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and about the police.. well, you get what you pay for. You want to put your life on the line for 30,000 a year??? I wouldn't....
Now we both know that EPD does not have their life threatened. First, a cop would have to attempt to investigate criminal activity. LOL!! I'm surprised they can write a parking ticket and walk to the front of the correct car to place the ticket.
Plus, I don't have to depend on them. I learned 13 years ago that within Elkins city limits was not for me.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Preston County. For rolling hills and friendly people it's perfect. Fall is the most beautiful time to visit. Bruceton would be a good community to move to. Rt. 26 is very scenic and it has quick access to the interstate to go to MAryland or to Cheat Lake/Morgantown/WVU in the opposite direction. Based on your requirements Preston County would be perfect. We're moving there next month.
I agree that Elkins would be an excellent choice. Really, just about any place in North Central West Virginia would be a good place to live and offer what you seek. A little further East, Keyser would as well as would Shepherdstown in the Eastern Panhandle.
Overall, West Virginians are among the friendliest, most welcoming people you'll find anywhere.
Central West Virginia is too isolated in my opinion...if you live in the northern part you're at least closer to major cities like Pittsburgh and Columbus. West Virginians are friendly in general but in a lot of areas they are stuck in their ways and not open to new ideas or different cultures. Some people call it the bubble mentality or whatever.
Thank you to everyone for the comments (positive & negative)....I like the variety of views because they help me to get a "real" feel of the areas mentioned and of the people....it is so true that every town has its bad points and it is also true that those bad points tend to stick in the minds of some people more than others....in my experiences with new towns, it seems that younger people tend to have the most bitter attitudes (say toward cops and toward whatever the town is "known for")....I really don't understand why that is so? Does anyone have any enlightening thoughts on the matter????
On a new note....what can you glorious West Virginians tell me about towns on, or just off of, Hwy. 50 from the outskirts of Parkersburg to the western side of Clarksburg? I am asking about these areas because my husband has been looking at potential jobs along the Ohio River, but he wants to live away from the river and hwy. 50 seems like a fairly good hwy. and that path is appealing to us for several other reasons----like the scenic views and the fact that there are two good sized towns (Parkersburg on the west---Clarksburg on the east) to pick from for shopping when/as "needed"!
Sorry to seem to jump from area to area....but, my family and I are trying very hard to find a way so that we all get a bit of what we need/want!
We hope to find a place where we can settle in for the rest of our lives!
Here's a bit more about us:
About Me (My name is Susan):
I want to live in an affordable house or mobile home on enough land to have a good garden and maybe a horse or two and a big fenced yard for my Chihuahuas to run and play and I want to plant lots of flowers and have a fish pond....oh, and I would love to have a barn and shop/storage building for my hubby. I love animals of all kinds and would love to have a horse again. I would also like to have a chicken house and maybe sell eggs? I like to do wood-working and I think that I might like to get invloved in some festivals where I could sell things. I LOVE to cook/bake and might like to get invloved in events where I could sell special treats!
I NEED to be within a reasonable driving distance of a medium size town where I can easily find everything a person needs to run a household----civilization nearby, but not in your face! I am NOT a fan of having to spend 20-30 minutes driving to town to get groceries....please don't get me wrong, I LOVE the country, but I do need neighbors and I totally need my garage sale fix on a regular basis! I SIMPLY LOVE garage sales----they put a sparkle in my eye and brighten my spirit (and I do appreciate saving money and making a dollar or two by having my own garage sales a couple of times a year)!
My hubby:
Well, I adore him and wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world....but, if the choice were left up to him about where to live....he would live far, far off the grid in the middle of a 1,000 acres where he wouldn't see any neighbors' houses or any man-made lights of any kind----and be surrounded by thick forests and see only light from the beautiful stars, moon, & sun above! He would only drive to town once a year to get supplies! Yep, He is a true mountain man at heart----remember wonderful ole' Grizzly Adams in the movies? I wouldn't be surprised if he and my hubby were closely related!!!!
