A guest post by Mayra Ruiz-McPherson
The other day, I read with much interest Justin Siebert’s June 28, 2008 blog post entitled “Marketing a State – Online Reputation Management for West Virginia.” Unlike Create West Virginia’s own Jeff James and Wheeling’s own Justin – both West Virginians who returned to the state after years of living elsewhere—I am a relative newcomer to the area with just over a year of living in Jefferson County.
I moved to Charles Town from Sterling, Virginia where I had been a long time Loudoun County, Virginia resident before moving into West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.
As I read Justin’s post, I couldn’t help but to recall an interview with an employer in Fairfax County, Virginia who almost did not hire me because she felt that Sterling was “just too far west.” For those who are unaware, Loudoun is the next county west of Fairfax; meaning … the employer’s comment didn’t make too much sense. My commute from Sterling to Fairfax was just shy of 45 minutes which, in the Northern Virginia and Washington metro area is considered to be quite the norm. Later, when the same employer learned I was moving to West Virginia, you might as well have assumed that I was moving to the potato fields of Idaho!
Actually, most folks in the Washington DC area look at me funny when they find out that my “going home” means I’m going home to West Virginia. They “can’t believe” I’d drive from West Virginia to attend a seminar or a networking gig. It’s just silly, really. I live about 12 minutes from both Maryland and Virginia state lines. Sure, Washington DC is not a hop skip and away but it’s not like I’m driving down from the snowy mountain tops of Montana.
Having lived in Northern Virginia and Washington metro area for many years, I can safely say that yes, West Virginia does have a stigma or a not-entirely-positive perception of country folk and “wild and wonderful” mountain men in overalls and fleece checkered shirts. So when we were getting ready to move out here, I have to admit, I was a bit uncertain at first. I wasn’t sure what awaited me here in Jefferson County.
Looking back, I can say … not much awaited me here at all. 85% of this area commutes a minimum of 30+ miles to their jobs. And most jobs available in my marketing field pay a mere fraction of what my earning power is in the metro area.
Outside of the job or employment outlook, much of the “modern” conveniences I had enjoyed in Northern Virginia simply did not and still do not exist here. In Virginia, for example, I could pay my water bill and sewage bills online. Here, you have to mail your payment in or call and pay over the phone. No internet bill pay at all.
In Virginia, the adult education centers have long lists of technical courses that fill quickly. Here, however, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in technology. I have signed up to teach blogging fundamentals and web publishing courses beyond my basic adult education class of HTML and repeatedly, there is just very little interest. Since there is a minimum of students required to hold a class, all my technology-themed classes for Jefferson County Adult Education get cancelled … except for my basic web publishing class. In the past, that fills pretty well but whenever I’ve tried to provide a more advanced web topic, there’s not much interest and the course gets canceled.
One would think perhaps that a highly technical, geeky social media addict like me would be going nuts with the lagging tech scene in my neck of the woods. Surprisingly, however, that is not the case. Is it a challenge at times? Sure. Do I wish and hope daily for technology advancements to be embraced and take root locally? Absolutely.
Despite these techie details, I actually really love Jefferson County. It’s quaint, charming and the people are just so warm and friendly. And being ridiculously close to oh-so-beautiful Harper’s Ferry doesn’t suck, either.
I have a lot of hope and vision for my area of this vast state. I don’t know how long I’ll live here … seems like I’ve been moving around a lot these past few years and one can never know what the future holds. But I’m here now and I’d like to make the most of my time in the area.
That’s why when Jeff James came to my parts not too long ago, I was just thrilled. The whole Create West Virginia concept, new economy movement and progressive thinking of the group shares much of my mindset and ideas for innovation in our communities and in our state.
I look forward to participating in Create West Virginia’s programs and outreach as I really believe more can and should be done to encourage economic and technological advancement throughout our beautiful state.
Should there be anything I can do to contribute to this wonderful initiative, I’m only an email or tweet (via Twitter @marketingMisfit) away!
3 responses to “West Virginia Seen Through a New Friend’s Set of Eyes – Mayra Ruiz”
**Mayra’s observations**
Thank you, Mayra, for sharing your experiences negotiating other people’s perceptions of distance and of appropriate spheres of influence. Having myself lived in DC and the Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill area before moving back to Charleston, I remained puzzled by the concepts of “that’s too far” and “that’s not our community.” Somehow, we need to keep challenging our state’s residents to expand their definitions of place, and to help generate excitement vs. resentment about opportunities to go someplace new.
I look forward to participating in Create West Virginia’s programs and outreach as I really believe more can and should be done to encourage economic and technological advancement throughout our beautiful state. mpcoc
@Mayra – Thanks for the shout. It’s always great to hear the perspective of folks that have moved to West Virginia without a prior connection. Heck, it’s great to hear from you period. I think many people still view you all as Yetis or residents of Loch Ness and don’t realize how many smart, talented folks choose to live here and are very happy with their decisions.