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I've read a bit about West Virginia being at the center of the crisis, with thousands of deaths and rampant crime. Would like opinions on where it's worst, where to avoid it, how likely would one be affected by it. I'm guessing in most affected cities it would be likely that cars are broken into, homes too. Don't have any idea if violent crime is an issue. Has the worst of the crisis passed or is it still going strong? My wife is concerned about it enough that I have to ask.
There are zero towns/cities I would avoid based on the "opioid crisis". There are however, areas in some towns/cities that I would ask where I should avoid.
WV is not immune to "violent crime" but the scale of it anyway is small compared to some states. I do not consider WV in a state of "rampant crime" even though it may be a higher rate that "in the good old days". That is a false narrative about the whole state, in my opinion.
Cars rummaged if left unlocked but not a high rate of breaking into them and home invasions, etc. do happen.
Sorry, didn't mean to imply the whole state is like that. Quite a few videos on YouTube as well as sites on Google give the impression it's a real problem, and not limited to West Virginia.
I've read a bit about West Virginia being at the center of the crisis, with thousands of deaths and rampant crime. Would like opinions on where it's worst, where to avoid it, how likely would one be affected by it. I'm guessing in most affected cities it would be likely that cars are broken into, homes too. Don't have any idea if violent crime is an issue. Has the worst of the crisis passed or is it still going strong? My wife is concerned about it enough that I have to ask.
News today on any subject is designed to influence emotions and not inform the mind. The Opioid Crisis falls right into that chasm. The numbers for West Virginia look very dire, but dig one layer down and see why.
They are per capita numbers presented side-by-side with raw numbers that make it looks much worse than it is. It is a poor manner to represent data and reminds us of the debate on the climate, where the point is not to inform but to influence.
Our brains however do not work on influence, they work on information and when our hearts feel one thing and our brain understands something in different way, it is usually the brain that tries to make sense of our emotions - for most people. In essence, we toss out logic because of how we feel. The Opioid Crisis makes us feel bad.
Once we have our mental state is in line with our disrupted emotions, we can project pictures in our mind to support how we feel - cars burning in the street; dirty children wandering along busy roads, adults laying on filthy sofas, needles hanging out of their arms, police sirens wailing in the background and then we hear someone sobbing over death. So dark.
But, that is not the situation and it is not the reality of West Virginia or likely any other place.
There is this thing called demographics. The people that fall into the Opioid Crisis are not those any one else sees. Humans are good at making the unacceptable parts of our society invisible. We ignore their presence, their activities and their very existence unless they directly impact our lives in some way - a local encounter, a family member falls prey, a car wreck or house fire in our neighborhood. But again those are hard things to make happen in West Virginia.
Most of us do not live in "neighborhoods"; most people West Virginians live in rural communities of scattered houses along winding roads. We live next to people we have known a long time and they are not the kind of people to fall into the drug chasm such as the one presented by opioids.
So, who in West Virginia is this affecting? The urban poor and the transient college age young man. If the city of Detroit did not exist, it is likely there would be no drug issues in West Virginia. A bit of a stretch but it sure seems that way. Every drug related news stories eventually has a Detroit angle in it.
We have drugs being brought into the state and delivered to urban poor individuals and broken families where drugs are a part of their daily lives. It is a good bet that all of them use cannabis and that use is generally a good marker if you want to know who is and who is not at opioid risk.
The long story short is that in West Virginia, opioid deaths run about 500 to 600 in a given year although the last two reported years 2016 and 2017 were higher at 702 and 813 respectively. That is all types of opiods though, including heroin and prescriptions. If we limit our conversation to the illegal substances it has hovered under 100 deaths per year until the last two and that has jumped to 400 and 618.
But, unless you do not involve yourself in drugs or associate with those that do, you will never see it in West Virginia. It is much like any crime here, it is very demographically compartmentalized. But for those that are involved in it such has healthcare workers, it seems to be a daily thing.
