If you have ever broken down on the side of the road (**raises hand**), we hope that you break down somewhere like West Virginia. Why? Well for starters, we wouldn’t even be stopped on the side of the road for five minutes before people would start pulling over asking what they could do to help. Not only that, but while you’re sitting there waiting on your ride, take in some of the beautiful scenery that more than likely surrounds you. Nearly 75% of West Virginia is covered by forests, so chances are great that you will have some nature to gaze upon. Here are 20 reasons that living in West Virginia is the best – and you should be proud of your state!

1) There is nothing in the world more beautiful than West Virginia in the fall.
Nicolas Raymond/Flickr
2) I couldn't imagine anything more exciting than a super huge teapot! This over-sized kettle is located in Chester, WV!
Jimmy Emerson DVM/Flickr
3) Jackson's Mill, located near Weston, WV, was established in 1921 as the first statewide 4-H camp in America. This is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's boyhood home. If only those walls could speak!
Kathy/Flickr
4) Coalwood, WV is home of the Rocket Boys. It was the setting of the 1999 film "October Sky."
Rocket Boys Project
5) Organ Cave is one of the most beautiful (and creepy) caves in our state. Organ Cave is the third-longest cave in West Virginia at 38.4 miles! Talk about a walk.
Wikipedia
6) The State Capitol of West Virginia is one of the most beautiful buildings in West Virginia. It cost just under $10 million to construct, so it definitely should be! At 292 feet, the capitol dome is approximately 4.5 feet taller than our nation's capitol dome in Washington, D.C.
OZinOH/Flickr
7) Poca High School in Poca, WV was recently selected by ESPN as having the #1 sports nickname in the country, the Poca Dots! I've always thought that it looked like the red M&M after he had the pretzel crammed into him!
Poca High School/Facebook
8) About 15% of our entire nation's coal comes from our wonderful state. Considering how small our state is compared to how large the country is, that is pretty impressive.
Ryan/Flickr
9) Marshall University, located in Huntington, WV, is the focus of the movie "We Are Marshall," starring Matthew McConaughey.
starmanseries/Flickr
10) J.R. House was a top high school football player. J.R. was a student at Nitro High School who set a national high school record with 10 touchdown passes in a single game in 1998. He also set a national record with 14.457 career passing yards. He went on to play Major League Baseball.
Baseball Almanac

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11) Almost anywhere you go, if you utter the name Don Knotts, someone will know who you are talking about. This "Andy Griffith" star was from the Mountain State.
John Wiseman/Flickr
12) In the same town as West Virginia University, one of the top party schools in America, ironically enough, resides Mountain Moonshine. What fun would a party be without moonshine?
Alan Levine/Flickr
Mountain Moonshine has only been open since 1999. Until then, finding moonshine was like trying to find Waldo. You really just had to know someone that either made it themselves or knew someone that did. If you have never had moonshine, just imagine drinking what tastes like rubbing alcohol flavored something like "grape" or "apple pie" and then in less than a minute, feeling more drunk than you have ever felt in your entire life!
13) Anywhere you go in West Virginia, you can simply hum the tune of Country Roads by John Denver and within minutes, everyone within earshot has the same tune stuck in their head and they have more than likely joined you in humming.
Zortam
14) Famous actress Jennifer Garner is a native West Virginian.
Karon Liu/Flickr
15) Brad Paisley is considered to be one of the top country singers of all time, and he calls West Virginia his home state.
Amaya and Laurent/Flickr
16) West Virginia is known for having some of the best and most loyal sports fans. This is because we have one of the greatest universities one could possibly attend right here in Morgantown: West Virginia University.
Gene/Flickr
17) Here in WV, we are even proud of our food. Two words: pepperoni rolls.
Transplanted Mountaineer/Flickr
West Virginia public schools have announcements in the morning where they tell the entire school of any important dates or reminders, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and tell the school what is on the menu for lunch that day. Typically, about once or twice a month, when the announcer uttered the words "pepperoni rolls," all of our mouths were watering. The lunch room would be packed, and the scent of pepperoni rolls filled the halls. Never did you see someone leaving the lunch room on pepperoni roll day without a smile on their face, because nothing can compare to the joy of eating them.
18. Looking for more famous people from West Virginia? Chuck Yeager! Born in the Mountain State, he became the first pilot confirmed to have traveled faster than sound.
DVIDSHUB/Flickr
19) Near Fayetteville, WV, is the steel arch New River Gorge Bridge. For many years, it was the world's longest steel single-span arch bridge, and it is now the fourth longest. It remains one of the highest vehicular bridges in the world and is famous for Bridge Day.
FrAntknee/Flickr
20) One thing that West Virginians always have to be proud of is the sense of home that our beautiful state has.
dpbirds/Flickr
No matter where I travel to or hear about, nothing seems better to me than my home state. We have a reputation of being cousin-loving and being obese, sure, but that really isn't what this state is all about. This state has the nicest people that you will ever meet, the most helpful, and the kindest. These people have the warmest hearts. No matter where life takes me, I'll never be able to call anywhere else home.

West Virginia is one of the most beautiful places in America, especially in the fall. This list may only have 20 of the best things about West Virginia, but really, we could have written a million more. Our home state is amazing! What are some things that you love about life in West Virginia?

If you enjoyed this list of reasons to love West Virginia, you’ll definitely want to check out this roundup of famous folks from the Mountain State!

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reasons why West Virginians are proud

Sarah | December 06, 2021

What are some other reasons why West Virginians are proud?

While a list of 20 reasons why West Virginians are proud may sound like a lot, it's really just the tip of the iceberg. The Mountain State is one of the most underrated places in the country; but we have to admit, we don't mind being an underdog! Hands down, one of the things we should be most proud of is our amazing natural beauty. Take Harpers Ferry, for example. This West Virginia gem is one of the most marvelous mountain towns in the country, offering jaw-dropping views and loads of sweeping scenery. West Virginia is a humble state with numerous reasons to be proud -- though you'd never find us bragging about it!

What are some fun facts about West Virginia?

Ready for some fun history about West Virginia? Here's a fun one: the country’s first public spa opened in 1756 in Berkeley Springs (then Bath, Virginia). And a not-so-fun one: West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax, which went into effect on July 1, 1921. The Mingo Oak, which was the largest and oldest White Oak Tree in the U.S., was declared dead and felled on Sept. 10, 1938. The tree stood in a cove at the base of Trace Mountain near the headwaters of the Trace Fork of Pigeon Creek. West Virginia is the only state to be formed out of land belonging to another state and without that state’s permission -- what a rebellious history we have! Learn more unique facts about West Virginia in this article.

Where are the best places to live in West Virginia?

From our biggest cities to our smallest towns, living in West Virginia really is the best. We’ve all known for a while now that West Virginia has some of the country’s best small towns. After all, small towns are a Mountain State specialty! But now the rest of the nation is apparently catching wind of our little slice of Almost Heaven, and they’re starting to pay it some of the positive national attention it deserves. At least, that’s the case with the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, which recently earned spot number two on Smithsonian Magazine’s list of the 15 best small towns to visit in America this year. We have to say, it's high time West Virginia started getting some time in the national spotlight!

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