Had enough (Parkersburg, Wheeling, Morgantown: crime rate, mortgages, high school)

[bls5555]

Originally Posted by WV Baptist

Please listen!! You don't want to live here. WV has the highest rankings in everything that is bad. We are #1 in obesity, cancer, tobacco use, birth defects, chemicals in our steams. We have the largest welfare system of all the states. We pay the most taxes and the ironic part is we are the poorest state. We are at the bottom of the list on our childrens test scores.
So, head to NC or SC and enjoy like and prosperity.

Actually as of 2005 (this could have changed I guess but I doubt by much), there were 10 states who paid more and 2 who paid the same if going by state/local taxes as % of per capita income.

Also there are 16 states in the range of 10% and 10.5% so on the whole your taxes are just about average for most of the USA.

CNNMoney.com: Taxes by state 2005, by rate

Also in that link in the box where it says plus, you can click on more tax rankings and see the best and worst for property tax and sales tax.

[tedsmom]

I am a NJ resident from the Hamilton Twp. (Mercer County area) but I really love WV. My husband is originally from Barbour County. His Dad lives in St. George (Tucker County area), up on a quiet mountainside. The smell of the woodstoves burning are forever imprinted on my memory.

I realize it is a very big change especially living in a place that is 20 minutes to the nearest store. We in NJ are very spoiled in that respect, but we are also very overdeveloped. Unfortunately, I am the one person in the family that's not too materialistic. I have been trying to convince them for the past 3-4 years to move, but all love NJ. I'd love to be on a mountain.

Having done some research on WV, I would say that one thing that should be addressed is that there is a real lack of air transportation, even to major cities in WV. It is not possible to book a plane from NJ there. One must go to Pittsburg and rent a car, or some other out of the way place. The governor should address this issue because it would improve the quality of life for both residents and non-residents.

[Hairinhand]

Don't know if this tells you anything but I am from Southern NJ and now live in WV but I am ready to move back to NJ. There is nothing here in WV. No jobs(I have to travel into VA to work), no good health care, high taxes, even my banking is behind times. I still do alot of it on line from my NJ bank.
It could be the area I live in(Berkeley Co.) WV is a beautiful place but I felt like it was more country in Southern NJ.

[Big_Al]

Originally Posted by tedsmom

I am the one person in the family that's not too materialistic. I have been trying to convince them for the past 3-4 years to move, but all love NJ. I'd love to be on a mountain.

Having done some research on WV, I would say that one thing that should be addressed is that there is a real lack of air transportation, even to major cities in WV. It is not possible to book a plane from NJ there. .

I spent a year in NJ. It was ok but I'm glad I'm in WV now. Well, what's the definition of being materialistic? If you want to spend less and have more- isn't WV a good place for that?
Lack of air transportation: not 100% true Tedsmom. If you in NJ you have to drive to Newark, JFK, LaGuardia or to Phila. Calculate your time. If u live close to Charleston you take Yeager- 40min to DC, 40 to Charlotte, 1.5 to Atlanta, then you go anywhere u want. I used to live in NJ and Connecticut but found Charleston more convinient for air travel. Instead of long drives or taking expensive shuttles it takes me 15 min to get to the airport. Morgantown has own airport too, plus Pittsburgh is close. Huntington has airport too. So, the situation isn't too bad.
The climat in WV is milder. But we still have some snow in the mountains to ski, not always less than in Mountain Creek in NJ (I loved that place).
Property taxes are way lower over here.
NO TRAFFIC
Less crime
No need to learn SPANISH!
If NJ isn't your motherland i see no advantages over WV.

[Sunmama]

You may want to look into the northern panhandle. I live in Wheeling and it has very much a small town feel with great access to healthcare. I grew up in Kingwood and wouldn't recommend it to anyone wanting to raise children. I am not sure about now, but nothing was going on there and the schools didn't have much to offer. Ohio County has an excellent school system. Wheeling is less than an hour to PIT airport and 45 minutes to shop in South Hills area of Pittsburgh. Aprroximately 1 hr to downtown Pittsburgh.

[dcattrell]

Check out the American Lung Association's State of the Air Report for any area you are considering. Hancock and Brooke Counties in the northern panhandle are terribly polluted and received an "F" from ALA. I have asthma and terrible sinus problems from growing up here.

[tedsmom]

Well, if I were to move, I believe it would be somewhere between Tucker County and Morgantown. I like being on a mountain, but I do realize that it poses problems. My father-in-law often gets snowed in and can't get out for weeks at a time. To get to his house one must drive down a steep incline that is difficult to traverse on a dry day. But others haven't got it so bad, as far as road access.

Having just been in WV this past week (Parsons/St. George) for our family's reunion, I found that when I went shopping that the groceries were less expensive and the food in the restaurants was much tastier. (It must be that great down home cookin'!)

As usual, the mountains were breathtaking! At least I got a little piece of WV to savor until next time. As far as moving, my family is glued to NJ. My heart's in WV.

[dunkhouse]

I live near Huntington but would have to go along with Preston County. I think it is beautiful up there along the Cheat River. Parts of the county are very rural though. Kingwood is a nice regional town and the medical around WVU in Morgantown is good. Huntington doesn't have the best air quality in the state.

[tedsmom]

I would have to say, in regards to air travel - I did try to attempt to get a flight into WV from NJ because my family & I wanted to look at homes. It would have cost us $260 per person, one way - (there are 3 of us), to fly to Pittsburg and additional money to rent a car from there to drive around. The cost was just not justifiable. There were no flights at all into Elkins, which would have cut down on time and costs. If I wanted to visit my sister in Florida, 3x the distance from my home, I could get a flight for $79. Charleston is quite a distance from Tucker County and would be pretty much the same, plus I would have to fly to DC first and then pick up another flight from there.

The only other way is to take the train into Cumberland and then rent a car. So, I find that driving to WV is about the least expensive way and also the most direct (and taking several hours). I think that makes it more difficult for people that live in my area to visit. The same is true when there has been a death in the family. It has not been an easy commute. That is the only problem that I've encountered and I feel that if that could be modified then more people would enjoy commuting there. It's just that for business purposes or emergencies it isn't timely.

[pittypat9349]

West Virginia is the place for you. You just can't go wrong living here. The people are friendly and always ready to help. The view of the mountains is top notch. I live in a rural area and just last evening there was 3 deer in my back yard ( I have a huge backyard). This is common. You will not regret moving to this state. Good luck to you!