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Another plus for Huntington is the housing/cost of living. Forbes rated the cost of living here as #1 in the nation among the larger MSAs. Very affordable housing here and some very nice houses as well. Some areas to check out would be the area around Ritter Park(southside), the area up by the Museum of Art, the highlawn area around St. Mary's and some of the housing along 3rd Avenue as you come in from Route 60. Also very nice housing in Pea Ridge and Barboursville but if you are looking for convenience to all of the things listed before, downtown living is your best bet. There are even some really nice, newly renovated condos in the heart of downtown if you like that setting. Personally, I have to have an older house and most of the housing around Ritter Park is from the early 1900's which usually means gorgeous and well built. Let me know if you need more info or if there's any help you might need/questions you have before visiting.
Tim
I agree with what others said... Huntington is better. Charleston is in a economic decline... the young are moving out because of the job shortage so not much of the young population you are probably looking for. Yeah it has a lot of factories and yes it does pollute the air to some degree. No health food stores that I know of ... it is your basics. Not much of an art/music scene either. It is a safe nice little town but I don't think that it is for the young. Honestly besides Marshall being in Huntington, that town really isn't much better. I would say stay outta WV if I was u.
I agree with your advice to stay out of WV (based on what the OP is looking for in a new place) but there is one thing I have to disagree with....Huntington is in NO WAY better than Charleston, it's not even negotiable as far as I'm concerned. The exact same problems present in Charleston aka declining population, large elderly population, depressed local economy, etc. all exist at the same level in Huntington.
The two cities are always rated as affordable (Huntington moreso) by several studies and there is a reason for that, a poor economy combined with stagnant/declining population = virtually no demand and therefore very cheap housing.
And tbailey, I wasn't really including you in one of my last posts when I referred to people praising Huntington and constantly putting down Charleston, however there are others on here that have in the past. I have always found your information to be very thorough and informative.
I have to disagree with....Huntington is in NO WAY better than Charleston, it's not even negotiable as far as I'm concerned.
And tbailey, I wasn't really including you in one of my last posts when I referred to people praising Huntington and constantly putting down Charleston, however there are others on here that have in the past. I have always found your information to be very thorough and informative.
First, I have to disagree with the affordable housing comment a little. Yes the economy here could be better, but when most of these listings look at cost of living, they not only look at cost of housing but also the quality of housing for the amount you pay, cost of utilities, etc. Otherwise, you have places that are a lot more depressed with a lot cheaper housing that could be listed as more affordable.
Secondly, I'm glad you think Charleston has more to offer. I think you should take pride in where you are from and I also think that competition (such as the 2 cities give each other being so close) brings success, or can at least. WV as a state tends to stamp out competition rather than encouraging it as we have talked about before. I think this type of debate needs to happen more often to showcase what cities in WV have to offer. Wouldn't be much of a showcase if we talked about the worst cities now would it? I would be disappointed if someone didn't have enough pride in their hometown to think their city was the best from some standpoint or another. Certain areas may not offer as much to do but there sure is no place like home sometimes. Jfronz, I always enjoy your posts as well. I just wish the leaders of the state would do a little more to change things for the better so you could come back if you wanted to, or at least in order to make WV a place that you would recommend to others. I wasn't sure if you were referring to me in your post or not though so I just wanted to make sure that I had been clear on what I was saying. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
Tim
Thank you for your kind words tbailey. What I'm trying to say and I think I fail to word it in a proper way (actually I know I do) is that Charleston and Huntington remind me very much of one another in most aspects, somewhat of twin cities if you will. I don't really think one is any better than the other as they both have similar demographics, industrial pasts, history,etc. Obviously there are going to be minor tippings of the scale on one end or the other, Huntington's bar scene is better than Charleston's (some chucktown pals would kill me for saying that) and Charleston's downtown skyline is more modern looking than Huntington's. I will admit though and I forgot to tell you this, I went to Huntington over Christmas break to visit a friend going to grad school there and was very impressed with Pullman Square, seems like a great addition to the city.
And on the housing issue i'm not entirely knocking Huntington or Chas. believe me I'd love to have some affordable housing up here where I pay $1400 a month for a 1 bdrm apartment as I patiently save in an attempt to buy a place. Some friends of mine recently bought a 2 bdrm. townhouse near my apartment that was a "deal" at $350K.
I hope people don't think that I hate Huntington in anyway, I think it is a nice friendly place and I've never had an bad experience there (unless you count my WVU loving presence at the coal bowl last september). I don't hate WV either, I grew up there and spent four years at WVU constantly defending my state against ignorance displayed by class act people from NJ, NY, MD, VA, PA etc who somehow felt that they had been kicked out of the civilized world by being in WV. I constantly also defend my background from people up where who when I say I'm from WV act as if I should have 2 teeth in my mouth and not wear shoes (god people are stupid).There are things about WV that I am frustrated with such as the elected leaders inability to do anything that remotely relates to progress along with the constant reluctance to accept change and overall satisfaction with mediocrity (the "this is just West Virginia" attitude). Hopefully the younger people remaining in the WV will continue to fight for economical improvement on a statewide level, something so many people like myself gave up on when they bolted for other places.
Last edited by NOVAmtneer82; 03-11-2008 at 10:59 PM..
Is there any health food stores or co ops? We looked but could not find any.
Actually, there are a few that I know of in the area: the Healthy Life Market (at the mall complex in Barboursville), the Shape Shop (727 9th Avenue, downtown), and New Earth Resources CO (826 10th Street, downtown).
I've only been to the Healthy Life Market and they seem to have a nice variety of items that you may be interested in. The Shape Shop, I think is mostly items geared towards dieters (Weight Watchers, Ornish, etc.), but they may offer other things as well. New Earth has a lot of vitamins and supplements, but I don't know what they offer in terms of food. They would be worth looking into, though.
You also might want to check out the recently remodeled Kroger in Barboursville. They now have a large section devoted to organic and healthy foods, as well as a nice selection of green products for you home (cleaning supplies, paper prodcuts, etc.)
What Charleston has going for it is potential, and certainly needs more young creatives moving here to make change happen. I just moved here from Austin, TX and people thought I was crazy. However, if you are entrepreneurs, this is the type of place you want to be. It's large enough to be inspiring, yet small enough to really make an impact. I'll share my experiences with you if you're interested. There are some great people here doing some very cool things.
OK, Heidiparker..."some great people here doing some cool things"...earn those 2 brownie points I just gave you and share those new thoughts...
this is what I'm talkin' about...
The things that will brighten attitudes and give a resolve to take this state away from the 'good ole boys (& girls)...and give it back to a new, bright people...be they from here in Wv or not...
Hi all! Just thought I'd give ya'll an update....We continued the search for a little city that suited us & have now moved to Chattanooga tn. It's a perfect fit! Everyone was so nice in Charleston. It's really just all those industrial factories that scared us away in the end. Ya'll have the most amazing capitol dome I've ever seen. I think the downtown has tons of potential & neat buildings. If we would have moved there I would have been in Taylor books all the time & eaten at Bluegrass Kitchen every other day.
Thanks for the update. Visited Chattanooga one time - nice city. Good "tourist" things to do. We need more of that in Chas.
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