Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nice, I live at the beach now so that was the big thing about moving back up north(ward) was the cold..... yuck
What are the grocery stores like? I remember Kroger from back in Ohio was decent. They started to bring Giant Eagle some other bigger chains that offered my options and more gourmet stuff. Anything like that in the area? I have heard great things about local seafood and steaks at a butcher of some sort, can't remember the name.
Also, any advantage cost-wise for living on the Ohio side of the river?
In terms of grocery stores, There are 3 Krogers in the area, one of which has a sushi bar and Starbucks inside. There are also 2 locations of a local grocery store that is pretty big with a good selection. It's called Foodfair. There's also Sav-a-lot and Aldi as well. There's also a couple of smaller local grocery stores that have different offerings and a great meat dept. As mentioned before, the farmers market is 6 days a week and there's a great butcher just up from where the farmers market is.
There's no real advantage to living on the Ohio side of the river. There are fewer taxes overall but the taxes they do have are higher. Per the tax foundation, the overall tax burden over there is greater. When you also consider that any time you want to do something it will be in Huntington, the gas savings to live over here will also be considerable. Before living in Huntington, my wife and I had to use 2 cars everyday for things we needed to do. My car now sits in the driveway to be used a couple of times a month. Probably saving about $800/year just from that as well as decreased wear and tear on my car.
The issue with a lot of people is that they see personal property taxes on cars and the fact that they have to have their cars inspected each year so they automatically assume taxes are cheaper in OH. Taxes on your car are based on value in WV and thus decrease every year. An inspection sticker does have to be obtained yearly and costs a whopping $10. People often don't consider the rest of the tax structure though as property taxes in OH are higher and they also have one of the highest state/local tax burdens in the nation. Combine this with the fact that if you live in OH, you'll have a decent drive to get to anything you need so you'll also spend more in gas. Also, if you live in Huntington city limits, you get a pretty significant discount on your yearly home owner's insurance due to professional police and fire fighter services.
So for convenience and general savings, you'd be better off living in Huntington. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else or if there's any specific questions you have about the area. I'll do my best to help you.
My rebuttal is only this. I lived in Ohio most of my life, only when I moved to NC did I experience brutal state taxes.... They more then doubled...
In ohio you register your tags, pay no property tax on your vehicle and the tags have nothing to do with the value of your car so it's $60 to register your car and that is the end of it. So it is slightly less expensive to have your car registered in Ohio I would guess. Not to mention I would assume insurance on the car would be cheaper if you were living just over the bridge in rural Ohio. But then again, this would only be a cost advantage to a renter, not a home owner. (due to said home insurance advantages)
i *think* that Ohio drivers also don't have to have yearly inspections on their vehicles. There are always a slew of them around here w/out an inspection sticker. WV makes you inspect your car/truck/ whathaveyou yearly.
Kroger is a good grocery store-- but watch what you get there, overall they may be cheaper than Wal-mart, but some of their products are actually more expensive! We get most of our groceries, depending on what we need, at either Aldi/ Foodfair or Kroger, but get our fresh fruit and veggies at Wal-Mart, we discovered that they last longer from the walmart. :/ darn corporate america. There are like 4 wal-marts nearby though... and a Sam's Club across the river in South Point, OH.
Oh, I remembered another question. Does the city of Huntington have any type of tax credit or incentive program in place to encourage small businesses to relocate to the area or is it just larger corporations only?
FYI the inspection for a car is only $12 so it's not a huge cost and it helps to make sure your car works properly.
I know the city does have some tax incentives for businesses but I'm not sure what they are and who they apply to. Here's the city of Huntington directory. I'm sure you can find what you are looking for by calling the city.
City of Huntington, West Virginia (http://www.cityofhuntington.com/pages/gov-directory.html - broken link)
I don't shop at Walmart. Would rather spend a little less to not have to deal the crowds in there. Walmart is not convenient, takes too long to get through their lines... Not to mention the savings you were going to experience go out the window with impulse purchases of stuff that wasn't even on your initial shopping list...
I will be coming to Huntington to spend the day on Monday May 18th. I will be camping at Beech Fork State Park on Sunday night the 17th (because I love to camp!) If anyone has a MUST SEE, MUST DO list of places for me that would be great. Also, Tim, I would love to meet for coffee to discuss. If anyone else has suggestions for stuff I should check out let me know here!
If you like antiques, the Central City district (14th St West) is known as the antiques capital of WV. There are lots of neat shops down there with quality items. This is also where they have the farmers market 6 days/week. Old Central City Central City Market
Harris Riverfront Park offers some wonderful views of the Ohio River.
Lots of neat little local restaurants like Jim's Steak and Spaghetti, Stewart's Hot Dogs, Frostop Drive In, Jewel City Seafood, Chili Willi's Mexican Cantina and others. Some of these places have been in business since the 1930s. Central City cafe and Hillbilly Hotdogs were also featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives on the Food Network and are neat places as well. If you like international food, there's also a Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse, Taste of Asia that serves Chinese, Japanese and Thai, Nawab Indian Cuisine and Mellini's Italian restaurant. Then there's also the Marshall hall of fame cafe and various national chains as well. Lots of good stuff around town food wise.
Hope this helps to at least give you some idea about things to do and see. Plenty of other things in the area but this should do you for a weekend. If you are going to be here on Sat May 16, Jeff Dunham will actually be at the Big Sandy Arena.
Tim
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
