I really appreciate your viewpoints
They are valid and statistically relevant
I was just in Huntington last year at a funeral
The social decay was palpable
Shortly afterward a huge bust of Fentanyl occurred there
http://wvmetronews.com/2018/04/17/task-force-takes-down-detroit-to-huntington-drug-family
760 grams of heroin, 450 grams of fentanyl and 167 grams of cocaine.
I’ve was back a couple of times prior to moving here (My parents funerals!!) My hometown looked decayed then but its been decaying since the collapse of the chemical industry and the loss of Carbide. So at least there things didn’t look too different. During those times I went with family to Charleston for dinner. To me Charleston looked pretty prosperous, the downtown looked like it was coming back.
Wife & I have moved to Morgantown, and we love it. Except during 7 weekends in the fall - my wife hates football! Morgantown is booming and so is the local area as least as far down as Clarksburg. Which as far as we have ventured since I got back.
My wife is from the Philly area and is suspicious of anything south of the Mason-Dixon line. But she’s getting better about it particularly since daughter and son-in-law live in Morgantown.