Solving The Population Problem Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Why Do You Stay in West Virginia?

Updated: Friday, May 23, 2014 at 8:35 a.m.

Our interactive story map and project recap is now available. Access the map to see some of our favorites from the project.

Original Post: Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 12:23 p.m.:

Why do you stay in West Virginia? Is it friends, family, work, recreation? Use Instagram and let us know.

Recently, we aired a series on West Virginia’s predicted population decline and how some young people feel about their opportunities in the state (or lack thereof). Most of those we spoke to said they love West Virginia and want to stay–be it for family or other reasons–but feel there’s few good professional opportunities worth staying for.

In addition, a recent poll from Gallup indicates that only 28% of West Virginians want to move to another state.

With this in mind, we’re teaming up with public radio stations from across the country to find out what makes people stay where they are. But, we wanted to do it in a creative way. So, we’re taking it to Instagram.

How to Participate in #WhyIStay:

Snap a photo with your smartphone that explains why you stay and upload it to Instagram.
Use the hashtag #WhyIStay
Be sure to provide a caption. We want more than a pretty photo–your words are equally important.
In that caption, be sure to tell us where you live. Since we’re collaborating with other stations, we need to know where you’re from.
Tag us: @wvpublicnews.
If you don’t have Instagram, use Twitter. You can tag us the exact same way.

You can also follow along with our partner stations in this project. A station’s handle is the same for Instagram and Twitter unless otherwise noted:

WFAE (Charlotte, N.C.) – @wfaepublicradio (On Twitter: @wfae)

Boise State Public Radio – @boisestatepublicradio (On Twitter: @KBSX915)

WBUR (Boston, Mass.) – @wbur

WESA (Pittsburgh, Pa.) – @905wesa

St. Louis Public Radio – @stlpublicradio

Michigan Radio – @michiganradio

KUOW (Puget Sound Region, Wash.) – @kuow

WNYC (New York, N.Y.) – @wnycradio (On Twitter: @wnyc)

KQED (Northern California) – @kqednews

WLRN (Miami, Fl.) – @wlrn

KTOO (Juneau, Alaska) – @ktoopubmedia (On Twitter: @360north)

How Can West Virginia Keep Young People From Moving Away?

West Virginia’s population is expected to drop by 20,000 through the year 2030, however, a recent Gallup poll shows a majority of West Virginians actually don’t want to move elsewhere. While many West Virginians value family and other aspects of life here, opportunities seem few and those who stay say they often feel stereotyped by those who’ve left.

But how can this problem be solved? In a radio series that aired this week, we’ve been examining this very question.

A Declining (and Aging) Population

According to a recent report from the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research (WVU BBER), West Virginia is facing a difficult road ahead in sustaining–let along growing–the state’s population.

Researchers say population decline will start around 2016 and the state will continue to age.
By 2030, nearly 1 in 4 West Virginians will be over 65 years old.
Researchers also say it’s possible the state will lose a congressional seat in 2020.

“The most important takeaway is if we can pursue good public policies and good business policies to get migration up, [in-]migration has the potential to erase that natural population decline,” said WVU BBER Director John Deskins.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

However, despite these expected trends, residents of the state have little desire to move and also say they aren’t likely to do so.

According to a recent poll from Gallup, only 28% of West Virginians say they would like to move (the 50-State average was 33%). Responses from the same poll also indicate:

Only 3% of West Virginians say they are “extremely” or “very likely” to move
5% says they are “somewhat likely” to move
90% say “not too” or “not at all” likely to move
And 9% say they are “extremely”, “very”, or “somewhat” likely to move

The Gallup poll seems to reinforce some of the things we heard from young West Virginians. Many truly do want to stay but a lack of job opportunities make that difficult—sometimes impossible.

Stereotyping Those Who Stay

Some young people we spoke with told us they feel as though those who leave stereotype those who say, noting that leaving West Virginia for work, school, or other reasons is a sign of having “made it.”

Logan Spears, a 25 years old bartender from Morgantown, said amongst his friends there’s a bias against those that stay in West Virginia, primarily because of compensation.

“Most of the people that stay in the state are looked down upon by the others. ‘Oh, I guess he didn’t as good a job as I did’,” Spears said.

Solving the Population Decline

Be it jobs or more cultural opportunities, many young West Virginians we spoke to seem committed to the idea of improving the state’s outlook to stop further decline.

Paul Daugherty of Philanthropy West Virginia said it comes down to the way the state “packages” itself. By that, he means diversifying the economy.

“We are a state rooted in the natural resource industry, but at the same point we need to look at other options,” said Daugherty.

For More on the State’s Future:

Visit our tumblr, WVNextIn6
Take part in a community dialogue with What’s next, West Virginia?, a broad—and growing–coalition of state and local partners from nonprofit, philanthropic, governmental, educational, and faith-based organizations.
In cooperation with other public media outlets, we’ll soon be launching another digital initiative on the same topic. For now, stay tuned to our Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Young West Virginians Say They Want to Make the State a Better Place

Editor’s Note: Today we continue our series about keeping the state’s youngest citizens in West Virginia. We’ve previously looked at the reasons why some people feel compelled to leave, but today, we’re taking a more positive approach. There are many young West Virginians with ideas about what can be done to help people stay.

