My first boss in West Virginia chuckled when I told him I had worked in Washington, D.C. for four years. He was right. That's the enduring impression of West Virginia that I'll take with me to Baltimore when I begin a new job there next week. Friendliness in West Virginians goes beyond a pleasant word to a stranger at the grocery store. It's the manifestation of deeper qualities.
Mountaineers are decent, trustworthy and trusting people.
At a time of rapid economic change, the state's competitive disadvantages, including its huge need for infrastructure, its shortage of developable land and its low rate of adults with college degrees, mean those leaders have little margin for error in their decisions, and no time to waste. While state lawmakers have made admirable progress on some problems, others that afflicted West Virginia when I moved to Martinsburg in 1990 are still here. The workers compensation system is in better shape now than it was, thanks to a law passed in 1995. But it's still so expensive for employers that it deters private investment in the state. The tax system is still archaic, regressive and riddled with loopholes.