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For my mail I can put either Sissonville or Charleston and it gets here.....I always put Sissonville cause I've heard of mail being sent to South Carolina by accident, though I think postal workers are supposed to go by the zipcode above all else. I know understand that Charleston SC is the much larger and more important city and people there feel they are the "real Charleston". When people say "Charleston" by default they mean South Carolina. When they talk about here they have to say "Charleston, West Virginia". People also confuse University of Charleston with College of Charleston in South Carolina, so UC's website is actually University of Charleston - Official Site so there is no confusion. However the roadsigns in WV just say "Charleston". The thing is Charleston signs don't even appear until you get really close to the city despite the fact that within WV and Appalachia this is an important city. When I drive west from Maryland on 68, where 68 ends it only points Interstate 79 south to "Fairmont" and "Clarksburg" but Charleston isn't even mentioned.
I recently moved from Maryland, and many people in Maryland also confuse Charleston with Charles Town. They ask if that is where the casino is and there actually is a casino in both places too. THough when Marylanders talk about the casino in West Virginia its always the Charles Town in the Eastern Panhandle. When my friends drove here to see me I made sure they were not led astray by the "Charles Town" sign.
I'm from Charleston (WV) and of course in that area, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, when I would tell people I was from Charleston, most people seemed to just assume I meant West Virginia. Now, I live in Atlanta, and when you say Charleston it's assumed you mean South Carolina, as surprisingly so many here actually tell me they've never heard of the WV version. Wow.
I find it amusing that in the latest tv commercial for Nutella, where the kids are eating breakfast and one asks their parent what the Capital of West Virginia is and she goes, "Charleston". I've had people see that commercial here and come up to be and go, "Really, is that right"?
For my mail I can put either Sissonville or Charleston and it gets here.....I always put Sissonville cause I've heard of mail being sent to South Carolina by accident, though I think postal workers are supposed to go by the zipcode above all else. I know understand that Charleston SC is the much larger and more important city and people there feel they are the "real Charleston". When people say "Charleston" by default they mean South Carolina. When they talk about here they have to say "Charleston, West Virginia". People also confuse University of Charleston with College of Charleston in South Carolina, so UC's website is actually University of Charleston - Official Site so there is no confusion. However the roadsigns in WV just say "Charleston". The thing is Charleston signs don't even appear until you get really close to the city despite the fact that within WV and Appalachia this is an important city. When I drive west from Maryland on 68, where 68 ends it only points Interstate 79 south to "Fairmont" and "Clarksburg" but Charleston isn't even mentioned.
I recently moved from Maryland, and many people in Maryland also confuse Charleston with Charles Town. They ask if that is where the casino is and there actually is a casino in both places too. THough when Marylanders talk about the casino in West Virginia its always the Charles Town in the Eastern Panhandle. When my friends drove here to see me I made sure they were not led astray by the "Charles Town" sign.
There was once a time when elementary school kids had to memorize state capitols. When that happened, a lot of people would learn about Charleston, WV. That does not seem to be happening these days. Charleston has some fame (or notoriety in some cases) within West Virginia because it is the place where politicians congregate here. For that reason, if you were to say Charleston within our state most would assume you meant the Kanawha County version, although in reality most people in the northern and eastern parts of the state have very little familiarity with the city. If you were to go 50 miles in any direction from the state line, most people would think you were talking about South Carolina if you were to say Charleston.
I agree with the exception of people in WV and nearby PARTS of Ohio and Kentucky, and MAYBE extreme southwest Virginia, people will think South Carolina when they say Charleston. People in Baltimore do NOT think about Charleston WV. Charles Town was on their radar for the sole reason of the casino. NOw that Maryland has many casinos including table games people are going there much less. I mean they still get the Frederick and Hagerstown market but people in Baltimore and its suburbs no longer flock to Charles Town and even that place will be mentioned less. If you say "Charleston" anywhere in Maryland and in most of Virginia it means South Carolina.
Aside from the fact that Charleston SC is a much bigger city and metro area, it is very high profile due to its importance in history and tourism. Charleston SC receives mass amounts of visitors every year and is often talked about as a travel destination. It is one of the most historic cities in the U.S. and a must see for history buffs, and has a cruise ship terminal. The tourism industry in Charleston WV is almost nonexistent except for people who pass through on the highways and the Cross Lanes casino. Many of the tourists who visit the New River Gorge, Fayetteville, and Summersvile and the people who go to Snowshoe Mountain from out of state often don't visit Charleston as a side trip. Even our casino gets visitors mainly from the local area and from nearby parts of Ohio and Kentucky. I rarely even see large tour buses like you see in Charles Town.
The state government only meets for 60 days which is a good thing. Less time for them to come up with more taxes and liberal regulations.
Interesting that you say most people in WV know which Charleston you're talking about, but 50 miles out of WV they think of SC.
I'm from the SC city and usually if someome ask me where I'm from, anywhere I am in the states, and I say Charleston, they usually ask me WV or SC. That being said I think there are quite a few people that do know of Charleston, WV, and it has taught me to not just use Charleston as my place of resisdence with out mentioning the state because it's not that big a city to just say 'Charleston'.
Interesting that you say most people in WV know which Charleston you're talking about, but 50 miles out of WV they think of SC.
I'm from the SC city and usually if someome ask me where I'm from, anywhere I am in the states, and I say Charleston, they usually ask me WV or SC. That being said I think there are quite a few people that do know of Charleston, WV, and it has taught me to not just use Charleston as my place of resisdence with out mentioning the state because it's not that big a city to just say 'Charleston'.
That's pretty interesting. At least most people I know consider South Carolina the "real" Charleston like the "real Portland" is in Oregon and the "real Las Vegas" is in Nevada, and people are expected to say Maine and New Mexico if they mean the alternates.
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