people live in West Virginia?   ...   random thoughts
tue 2004-dec-14 03:04:14 pst   ...   permalink

Recently had the following IM conversation with a friend of mine, who was to be flying home for the holidays the next day:

me: have a good flight
me: where are you flying, anyway?
friend: WV
me: west virginia?
friend: yup
me: weird.
friend: haha not if you live there
me: no, i mean, weird that you live there!
friend: hehe believe it or not there are quite a few people who live there.
me: crazy.

Who knew?

I wonder how many other closet West Virginians I might have met besides this one.

wed 2004-dec-15 10:33:43 pst
posted by neilfred

Well, sure, I'm not surprised to learn that people I know have relatives who live there. I just can't think of ever having met anyone who lives or grew up there, before the above conversation. (And I even lived in North Carolina for a year.)

thu 2006-oct-19 19:40:46 pdt
posted by Mountaineer

I am from WV. I have lived here my entire life. I have had to put up with all the jokes and stereotypes my entire life. There is nothing strange or backwards about the place. Bottom line, there is room to breathe here. People who live in cities are the strange, backwards ones. But yes, it is a beautiful state. So stop badmouthing West Virginians. Where are you from that gives you the right?

fri 2006-dec-29 13:21:23 pst
posted by David

Ohio

wed 2007-feb-07 21:38:01 pst
posted by santana

I'm 21 and I grew up in WV. I moved to Myrtle Beach after I graduated high school and then moved to NC. I'm back home now because this is the most wonderful place I have ever been. People are not stuck up and snotty here. All the WV jokes are so ignorant. If people want to talk about this state then they should at least stay here for a week or so. We HAVE teeth, indoor plumbing, and we do take showers. We are not stupid. I scored extremly high on my ACT and that is a NATIONAL test not a WV test. I was offered a modeling contract while I lived in NC so obviously I dont look deformed. All the comments about WV are ignorant and uneducated. Please know what your talking about when you want to put down a state, or all the people in a state. I am DEFINITLY not a "closet West Virginian". I am extremly proud to say I was raised in such a wonderful state where people still have morals.

tue 2007-feb-13 12:01:52 pst
posted by D

the only way to keep WV the way we love it is to continue to convince the rest of the world that its a backwards inbred crappy place to live. and in that light:

Do you know what a third grader is in West Virginia? Gifted

tue 2007-feb-13 13:23:46 pst
posted by neilfred

For the record, I never said anything about people from West Virginia being backwards, inbred, stupid, or whatever else the stereotypes say they are -- honestly I don't think I even really knew there were such stereotypes, and I certainly had never heard any jokes about West Virginians.

I just couldn't think of having met someone from there before. That's all. :)

sat 2007-mar-10 08:53:06 pst
posted by Grace Adair

I just returned from a business trip in WVA. The people were nice and pleasant. The state was not impressive.

thu 2007-jun-07 12:21:32 pdt
posted by greta perrine

I am saddened to think that there are people in the United States who still believe the stereotypes connected with West Virginia. Do you also believe that there are cowboys in Texas who will shoot you? Do you believe that NYC is all gangs, and do you believe that everyone in the South is anti-black people? Try to emerge into the 21st century please. Written by a native WV woman who did not marry her brother or uncle!

tue 2007-jun-19 13:32:22 pdt
posted by matt

I grew up in Maryland. Our family had land in WV. There is something about the atmosphere in most of the cities that seems backwards. I'm not sure if it's that many of them seem hidden like they don't want to be found, I just can't explain it. Oh well, when I lived in Utah people would ask me about growing up in the frigid north. Eventually I started pointing out that the two states are on the same latitude.

thu 2007-aug-09 23:39:12 pdt
posted by Ne'

My husband and I are planning on moving to WV. He grew up in Chicago. I was raised in WV, but we moved to Indiana when I was 4. My family has gone back almost every year to visit family. I have been trying to get back since we moved. The state is beautiful and the tourism is wonderful in a lot of areas. Most people around here make the jokes (although they do make fun of Kentucky more). But, once they get to go on a trip there with church or friends then they come back in shock and awe of how wrong they were. We are moving back next April. Can't wait to raise my 3 children there and to be near family again. Oh! And to go White Water Rafting on the New River Gorge again!

sat 2007-sep-01 09:57:58 pdt
posted by L

All of you are so paranoid, It's funny!! I know so many people from WV and they too are Paranoid!!!The person who started this thread never said anything about being backward, inbreed, or any of the other insults... They just stated they knew no one from there!! WOW!! What makes you all so paranoid!!

sun 2007-sep-16 13:07:36 pdt
posted by TJ

We arnt paranoid, its built up frustraton from years of ignorance bombarded tward us from almost everyone. im living in PA at the moment and well frankly they seem quite a bit more like hicks than anyone i met back home. i dont like the steriotypes, but i dont like any steriotypes. i realize the individual at the start of the thread meant no harm, but it presented a venue for those who have put up with so much crap. I am a mechanical engineer, my sister is an Accountant in NC, my cousin is a petrolium engineer in VA. everyone in our family has graduated highschool and some even college.