From 1990 to 2000, and then again from 2000 to 2010, West Virginia saw slight increases in population, according to U.S. Census figures. But there’s also some bad news when it comes to population stats.

According to a report titled “West Virginia’s Young Talent: A Statistical Portrait,” written by state demographer Christiadi, between 2000 to 2010, the state’s population of people between the ages of 18 and 44 decreased by about 7 percent.

This isn’t good news for people like Paul Daugherty. He’s the president of Philanthropy West Virginia, and he works with Generation West Virginia, an organization that strives to serve the needs of young professionals in the state.

“Over the past decade, since I got out of undergrad, and came into the workforce in West Virginia, I noticed that separation, that discussion for decades now young people were leaving. People were complaining about it. I came from Doddridge County, people were saying to me, go, travel the world, these problems will be here 30 years from now. Deal with that when you come back. I was a bit stubborn, saying why should I leave when we could address it now,” he said.

Generation West Virginia has put together a strategic plan to keep young people in the state. This includes: determining what issues young people care about, and cultivating relationships with organizations who promote these issues, as well as improving relationships with groups that represent young people.

Rose Angela Reed works as a real estate, and legal assistant for a real estate attorney in Morgantown and bartends part-time.

“Charleston is a good starting place. It’s the capitol, you have government, and you have more chemical jobs. They also have a ton of activities; it’s a thriving place for young professionals. They have something going on every weekend,” she said.

CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES

Several young West Virginians say there is a lack of cultural opportunities outside of the bigger cities.

“I often think about moving to Pittsburgh because of the art scene. Because there’s galleries, there’s so much more going on,” said Jillian Kelly, an artist who lives in Morgantown and manages a lingerie store.

“We really don’t have that here which is a shame because there are so many local artists. I want to live here, I like living here. When that’s what you want to do, you kind of have to go where that is. That’s a shame because there are a lot of artists here.”

BUILDING COMMUNITY

But it’s also about building a community for many young West Virginians.

“I guess maybe you could call it quality of life. Having access to the types of things that one would want for a good life outside of employment. Access to arts, to museums, to people who you would consider your peers,” said Ashley Lawson, a West Virginia Wesleyan College professor.

“That hasn’t been the case here, compared to other places I’ve lived.”

No matter the reasons why people leave, or why they choose to stay, younger West Virginians do want the state to succeed. And many want to be a part of the process, to help transform the state into something better.

“We have to go back to how we package ourselves. We do need to expand our job opportunity; we need more private venture opportunities. Whether they are small entrepreneur based or larger efforts. We need diversity,” said Paul Daugherty.

“We are a state rooted in the natural resource industry, but at the same point we need to look at other options.”

“It’s going to take all of us to rebuild the state. It’s going to take all of us coming together as a community and going ‘these are the problems, these are what’s causing the problems, how do we fix this, to really make this a strong state that we can really be proud of,” said Heather Sammons, a Point Pleasant native and graduate of West Virginia University.

Perhaps the biggest reason why they feel the way that they do, is because they recognize how unique West Virginia really is, like Jocelyn and Matt Crawford of Charleston.

“It’s not six degrees of Kevin Bacon here, it’s three degrees of Bob Wise. You get to Bob Wise in three people,” said Jocelyn Crawford.

“Everybody that I work with knows my youngest brother. I know how people talk about how small the world is when you get to West Virginia. It’s so nice that everybody knows everybody and every body likes everybody, that’s something about West Virginia is nice,” said Matt Crawford.

Young West Virginians Say There's a Negative Perception of Those Who Stay In the State

Editor’s Note: Today we continue our series on how to keep young people in West Virginia. Yesterday, we looked at the struggle many people go through to find work in the state in their chosen fields. Today we examine the stereotypes young West Virginians who choose to stay in the state face from those on the outside.

With the state expected to lose nearly 20 thousand people over the next 15 years, many are trying to figure out how to entice young people to stay in West Virginia in the hopes of reversing that trend. Some young people want to stay; others don’t for many reasons, like finding work. But many young people agree there’s a perception amongst young West Virginians that people have to leave, not just to find work, but to simply succeed.

Logan Spears, a 25 years old bartender, works at the Dancing Fig on High Street, in Morgantown.

Spears says in his group of friends, there’s a bias against those that stay in West Virginia, primarily because of compensation.

“Most of the people that stay in the state are looked down upon by the others. ‘Oh, I guess he didn’t as good a job as I did’,” Spears said.

“I think one of the big things is the pay that you get from it, it kind of goes on the price of living.”

But it’s not just about money; it’s also about attitude.

Jocelyn and Matt Crawford live in Charleston, and have been married since 2012.

