Living in West Virginia?

Your feelings about a small town depend on the VERY small crowed you deal with just a very few can make alot of diference.
For instance if just one guy is mad because you bought his faverite mushroom spot and he startes telling everyone that you tried to sell his kids meth you will NEVER fit in there and will likely spend a lot of time in jail.....meth or not.

Isn't conjugate what you have to do to a hog before processing it? And what about those verbs...what kinda critturs are those? Don't have any of them around these parts.

Billy Clyde

Fantasymaker, very true, but true anywhere, not just WV. I have a friend from Ripley, and of course she thinks it's dull as dishwater. It has a quilt shop and a square downtown, therefore I like it.

Gladey your right as far as rural areas Ive started threads on the topic before. I dont think a lot of city folks are aware of how true it is because they dont have the same dynamic where they are at ...and a lot of country folks dont thinkabout it because they are where they were raised and thus their reputaion is long established

Although I was born across the river in Portsmouth, Ohio, I lived the first 25 years of my life in WV. I attended public schools through high school and went on to Marshall and WVU College of Law. Left in 1985 after graduations and wouldn't dream of moving back. But I am not sure why.

I am back there 2-3 times a year (was there this weekend in fact) but don't feel that "pull" to return.

I can, however, conjugate, spell and speak correctly, and at a minimum, my family taught me to be polite around others...unlike some.

I can also raise hogs and laying hens and milk a goat...the question is, which of these talents give me the most pleasure??? By far, the latter group.

Vanessa
near Nashville

Y'all are makin' me homesick. I grew up in Pennsylvania, but my entire extended family is around the Morgantown area. I spent quite a bit of time there as a child. I heard mention of Bruceton Mills. It is a gorgeous area. Also, some great hunting around there. If you're ever around there for breakfast, Little Sandy's Truckstop has fantastic buckwheat cakes and sausage.

Also have to agree with the statement about taking a drive down route 50. I used to take route 50 in to visit family around Parsons. I was driving up from Kentucky at that time. There's a really neat little country store called Cool Springs down there. I used to go there in August to buy apple cider. The country around that area is incredible. We also used to make the drive from Bruceton Mills down to Parsons. Following the Cheat River for all that way makes for a beautiful drive.

Now for my negative note...

I was back in Morgantown around Christmas, and I was absolutely depressed at the amount of subdivisions. I took a little drive down where my grandfather lived. I hadn't been down there for a couple years. I about cried when I saw the shiny new condos where his farmhouse used to stand.

Morgantown is changing rapidly. I kept looking all around me, at what used to be beautiful countryside, and seeing nothing but houses.

West Virginia is a beautiful place to be, but be careful when looking at real estate. What may seem like a decent amount of acreage, could actually be a small field and a big mountain. Although it would probably be good hunting up on that mountain. I would definitely recommend going there for an extended trip.

If you do decide to move there, spend some time getting to know the locals. Some of them may seem flat out scary at first glance, but if you're neighborly you'll find that some of those so-called hillbillies will be the most kind-hearted people you've ever met.

Oh I don't know....I met a lot of people in WV when I was showing miniature horses and they were the most warm and welcoming bunch of folks I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We're less than an hour north of Parkersburg. That is one beautiful state.

__________________
Cloven Trail Farm
Lord help me be the person my dog thinks I am!

Ja-Lyn's Radio Flyer, aka "Rad" on his 17th birthday.
9/14/93 -12/3/10.
Rest peacefully my soulmate, I'll love you forever.

I spent alot of time around the ODD area, and around camp creek as a kid. we spent hours and hours catchin craw dads, and playin in the falls. I think back in horror at some of the muddy creeks we jumped into without a second thought.
my uncle ray worked the coal mines, and died from it. My great aunts had a house at the very botom of the holler. their yard went straight up, and had flowers all the way up. It was like looking at a beautiful garden, sideways.

I ve seen property at a good price in various areas, but my concern is non usable. gotta have room for a big garden, horses, and tractors?!

