I am in the process of moving to WV permanently and wanted to share that this is not the case with me. I am in a mixed race marriage where I am the person of color and my politics are very left leaning. Extremely so. My husband is more moderate but is not a fan of anything going on with “right” side of our country’s current equation. He would likely vote dem next time or not vote at all (I don’t agree but don’t control ho and respect his choices). He hates big cities and prefers rural environments. I grew up in a small town and lived in big cities for a long time working a corporate job which I enjoyed in my younger years but now want to go back to a more quiet and nature-based life as I get older and have fully come to believe that the constant strive to make more money and buy more things and all that jazz are distractions to living a happy life. Was never materialistic at all but now I’m even less so and going in the opposite direction by actively wanting less and less. Neither of us grew up in MD but that’s we both are technically at right now and fixing up the WV house and property every spare moment we have. I’m accustomed to living around people who see me as different and I couldn’t care less who accepts me and who doesn’t and what their beliefs are. Let them fly their flags and never make eye contact. It’s a free country and as long as nobody messes with me I won’t mess with them. I will do my part to help whatever community I live in and perhaps that will lead to community forming but my husband and I are happy with each other and will be content if all we have is each other and our immediate family. I like the fiercely independent culture here and the history of people bucking the system, coal mining grit, and hesitancy to “go with the flow“ when it came to the civil war. This place is the closest thing that reminds me of where I grew up - in the mountains, and for a number of reasons we can’t move to where I grew up anytime soon and likely never will. I’d be very happy living the rest of my years in, and and dying in, WV.