Relocating to Morgantown, WV from Colorado (Clarksburg, Bridgeport: to buy, schools, camping) - City-Data Forum

coloradogirl2 · 09-19-2009, 09:34 PM

My husband and I are considering relocating our young family to Morgantown from Denver, Colorado to be closer to our families. We love Colorado and the lifestyle it offers and want to hear from others who may be moved to this area from Colorado? Any body out there the can give us some quidance? We are looking at the Cheat Lake area. Are there young familes in this area? Our kids are 4 and 6 months. We ski, bike, golf, hike, and camp. Will we find others who do the same?

Would love adivce and insight from anyone who might have something to offer!

Thanks!

David Kennedy · 09-19-2009, 10:26 PM

Of course there is no comparison of Denver/CCSprings to anything in Wv...but...but Cheat Lake would be the closest we have...water, lovely hills and small mountains, eateries are good, marginal to good skiing,lovely paved bike trails along the river, wilderness camping in every direction, golfing is simply great, Cheat Lake communities are filled with children, schools are good.
And Pittsburgh is a vibrant city 60 minutes away. Climate is close, minus that horrible Rocky Mountain wind..
Will be very small for you...but cheaper...Our oldest son lives in Castle Rock.

Threerun · 09-20-2009, 07:31 AM

Cheat Lake area would certainly be the best area for you.

My mother in-law lives in Estes Park, and my bro-in-law lives in Longmont, so we spend a lot of time in CO. Unfortunately the climate in WV is NOTHING like CO. A lot more humidity and you can get some pretty long stretches of grey / damp / cloudy weather here. Like the first winter we lived in Bridgeport it was grey, damp and cold for 2 months. My wife was going to buy a sun-lamp to keep her spirits up, lol. BUT- my God when the blue sky hits on a crisp fall day when the leaves are bursting with color it sure is fantastic. Makes it worthwhile, honestly.

Did I mention the humidity here? lol.

Lifestyle- You should be able to find some folks / families with active lifestyles, especially in the Cheat Lake area, but as a generality WV doesn't come close to CO as far as 'active' lifestyles. Our roads aren't designed with bicycle traffic in mind, I see very few joggers and most of the hiking trails I've been on in the Mon Forest are sparsely populated and those I do meet are usually from the DC metro area. I've met very few WV hikers, sad to say.

There is some phenomenal skiing very close by. In MD there's WISP, located near Deep Creek Lake about an hour or so from Cheat Lake and to the South/Southeast is Snowshoe- a WV resort. Both are great places. Deep Creek Lake is a little more developed then Snowshoe, but Snowshoe is just a remarkable place.

Schools- the area you describe is a good place. No problems

Camping? Lot's of places. Lot's.. That's our families #1 past time, camping and hiking. Get the 'Monongahela National Forest Hiking Guide' 8th addition, authored by Allen de Hart and Bruce Sundquist. Great resource for hiking the hundreds of miles of trails. But be forewarned- if you are used to the trail system like at Rocky Mountain NP you will be a wee bit surprised when you get here. It's not maintained like RMNP, you can get lost on some trails, and map and compass skills are a plus.

There are some areas with trails that are better maintained, like Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area or some State parks, but I've found their trails a little 'short' for me. I like longer, overnight stuff.

Did I mention the humidity here? Lol.

I had a job offer in Colorado Springs two years ago. I also had a job offer here in Clarksburg, WV. The only reason I moved to Clarksburg was because of the superior benefits package and stability of my current job. Colorado Springs would have put us closer to family and in the mountains we truly enjoy hiking in. However- West Virginia would be the ONLY place in the Appalachian range I would want to live in, and I'm a short hop to some really rugged wildness. People are great, it's lush and green and Mo-Town is a great town. I think you'll love it. It's not a bad 'consolation prize' for us. It's home.

Did I mention the humidity?

coloradogirl2 · 09-20-2009, 11:24 AM

Thanks so much for your input. The weather is a weighing big on our disadvantages side! You really can't beat Colorado weather. My sister lives in Deep Creek, MD so we know we go there to escape the humidity that is only if it's not raining!

