Charleston; does it have what it takes? (Washington: neighborhoods, taxes)

[harmon gardens]

We just visited Charleston for the first time. Found the people there very friendly and upbeat about their community. We liked the overall feel of the city, the easy access, the shopping available downtown, the new farmers market and the city arts facility. So, how about some info on the business side of this community; see any real changes happening, like are the chemical companies really leaving?; are there any new businesses taking residence in Charleston?; does the newer/renovated downtown area have a chance to attract business, during or after 5PM?; how about good restaurants? we had a great dinner at the dairy deli downtown, and it was 7 pm? Everything in life has trade-offs; what do you think the trade-off's are for living in Charleston?

[wv4life]

Charleston is a very much growning city and has what it takes...i dont know bout the chemical plants but they dont really play that much of an issue. I dont know if you visited the Southridge area but that is where most of the life after 5pm is happening...has all the good restaurants and shopping. I have lived in the area my whole life and love it. Businesses are also slowly climbing...I highly recommend Charleston to anyone...by the way next time there stop and go to the Power Park downtown and catch a quick baseball game with the semi pro team

[Big_Al]

There are several very nice upscale restaurants in town and in a local country club, WV Symphony is surprisingly good, big musicians of all styles visit Charleston time to time. It takes 4.5 h drive or 40-50 minutes flight to D.C., 3 h drive to Pittsburgh. 10-15 minutes from downtown-you are in quiet woody neighborhoods.
Taxes are decent, traffic jam do not exist (unless you live in Putnam county and commute to Charleston daily using I-64).
Drawbacks? Carnegie hall is at least 3 h flight
I moved here from Connecticut and LOVE WV totally.

[Lorann]

Big Al,
Glad to hear you like Charleston, we can't wait to get moved out there. This summer can't come soon enough for me!!!! What area of Charleston did you move to?

[CraziS05]

Originally Posted by Big_Al

There are several very nice upscale restaurants in town and in a local country club, WV Symphony is surprisingly good, big musicians of all styles visit Charleston time to time. It takes 4.5 h drive or 40-50 minutes flight to D.C., 3 h drive to Pittsburgh. 10-15 minutes from downtown-you are in quiet woody neighborhoods.
Taxes are decent, traffic jam do not exist (unless you live in Putnam county and commute to Charleston daily using I-64).
Drawbacks? Carnegie hall is at least 3 h flight
I moved here from Connecticut and LOVE WV totally.

I do love Charleston from what I've seen so far. I like how the cities around it are bigger than most cities here. I plan to locate there for my work. However, I was on 64 in Charleston near Southride/Corridor G exit and Washington St. and it was backed up quite a bit and I had to wait about 25 or 30 minutes.

[Big_Al]

Lorann,
I moved to South Hills.
CraziS05- yeah, I-64, corridor G are very busy now. But if you do not need to use them for your commute you are safe.

[CraziS05]

I'll keep that in mind...I'm sure using Macorkle is a lot easier...

[Big_Al]

Oh yes, MacCorcle is good.