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Hey guys. So, I have lived in west virginia for most
of my life - about 17 years, and I'm 19 now - and in that time I've come to one conclusion:
West Virginia *** sucks. So I wanted to give a few reasons why this
is true. First of all, for those who don't know - there
are surprisingly a lot of you out there who do not know this - but West Virginia is in
fact a state. It's not a part of Virginia. It's a state.
If you paid attention during the Civil War unit of history class, you probably already
know that West Virginia succeeded from the state of Virginia in 1861 and officially became
a separate state in 1863. Fun fact: the election which decided whether
or not we would become a state only had a 35% voter turnout.
But that's beside the point, that's ancient history.
I mean, West Virginia is celebrating its 150th birthday this year.
So let's see how far we've come since then. According to America's Health Rankings by
the United Health Foundation, West Virginia is currently ranked 47th out of the 50 states.
We're officially the third worst state in the country.
12% of the population is diabetic. 32% of the adult population is obese.
along with almost 15% of the youth 35% are physically inactive.
We're ranked 50th for overall health status,
50th for cardiac heart disease, 49th for heart attacks,
46th for stokes, 48th for annual dental visits,
49th for income per capita, 42nd for childhood poverty with almost 25%
of children living in poverty. In addition, we are one of the least ethnically
diverse states with 94% white, less than 4% black, and less than 1% hispanic, mixed, or
other race. According to the Center for Disease Control,
over 20% of West Virginians have been told by a doctor that they are depressed.
With all of those horrible statistics, it's no wonder we're depressed.
West Virginia has ranked the lowest in Gallup's annual well-being index five years in a row.
Specifically, my hometown of Huntington is currently ranked with the second lowest well-being
score out of any city in the country. In fact, the only city that could beat Huntington
and have the lowest wellbeing index is Charleston, West Virginia, the state capitol, which is
less than an hour away from Huntington. With so much negative information spewing
out of West Virginia, can you really blame me for hating it?
I will say that West Virginia isn't completely awful.
After all, we are home to the #1 party school in the country.
And let me tell you why that's true: it's because there is literally nothing else to
do but get *** up. But in all seriousness, the physical side
of the state is absolutely beautiful. West Virginia has been blessed with gorgeous
rolling mountains and abundant forests. It seems like everywhere you go, wildlife
is easy to find. I've even seen deer wandering around the streets
of Huntington. There are also a ton of natural wonders to
visit, including Seneca Rocks, Blackwater Falls, Cranberry Glades, and the New River
Gorge. But when you're looking for a place to live,
natural beauty can only get you so far. Which leads me to my ultimate conclusion:
if you're thinking of coming to West Virginia for more than a weekend, my suggestion would be to
steer clear.