My hubby loves animals too and he would love to have a Morgan horse again. He, too, loves wood-working and is great at making wooden toys! He is an all-around outdoors type----he just loves being outside in any kind of weather! He wants a shop where he can work on our cars and a big yard where he do landscaping and set up fish ponds!
Our Daughter:
Well, if she had her choice of where to live, she would like to live in town with neighbors 20 feet away and be able to walk to shopping malls and have teen hang-outs nearby and movie theaters at all corners of the town and loads of fast-food places and friends on every street in town----yep, she is the typical teen!
She does enjoy pets and would love to have a horse of her own and just this summer she discovered that she loves goats----the neighbors orphaned baby goat adopted our daughter as her mother----totally stold my daughter's heart with that sweet little "baaaaa"....to this day, months later, that little goat comes running everytime she see her! So, no doubt, now when we get settled somewhere, we are going to have to get a baby goat or two for our daughter to raise! So, other than visiting with the little goat, our daughter prefers staying indoors and writing songs and talking to friends on the internet and watching movies----is that the normal teen these days???
Our daughter likes festivals, fairs, and trade shows (especially the food samples!) and she would love to get involved in a band or anything to do with music (guitars, drums, keyboards)!
Hope I haven't bored you too much! I just think it is important to share personal hints so everyone who offers a view can kind of know what kind of people they are helping!
Please know that my family & I sure do look forward to reading comments on here! We are totally in love with the idea of becoming West Virginians and want to learn all we can about the beautiful state of WV!!!!
I live in Shinnston, which is just north of Clarksburg. If your husband will be working on the Ohio River, you'd do best to look just outside of Parkersburg. Highway 50 is a good 4 lane highway, but it's not interstate and does have some cross track that has to be watched for. My husband worked for a year in Parkersburg and made the drive several times a week. It's 1 1/2 hours from Parkersburg to Shinnston.
Between the two towns, you'll find Ritche and Dodridge counties. Both have a single consolidated school systems and busing is sometimes problematic with long bus rides. The roads are narrow and windy, so (from a mom's perspective) you might be concerned about your daughter driving to school, especially in winter months. Also, neither county has any towns of much size and most people from the area shop in either Parkersburg or Clarksburg.
I can't really tell you too much about Parkersburg, other than they do have two good hospitals. (My husband worked in one.... but to be honest, the ER waiting times were long!) Clarksburg has a hospital that just opened a new facility in October. Clarksburg is in Harrison county. There are 5 high schools in the county. All provide a good education. (I've graduated 4 kids from the Lincoln feeder area schools and all have done well at West Virginia University.) Clarksburg/Bridgeport has a Wal-Mart Super Store, Lowe's, Home-Depot, Sam's Club, nice mall, great cinema... plenty to chose from for shopping. Plus there are lots of festivals in the surrounding areas, especially through the spring and summer months. Garage sales are in abundance in the area. Shinnston has a city-wide garage sale annually (first weekend in August) in which maps are made up of participants; local businesses have a holiday feel, selling food right off the grill and the whole town is milling with people. (There is a $5 fee for residents to get their garage sale placed on the map. All proceeds from this are donated to the local food pantry.)
The things your husband are looking for sound a lot like what we have at our home, mixed with the things you are looking for. We are just 1 mile outside of Shinnston. We are just a little way from neighbors, but can't see their homes most of the year. If we turn off the outside lights, you don't see any man-made light at all. It is wonderful. We have 5 acres, but no shop or fish pond. However, our neighbors... one has horses, another raises chickens. And, we did have a goat for years. I'm sure you could find those options easily though in this area. Even though we have an isolated feel, we are 8 minutes away from a good grocery store and 12 minutes from the high school. United hospital is only about 15 minutes away, or 20 minutes to the hospital in Fairmont.
As far as "rolling hills", the Parkersburg area is much flatter than the Clarksburg area, but both are pretty areas.
We are transplants to West Virgina. I grew up in Texas, my husband in Missouri. We moved here 16 years ago and have loved the easy going, friendly attitude and small town life we have found here. I now proudly say I'm a West Virginian!
If I can give you any more information, let me know. I hope this has helped.