Silkdashocker · 09-21-2009, 07:28 AM

Good luck on your decision to move. Personally, my wife and i would like to relocate from WV to Colorado. We really like the Nederland/Boulder/Estes Park areas.

Threerun · 09-22-2009, 07:47 PM

Us too.

CTMountaineer · 09-25-2009, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coloradogirl2

Thanks so much for your input. The weather is a weighing big on our disadvantages side! You really can't beat Colorado weather. My sister lives in Deep Creek, MD so we know we go there to escape the humidity that is only if it's not raining!

We don't have quite the money in the region that the Denver area has since we haven't had as many rich Californians arriving, so that area is a little further developed for outdoor activities. However, Northcentral WV is making great strides with bike trails and it DOES have plenty of green space, which you don't find out there. And, actually the restaurant scene in Morgantown is comparable to Colorado Springs except that the ethnic restaurants are better established in Morgantown. The "cowboy" tastes don't get very exotic, according to what the owner of an Indian restaurant in Colorado Springs told me a few years back.

Our mountains are not snow capped all year long, but they are gorgeous and in general more accessable. The whitewater rafting is actually better in WV, PA, MD than in the Denver/Colorado Springs area. I can tell you that from having experienced it in both places. We have more water in the East.

I love Denver, Colorado Springs, and especially Bounder, they have a lot to offer. Pittsburgh is not too far behind Denver, however, and the three hour trip to Washington from Morgantown provides opportunities not found even in Denver.

Threerun · 09-25-2009, 08:13 AM

I just don't think it's possible to compare the front range from Ft. Collins down to Colorado Springs with our region. It's totally different. It's a demographic contrast to this area.

Morgantown is making strides, yes, but no way is Mon county comparable to say Larimer county. And there is waaaaaay more open space in CO. From massive city parks, state parks, national parks and forest areas. Most small cities have active open space policies and active committees established to create public use space. Longmont, Boulder, Ft. Collins.. Look at Longmont's proposed 'greenways'- http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/planning/maps/greenways.pdf (broken link)

Trails to go around 10 lakes/ resevoirs with access points throughout most of the town- all this just in Longmont. Yes, we have rail trails but it's very narrow and linear and doesn't really intertwine with the community. But to be fair- the front range has one HUGE advantage over this area which makes creating greenways easier and more usable. It's FLAT east of the front range. You can create a system much more easily there than here. We are, geographically speaking, more challenging.

But- There is so much focus on the quality of 'community' life out there. I simply don't see it here, nor even wanted for that matter. Just two different lifestyles. I don't know that much about Pittsburgh, but my gut says it's just about the same.

QTCheek · 10-12-2009, 06:20 PM

Any thoughts about Mo-town being a good place for a late 20's single girl that wants life to be interesting but not as busy as DC or Baltimore?

CTMountaineer · 10-12-2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threerun

I just don't think it's possible to compare the front range from Ft. Collins down to Colorado Springs with our region. It's totally different. It's a demographic contrast to this area.

Morgantown is making strides, yes, but no way is Mon county comparable to say Larimer county. And there is waaaaaay more open space in CO. From massive city parks, state parks, national parks and forest areas. Most small cities have active open space policies and active committees established to create public use space. Longmont, Boulder, Ft. Collins.. Look at Longmont's proposed 'greenways'- http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/planning/maps/greenways.pdf (broken link)

Trails to go around 10 lakes/ resevoirs with access points throughout most of the town- all this just in Longmont. Yes, we have rail trails but it's very narrow and linear and doesn't really intertwine with the community. But to be fair- the front range has one HUGE advantage over this area which makes creating greenways easier and more usable. It's FLAT east of the front range. You can create a system much more easily there than here. We are, geographically speaking, more challenging.

But- There is so much focus on the quality of 'community' life out there. I simply don't see it here, nor even wanted for that matter. Just two different lifestyles. I don't know that much about Pittsburgh, but my gut says it's just about the same.

There is a lot more open space there, but certainly not nearly as much greenery. It's all a matter of personal preference. I've spent significant time in both areas. There are plenty of people living in that region who long to get "back east" to seem some green stuff. We have a lot more water in this half of the country and West Virginia has outdoor venues aplenty... especially in the area around Morgantown.