Ha! As I thought, you have no real idea. Charles Town is far and away different from most other parts of WV. You must head over there for the gambling. Try turning left at 81 and head south down to Inwood, WV or even worse, further west.
As for downtown Hagerstown being depressed, I agree, the outlying cities have been harder hit by the Recession, but revitalization has been going on, and in that respect, it isn't much different from many cities downtown's, Syracuse included.
It is laughable to compare almost anything to Bethesda, one of the highest median income cities in the entire country. (#5 on at least one list)
I won't bother to try to convince you that a rural location is a great place to live, as you are obviously a city oriented person. As you likely could never live in my area, I detest the area you live in. (I worked in Gaithersburg for over 20 years, so I know the area very well.)
Being WV does not just mean living in a rural area. It is more a state of mind (and body) do more research before you throw stones.
I do agree the UMD fans are poor fans. The support in central and western maryland is disappearing as mediocrity rules. Baltimore has always been a pro town, so UMD support in recent years has been confined to the DC burbs. Ped St. & WVU have about as much interest as people move from those states to MD for jobs. VT also has some support, to a lesser degree.