Tamsam, I have been all over WV. One of my favorite places, out of all the states I have visited, is Seneca Rocks. I love that area. I will drive there for no other reason than to view the scenery.

Chele, Cool Springs really went down hill after the fire. They are starting to fix it up again but the trains all the kids loved to play on are so rundown that you don't even want to go near them. They've finally fixed the water wheel so that it's running again but I don't think that they'll ever get the place back up to what it was.

My family settled in the Petersburg area right after the revolutionary war via a land grant for ex soldiers. I lived in various places in the state for many years. I know cliques and clans when I see them. Outsiders are never fully welcomed or trusted.

I've never had any trouble and I speak with a heavey Maine accent. and no one gives me any grief. and I'm not related to anyone here.

and what could be consider family at one point in time no one knows about it. so nope. if there's that kind of poo going on it ain't in Bluefield,WV but we're kinda of confusing anyway. cause the town is split half in WV and half in VA.


white back from the flu and the pipes freezing.

I have family from Rhodell, just around the mountain

Flat land is a concern, out of 70 acres I have about 5 flat enough to plow, and another 10-12 that it would be safe to drive a tractor on without flipping it over. the rest is forested, great for hunting and privacy, hard to walk on.

As for the "locals" I have all types around me. From really friendly to the idiot who was tresspassing and pulled a gun on my dog Some are nosy, and some just wave driving by. Neighbors are easier to notice, and to find fault with when you have so few. I moved to the central part of the state from the eastern panhandle and it is two different worlds. Everything from the accent, income and jobs, to how people maintain their property. The southwest part of the state is very depressing, the farther north you go the better, but I think that has to do with the economy there.

Honestly I like living here, it's beautiful, the seasons are nice, my neighbors are good, we are rural but only 30 miles from Charleston....my husband hates it and wants to move back to "civilization" though he does like the land too.

Oh, I was also surprised at the size of Charleston. I know it's small for a city but it really has a lot to offer. My kids are still impressed everytime we go by the capitol building (they are easy to amuse).

We moved to central WV a year and a half ago, from Atlanta GA. We were prepared to be "those folks that bought the old Jones place" for a decade, or even life. We expected to be treated like outsiders.

We haven't had ONCE been treated with anything but warmth and hospitality. Of course the old timers laugh at us because we're clueless, but we're laughing too.

I LOVE the way this small community works. When it's too muddy or icy/snowy to get down our drive (1/3 mile dirt, fairly steep hill) UPS or FedEx will take a box to the feed store. The feed store calls us and says "You have a package to come pick up." and so we do. There's a bench at the feed store with today's paper strewn on it and usually a bunch of old folks sitting around solving the world's problems. I take eggs to the owners of the feed store, and they ask how my garden did or how the chickens are doing. I tell them of my mishaps and we have a good laugh.

Sometimes I go into the feed store with a question and the old timers will watch the exchange between me and the owners silently, and sometimes they chime in with information and advice.

We know the postmaster by face and name; he's the only person working at the little tiny post office. We give him eggs on occasion, too. He told us where we could find a notary without driving 20 miles to town (she was across the street in a home/office). She notarized a bunch of stuff for us when we were selling our Atlanta home and wouldn't take any money for it, so we gave her some apple butter.

There's a little community center and they have BBQ dinners there occasionally. We went to one and then after that I'd run into someone new at the post office or feed store and they'd say "Yeah, I know who you are. I saw you at the BBQ. How are you folks making out down there?"

Whenever we drive past a pedestrian, the pedestrian always waves, and we wave back.

The land is cheap, the woods are hardwood, water is plentiful, and many sites have free gas. Gosh, what's not to like?

Okay, the original poster asked for downsides.

- Employment - I know a couple of people who have been looking for work for quite a while. Hard to find and if you do find work it pays squat.
- The land is rocky and steep. Good for privacy and hunting but not much else. You can find river bottoms or ridges that are good for haying. Folks graze some pretty steep hillsides here. Cattle and sheep especially, and some goats. Oh, yeah, I was supposed to be listing the bad stuff.
- It's a long way to anything from where we live. Groceries are 20 miles away, as is the doctor and school (1:20 on the bus). Haven't found a dentist or optometrist we like. Vet is about 45 minutes away.
- Education is not the best; WV schools pretty much score right in line with the US average which I personally think is abysmal.

