West Virginia?

I was going to be a smart-aleck and say watch out for all the funny accents.

But I read Glenda's post and didn't know about all that.

I could say you might try applying to some of the big names in Texas. UT Austin. UT Arlington. I went to UT Arlington in 1982. So, I'm a Longhorn and cannot, in good conscience, recommend Texas A & M. Them Aggies. Just kidding. A & M is a good school, too.

Across the Red River in Oklahoma is OSU (the Cowboys) and OU (the Sooners) and they are excellent schools. Of course, I always root for UT in the Texas-OU rivalry this month.

All that aside, it can't hurt to cast a wide net. Or is this school you mentioned the only one to offer a nibble, as yet?

I've only really been through West Virginia a few times and it was like going back in time.  Very pretty scenery with the mountains and hills, but I think most of it is rural and secluded.  Like Glenda said, many people still struggle to make ends meet and are under-educated.  DH went on a road trip there with his friend (who is from there) and says the same.

Yeah... Really pretty, really rural. My dad had a WV obsession when I was growing up..we used to go camping there a lot.

One time we were in a parking lot, and rearranging the car or something, and when we went to drive away, some guy stopped us and goes "There's a piller on yer roof" (and "roof" rhymed with "hoof", which isn't how we say it..) "A what??" "A piller!" "Wha..okay, thanks!" and we stopped and looked, and it was a pillow..haha... And another time we went to Long John Silver's for food, and when we were leaving the cashier goes "Ya'll don' wan' be snackin' on dem yet, deyr hawt as far!" as what? Yeah, fire... lol

Just..ya know..that kind of stuff. In my family, we poke a lot of fun at West Virginia. But it IS really pretty.

WV is a beautiful state, truly.Mountains, valleys, wild country.....  So long as you are away from the Ohio River where most of the factories are, and the horrible pollution.  My allergies were off the scale when we lived there....very close to that cess pool of a river, and my asthma was barely controllable.  I don't HAVE asthma, it was all allergy related and severe there.  And, again, the people are truly wonderful, loving and giving.  It is not that they are stupid, they are just not real educated, in my experience.

I can't live there, I'm too scared of the Mothman!  I used to have a friend that lived in Morgantown, he said he believe in all the "weird stuff".

This is my husbands home state. And I fell in love with it. The family has owned and still lives on property established BEFORE the civil war. The main house is pre civil war and still stands. With that said..........

Morgantown is a beautiful city.

I will borrow from Wikipedia:

The state is noted for its great natural beauty, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries, and its labor history. It is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, caving, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and hunting.

There are still places that are very rural, yes some have no indoor plumbing, or cable, poverty is rampant, education is lacking, and there is almost no economy outside of mining and factory work. But the people do not seem to mind.  

It is the only state to reside completely inside the Appalachian Mountain Range. It is known for its Appalachian Folk music, Mountain Stage is hosted out of Charleston and is a 2 hour live progam, the are broad casted on Voice of America Satellite,  they have been hosted at the Creative Arts center in Morgantown.

Want an idea of West Virginia? Try and find the movie October Sky...........

I envy you, the only reason we don't live there now is because of the lack of jobs.

Good luck on your decision.

ETA:

http://www.wvpics.com/

ron2

I was going to be a smart-aleck and say watch out for all the funny accents.

 LOL Ron, you've forgotten, I'm from New Zealand- I think our accents must be about as funny as they get. I had hard enough time getting people to understand me in LA- I had trouble just asking for a glass of Coke- I can't even imagine what it'd be like in West Virginia!

chelsea_b

"There's a piller on yer roof" (and "roof" rhymed with "hoof"..).

 I had to read this several times (out loud) before I got it- here, roof and hoof DO sound the same! lol We say hoof like roof (with the long uu), which I think is opposite to what you were saying...

ron2

All that aside, it can't hurt to cast a wide net. Or is this school you mentioned the only one to offer a nibble, as yet?

 I haven't started actively looking for jobs yet so am not too sure what else is out there. This one just turned up and seemed like a great opportunity- the senior faculty also do some applied behaviour analysis (i.e. dog training), which is an area I'm wanting to get into later on. The position is actually an assistant professorship with tenure-track, which is a little bit more permanent than I was planning- I was thinking of just looking for a post-doc (which is usually just a contract for a few years). I don't know if I would say no to this though, especially since (I think) my chances of getting it might be pretty good.

Liesje

I can't live there, I'm too scared of the Mothman!  I used to have a friend that lived in Morgantown, he said he believe in all the "weird stuff".

 Eek! The mothman looks scary!  what "weird stuff?" are we talking about? I freak out very easily...

 Thanks so much for that link with the pictures, Truley- you guys are right- it's a really beautiful area. I dont' think I could ever live in a concrete jungle, but at the same time I'm not sure if I would like that much rural-ness...

Vinia

I had to read this several times (out loud) before I got it- here, roof and hoof DO sound the same! lol We say hoof like roof (with the long uu), which I think is opposite to what you were saying...

I know. It's hard to spell out. I say roof like...roo in kangaroo with an f. I say hoof like woof. Or the same oo sound as book.

The "pillow on your roof" was a stupid thing to tell anyway...and now I've made it all confusing. Sigh.

 Yeah... here in the US, West Virginia tends to have a reputation as kind of a "redneck" area - it's the brunt of a lot of jokes. If possible, I'd recommend visiting before making your decision - I think it's the kind of place you either love or hate.

If you're looking for professorial jobs in the US, have you been spending time here? http://chronicle.com/jobs/

The Chronicle of Higher Education is kind of "the" paper for academic-types. And they have a search database of job postings. Worth a look, if you haven't seen it already!

I would never tell anyone NOT to move to WV.  It truly is a wonderful state, but, as with anything else, you have to know both sides of the story.  I'm an intelligent human being, however, not a rocket scientist or brain surgeon, and my biggest issue living there was the feeling that I lived in an intellectual vacume.

The beauty of the state is truly stunning.  But, it' a very poor state and "different" from many.

The "funny accents" aren't so bad really.  Having lived in the deep south I didn't find anything all that unusual.  But, the gal warning not to eat the food that was hot as fire, well, that just emphasizes what good and caring folks live there.  Same as the guy bringing up the pillow.  Lots of places people don't give a rodents rear end if you burn your mouth or loose your pillow.  These are really GOOD and caring people. They aren't stupid, just lacking in education.

And, the Mothman, well........legend perhaps?  Perhaps not.  But, then, I happily shared a house with a couple gentle spirits (ghosts) and that didn't bother me in the least.  I felt looked after.

Thanks for your thoughts, everybody West Virginia sounds quite nice, really, and from talking to a WVU grad, the department sounds wonderful too. I'm going to apply for the job and see what happens. There's another position at Reed College in Oregon (Thanks for that link Cita!) that also sounds ideal, and my supervisor wants me to try for a post-doc at Arizona. We'll see what road the universe'll lead me down .

 Good luck!!! What field are you working in, or would you rather not say? I've heard good things about Reed College, U of Arizona, and Arizona State. Haven't heard much about U of WV, but it's a bit farther from CA, where I grew up.