USAT: Best states for happiness? WalletHub study ranks Hawaii first, West Virginia last

[Renegade7]

55 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Not just hampton roads.  I have family out in Roanoke also.  VA does have a bunch of good historic places and national parks.  Outside of that, I hate it.  Though apparently I am the only one that likes Florida so maybe I am just weird.

Ya, NOVA might as well be another state, but I love it up here, different perspective on things.  When certain books come out they sell out before hitting the shelves, idea of how different the demographic is up here.  A lot of beautiful spots, too, like Luray Caverns and Natural Bridge, its a big state, every stsyw has stuff I like and don't like.  Maybe it's jus cause its home for me I'm not so hard on it as other people.

[Major Harris]

On 9/19/2018 at 11:48 PM, PeterMP said:

 

Coal is still heavily used to make steel and as such is far from obsolete and likely always will.  For decades WV has actually generated more coal, while employing fewer people in the coal industry (more automation and more strip mining).  West Virginia's economy is heavily tied to steel demand.  When the economy tanked, things lagged a bit for West Virginia because there was a lag in the price of coal associated with steel.   The flip of that was also true.  When things recovered for most, there was a lag for WV because people didn't start building again until they were more in the clear, and it was clear the economy was well on the road to recovery.  Now, steel demand has gone up as there have been increases in building globally and that's driven up the price of coal and so WV is doing better (all of which has nothing to do with anything that Trump has done) and so the economy is doing better there and unemployment is down to 4% (though I suspect that number is a bit misleading as I suspect they probably have a pretty high rate of people being counted as not labor participants).

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/345369-how-west-virginia-got-to-3-percent-gdp-growth

 

Longer term, the biggest issue for WV is that young people have been leaving so they have an aging demographic.  This means less work, fewer people trained to do high skill jobs, and more demand on social services.

 

And in that context, they are stuck sort of between a rock and a hard place.  They need to diversity their economy so that when steel prices go down their economy doesn't tank, but coal has been so important there for so long that they have weak environmental laws to encourage the growth of coal industry (they are also one of the leading natural gas states in the country so lax laws help that too).  Their lax environmental laws made them an attractive target for other companies making things of question health risks and wanting lax environmental laws (e.g https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2013/11/01/310072.htm).

 

As such, it isn't a very attractive place to move for young people or somebody thinking about kids.  WV is simultaneously beautiful, and heavily polluted.   One of the best things the federal government could do would be to give them money to clean up some of their environmental messes, which would simultaneously make the place less polluted and so attract new residents (possibly) and employee people (i.e. bring more non-coal jobs).

 

Which was part of the plan that Obama was pushing for that area of the country (not just WV, but KY too as both states have a lot of old and abandoned coal mines that nobody is watching and have who knows what chemicals that have dumped there), which McConnell (despite being from KY, which would have benefited) would never allow to come to a vote.

 

But longer term, they have to decide that being the dumping grounds for companies isn't acceptable or people that aren't absolutely desperate for jobs associated with coal are going to continue to leave.

 

 

Google Rockwool Ranson, WV. 

 

☹️

On 9/20/2018 at 10:55 AM, The Evil Genius said:

But ive read that coal is only about 2% of the job force in WV. I believe chemicals and biotech are the leading industries in the state now.

 

That said, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the state is getting older. I tend to believe that millennials (and the youngest of the Gen X era) largely don't want to live in socially regressive areas that additionally don't embrace some of their more liberal views. While most states have gotten more socially progressive the last 2 decades... WV has gone full Trump MAGAt (and whatever neoconservativism that came before it).

 

It's chosen to go backwards. And it's gotten older because of it.

 

 

 

No it’s gotten older for exactly the reasons peter laid out.  It’s been happening for decades this isn’t something that started or even accelerated during trump.   I realize this news may come as a disappointment to you. Lol

[AJ*]

On 9/19/2018 at 7:04 PM, zoony said:

People are happier in Salt Lake City than New Orleans

 

Seems legit.

 

Also, every native hawaiin is a bitter asshole who hates the US

 

I'm not surprised at Utah being so high on the list. I have Mormon in-laws in Salt Lake City that we visit every couple of years and that place is just beautiful, especially during wintertime. The first time I ever went there I couldn't stop looking up. Being surrounded by snow-covered mountains was surreal. I felt if you were an artist, poet or whatever you couldn't help but be inspired by the beauty of it all lol. It helped that the people were extremely nice too. Park City is a great place to vacation as well.

[JSSkinz]

On 9/19/2018 at 10:59 PM, Springfield said:

They need a new industry.  Something local and fruitful and sustainable for the future.

So its time for WV to fully legalize and become the next Colorado?

 

Just sayin.

[88Comrade2000]

8 hours ago, Springfield said:

Virginia is basically a utopia

That Virginia was for Lovers?  Isn't that their motto?

6 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Not just hampton roads.  I have family out in Roanoke also.  VA does have a bunch of good historic places and national parks.  Outside of that, I hate it.  Though apparently I am the only one that likes Florida so maybe I am just weird.

I like Florida, which is why I've been living here since 2011.

[TheGreatBuzz]

3 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

like Florida, which is why I've been living here since 2011

Where abouts?

[88Comrade2000]

WV will never change.  I'm from Beckley,WV so I can attest to the sad fact of WV.   I graduated high school in 1986 and I will say about 10% to 15% percent of my fellow graduates still live in WV. Some lived outside WV and moved back.  There's nothing there for the younger generations. Especially, if you have a college degree.  They are pockets of non-coal dependence; mainly near WVU and Marshall and I would assume the Eastern Panhandle, since it's close to D.C.

 

West Virginians don't like change and alot of them don't value education/learning.  I don't mean just getting a college degree. They are plenty of skills/trades one can learn and not need a degree.   At least in southern WV, I've noticed from alot of my dad's patients; they don't want to learn and they don't want to work.  They live off their welfare check and do the odd job here and there to get money for their booze, cigarettes or drugs.  Some of the most laziest people on earth.

 

Culturally, WV is backwards.  Ironically, what was once a solid blue state is now solid red.  I mean WV voted for Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton twice.  The GOP isn't helping the average West Virginia but they are blindly support them; especially Trump.

 

There really is no hope for the state.  If you're young, if you get a chance to leave WV; you do it.

13 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Where abouts?

Melbourne.