Morgantown Has Changed (Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling: tax, to live, restaurants)

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by tbailey1138

So you mean using dream world, made up numbers rather than real world, factual numbers? Ok, now we are on the same page. My bad.

No, the numbers are based on the people actually living here.

The census is for tax reasons, and is the one using dream numbers. If a million illegals moved to Morgantown, WVU expanded to 1 million students, and 20 million people moved to Morgantown and didnt change their residency the population wouldnt change for the census, despite the fact that 22 million people lived there. Likewise if everyone in Huntington and Charleston moved to Morgantown and didnt change their residency their populations wouldnt change despite the fact that nobody lived there.

So Tim you are the one using dream numbers thought of by government bureaucrats. Im using numbers of the actual population. Ok, now we are on the same page. My bad Tim.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by tbailey1138

So you mean using dream world, made up numbers rather than real world, factual numbers? Ok, now we are on the same page. My bad.

I'm with Tim and others on this one..you guys can try to discredit the census figures all you want yet for some reason it is exactly those numbers that are used by the feds in just about every economic index. If you're going to count college students as actual residents then you've pretty much instantly given a large number of cities and towns in this country a massive population increase.

I've said repeatedly, Morgantown is a wonderful college town. It has seen very impressive growth (which has also coincided with large growth at WVU) but it is not exactly unique when compared to other college towns. Morgantown is no different from State College PA, Charlottesville and Blacksburg VA, Lexington KY, Tuscaloosa AL, etc. These towns have all seen strong growth, have a diverse population (mostly due to students who aren't permanent residents), and great nightlife/cultural opportunities. Their largest employers also happen to be the state universities and spin-off industries such as hospital systems.

And considering employees of a STATE university are STATE employees and therefore on the state government payroll, I would probably not be so quick to judge Charleston for having state government jobs..

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

I'm with Tim and others on this one..you guys can try to discredit the census figures all you want yet for some reason it is exactly those numbers that are used by the feds in just about every economic index. If you're going to count college students as actual residents then you've pretty much instantly given a large number of cities and towns in this country a massive population increase.

I've said repeatedly, Morgantown is a wonderful college town. It has seen very impressive growth (which has also coincided with large growth at WVU) but it is not exactly unique when compared to other college towns. Morgantown is no different from State College PA, Charlottesville and Blacksburg VA, Lexington KY, Tuscaloosa AL, etc. These towns have all seen strong growth, have a diverse population (mostly due to students who aren't permanent residents), and great nightlife/cultural opportunities. Their largest employers also happen to be the state universities and spin-off industries such as hospital systems.

And considering employees of a STATE university are STATE employees and therefore on the state government payroll, I would probably not be so quick to judge Charleston for having state government jobs..

Census is for tax and voting reasons. Useless for anything else. However, I do admit they have higher census figures, but I am talking about something different. Tim is not wrong just arguing something else. He is right, and so am I.

WVU is severly underfunded and only 20% of our funding comes from the state. 80% WVU raises on its own. How much of Charleston's revenue comes from taxes Nova?

[RVAtoCNC]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

I'm with Tim and others on this one..you guys can try to discredit the census figures all you want yet for some reason it is exactly those numbers that are used by the feds in just about every economic index. If you're going to count college students as actual residents then you've pretty much instantly given a large number of cities and towns in this country a massive population increase.

I've said repeatedly, Morgantown is a wonderful college town. It has seen very impressive growth (which has also coincided with large growth at WVU) but it is not exactly unique when compared to other college towns. Morgantown is no different from State College PA, Charlottesville and Blacksburg VA, Lexington KY, Tuscaloosa AL, etc. These towns have all seen strong growth, have a diverse population (mostly due to students who aren't permanent residents), and great nightlife/cultural opportunities. Their largest employers also happen to be the state universities and spin-off industries such as hospital systems.

