Does Charleston, WV live under a shadow cast by Charleston SC?

[pompusmaximus]

Hello everybody! I am from Charleston SC and I was just wondering how people from Charleston, WV feel about Charleston SC. I have always wondered about this. I have never been to Charleston, WV and neither has 95% of the people I know around here. Just wondering if Charleston, SC leaves big shoes to fill. Fromn the looks of it, Charleston, WV could be a nice mountain city like ashville NC or Greenville SC if the right investment was brought in. Your thoughts...

-An urban planning student

College of Charleston, SC

[Oherian]

Hello everybody! I am from Charleston SC and I was just wondering how people from Charleston, WV feel about Charleston SC. I have always wondered about this. I have never been to Charleston, WV and neither has 95% of the people I know around here. Just wondering if Charleston, SC leaves big shoes to fill. Fromn the looks of it, Charleston, WV could be a nice mountain city like ashville NC or Greenville SC if the right investment was brought in. Your thoughts...

-An urban planning student

College of Charleston, SC

[nowensone]

I wouldn't think either Charleston to be concerned much with the other, they don't have much in the way of a link other than a shared name, and given people's typical lack of geography knowledge they are probably not aware of Charleston, WV as it does not have much national exposure, and the same is true to a lesser degree of Charleston, SC because many people don't know their history either. I know of Charleston, WV only because I drive through it on the way to the midwest, sometimes stopping to eat or gas up, but it looks like a neat city, being nestled along a mountain river valley, it seems like the kind of place that is waiting to become the next Pittsburgh.

[seicer]

Now if you were talking about Charleston linked to Myrtle Beach...

[pompusmaximus]

The only thing we have in common is that we have tourist, other than that Myrtle Beach is as Tacky as they come...except maybe for Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Tenn.

[RestedTraveler]

I'm not from Charleston, but from Huntington, so I may not be the best authority, but I don't think that people in Charleston, WV compare themselves to Charleston, SC at all. They're more concerned with local rivals -- Huntington, Parkersburg, Morgantown, Beckley.

[monsoon]

Charleston SC, has become what is essentially a dead city that is relegated to tourists and the extremely wealthy and surrounded by some of the worst sprawl in the South. The town itself is not a place for the common person to live in

In regards to being tacky, Charleston, with it's manufactured cheese shrimp grits persona is right up there with other tourist places.

I would hope the Charleston WVa has not fallen into the same situation.

[krazeeboi]

^I think you're overstating the case. Charleston, SC certainly has its share of tourists and wealthy downtown residents, but its downtown is anything but dead. There are also a few thousands students that attend college downtown that help with the downtown vibrancy.

I think Charleston, WV is a hidden jewel with much potential. Last I checked, the city was actually losing population; I hope something can be done to reverse that.

I think when "Charleston" is mentioned, which one is thought of first depends on a host of factors, including the person's geographical location, travel history, knowledge of Southern history, etc. I remember in the aftermath of Katrina when several evacuees were being flown to different cities and somehow evacuees that were supposed to be flown to Charleston, SC wound up in Charleston, WV. I don't know if it was a breakdown in communication or someone just said "Charleston" with no state attached, but I thought that was.....interesting.

[RestedTraveler]

I think Charleston, WV is a hidden jewel with much potential. Last I checked, the city was actually losing population; I hope something can be done to reverse that.

[tombarnes]

As noted above, I don't see a connection beyond the name. Charleston, West Virginia is a pleasant city with a lot of potential. Charleston, South Carolina is a fun place to visit, but I would agree that, to a certain extent, it has sold its soul to the Gods of Tourism.

[pompusmaximus]

Geeez, I think sold its soul to tourism is a little harsh and over dramatic. Charleston SC depends on two major revenue sources, the port and tourism. Tourist spend millions and millions of dollars in Charleston SC and that money gets taxed. Why wouldn't we want to encourage more tourism? Secondly, to say Charleston is a dead city is probably one of the furthest things from the truth I have ever heard. Charleston SC is growing by leaps and bounds. I do agree that Charleston has WAY too many sprawl problems, especially in the West Ashley (Whack Ashley) area. Traffic is out of control and housing is becoming almost impossible to afford. However our downtown area is seriously reinventing itself and changing literaly every day. Downtown is becoming very mixed use and far less ghetto. I beg you to come here now and take a look!! Do it before global warming potentially floods our city to the point it becomes the Venice of the South.

[monsoon]

... I beg you to come here now and take a look!! Do it before global warming potentially floods our city to the point it becomes the Venice of the South.

[pompusmaximus]

Not familiar enough it would seem.

[Evergrey]

Charleston SC may have sold its soul to the Gods of Tourism... but its core remains one of the few examples of a true urban environment in the US South (along with Savannah, Richmond and WV cities if you want to call them southern). Charlotte, for example, sold its soul when it destroyed its entire downtown in the 1960s to make way for sterile banking towers and parking lots.