Monongalia is Now West Virginia's Fastest Growing County (Huntington, Parkersburg: how much, employment)

[David Kennedy]

Pa has been doing the 'infrastructure homework to capture this growth...

The 4 lane from Cheat Lake to the South Side...also going on unnoticied is the new 4 lane coming south on Rt 51.

All of this will make it easier and closer for Pittsburgh commuters to work in Morgantown. We have the jobs..WITH THE PAY. and Pittsburgh City at the present time is stagnant.

Many entry level Pittsburghers are looking for work down here...

[Gnutella]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

We have the jobs..WITH THE PAY. and Pittsburgh City at the present time is stagnant.

[escilade18]

Other than some professors, I can't think of any reason why someone would commute from Pittsburgh. Maybe you are talking about parts of the Pittsburgh metro such as Fayette County, in which most of the county is significantly closer to Morgantown than Pittsburgh in the first place and sadly has had a stagnant economy for quite a while. Both Pittsburgh and Morgantown are prospering currently which is great for the area IMO

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by escilade18

Other than some professors, I can't think of any reason why someone would commute from Pittsburgh. Maybe you are talking about parts of the Pittsburgh metro such as Fayette County, in which most of the county is significantly closer to Morgantown than Pittsburgh in the first place and sadly has had a stagnant economy for quite a while. Both Pittsburgh and Morgantown are prospering currently which is great for the area IMO

I know lots of people who commute from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. I even know at least 10 people who commute from the suburbs north of Pittsburgh to Morgantown. It is a lot more common than you might think. They are for practical purposes one big metro area.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

I know lots of people who commute from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. I even know at least 10 people who commute from the suburbs north of Pittsburgh to Morgantown. It is a lot more common than you might think. They are for practical purposes one big metro area.

Wow that would be a crazy commute to make but I actually know someone who commuted from Butler PA to Morgantown for his job as a professor so it isn't unheard of. I think that there are already ties in place and with the economies of both improving, Morgantown will become one of Pittsburgh's more important satellite cities (if not the most important.) Even improved connection via megabus will help more people from each respective city visit the other one more than they would have before

[CTMountaineer]

Longer commutes are becoming common these days in many parts of the country. I'm not sure of the reason for that, but there are tons of folks from Wheeling who work in Pittsburgh these days, and there is a lot of movement across the region from NCWV to the Pittsburgh area for work, and I know we see a lot of Pittsburgh contractors doing work here in Morgantown. The paving work in the complex where I live was done by a Pittsburgh firm.

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Longer commutes are becoming common these days in many parts of the country. I'm not sure of the reason for that, but there are tons of folks from Wheeling who work in Pittsburgh these days, and there is a lot of movement across the region from NCWV to the Pittsburgh area for work, and I know we see a lot of Pittsburgh contractors doing work here in Morgantown. The paving work in the complex where I live was done by a Pittsburgh firm.

Yes, the reverse commute is also commune. Lots of Pittsburgh people want to pay WV taxes, and have less hussle and bussle. I still dont understand why they go to Mon County, as Wheeling is closer, but really Morgantown and Pittsburgh form one big and prosperous region.

Morgantown, Wheeling, and Huntington are going to see the lion's share of the shale boom growth. I have a feeling that in 20-30 years Morgantown will be MUCH larger and unrecognizable to us. I just hope it doesnt lose its charm.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

Morgantown, Wheeling, and Huntington are going to see the lion's share of the shale boom growth. I have a feeling that in 20-30 years Morgantown will be MUCH larger and unrecognizable to us. I just hope it doesnt lose its charm.

Out of curiosity, what do you predict the population will be in say 2030 and do you think that it will eventually merge into Pittsburgh's CSA in the next 20-30 years

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by escilade18

Out of curiosity, what do you predict the population will be in say 2030 and do you think that it will eventually merge into Pittsburgh's CSA in the next 20-30 years

Well Morgantown, actual city limits is small. With the technical city limits of Morgantown I would predict 40-50k people, probably on the lower end. Within the area that is considered Morgantown I would predict around 60k people. I would also imagine that WVU will slowly grow to around 40k students. In Mon county I would imagine around 120-150k in pop.

I would argue that Morgantown and Pittsburgh are already one big CSA. Parts of the Pittsburgh Metro area are definitely in the Morgantown metro area, such as Washington PA, although they are not counted. Im not even sure if Clarksburg is considered part of the Morgantown metro area.

Anyway, Pittsburgh and Morgantown are increasingly becoming linked, and are already very integrated. So the Morgantown MSA would be huge in 30 years, assuming the 20 year trend of growth continues.

If for some reason shale became more vital, the sky is the limit, but that seems unlikely.

I dont see Morgantown becoming huge, but I do see it becoming 'officially' the biggest city in WV, and by far the biggest urban area in the state. 'Unofficially it is in the top 3 biggest cities in WV and could actually be the biggest, but all things considered I think Huntington might be a little bigger than Morgantown, and "unofficially" the biggest city in the state.

[Evergrey]

What are your predictions for Preston County, cry havoc?