Probably, many of my friends and family ask the same thing. Why choose to live in an economically depressed, second world country? Why live someplace where unemployment, domestic abuse, and alcoholism is so prevalent? Isn't West Virginia just full of toothless, cousin marrying, illiterates who live on welfare?
City Traffic
I used to live in Kensington, the drug badlands of Philadelphia. I had a reverse commute from the city to the 'burbs of Devon, a 45-minute to 1 hour commute each way depending on the traffic and the accidents. During my time on the Schuykyl Expressway I experienced people road raging. I saw some very violent and dramatic traffic accidents. Car fires were quite commonplace and no big deal. Even though the alleged speed limit on the Schuykyl was 55 mph, we all did 75, or more, no big deal.
One late night I had to change a tire in the sleet in my good work clothes, pulled over onto a half shoulder, while hundred of cars zipped by at top speeds. Another night I passed a car that was speeding on the wrong side of the Schuykyl, a road divided by the lovely Jersey barriers. That night scared me almost more than any driving experience I have had.
WV Traffic
In West Virginia I work from home and have no commute. When I lived in the city I filled up my gas tank once a week. In WV, I fill up maybe once a month. There are almost no traffic jams, few accidents, and not a lot of road rage. When I do drive, I am not in a constant hurry. If the light turns green and the person in front of me takes a few seconds to realize it, I am not honking my horn out of frustration. (That f-er just cost me 3 seconds!) People here actually stop to let people make left turns in front of them on Randolph Avenue in Elkins, WV. When I first moved here this irked me no end. I mean, I am being personally inconvenienced by several seconds so they can help out a complete stranger make a turn on a busy street. The nerve.
The biggest traffic liabilities here are the plentiful deer and the uninsured drivers. These two factors keep West Virginia car insurance as pricey as many high car theft 'hoods in urban areas.
Many of our West Virginia roads are actually a pleasure to drive. Motorcyclists stream here in the warmer weather months to drive our curvy and well-maintained mountain roads. There's not a lot of road clutter - billboards, strip malls, or even street lights - to interfere in the pleasure of driving a mountain road surrounded by trees, woods, and more trees.
If stress can take years off of your life I figure my life expectancy has increased while living in West Virginia.
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