Charleston, WV

[tbailey1138]

Based on violent crime stats from the FBI, Charleston has a higher violent crime rate than does Huntington. Charleston suffers from the same type of crime but just has more of it, not just according to my opinion but per official statistics. Huntington's crime rate has actually decreased 12% over the last year and a half. I've never felt unsafe in Huntington or even really Charleston for that matter though.

[CTMountaineer]

West Virginia really doesn't have a violent crime problem of which to speak. This is due in part to the fact that the state really doesn't have any cities of any significant size. There are a couple fringe downtown areas in Wheeling, Charleston, Martinsburg, and Huntington where I wouldn't want to hang out after dark by myself. I think we all know the whereabouts of those locales. Other than that, the whole state is basically safe. There isn't any place in the state I wouldn't go in the daytime.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

West Virginia really doesn't have a violent crime problem of which to speak. This is due in part to the fact that the state really doesn't have any cities of any significant size. There are a couple fringe downtown areas in Wheeling, Charleston, Martinsburg, and Huntington where I wouldn't want to hang out after dark by myself. I think we all know the whereabouts of those locales. Other than that, the whole state is basically safe. There isn't any place in the state I wouldn't go in the daytime.

It's all relative, and regardless of which city someone chooses to live in, simply using common sense will carry you a long way in staying safe.

Even in the 1970s and 80s, growing up in Charleston, you learned that leaving your bike in the yard would most likely result in it being missing after a while. We and our neighbors also locked our doors at night and left the porch lights on. Likewise, walking around the city at 2am might put you in more undesirable situations than doing it at 2pm. This didn't mean it was "dangerous" - it just meant that a certain amount of common sense had to be used to avoid being any type of victim.

Hey, in Atlanta right now if you walk around after dark, you stand a good chance of having a gang of kids pull up to you in a SUV and rob you while holding an AK47 in your face - then shoot you anyway even if you give them what they want. I can PROMISE you, to someone like ME, Charleston or Huntington seem like Mayberry now, but again, it's relative - to others from other areas, they might be scary. Just use common sense wherever you live. Lock doors/windows. Lock your cars. Don't leave laptops and stuff laying in the car when it's parked somewhere, etc etc etc etc.