Still, the numbers run high as a per capita, but that is because the state has such a low population making it sounds extreme on the national story line. In fact, being in West Virginia, it is hardly noticed. I do not see it, nor does anyone I know, and most of those I know work in the medical, hotel and police fields. In West Virginia, you have to want to be part of the drug culture to be affected by it and if you don't, you will never know it was there.
Last edited by Caden Grace; 07-22-2019 at 12:25 PM..
I appreciate the informed response. Something I had to verify before a move there. My wife wants Colorado. We can afford West Virginia. But being able to afford a home there means little if we don't feel secure. I really like WV, but I've been there and she hasn't.
I appreciate the informed response. Something I had to verify before a move there. My wife wants Colorado. We can afford West Virginia. But being able to afford a home there means little if we don't feel secure. I really like WV, but I've been there and she hasn't.
I have been to Colorado. It is a state that is so magnificent that only majestic words can be used to describe it. It is an awe inspiring place that has a tendency to make one feel small when standing among the grandeur. The people there are a different story. They were once, much like the land, but have evolved - if that is the right word - into a more cosmopolitan mindset. I suppose growth and progress brings that way of thinking, that way of life, that way of being.
West Virginia is none of those things. West Virginia cannot be put into words. West Virginia will be a place where you cannot find any word that is the right word to describe how it makes you feel.
The land here is old. Time is old here. The state is covered in one giant dark wood that has seen much and has hidden even more. West Virginia is a land of what was and it keeps its secrets. Hidden valleys, deep woods, misplaced glens that have a bio-system you would not expect. Much of this has to do with the forces that created the state. The ice sheets from the ice age stopped at the border. When the climate grew warmer, the tropical climate moved north and stopped at West Virginia.
Because the land has lain here for those eons, unchanged, even by man. Everything that has happened here for a billion years is still evident. As I said, this is an old world. Once you enter this land and stop to accept it, your heart will never be the same again. But, you will not know that until you try to go some place else. Every West Virginian that has had to go abroad in the world suffers from a disease that an absence of this land brings unto them.
They may pass it off in casual conversation but when they drive back into the state, they 'feel' it take over their body, wrap itself around their heart and sink into their dreams their first night asleep on this soil. They will hear sounds they took for granted, smell things they cannot describe and just, well, take a deep breath and say to themselves, "I'm home."
If your life is going to take you to many places, do not move to West Virginia. Let West Virginia be a destination, not a way station, because it may alter your perception of the joys of other places.
Now, all of this being said, West Virginia is not for everyone, because, let's face it. All West Virginia has to offer is the land. If you want technology, brisk and bustling urban areas, dynamic employment and being neighbors with social climbers, West Virginia does not have that. So, for many, it is not a place for them.
But, if your life is all about appreciation and living life, then West Virginia may very well be the place, that your soul comes to a happy rest.
Is there a particular part of the state you re interested in. That would help in telling you about that region. West Virginia can be very different depending on what region of the state you are living in. I've lived in both Colorado and West Virginia. I loved Colorado but it's very expensive. West Virginia is in my soul though and this is where I will finish out my days I've lived in Texas ,Colorado,Ohio,Pennsylvania,Indiana,Illinois,Maryl and and Florida. West Virginia has its share of problems but you will also still find a sense of pride and community you don't find other places. Texan's definitely love their state and people in Colorado are friendly but many cities and states have lost what made them great. I know the Elkins,Morgantown,Clarksburg,Fairmont and Buckhannon areas well and i've been throughout the state if you have questions.Good luck in your move
She's ex-Army and needs to be near a VA. From what I've described to her she thinks living between Huntington and Charleston will work well. I like the Beckley area like Oak Hill, and also Elkins, and even Davis. But I prefer smaller places. That was her concern, living between the two biggest cities might expose us to some risk, but she likes the amenities. If it's not an issue then I guess we'll start there.
We like the West Slope in Colorado, especially Grand Junction. But we can get twice the house for half the cost in WV.
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Makes me want to head there now.
