Young family potentially relocating to Marietta, OH area (Columbus, Cleveland: for sale, house)

[youdontknowjack]

Hi all,

My husband and I are considering a relocation to Marietta, OH from Pittsburgh, PA for his job in banking. We have a toddler and a baby on the way. I've driven through Marietta on my way to and from Athens (attended OU for two years) and love the style of homes and the look of downtown, but I'm completely unfamiliar with the surrounding area. We are visiting this upcoming week, but I wanted to do some digging first.

I'm hoping to get local or "in the know" thoughts on a few things: what are some good areas outside of downtown Marietta to consider moving? Or is downtown the nicest place to live? The public schools don't have great ratings online - are they really that bad, though? Is the Catholic school better? Is the local library nice? Do they have story hours for little kids/cool programs for adults? Since I'll be delivering in January - what is Marietta's hospital like? Good parks or playgrounds in the area? What is Marietta College's relationship like with the community - good, bad, anything their students do with local schools or churches? I've heard one college group performs the Messiah at St. Mary's around Christmas, which sounds nice. I'm just looking to get a feel for what life with young children is like around town.

Some further info about us: We can spend up to $300K on a house, though I'd prefer to stay at $250 or under. I've heard good things about Devola, and found one house in the area that looks lovely. I do some occasional freelance writing for a hospital system, but mostly I'm a stay-at-home-mom. We like the idea of living in a small town - I grew up in Hudson, OH (between Cleveland and Akron) and my husband grew up in Meadville, PA (south of Erie). Both are small towns, though much closer to major cities than Marietta. Marietta's unemployment rate is lower than the national average, but I have read several comments about the area being economically depressed.

I appreciate any insight about Marietta. Thanks!

[RiverLover11]

I don't know much about Marietta except that is it was named one of the top small towns to visit this year.

Smithsonian Magazine Names Marietta One of Best Small Towns to Visit

That, and there was a large fracking spill very close to Marietta in May. And the 70-100,000 fish kill from a fracking fire near a large creek was also close by, in Monroe Co in Jume.

Hopefully someone with more Marietta experience will see this. Good luck with your move!

[youdontknowjack]

Thanks, I didn't know about either of those things - one positive, one very negative! I do know there are some chemical concerns around all of the Marietta/Parkersburg/Vienna area, which is troubling. But I'm looking forward to reading the Smithsonian article.

[K001]

I was searching for a young professionals group in Marietta, and I came across your post.

I live in Marietta, OH and work in Athens (at OU). I lived in Hudson, OH when I was young, attended Marietta College, and went to grad school in Pittsburgh. Small world! I am a young professional with no children, so I can't speak to many of the activities that happen with children and school standings. As far as outreach with the college, I know many of their education majors are student teaching, torturing in the community, and have an outreach reading program with youth in the area. Attending the sporting events at the college seem to be popular with families. The baseball and softball team hold a "community day" in the spring that is gear towards children with inflatables, food, games, face painting, and free admission to the games, etc. Throughout the summer they host several fireworks shows for the 4th of July, Roar on the River, and the Sternwheel festival. There is new local flea market downtown, a sweet corn festival, and a farmers market at the fair grounds that runs spring-fall. The Marietta library is located downtown, right behind Washington Elementary. I've never been to any, but I know they do a lot of children's programming. [url=http://www.wcplib.info/calendar]Calendar | Washington County Public Library[/url].

As far as places to live, downtown is quaint. It's within walk to front street, the river, and the bike path. When we were looking for homes, another suggestion was Devola. It's quite and sets just a few miles outside of Marietta, but requires you drive in to downtown, and it's not connected to Marietta via the bike path. Plus side of living in downtown, is you're close to the activities, a lot of opportunities to go walking with your family--downside, depending on the hope you purchase, there may be limited yard and space for your children to ride bikes,etc. Vice-versa with Devola. With your budget, you shouldn't have any issues finding a great home in either location.

On a side note, although Parkersburg offers several opportunities for shopping, you would have to travel to Charleston, WV, Columbus, OH, or Canton, OH for a major mall, target, hobby lobby, and other large name retail stores. I know this was all very brief, but I hope it helps!

[Rebek56]

I've never had children and so can't really comment on children's activities, but I have lived in and around Marietta since 1983. Despite the lousy air quality of the Mid-Ohio Valley, the quality of life here is very high, and as far as I'm concerned, downtown is the place to be. You can accomplish most necessary tasks and attend festivals and concerts without getting in a car, which for me is a real plus. The walk/bike trail is always filled with parents pushing strollers and enjoying the river. That said, the drive from Devola to downtown only takes about ten minutes unless Route 60 is backed up, and a lot of people enjoy the newer homes and larger lots.

