19. West Virginia

I feel incredibly strong about this one. West Virginia deserves to be here.

Charleston, West Virginia. Trust me, it’s pretty. I just wasn’t able to find any good public domain photos!

I hear a lot of things about West Virginia from plenty of people, and it is very rarely positive. I get it. West Virginia is among the most impoverished states and it has been losing population at a rapid rate for decades now. It’s an unfortunate consequence of it’s over reliance on the coal industry. Just a note for all states and countries, maybe diversify your industries so that if one of them collapses, it doesn’t ruin the entire economy. I’m looking at you, rich oil kingdoms in the Middle East, it’ll happen to you! And so because coal is both clearly not the fuel of the future and new technology is still eliminating mining jobs, West Virginia continues to suffer. But people who have been in charge like Senator Jim Justice don’t care because, regardless, the coal industry still made him rich.

New River Gorge National Park

West Virginia is so much more than that though! I think the state might just be the most consistently pretty in the country. No matter where you go, you will be in the mountains. It’s such a shame that all these towns in the state are shadows of their former selves because the way they weave through the Appalachians is incredibly remarkable. Like, it’s crazy that all of this was built in such a mountainous region. It really feels like one of a kind. West Virginia is one of the states that might just be the best to drive through. There’s no traffic in any way, and you are completely emmersed in the atmosphere the whole time.

I can’t stress enough how incredibly it really is. Just go, you won’t be disappointed. And maybe some day, the state will be able to bounce back to be so much more than it’s been. And I think then you could even find this state in the top 10.