fri 2007-nov-30 10:31:49 pst
posted by Elizabeth

First, I understand this thread was started by an innocent comment but since we're on the subject, I would like to put in my '2 cents'. Although, I do not live in my hometown, I still live in WV and work in MD (and refuse to leave WV to be closer to work-you can call that ignorant!:). I am blessed by the Grace of God to be able to say, I was born and raised in West Virginia. I was raised on top of a mountain and my father was a heavy equipment mechanic in the coal mines and operated a salvage in his 'off' time. I thoroughly enjoy fishing, camping, 4 wheeling and just being in the woods. And I'm VERY PROUD OF IT! I've heard all the WV jokes and more. I would just like to say, there are ignorant and crazy people EVERYWHERE, doesn't matter if it's in the city or country. The majority of West Virginian's are secluded from the city life and most 'urban' areas so....yeah, most of us don't have blackberries that are latched to our hands and really aren't concerned about BMW's. It's not that we don't have the money or the desire for expensive things, we tend to value things that are practical and sentimental. I'm a college graduate, my brother has a degree in forestry and my sister is a real estate agent. I'm very blessed to say, that I had a loving family and was given an excellent childhood and the biggest thing most people never learn is genuine concern for others. You know the whole waving at everyone, look at anyone passing by in the eyes and saying 'hello', offering help to someone in need (from changing a flat tire to holding the door) and last but not least just being a real person (not shallow or fake). Please just understand, whether it's a small country town in Montana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Washington or West Virginia....it's exactly that - a small country town and please educate yourself on their culture and lifestyle before you form an opinion. Sadly, the only way to preserve WV and our way of life is not to allow 'city folks' to move here and ruin it.

In the words of John Denver: Almost Heaven, West Virginia Blue ridge Mountains Shenandoah river - Life is old there Older than the trees Younger than the mountains Growin like a breeze

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West virginia, Mountain Momma Take me home, country roads

All my memories gathered round her Miners lady, stranger to blue water Dark and dusty, painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine Teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice In the mornin hour she calls me The radio reminds me of my home far away And drivin down the road I get a feelin That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads Take me home, now country roads Take me home, now country roads

Let's Go Mountaineers!!

tue 2007-dec-11 16:11:21 pst
posted by Guy

Wow! I grew up in Gassaway, WV in Braxton County and now live in Richmond, VA. I have to say that the rural nature of WV really sets it apart from all the states around it. Things have not changed significantly in the last 15 years where I grew up. The same draw backs that made me want to leave are still there...lack of culture, jobs, and how reluctant most people are to any positive change. It's somewhat sad that such a beautiful state with so much to offer and to draw from (natural resources, history, folk culture, ect)would not capitalize upon those features to provide it's people with opportunity which would foster growth and improvement. I am proud to be from West Virginia and would retire to it's beauty, but I could not conceivably live and raise a family there.

wed 2008-jan-23 20:08:54 pst
posted by B Dailey

WV has a rich history. Let's not forget that many families in past centuries traveled through WV(once VA) and lived there for a short time; it was these great men and women who knew what the state motto, Montani Semper Liberi, meant.

Did you know that WV was once home to grand oil and gas refineries? WV is a state that has been raped by wealthy tycoons who could care less about the breathtaking blue ridge mountains or the beauty of the flora and fauna that is found dressing the glistening streams and gentle rivers. Yes, there are, "hillbilly's in them there mountains", but hermits live all over our blessed Union. Which, brings up another subject, militia. Did you know that West Virginians have served faithfully in every war ever fought? I don't know exact numbers, but I am sure it is greater than the other states that are far more populated. They stood up for what they believed in, even if it meant fighting against their own family! Now, I don't mind a good WV joke every once in awhile, because I know my heritage, and I am very proud of the fact that my Great Grandfather taught in a one room school house, and that my Grandfather was a good farmer, who could put up hey and slaughter a pig so that his family would have a good meal, a safe place to live, and occasionally, a trip into town to catch a picture show. But, I do remember learning in a small one room babtist church that pride cometh before a fall, and that God created us all equal, regardless of race, sex, color,or creed.

Might I also add that I knew the value of an education, despite the many setbacks that so many West Virgininas, like myself faced.

Certainly West Virginia is a state of honor and every single American should understand that all Mounatineers, wherever they may go in life, are always free.

tue 2008-feb-19 17:16:31 pst
posted by Tara

Hey all you guys in WV whom think the jokes are bad get real my husband lived there his whole life and they are funny. Just like I live in ALabama and most the WV jokes go the same for AL and I don't get mad. No we don't married are brothers and sister and either do yall, but yall are just as rednecked as alabamaians are and you can't denie it either. I have been there many times and where I went in that state was pretty but very much like alabama but the slang is a little different. Heck the town where we stay has a rule if you hit a deer you must pick it up within 24 hours come on now we don't even have that rule in alabama. we wish we could do that but it is illegal to do that here. you all know so are not so rednecked but it your own special way you are. don't take it to hard laugh a little and have fun.

mon 2008-mar-10 10:35:31 pdt
posted by JasonG

Hey Tara At least West Virginian's can type and spell on a high school graduate's level. Next time you try to be a hard-ass, at least make sure that the people you are talking to don't think you are a bumbling retard after reading your post. Roll Tide!!!....Bitch.

P.S. We are not paranoid, we're just venting.

thu 2008-mar-13 21:12:04 pdt
posted by Melissa

Wow... This has gone insane...
So... I'm going to add to it. Haha
Born- NC
Lived in- MD-VA
BUT MOSTLY & currently in WV.
I love it. I live about 10 minutes outside of Charleston. It's quiet. However, there are things to do, besides outdoor things. Including, a couple malls, several strip malls, iceskating, clubs, quite a few cinemas, downtown shopping, museums, cultural events and many others. On the outdoors side we have rock climbing, state parks, out door theaters, drive inns, national forests, skiing, lakes, rivers, and white*water*rafting to name a few. We have around 10-15 Universities and several other higher education centers. People here are not *dumb*. They do not *inbreed*. It's not over populated (which may be why you hardly know anyone from WV), it has just enough people to let you breath and not have to live on top of each other. No one comes here because we're not coastal, we do not have a huge city or an NFL or ML team. If you don't live here or know someone who does, you do not come. If you have lived here, more than likely you wouldn't leave. =]