“It seems to be that people who were born and raised in West Virginia, if you choose to stick around, the people who have left to go to other places, they have sort of made it and you have not, even if you’ve been doing great things with your life,” said Jocelyn Crawford.

“It seems like a lot of the people that we know who have gone to school in West Virginia are looking to leave, or feel like they are stuck in a rut, even if they have a good job or are successful in other ways,” Matt Crawford said.

The Crawfords, believe national media coverage of West Virginia, which they say tends to be negative, plays a role.

“Whenever there’s a study out and it has West Virginia at the bottom of something good or the top of something bad, people talk about it a lot. It seems like it’s almost been ingrained in people our age, that we’re the fattest state. Or the dumbest state, and you can’t succeed if you’re here,” said Matt Crawford.

Not Buying It

The Crawfords aren’t buying that assessment. And they’re not alone.

Mike Jones was raised on a tobacco farm in Virginia. He moved to West Virginia for college, met the woman who would become his wife, and decided to stay. He now lives in Charleston and works at a small business in Montgomery.

He says anyone can find something fun to do in West Virginia. And he says it’s the true mountainous beauty of the state that keeps people here.

“I had never been rock climbing before until I went to New River Gorge. Just several experiences that I wouldn’t have had in other parts of the country,” Jones said.

“If people look up from their screens they will realize there’s plenty going on around them and not everything is going on away from them. I’ve experienced several people that will not be in the moment. They would rather be somewhere else. If that attitude doesn’t change, then they are not going to experience happiness.”

How Can West Virginia Keep Its Young People Here?

Editor’s Note: We begin a series of stories looking into the issue of how to keep young people in West Virginia. This came about as part of a special digital project undertaken at West Virginia Public Broadcasting over the past few months, WVNextIn6.

We asked you to tell us what’s next for West Virginia in six words or less. Several posts had the theme “Keep our Best and Brightest here.”

According to a recent report from the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, West Virginia is facing a difficult road ahead in keeping people in the state. The state’s expected to lose about 20 thousand people through the year 2030, and could lose a congressional seat because of it. It all leads to a question West Virginians have been asking for years: How do we keep young people here? We asked our younger listeners on Twitter and Facebook to talk to us about their thoughts.

“I’ve considered moving out of the state, but I’ve stayed close because of my family. My parents are in their 60s, grandparents in the 90s. I wanted to be close to the family in case something happens. It’s finding some kind of way to stay close to your family, but still you have to be able to make a living,” said Heather Sammons, a graduate of West Virginia University.

“You have to be able to find a job, and that’s my big hurdle right now.”

She admits that if she were looking in banking or health care, it might be a different story. But her passions don’t fall into those areas.

“It’s just really hard if you’re doing something where there isn’t this overabundance of work. I would really like to work for nonprofit, but our state, is in such a position that there’s no funding for anything. It’s either stick it out, stick to your guns, and figure out what you could do to survive until you find the job you want to do, or go somewhere else,” Sammons said.

“A lot of is having a really good support system. I came back to Morgantown because my friends are here. It’s easier here than in Huntington, definitely. Reaching out to my family, my sister has been a great help. She will text me and say you deserve great things.”

Johnna Bailey, from Barboursville, also faces similar challenges.

“All of my life has been in West Virginia. I graduated from Marshall last year. I received my degree from Marshall in Anthropology. I am interested in doing research. There’s not entry level work in anthropology around here, although there are some interest in archeological sites,” Bailey said.

“I think that people want to go where the jobs are, and the jobs aren’t here.”

That search for work has caused Bailey to feel a great deal of inner conflict.

“I fantasize about moving to the West Coast, I want that more than anything right now. I fantasize about joining the Peace Corps, and that’s what I am working towards right now, to see the other side of the world,” Bailey said.

“I know that although I want these things, that I love West Virginia so very much. I love the atmosphere, I love the people. I feel very torn because I love my family; I don’t want to abandon my family. They want what’s best for me. I also know I need to do this for myself.”

Bailey says she wants to learn things in her adventures and bring them back to West Virginia, to help the state. But for other people, the job market may be so difficult in West Virginia, they feel they have little choice but to leave, and they may never be able to make it back.

“Looking at my own professional career, it’s really hard to say that I will stay, because when you only have four or five universities in the state, it’s hard to get a creative writing job, when I think only two or three of those have creative writing programs. I think that’s sad because I do love the state, I mean I have lived here all my life. I think it’s beautiful; it’s wonderful. At the same time it’s really hard to grow here,” said Ian Williams, a 21-year-old Fairmont State University student.

“If we can establish these kinds of opportunities for the arts to flourish, for young professionals to take root and take claim to the area, I think that would be wonderful. I think that would be a wonderful thing to happen. If we can make the arts an emphasis in schools, and in communities, I think that would go a long way towards keeping people in the state.”

According to the WVU study, the researchers say population decline will start around 2016. And the state will continue to age. This report says by 2030, nearly 1 in 4 West Virginians will be over 65 years old.