West Virginia is widely ridiculed in popular media as a place full of dumb (unsophisticated), ignorant (racist), inbred hillbillies.
Perhaps only Alabama and Mississippi have similar amounts of hugely negative stereotypes.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, after having lived in West Virginia for two years, these common tropes about how dumb the rednecks in my state are, have been far from the mark and my own experience.
West Virginia is an extremely poor state with a wide range of systemic issues (e.g., opioid overdose deaths), but it is also undoubtedly rich in beauty (it’s called Almost Heaven for a reason), culture, and history.
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I’m proud to live in West Virginia and look forward to raising my kids here.
West Virginia is not a state where you will find fancy public parks with water amusement amenities, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Costco, or billion dollar infrastructure (like the DC Metro). Indeed, that type of lifestyle does not exist here.
Yet, there is unquestionably a deep richness to the state: its warm, friendly, yet strong and independent people; its stunning, largely untouched landscapes; its pride in Appalachian culture, service to the country, and making do with what is available.
Here are a few things that make West Virginia unique — a great state and place to live in:
West Virginia is the only U.S. state formed because of the Civil War, breaking away from a Confederate state (Virginia).
West Virginia was born from a rebellious nature and a commitment to the Union. Its mountains both isolated them and made them independent.
West Virginia is a state with a strong culture of service and sacrifice. Per capita, West Virginia had the highest number of deaths and served the most in the Vietnam War compared to other states.
Close to one in ten West Virginians is a Veteran.
West Virginians work hard jobs — often long hours with high risks of injuries. This is reflected in it being ranked as a state with the 3rd highest workplace injuries (behind only Wyoming and North Dakota).
West Virginia is the only U.S. state entirely within the Appalachian region.
This means every level of the state is culturally Appalachian from the rural hollers to the state government.
West Virginia helped build the country through its production of coal energy and continues to serve as an energy hub for national and global economies.
Many of the power plants serving East Coast states in the U.S. are more than 90% reliant on coal from West Virginia.
West Virginia is the second largest coal producer in the country and the seventh-largest natural gas producing state in the country.
Similar to its state origins, the streak of rebelliousness and independence of coal miners culminated in the West Virginia Coal Wars between coal companies and miners and the Battle of Blair Mountain.
West Virginia, the “Mountain State”, is rugged and largely undeveloped. It is the 3rd most forested state (~79% of the state) in the country, behind only Maine and New Hampshire.
It is super easy to find parks with beautiful landscapes, yet little to no people. This is great for those with large dogs (like us)!
West Virginia continues to be a severely underrated, and over-denigrated state.
West Virginians generally like it that way.
If you ask me, I say WV is a truly beautiful state, one that certainly feels like home to me.
