One thing that always strikes me is how different West Virginia is from Virginia. You cross the Shenandoah Mountain and it’s like you are in a totally different world. Virginia is very southern, they act and talk very southern. West Virginia is Appalachian, they are much similar to what one would find in rural Upstate New York — especially the eastern half of the state where the mid-western accent isn’t that strong.

Virginia seems to bring a lot of tourists and has many tourist facilities. West Virginia in contrast is rustic and quiet. Harrisonburg and Stauton are fairly large cities, while across the Shenandoah Mountains you only have small rural hamlets and small cities like Moorefield. There is a lot of traffic in Virginia, not so much in small-town West Virginia.

Now I am sure that there are more rural and quiet sections of Virginia and more populated parts of West Virginia. Parts of West Virginia are certainly not as sleepy as the region when the National Forest predominates. And I’m sure some areas are more tourist draws.