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We're hoping to move to huntington in June and hope to find a neighborhood that is friendly and active where our middle and highschool aged daughters might live near others of their age and make friends pretty quickly.
We like neighborhoods with porches and sidewalks where you know your neighbors. We're not real "suburbanites" but we'd consider it. I'd love to hear about the high school and middle school options. Greatschools does not have many reviews on anything but the private schools in huntington and even they are limited and dated. Is it easy to come in as a new kid in any of the public schools? How friendly is the Catholic school to newcomers who are non-catholics?
We think Huntington looks like a really great "small city". We lived in roanoke, Va for a while and in some ways it reminds me of that. We'll probably need to rent a house at first so tips on that might be nice. Other posts make it sound impossible to find rental homes in the area. Thanks in advance!
Last edited by katsluckymom; 02-29-2012 at 08:23 AM..
Reason: left out city in post title
TBailey will be able to fill you in on many of the specifics of Huntington. He is our resident expert on Cabell, Wayne and the rest of the tri-state area.
I have family in the Huntington area, and live the next county over. I can add that there are some good schools in the Barboursville area, and it seems to be a pretty active community.
The area in Huntington that would best meet your criteria would be the area around Ritter Park known as the Southside. There are lots of young families here with the porches and sidewalks that you are looking for. Kids are out playing frequently in this neighborhood and Ritter Park is a just quick walk away which makes getting to know people a whole lot easier. They are also constructing a new $200,000+ dog park here if you have dogs. That's also another great way to meet people.
Being in this area would put you within walking distance of Huntington Middle School if you chose the private school route. I have heard good things about Huntington Middle but my kids aren't old enough to have any first hand experience yet. Huntington High School also offers a lot of opportunities with classes and it typically has better test scores than Cabell Midland High School. Huntington High is not within walking distance to anything due to its location. For private schools, St. Joes is a very good school and it makes no difference to them if you are Catholic or not. If you prefer a protestant based school, we also have Grace Christian and Covenant.
Another way to get involved and meet new people would be through some of the local organizations like Create Huntington, the Southside Neighborhood Organization and possibly even things like the Mother's Club or church. Here are some links to some things that you might find helpful.
The second best area to meet your criteria would be Barboursville. They too have lots of porches with sidewalks but on a much smaller scale. The middle school may be within walking distance but not much else would be. This would put you in the school district for Cabell Midland High. Here is some info on Barboursville.
Thanks for the replies. I'm going to have fun going through the links and the info on the neighborhoods and schools is incredibly helpful. We're coming down for a visit soon and we'll have a much better idea of where to look and what we're doing. Thanks!
What brings you to Huntington if you don't mind someone asking? Many people see the Huntington area as rebounding but also not a place to stick around for very long.
Aeros 71, we are looking at Huntington due to a possible job change. We spent a few days in Huntington and found your city to be the best of many worlds - we were impressed with the neighborhoods, the cost of housing, the friendliness of people we met and the arts/activities available. We will know soon if we get the position, but no matter what, I will have positive things to reccomend to folks about Huntington and WV.
I'm glad that you enjoyed your visit to Huntington. If you need nothing else, don't hesitate to ask!
Tim
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