will be well educated. I’m 100% sure there are higher performing students and districts in the state.
I’m not downing your state. It’s what the residents want it to be and that’s fine. If they’re happy, I’m happy for them. But for statistics to intimate that it’s some sort of prosperous homeowner utopia is just wrong. It’s not for everyone.
All those from there that left, are doing better than they were there. All that have stayed? Most live paycheck to paycheck.
This whole thread proves why I believe kids should be educated in school about the different regional cultures that exist in this vast country of ours. We are all American, yet cannot be lumped in as one culture. Our education chooses to put great emphasis on world cultures and racial differences, yet never touches on the differing and greatly varying American regional cultures.
A very significant portion of the people in CA and NY(especially the city) don't own any kind of home-they rent apartments. With a mobile home, you at least have SOME asset. And most are larger than most apartments (though of course that varies). Apartment living is the bottom of the barrel, significantly below a mobile home-even in a mobile home park. You throw your money away every month to make a landlord well off.
Here again. Many far prefer an apartment. No upkeep of a yard. If something breaks you just make a call and it's fixed. There are very few reasons to condemn the choices of others.
All good. I'm surely not saying interbreeding is going on in the hollows today. In fact, what I am trying to say is that the type of thing you are posting above is exactly what I support!
I support reparations for the population of WV. That's what we are giving and we need to give more. We need to give universal health care. We need to plan - we can either make larger state or federal parks OR we can decide to invest in hubs that are centers for more modern technology.
I prefer both.
Quote:
I'm not being "political" about this....but in terms of the last POTUS election, in a nutshell....
One candidate promised to bring Coal Back Bigly...like you never saw before.
The other candidate knew which way the wind was blowing and:
"produced her own $30 billion plan, which would use a smattering of tax incentives and grant funding to support public health, education, and entrepreneurial initiatives in coal communities from Appalachia to Wyoming. "
IMHO, the investment approach is much better than cutting off more mountaintops to enrich some chinese coal broker.
Here is the problem. Hillary has never been believable. Yes, you can now claim that for Trump also but I certainly hope that WV (D)'s continue to not support the corporate wing of the party.
A very significant portion of the people in CA and NY(especially the city) don't own any kind of home-they rent apartments. With a mobile home, you at least have SOME asset. And most are larger than most apartments (though of course that varies). Apartment living is the bottom of the barrel, significantly below a mobile home-even in a mobile home park. You throw your money away every month to make a landlord well off.
Mobile homes, like cars, depreciate. They become liabilities, not assets.
HUD projects the lifespan of the average mobile home to be about 35 years, depending on maintenance. HUD determined such homes built before 1976 to be worthless.
If not for some form of Federal Government juice ( FHA/VA/FHLMC/FNMA, it is near impossible to finance a mobile home.
From what I experienced. From what my family experiences. Yup, my standards are probably different. It’s all in what we’re used to. It’s a different culture to be sure.
The groceries? 100% fact. They ARE more expensive. We moved from NJ to WV. My groceries, utilities, and daily living expenses (gas, clothing) were higher. Only housing was less, however our pay was too and there was no opportunity to grow. Jobs were scarce. Options to shop around for better prices were non existent as well.
The only way they were more expensive is if you lived somewhere clear out in nowhere and the only easy option was some small locally owned place. Wal-Mart is Wal Mart. They are all over. Gas is always cheaper than N.J.
Quote:
The best thing to happen were the pipelines beginning. That brought much needed growth to the state. Reopening some mines also helped quite a bit.
The roads? Time to time? The very same areas for the past six years. Untouched. I guess they replace the cone from time to time. But it’s bad and just gets worse.
When it snows, we have had a good chuckle as we pass the salt shed on Rt 2 that has “Salt=$” painted on the side of it. Well there must be no $ as they certainly don’t use salt for the roads. We are just flabbergasted by the state of the roads. But again, low taxes, so some things have to give.
I'm from Cleveland Ohio. I like that salt isn't used that much. It always sucked when your car would start rusting after being just a year old.
Quote:
Education is not something I came up with. It’s national standards. I believe Arkansas and Mississippi are the lower ones to WV. That said, education begins at home. If you push your children and don’t just depend on the school to provide every ounce of education, your children will be well educated. I’m 100% sure there are higher performing students and districts in the state.
Parents have been in a constant battle with the corporate interests in Charleston (the state Capital). We ticked them off big time last year when we came out in large numbers to support the teachers over tax cuts. Beating them so far this year also but the battle is still on.
Quote:
I’m not downing your state. It’s what the residents want it to be and that’s fine. If they’re happy, I’m happy for them. But for statistics to intimate that it’s some sort of prosperous homeowner utopia is just wrong. It’s not for everyone.
All those from there that left, are doing better than they were there. All that have stayed? Most live paycheck to paycheck.
This whole thread proves why I believe kids should be educated in school about the different regional cultures that exist in this vast country of ours. We are all American, yet cannot be lumped in as one culture. Our education chooses to put great emphasis on world cultures and racial differences, yet never touches on the differing and greatly varying American regional cultures.
Probably a good point.
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