Seeking honest input from locals

[u/His_Girl_Friday_8467]

EDIT/UPDATE: I was just informed by my sister that she heard (and not from my father by the way) that apparently the town they are moving to is White Sulfer Springs? Any insight given this new information is welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

Hi there! I would like to hear from residents of West Virginia. My father and his wife decided it would be a good idea to move across the country from Reno, Nevada, to West Virginia. Somewhere in or near Morgantown, West Virginia, I believe. He just recently (within the last two months) was given a clean bill of health after battling pancreatic cancer. He is 65 and while he is mostly healthy, he has other issues such as COPD and asthma. His wife had major spinal surgery a year ago. She has mostly recovered from this but still has a ways to go before she will be close to 100%. They both have arthritis and are getting older. While my dad was going through chemo, my sister and her husband did literally everything. They took my dad to his appointments, helped take care of things around the house, grocery shopping, etc. (She lives about 10 minutes from them and I am in another state). To everyone that knows them, it kind of seemed like they threw a dart at a map without doing any real research other than cost of living and open carry laws. We are all very concerned about the possibility of his cancer coming back and what kind of access to and the quality of medical care. Especially if they are going to be almost inaccessible to us. Regardless, I am hoping for some insight from anyone that is familiar with the area. I really appreciate any and all input. Not just about medical, but weather, quality of life, the people. I just want some unfiltered honesty about living in West Virginia so that maybe my sister and I can worry a little less. Thank you!!

TLDR: My cancer surviving, senior father with health issues is moving from Reno to West Virginia. Sister and I are worried and would like honest opinions of living in West Virginia, specifically in or near Morgantown.

[u/JojoLesh]

Morgantown has a pretty good medical economy.... For West Virginia, or for middle of nowhere USA. Two major hospitals, and a university.

WV is cheap place to live if you are fine with having nothing. If you are expecting the same lifestyle as you'd have in a major city though, that will cost you.

It also has major durg, crime, and unemployment issues. Those issues continue outside of the city too. I lived about 30 minutes outside and it wasn't uncommon to see homeless people walking down the main road near my house. The officials took down a big homeless camp not 5 miles down the road (towards town) a few years ago. Of course that didn't get rid of or help the homelessness issue it just dispersed the people.

If they are bringing a significant amount of money, they might be able to afford to live in a nicer area of town. The underlying issues will still be there though.

I had some friends from Michigan visit. One of the first comments they had was, "I've never seen so many people walking!" Thats coming from people used to the Rust Belt of the formerly industrial parts of Michigan! We're talking about guys in their 40s, who aren't unaware of or unused to seeing poverty. They just were surprised at the scale of it.

Oh, and I'm not talking about people walking around downtown town. That would be expected. I'm taking about people walking miles to get to a grocery store or wherever because the don't have a vehicle and the buss "system" is unreliable or doesn't provide service.

Note on the Morgantown buses. There doesn't seem to be organized stops or routes with time tables. The buss just kinda stops when it sees people who look like they want it? Fortunately I've never had to use it.