The library has a fair amount of children's programming, including a weekly toddler time. Services | Washington County Public Library

You can learn more about the area here: Home

[Marietta Ohio Resident]

Marietta Ohio is a beautiful city. My roots are in WV, however Marietta has really grown on me. My children attended Wood County Christian School in Williamstown WV. My son did attend Marietta Middle School for two and I have to say I was very pleased with the school and administration even though he is back in WCCS for his High School years. Downtown Marietta is quite attractive with all the Victorian homes, walking trail, shops and the magnificent view of the Ohio River. I actually considered opening a shop on Front St. I still may once my life slows down a bit. As far as family and children's activities, I'm sure there are many to choose from, sorry I don't have much to offer with that. However, if you are sold on moving to Marietta and are still seeking a home to purchase, I happen to know of a beautiful house for sale. No, I'm not a realtor. I am the owner of a 5BR 3 1/2BA brick home, located in the nicest neighborhood in Marietta! Country setting, private 2.93 acre lot, but only 5 minutes from Walmart and about 8 minutes from downtown. I would love to send you photos. We just recently listed our home with a Realtor, and have some folks interested. However. if I were to bring the buyer, as you know, are realtor fees will not be as costly. I came across this forum by googling, "Pittsburgh PA and moving to Marietta OH". Seriously, I do not know what compelled me to do that, but this is where my search results got me. I can say the economy here is really booming. Of course its a result of oil and gas industry as you may already know. I guess I should state that we are staying in Marietta, we have a farm where we are building a smaller home. Since 4 of our 5 children are of age and are no longer residing with us, we no longer need this much space. Its only a few miles from where we live now, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this area! Anyway, if you are at all interested or have any questions please email me at donnahaessly@gmail.com Thank you for your time

[ram2]

Originally Posted by K001

On a side note, although Parkersburg offers several opportunities for shopping, you would have to travel to Charleston, WV, Columbus, OH, or Canton, OH for a major mall, target, hobby lobby, and other large name retail stores. I know this was all very brief, but I hope it helps!

Does Parkersburg still have the Grand Central Mall? That was the big mall in WV when I lived there in the 1970s.

[youdontknowjack]

I know this is a really old thread now, but as I forgot to update this once we made our decision, I figured I would come back now and do it We did move to the area and rented a house in Vienna. Ultimately there were things we liked about the area - the natural beauty is really stunning, Marietta IS a charming small town and I liked Marietta College, and the people were friendly. But I had serious health concerns about the water from the PFOA dumping thanks to DuPont, so my husband accepted another job when it was offered 10 months later. I hope the environmental issues are addressed because there is a lot of potential in the mid-Ohio valley. But it wasn’t the right place for us.

ETA: and thank you so much to those who offered their thoughts here. It was super helpful while we were making our decision.

[216facts]

Originally Posted by youdontknowjack

I know this is a really old thread now, but as I forgot to update this once we made our decision, I figured I would come back now and do it We did move to the area and rented a house in Vienna. Ultimately there were things we liked about the area - the natural beauty is really stunning, Marietta IS a charming small town and I liked Marietta College, and the people were friendly. But I had serious health concerns about the water from the PFOA dumping thanks to DuPont, so my husband accepted another job when it was offered 10 months later. I hope the environmental issues are addressed because there is a lot of potential in the mid-Ohio valley. But it wasn’t the right place for us.

ETA: and thank you so much to those who offered their thoughts here. It was super helpful while we were making our decision.

Yeah, this is typical of Appalachian communities, they get taken advantage of by big industry (oil, coal, chemical mainly.) They need the jobs and they sell their soul for them - well their environment - which is just the same. Sad they don't learn. E. Kentucky and West Virginia are even worse, many places you just can't drink the water.

[truedeal]

Originally Posted by youdontknowjack

I know this is a really old thread now, but as I forgot to update this once we made our decision, I figured I would come back now and do it We did move to the area and rented a house in Vienna. Ultimately there were things we liked about the area - the natural beauty is really stunning, Marietta IS a charming small town and I liked Marietta College, and the people were friendly. But I had serious health concerns about the water from the PFOA dumping thanks to DuPont, so my husband accepted another job when it was offered 10 months later. I hope the environmental issues are addressed because there is a lot of potential in the mid-Ohio valley. But it wasn’t the right place for us.

ETA: and thank you so much to those who offered their thoughts here. It was super helpful while we were making our decision.

Hi, Thanks for the update. Looking for information and advise as I am considering taking a job in Marietta, mine is an young family too with a small kid. Just to avoid all the pollution surrounding Marietta-Parkersburg, considering living in the Athens, that is about an hour drive which is fine for me(?!). I am still concerned about the air and water quality, I appreciate any advise & information.