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RobbieisPolish - you really haven't mentioned anything about jobs. I have to assume that you don't have anything specific lined up, as the four towns that you list are in different sections of the state. That is a consideration that might determine your relocation efforts.
Your bridge photo looks vaugely like the old Cheat Lake bridge on Rt 68 coming into Morgantown. There is a newer bridge right beside it that has been in use for many years. That's the closest steel bridge to Morgantown that I can think of, but your photo isn't of that bridge.
Gosh, I'd have to look it up. It's a VERY tall bridge.. so scary yet beautiful to drive over at the same time! As you're just entering Morgantown, there's a tall bridge you cross over a river and you see part of the city. It's just gorgeous! So many mountains and so many houses not only below the mountains but on top of 'em! That's why I was so interested in Morgantown because of that bridge, what it looked like crossing it... it was just beautiful but so tiny and old-looking at the same time!
Sorry if I'm not making sense... really tired.
I think you're describing the view coming down the mountain before you cross Cheat Lake driving toward Morgantown from I68. There is also a very tall bridge on I79 north of I68 with a beautiful view of the Monongalia River, but there is no view of the city from there.
WV has high home ownership. It's probably going to be hard to find a rental house, unless somebody can't unload one that's for sale, and they decide that renting it is better than nothing. When I was in the Charleston area, all the rental houses I looked at were rentals specifically because they were junk, or were in undesirable neighborhoods, or they were on ski-slope streets that have no parking, or the schools are ghetto. And the monthly rent on them was 1.5x - 2x what the house p'mt would be if you bought the place.
Teays Valley between Charleston and Huntington, and Elkview north of Charleston will have the newest housing stock, if you are looking at Charleston.
Gosh, I'd have to look it up. It's a VERY tall bridge.. so scary yet beautiful to drive over at the same time! As you're just entering Morgantown, there's a tall bridge you cross over a river and you see part of the city. It's just gorgeous! So many mountains and so many houses not only below the mountains but on top of 'em! That's why I was so interested in Morgantown because of that bridge, what it looked like crossing it... it was just beautiful but so tiny and old-looking at the same time!
Sorry if I'm not making sense... really tired.
I have a hunch you're talking about the bridge on I79 that crosses over the Monongalia River. It is very tall, but you really can't see the city from there. There is another bridge that is not as tall on I68 approaching Morgantown from the East. As you come down the mountain from Coopers Rock, you get a beautiful view of Morgantown in the distance then cross Cheat Lake on a bridge that is perhaps 1/4 mile across. That is lovely there.
There are dozens of lakes in West Virginia... really any part of West Virginia.
West Virginians by and large are Appalachians (northern and/or southern depending on location). Our people are used to sacrifice and community, and they work hard and really have little use for those who don't if they are able to work. They are also very self reliant and typically shun government assistance. I believe Appalachians make the best friends in the world. We also have some of the negative aspects associated with being Appalachians. We tend to be clannish, and we often bicker with other Appalachians if they aren't from our particular area (as you can probably tell from reading the posts on this forum), but overall we are a helpful and cooperative people who are the first to volunteer to help if somebody is having a hard time.
I have a hunch you're talking about the bridge on I79 that crosses over the Monongalia River. It is very tall, but you really can't see the city from there. There is another bridge that is not as tall on I68 approaching Morgantown from the East. As you come down the mountain from Coopers Rock, you get a beautiful view of Morgantown in the distance then cross Cheat Lake on a bridge that is perhaps 1/4 mile across. That is lovely there.
There are dozens of lakes in West Virginia... really any part of West Virginia.
West Virginians by and large are Appalachians (northern and/or southern depending on location). Our people are used to sacrifice and community, and they work hard and really have little use for those who don't if they are able to work. They are also very self reliant and typically shun government assistance. I believe Appalachians make the best friends in the world. We also have some of the negative aspects associated with being Appalachians. We tend to be clannish, and we often bicker with other Appalachians if they aren't from our particular area (as you can probably tell from reading the posts on this forum), but overall we are a helpful and cooperative people who are the first to volunteer to help if somebody is having a hard time.
Shun government assistance?
Large parts of the state are dependent on government assistance.
Large parts of the state are dependent on government assistance.
I can't disagree with that in some cases. Southern West Virginia has been down so long that those remaining there are often tied into that situation due to lack of opportunity. Also, those that remain there are often those with the fewest marketable skills that could have been marketed some place else had they moved to another, more promising location. In general, however, taking government assistance is not part of the Appalachian character. The major problem in the southern part of the state is a diminished demand for coal (in part due to unwarranted government interference), mechanization in the mines meaning fewer workers are needed, and coal that is more difficult to mine and thus less desirable for mining operators due to the very shallow coal seams (the three foot seams often found there have far less depth that those of the northern part of the state).
Shallow coal seams also result in that coal which is being mined there comes from mountaintop removal, which uses even fewer workers and does horrific and permanent damage to topography, thus making southern West Virginia even less desirable for use for other purposes.
I have lived in Charleston for 40 years and I love it! I'm not sure why you ask if it is as bad as people say it is. What people? What do they say? Charleston is a nice place to live. Like someone above said, not a huge city but we also don't have the problems often associated with a big city. Instead of going on what "they" say, you might make a visit and spend some time in Charleston and see what you think. You just might like it. Good luck with your move.
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