And considering employees of a STATE university are STATE employees and therefore on the state government payroll, I would probably not be so quick to judge Charleston for having state government jobs..

Agree 100%. CT is proud of his little ole town, but he's going massively overboard - making Morgantown sound like it is the major metropolis of WV and the shining star of the state. It's not - It's still Morganhole. It cannot compare with similar size cities in the south/sunbelt with much more favorable climates and better quality surrounding universities.

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by RVAtoCNC

Agree 100%. CT is proud of his little ole town, but he's going massively overboard - making Morgantown sound like it is the major metropolis of WV and the shining star of the state. It's not - It's still Morganhole. It cannot compare with similar size cities in the south/sunbelt with much more favorable climates and better quality surrounding universities.

Morgantown is the biggest city in wv.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by RVAtoCNC

Agree 100%. CT is proud of his little ole town, but he's going massively overboard - making Morgantown sound like it is the major metropolis of WV and the shining star of the state. It's not - It's still Morganhole. It cannot compare with similar size cities in the south/sunbelt with much more favorable climates and better quality surrounding universities.

Morgantown can easily compete with any college town in the US. But I agree that it isn't the center of the state's economy, or the population and cultural center of WV.

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

Morgantown can easily compete with any college town in the US. But I agree that it isn't the center of the state's economy, or the population and cultural center of WV.

It is neither of these things alone. The thing that makes Morgantown awesome is that it is the population center, economic center, and cultural center.

The rest of WV really needs to step up their game. Only the EP, along with Morgantown, are experiencing success. I will grant you that Charleston is the political center of WV, but that is not a good thing. It makes Chicago or Moscow look like legit cities.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

It is neither of these things alone. The thing that makes Morgantown awesome is that it is the population center, economic center, and cultural center.

The rest of WV really needs to step up their game. Only the EP, along with Morgantown, are experiencing success. I will grant you that Charleston is the political center of WV, but that is not a good thing. It makes Chicago or Moscow look like legit cities.

You mean Moscow and Chicago aren't legit cities?

As Tim pointed out, Kanawha County and Cabell County each have double Mon County's economic impact. I think you tend to forget (ignore because it serves yourself best) Charleston is home to United Bank (WV's largest), CAMC (WV's largest healthcare provider), Dow Chemical, Dupont, Brickstreet, McJunkin, Colombia Gas, Bayor Crop Science, City National Bank (HQ), BB&T (largest bank provider in WV) Appalachain Power (largest energy provider in WV), Chase Bank (state operations), Suntrust Bank (state operations), Huntington Bank, Gastamp (new), Wells Fargo (state operations), and hundreds of other banks, health services, law offices, insurance agencies, tech compaines, light industry, energy companies, steel compaines, and other types of private sector jobs!

Not to forget that we are a regional retail hub, have the state's only real airport, and have 3 major interstate systems running right into our city.

And for the last time, no Morgantown is not the state's largest city. Just charleston and South charleston alone gives us 66,000 people. South Charleston is so connected with Charleston, that you can drive through Montrose and one house will be in Charleston, and the next will be in SC. Dubar which borders Charleston also has another 8,000, which makes it 74,000 within the same urban space. Saint albans is connected to S. Charleston and only 5-10 miles from Charleston's city limits. It has another 15,000 which makes the same urban cluster almost 90,000. The rest of the area, which most the people live in the urban valley makes the total for Kanawha County 200,000! throw in Suburban Putnam County which feeds and lives off of Charleston, plus near by suburban neighborhoods in other counties and you have a metro area of 300,000 in a not so large area. Huntington is literally connected to Charleston with development.

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

You mean Moscow and Chicago aren't legit cities?

