They want warm houses and roofs that don't leak, not huge suburban neighborhoods and strip malls. People in southwest Virginia are no more incestuous than people anywhere else. As I hope we all realize, southwest Virginians do not go around marrying their siblings. However, family ties run thick through the people whose roots go back to the days of early mountain settling. Since Appalachia has a fairly stagnant population, one can expect this.
People are more friendly in the southwest comer of the state.
I saw that stereotype confirmed again and again. The people who drove by as we worked on the house waved without exception. Every driver we passed as we made the trek to and from the house raised his hand in greeting. The people I spoke with were generous and welcoming. Words seemed to slide off people's tongues with honeyed leisure, a speech pattern much more inviting than the clipped, nasal tone of the North.