It’s true. Wheeling keeps changing. In many positive ways, actually.
The critics, though, will insist there’s only continued decline because, well, today’s Wheeling leaders are no longer fighting to bring back that old Wheeling when malls and plazas didn’t exist and street-level retail was often shop-specific and mixed in with bars and restaurants on both sides. But that hustle and bustle is no longer visible along Main and Market streets because – sadly – now it only exists in the minds of John & Jane Q. Consumer as they navigate their online orders and plaza-based shopping trips.
Facts are facts: The city’s population has dropped below 28,000 because of shifts in job markets, but local elected officials have right-sized to the point where they could stop kicking the proverbial can when it comes to repairing and replacing outdated infrastructure and addressing quality-of-life issues.
Are there frustrations over ongoing issues? Absolutely. Demolitions of dilapidated properties can’t happen fast enough; issues involving the city’s homeless population have remained prevalent for years; there’s a legitimate need for new housing because the price tags connected to property preservation have climbed too high for far too many; and yes – absolutely – we need more jobs.
But there are more facts to consider: We do have terrific schools and colleges/universities, our local businesses respond to what we want instead of what they want us to buy, The Highlands offers us a plethora of name-brand inventory, we are blessed to have public places like Wheeling Park and Oglebay, none of our four seasons are too extreme to survive, and our communities care more about each other than most have experienced anywhere else.
So, if you can make a living here in the Wheeling area, life can be good, and that’s because people want to love where they live, and I bet you do, too.
But, if you choose to be negative, please realize you’re only making yourself miserable because today’s Wheeling no longer agrees with your belief that chasing the past is the best thing for our future.