If you can figure out how to pay your bills and if you don't want to farm big fields, you won't have any problem here.

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Our homestead-in-the-making: Palazzo Rospo
Eating the dream

Gosh I didn't know there were so many folks from WV here on the forum. Maybe everyone could list the town closest to them and maybe have a coffee break sometime.
Well the downside of living in WV has been stated as we are in the mountains for the most part. The 23 acreas we have has a flat spot big enough for the house and small side yard. The flat spot was blasted out of the rock in 1930 and the house was built from the logs off the land. We don't have room for a garden per say but we do have a few plants inside the fenced in area. I will post a couple pics of uor place and we love it here. Should we find some one in our back yard they are where they shouldn't be.
First pic is from driveway
Second pic is looking up the hill from our back door
Sam

I live in Jefferson Co. But my farm is in Pendleton co and all of my rental properties are in Petersburg. I have never had any problems with the locals in Petersburg, I've found them to be very accepting. Employment is a problem there unless you like working in Moorefields chicken plant or American Woodworks. But we like Grant co the best and are now looking at a farm near Maysville. Which means we will sell the Pendleton Co farm and move to the Grant co farm. I grew up in a town just like Petersburg but smaller. It also sits along the Potomac river and maybe that is why I like Petersburg so much. Same kind of people that I grew up and went to school with.
Terri, my Pendleton Co farm is 11 miles from Seneca Rocks. We go past the rocks everytime coming and going. They are beautiful as is the whole Pendlton Co area. But sssh, we like it less crowded there.

Two comments:

1. My understanding is that WV has a severe drug addition problem.
2. Because of the rising demand for coal, mining is making a strong come back.

I would be careful to make sure that neither of these issues will affect the area that your considering to relocate.

If you can find any kind of decent job there, and a little piece of halfway flat mountaintop (not flood prone) land, I say go for it. I think it's beautiful, and the mountains are one of the best things about it! You'll find all kinds in WV, but the people I've met have mostly been warm and friendly. Some of them may not like close neighbors or people in their hair all the time, but they'll help you out in a jam. And anyway, that's probably true in most rural places. Jobs are probably the big thing. It's true you can make around $80k as a miner, and many (most?) miners are fiercely proud of their work, but it's not something I'd want to do. Too many health and safety issues, and hours too long to enjoy the land and homestead which is why you'd be moving there in the first place. My grandfather was a coal miner (in PA), and it's not pretty work.

Land prices are generally great, though, by midatlantic standards. I'd definitely consider moving there someday. Not quite enough snow there for my tastes, but it's really beatiful anyway.

Oh yeah, almost forgot--politics down there may be a little crazier than most places, or at least most places I'm used to. Seems like things are intensely local and not infrequently bought and paid for by those with position and cash. This is just from what I've heard from people and seen in the news, though--I haven't lived it myself.

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And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb.. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.. They shall not hurt nor destroy In all my holy mountain For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

When my dh retired from the USAF, we returned to our home state of WV. We bought a beautiful 135 acres in Tyler County--half way between Clarksburg & Parkersburg. Our "hillside" had a population of about 700. Our driveway was about 1/2 mile long, so we had all the privacy we wanted. Oddly enough, about half the residents there were transplants--some from Philly, DC, & NYC. The transplants were all looking for the same thing as us--their own little peace of heaven. The locals were very friendly and helpful. The guy across the raod gave me all I wanted to can from his garden & grapevines. Our mail carier lived right down the road. It was a great mix of traditions & cultures. Unfortunately, dh decided he need to go back to work, and we were just too far from anything that paid decently, so we had to sell & move. The people who bought are place are from FL. They put in a landing strip on the property, so now they can fly in on weekends, until they retire and can move there permenantly.