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These are just a few of the many resort springs all across West Virginia.
Sweet Springs buildings were designed by Thomas Jefferson. They fit West Virginia quite well. Unfortunately a lot of the historic springs have not been preserved and the great buildings have been destroyed or neglected.
WV has a huge lack of job or career opportunities probably the worst in the country. Every area has the regular basic jobs such as nurses and cops so that doesn't really count. If you don't want to work in retail or do one of the regular basic jobs that I mentioned you're screwed in WV. Also a lot of areas in WV are really clicky and family owned so if you don't know the right person you have no shot at getting your foot in the door.
Although I like the rural, green countryside, that puts West Virginia at a disadvantage when it comes to the job and salary front. Small, rural states like Vermont and Maine face the same problem. They may be beautiful to look at, but offer few job opportunties and low pay.
Although the state shares similarities with its borders, West Virginia has a distinct feel. I can tell when I am in West Virginia. When I travel from Ohio to Indiana, it feels the same. Alabama to Georgia, feels the same. You get the point. When I'm in Morgantown and cross into Pennsylvania, it feels different. It's hard to explain, but when I come home and cross the border, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Our cities are relatively small, but I think they offer more than what you would expect for their sizes. Our largest cities are mere suburbs in most states so our little cities serve a larger area and look bigger in my opinion.
I went to the Greenbrier once and it was awsome but I got the feeling it didn't really belong in W Virginia.
It sure does. It has supported generations of my family and many others. A lot of people met their spouses there when it was Ashford General Hospital. Why would you say that?
Things I like: Most of the people living in the state are still nice, level headed and down to earth. Many parts of the state are still very beautiful and nice to visit. Obviously if you like the outdoors, WV is great for that.
Things I hate: The lack of jobs. The need for more cultural events. The lack of caring by the state government for its citizens. The lack of common sense by the state government. The over taxation. The lack of a bright future for most the states college graduates to stay in the state.
This is a great thread!...
Im new here, but have come back & forth for years ...trying to get a toe hold. I finally made it, and I am now in the shaky beginnings of being a stranger in a ( not strange, but lovely) land!
Lookin for a home, & shyly making some friends.
I have the incredible pleasure of more wandering through the hills & back roads still before me come Spring!
EVERY THING in the other posts is true for me ( the good parts ),
Id rate the beauty and the people as the 2 best things.
As far as the outside NOT KNOWING ABOUT or appreciating WV...THAT IS GOOD TOO!!!
I have lived all over the US and in a number of places around the world...
Well kept secrets about diamonds in the rough...DONT add to their economies...
BUT ARE PART OFTHE REASON for the good!,
The genuinenees of the people, the easy pace, and the retained natural beauty.
I say... The longer it takes WV to become a fancy destination... the longer what we love will remain intact.
Dont worry the Outside will come. Like it or not.
The worst thing about WV is that no one outside WV knows anything about us
OMG...SO TRUE !!!
When I lived in Martinsburg it was really amazing at the number of people who I had met who knew little about their own state. But then again, can't really blame them. Other than West Virginia Public TV, all the other channels on cable there are either out of Maryland such as Baltimore or Washington DC and news on local Martinsburg radio was pretty much only on the two low powered AM stations while the FM stations care more about Winchester, VA and Hagerstown, MD than their own state. Actually Martinsburg's FM oldies station doesn't even say "Martinsburg" in their top of the hour ID If it wasn't for the Martinsburg Journal newspaper, people in the Eastern Panhandle would know even less about West Virginia.
Believe it or not its about the same with Virginia too. The national news networks such as CNN and FOX still refers to Virginia Beach as a "seaside town" and not a city with a population over 400,000 and more people outside the east coast know of Norfolk as a town in Nebraska ( thanks to Johnny Carson !! ) than a city in Virginia. I am not even going to start with Richmond or Roanoke
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If it wasn't for the Martinsburg Journal newspaper, people in the Eastern Panhandle would know even less about West Virginia.