As Tim pointed out, Kanawha County and Cabell County each have double Mon County's economic impact. I think you tend to forget (ignore because it serves yourself best) Charleston is home to United Bank (WV's largest), CAMC (WV's largest healthcare provider), Dow Chemical, Dupont, Brickstreet, McJunkin, Colombia Gas, Bayor Crop Science, City National Bank (HQ), BB&T (largest bank provider in WV) Appalachain Power (largest energy provider in WV), Chase Bank (state operations), Suntrust Bank (state operations), Huntington Bank, Gastamp (new), Wells Fargo (state operations), and hundreds of other banks, health services, law offices, insurance agencies, tech compaines, light industry, energy companies, steel compaines, and other types of private sector jobs!

Not to forget that we are a regional retail hub, have the state's only real airport, and have 3 major interstate systems running right into our city.

And for the last time, no Morgantown is not the state's largest city. Just charleston and South charleston alone gives us 66,000 people. South Charleston is so connected with Charleston, that you can drive through Montrose and one house will be in Charleston, and the next will be in SC. Dubar which borders Charleston also has another 8,000, which makes it 74,000 within the same urban space. Saint albans is connected to S. Charleston and only 5-10 miles from Charleston's city limits. It has another 15,000 which makes the same urban cluster almost 90,000. The rest of the area, which most the people live in the urban valley makes the total for Kanawha County 200,000! throw in Suburban Putnam County which feeds and lives off of Charleston, plus near by suburban neighborhoods in other counties and you have a metro area of 300,000 in a not so large area. Huntington is literally connected to Charleston with development.

Im talking about corruption. Moscow and Chicago are infamous for corruption, but Charleston make both look legit.

Morgantown has 70,000 with the students and the cities that connect with it, in a area MUCH smaller than Charleston. By Charleston I mean the city limits of Charleston. If you were to drop an area the size of South Charleston + Charleston into Morgantown it would have around 80,000. Add dunbar sized area and we are around 90,000. Im sorry Chris, but Morgantown is a more populated area. It is nothing compared to the DC metro area, NYC metro area, LA, etc, but by far the biggest in WV.

The Morgantown-Pittsburgh metro has over a million people. Still 300,000 is very impressive.

Look you have a nice small area. It is lightly populated and has light development in certain parts. I find the ruralness with some city amenities very quint. People dont go to Charleston for a city. They go for a quiet small town. It excels at that and you should be proud of it.

Anyway, it is not a competition. You get way more funding despite have far less people, and a very small/stagnant growth rate. Also, all the growth in Morgantown is good for Charleston, since the city is reliant on redistribution from our area. As Morgantown grows, Charleston benefits greatly. You basically take a cut of all the economic activity while giving us nothing. What are you upset about?

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

Im talking about corruption. Moscow and Chicago are infamous for corruption, but Charleston make both look legit.

Morgantown has 70,000 with the students and the cities that connect with it, in a area MUCH smaller than Charleston. By Charleston I mean the city limits of Charleston. If you were to drop an area the size of South Charleston + Charleston into Morgantown it would have around 80,000. Add dunbar sized area and we are around 90,000. Im sorry Chris, but Morgantown is a more populated area. It is nothing compared to the DC metro area, NYC metro area, LA, etc, but by far the biggest in WV.

The Morgantown-Pittsburgh metro has over a million people. Still 300,000 is very impressive.

Look you have a nice small area. It is lightly populated and has light development in certain parts. I find the ruralness with some city amenities very quint. People dont go to Charleston for a city. They go for a quiet small town. It excels at that and you should be proud of it.

Anyway, it is not a competition. You get way more funding despite have far less people, and a very small/stagnant growth rate. Also, all the growth in Morgantown is good for Charleston, since the city is reliant on redistribution from our area. As Morgantown grows, Charleston benefits greatly. You basically take a cut of all the economic activity while giving us nothing. What are you upset about?

There is no such thing as the Morgantown-Pittsburgh metro area. Mtown is a hour from Pittsburgh's outskirts, so there is no connection between the two. They are close in WV terms, but not really because 75 miles is still a hike.

And everything else you posted is too wrong to begin to argue with you.