I have been an Uplander for several months and have had loads of fun buying and selling properties. First, I started buying property in San Francisco, then Fresno, then on to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Below is one of my favorite properties I own in Manhattan. You can see the street view as well as my explorer and property information of 219 W 149th St.:
It's really cool to buy and trade these properties. I am actually pretty close to reaching the Director level, which comes with more recognition and rewards. Here is my profile snapshot:
The only thing I would change about Upland, if the choice were mine, is a more diverse Upland. San Francisco, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Oakland, and other places in the Upland universe are in major urban areas. Upland needs to fill in some of the interior of the map. Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, or St, Louis? Perhaps. But what about smaller towns? What about natural wonders? I have in mind a place where I grew up; its a place that most of you don’t know about yet—an outdoor paradise. Its not a city, although it is dotted with a few towns and has a micropolitan area of about 125,000. Its largest town, Beckley, is under 20,000 and is in Raleigh County, which is just under 80,000. So you may be asking, “what is special about this area?” or “why such a small area?”
Before I tell you what is special about this area, I will tell you why Upland needs to do this. Up to this point Upland has only focused on major metropolitan areas or suburbs of such areas. Upland needs to do a test run of a smaller, yet important part of the United States; it could be a model for similarly sized areas. I believe that more people would be interested in Upland and will start buying properties if a broader demographic of areas and land is chosen. While leaders of large cities might not even notice a cool game like Upland having a presence in their city, small towns like Fayetteville or Beckley would put this on the front page of their local newspaper. It might even make the 6:00 news. It would spread among locals on social media like wild fire.
Upland could really expand their presence in more ways than one by choosing to come to my city, Beckley, West Virginia, which is the crossroads and hub of this region--the New River Gorge area of Southern West Virginia. Instead of only featuring one small city, Upland could focus on the entire region and call it the New River Gorge Region.
Interesting features that I would be first in line to buy in this region include:
The New River Gorge National Park and Reserve. This is America’s newest national park. It was recently upgraded from a "national river." It is a beautiful gem within an easy one-day drive of about 1/3 of the U.S. population. It is an area rich with history and natural beauty. Despite its world class hiking, biking, rafting and rock climbing, its most recognizable man-made feature is the New River Gorge Bridge. The Statue of Liberty could be stacked nearly three times under this bridge, which stands about 900 feet above the river. It has been featured in magazines and TV commercials for many years. It is the home of the annual “Bridge Day” event, which is the world’s largest one day extreme sports event. It is a day when BASE jumpers parachute off the bridge to the river below while tens of thousands of spectators watch in awe.
The Summit Bechtel Reserve. This is the national headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America. It is located in the New River Gorge area. It is a new facility that has hosted both national and world jamborees in the past few years. Its facilities include the 2nd largest skate park in the country, lakes, climbing walls, zip lines, high ropes courses, and much more. The 70,000 acre site was chosen in 2008 from more than 80 sites in 28 states because of its natural beauty as well as it’s accessibility to so much of the U.S. population.
Tamarack. Tamarack is a one-of-a-kind arts and crafts facility right near the crossroads of I-77 and I-64 in Beckley, WV.
In the 1990’s, the state of West Virginia chose this site to highlight her talent. Everything in the facility is made is West Virginia. Unique glassware, hand-made pottery, small batch craft beers, boutique style clothing, quirky wood carvings, stunning jewelry, and folk-art paintings are all created by artisans within the state. You can easily spend an afternoon browsing this down-to-earth, yet upscale gallery.
To top it all off, mouth-watering local cuisine like fried green tomato biscuits or pan-seared mountain trout served on Fiesta Ware (made in WV of course) will make you want to come back to visit again.
The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Here you can go on tours to an actual coal mine that was built in the city in its infancy. While the coal mine ceased operation many decades ago, visitors can ride a small train deep into the earth with a retired miner guiding you along the way.
Much more could be said about special places like Glades Springs Resort, state parks, Fayetteville, WV (voted coolest small town in America), local restaurants like Pies and Pints or King Tut Drive-in. Like many other small towns in America, Beckley has its share of nice neighborhoods as well as struggling areas. Demographically, Beckley is fairly diverse. Other towns like Oak Hill, Mt. Hope, and Fayetteville each have their unique charm. Unusual businesses like rafting companies could go on Upland's market. The New River Gorge Region is a beautiful gem in Southern West Virginia that would provide Uplanders with something different to explore.
As Upland works its way into the interior of the U.S., the New River Gorge National Park region would be a natural choice and place for vehicles to connect to major highways. Beckley is at the crossroads of I-77, I-64, U.S. 19, and the Coalfields Expressway. It would be in Upland’s interest to find strategic locations across the country to connect the two coasts. The Beckley micropolitan area has many interesting features and stands at the crossroads of the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern United States.
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