Communities in West Virginia offer residents a welcoming atmosphere, affordable cost of living, and a strong sense of connection to nature and neighbors alike. From charming small towns to vibrant cities like Charleston and Morgantown, West Virginia communities provide friendly neighborhoods, excellent schools, and access to outdoor recreation right at your doorstep. Residents enjoy a slower pace of life, surrounded by the state’s beautiful mountains, rivers, and forests, as well as rich local culture, historic sites, and community events that bring people together.
With safe streets, local businesses, and a true spirit of Appalachian hospitality, living in West Virginia communities means enjoying a high quality of life and a supportive, tight-knit environment where everyone feels at home. Be sure to visit our Communities Travel Guide for information about communities in West Virginia.
WVU Tech will host its annual Homecoming at its new campus in Beckley, West Virginia, September 23-28, featuring a parade, tailgate, and ribbon cuttings for new facilities. Celebrating its third homecoming since opening the campus at Beckley, the university’s student population is now 1,700 and growing, and community leaders are excited. “It’s really obvious that … Read more
Can artificial intelligence be employed to boost coal power usage? One chemical engineer at West Virginia University is tapping into artificial intelligence to improve the profitability and flexibility of coal-fired power plants. Debangsu Bhattacharyya has received a $2.5-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop an online tool that uses AI to monitor … Read more
Affordability and student-support initiatives are boosting fall enrollment at Glenville State College, which welcomed 425 new traditional and online students this semester, bringing total enrollment at the school to 1,540. According to Dr. Kathleen Nelson, staff and faculty efforts combined with scholarships and low tuition rates have helped the school build its enrollment. “Our faculty … Read more
West Virginia University astronomers have helped discover the most massive neutron star to date—a breakthrough uncovered through the Green Bank Telescope in Pocahontas County. The neutron star, called J0740+6620, is a rapidly spinning pulsar that packs 2.17 times the mass of the sun (which is 333,000 times the mass of the Earth) into a sphere … Read more
The sunflower has long been one of the most familiar garden plants in West Virginia, and many of its uses were passed along to early settlers by their Native American neighbors. Members of the sunflower species can be found growing in the wild in the Mountain State, and I was lucky to find a pasture … Read more
West Virginia leads the U.S. in the number of small farmers, and a team of researchers at West Virginia University is hoping to help them increase the safety of the local foods sold to communities. Researchers are developing a three-step wash process to help mitigate food safety risks associated with locally grown fresh produce in … Read more
To the casual observer, Japanese stiltgrass appears as a harmless, leafy-green plant that blends into the majestic scenery during a weekend hike, but plant biologists like Craig Barrett know better. “I’d visited sites to study endangered orchids in West Virginia over the past few years, and I’d noticed Japanese stiltgrass creeping in and becoming a … Read more
Alderson Broaddus University received recognition this week as the highest-ranking West Virginia college or university in two categories published by U.S. News & World Report. The school was ranked first among West Virginia colleges overall and 39th among the 2020 “Best Regional Colleges in the South.” The report compares institutions based on performance across a … Read more
An innovative new ice cream parlor, “I Scream Sundae,” is attracting dessert fanatics to Ripley, where the rural small-town atmosphere was parlor-ready. Banking on the lyrics of the zany 1927 song Ice Cream (“I scream! You scream! We all scream for ice cream!”), the business is building a menu based on screamingly funny puns and … Read more
Alderson Broaddus University is celebrating a 10-percent increase in enrollment as the academic year launches, welcoming students from nearly 20 countries and 35 states, according to school officials. The increase brings a more diverse and vibrant culture to Alderson Broaddus and the community, according to Dr. Eric Shor, executive vice president for administration and vice … Read more
