Edit: And while Morgantown is only 9 miles into WV, really the entire state of WV is the heart of Appalachia. No matter what part of the state you leave from you're still going to be in Appalachia, just in a neighboring state.
I get it. The author uses “heart of” as an expression, like I use “literally” in a figurative sense.
But, it also gives me a sense that it betrays the authors almost complete ignorance of Appalachia; which the article purports to explain :S
I don't know about that, that's weird logic to me. Atlanta is barely Appalachia, at best it's at the very terminus in the south. Pittsburgh is much more a part of Appalachia to me, though honestly I'd say both those cities have their own unique culture that's perhaps related or influenced by Appalachia (yinzers are kinda Appalachia). I guess somewhere around Roanoke would probably be the true geographic middle, but eh. Close enough.
But Atlanta is really close. at the “Piedmont” of the if you will ;)
I'd say the real heart of Appalachia is Pikeville KY.
BS! Morgantown is definitely not the heart of Appalachia:
- It’s only 9 mi into WV!
- has population that doubles during the school semester
- has three or four federal agencies (FBI, NETL, NIOSH)
- showered with federal and state largess (thank you senator Byrd)
- has traffic jams worthy of a city with 10x it’s population
- has one of my favorite restaurants in the US
- has a significant private sector economy (Mylan, for one)
-if I recall, technically it didn’t have a recession in ‘08.
I’ve lived in Morgantown for a while. And while I certainly caught a glimpse of Appalachia, it certainly isn’t the heart. Maybe it’s about as redneck as the president of WVU dares to venture.