Appalachia

"The Appalachian Region, as defined in [Appalachian Regional Commission's] authorizing legislation, is a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Forty-two percent of the Region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population."  (https://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp)

I will never forget the phone call.  It was a Thursday afternoon.

Meg:  "Babe, I just left the interview.  Things... look and sound... really... a lot better... than I thought... they offered me a great salary... and a lot of other benefits... paying for my last master's class... moving expenses..."

I was driving back to school at lunchtime after leaving the dentist's office for a regular check-up.  As I drove through one of Charlotte's main thoroughfares, I looked around and tried to take it all in.  Grocery stores, bagel shops, yoga studios, high rise apartments, ice cream and smoothie places, Starbucks... The Gap and J. Crew a mere 3 miles from my exact location.  

Me:  "... OK... so what do you think we should do...?"

Her:  "... I have the weekend to give them an answer."

Me:  "...[audible sigh]... well, I'm not moving someplace without seeing it first."

We decided that we would drive up to Wise after school on Friday and stay in a hotel so we could explore the area on our own.  We made the 4-hour drive and Meg showed me the campus and the lacrosse field ("They're going to actually sew in new lines on the field, so I won't ever have to line it!"), different homes she noticed were for sale, and the grocery store (she checked out the beer aisle, and I went straight for the produce).  After our mini-expedition, we met up with Meg's future bosses at your typical peanut-shells-on-the-floor steak place.  We drank a lot of beers.  And we talked about all of our concerns-- "We're a couple."  "We have 3 pets."  "We will want to rent a place."  "We still own a home in Charlotte and can't sell it right now because of the housing market."  "Jen needs a job."  

The first one and the last one were the biggies.  But The Bosses made it all seem pretty easy.  They wanted Meg as their first lacrosse coach, and they were willing to work with us in a variety of ways to get everything checked off our list.  

**SPOILER**

We made the leap.  And, Appalachia is, and isn't, everything I thought prior to living here.  Poverty is a major issue.  The land has been raped, and continues to be-- whatever wasn't stolen during the coal boom is being destroyed by logging.  It is rural, but that doesn't mean there are an abundance of farms.  For one weekend a year, people stand in line for hours to receive free health services at the local fair grounds.  There aren't enough jobs in the region.  Locals are kind, even to strangers.  The mountains are peaceful and totally overwhelming.  There is a place I have visited numerous times that still brings tears to my eyes because it completely validates the idea that we are such tiny beings on this amazing planet.  Our property taxes are $600 a year.  We've made amazing friends and met incredible people.  We are ok.

I plan to explore more about what Appalachia is, and isn't, but the point of this blog isn't to be "Appalachian", because I am not.  I don't want to do a disservice to a region that has allowed my family to live and work here for the past 3 years, and our meager experiences can never encapsulate the true meaning of the word Appalachia.  For now, we are still visitors in a foreign land, trying to make our own place.  

Appalachia is, and isn't.  

Important footnote:  It is pronounced, "Apple-latch-uh"  NEVER "Apple-lay-chuh"