Last edited by Marybo77; 11-10-2010 at 01:36 PM..
Reason: typo
Thanks to each of you....my family & I love the pride that shows in your comments....that is something that we haven't experienced in the state (Arkansas) where we are living right now----we keep looking for someone here to show some pride in who they are/where they are from, but non yet, and my family & I have been here almost 6 years!!!!
To: JS westover----I will certainly look into Preston County....what are some small-medium towns you would recommend? What do you like/dislike most about your area? How is the humidity in your area?
To: Marybo77----Yes, I would like to know more about Shinnston! It appears to be placed just right for my husband to easily drive to Morgantown or Fairmont or Clarksburg!
*What is the population of Shinnston?
*How far is it to that new FBI place (I am not even sure where that is at, but I have heard that there might be jobs there)?
*How is the weather (humidity ?--4 distinct seasons?--much rain?--much snow?) in your area?
*Are the schools big enough to fully assist kids with learning disabilities?
*What else can you tell me about Shinnston!?
QUESTIONS to EVERYONE:
*WHICH COUNTIES/TOWNS ARE MOST PRONE TO FLOODING (have a history of flooding on a regular basis)????
*WHICH COUNTIES ARE KNOWN FOR THE WORST DRUG/DRINKING PROBLEMS?
*WHAT IS THE DREADED-SCARY ISSUE WITH PRUNTYTOWN (spell?) YOUTH DETENTION CENTER?
*WHAT IS THE BEST WAY(S) FOR NEW-COMERS TO "FIT IN" IN WEST VIRGINIA?
*WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT WEST VIRGINIANS ARE KNOWN FOR STANDING UP AGAINST?
*WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT WEST VIRGINIANS ARE KNOWN FOR STANDING UP FOR?
Oh my, I have so many questions about so many places/things!
Thank you to everyone for the comments (positive & negative)....I like the variety of views because they help me to get a "real" feel of the areas mentioned and of the people....it is so true that every town has its bad points and it is also true that those bad points tend to stick in the minds of some people more than others....in my experiences with new towns, it seems that younger people tend to have the most bitter attitudes (say toward cops and toward whatever the town is "known for")....I really don't understand why that is so? Does anyone have any enlightening thoughts on the matter????
On a new note....what can you glorious West Virginians tell me about towns on, or just off of, Hwy. 50 from the outskirts of Parkersburg to the western side of Clarksburg? I am asking about these areas because my husband has been looking at potential jobs along the Ohio River, but he wants to live away from the river and hwy. 50 seems like a fairly good hwy. and that path is appealing to us for several other reasons----like the scenic views and the fact that there are two good sized towns (Parkersburg on the west---Clarksburg on the east) to pick from for shopping when/as "needed"!
Sorry to seem to jump from area to area....but, my family and I are trying very hard to find a way so that we all get a bit of what we need/want!
We hope to find a place where we can settle in for the rest of our lives!
Here's a bit more about us:
About Me (My name is Susan):
I want to live in an affordable house or mobile home on enough land to have a good garden and maybe a horse or two and a big fenced yard for my Chihuahuas to run and play and I want to plant lots of flowers and have a fish pond....oh, and I would love to have a barn and shop/storage building for my hubby. I love animals of all kinds and would love to have a horse again. I would also like to have a chicken house and maybe sell eggs? I like to do wood-working and I think that I might like to get invloved in some festivals where I could sell things. I LOVE to cook/bake and might like to get invloved in events where I could sell special treats!
I NEED to be within a reasonable driving distance of a medium size town where I can easily find everything a person needs to run a household----civilization nearby, but not in your face! I am NOT a fan of having to spend 20-30 minutes driving to town to get groceries....please don't get me wrong, I LOVE the country, but I do need neighbors and I totally need my garage sale fix on a regular basis! I SIMPLY LOVE garage sales----they put a sparkle in my eye and brighten my spirit (and I do appreciate saving money and making a dollar or two by having my own garage sales a couple of times a year)!
My hubby:
Well, I adore him and wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world....but, if the choice were left up to him about where to live....he would live far, far off the grid in the middle of a 1,000 acres where he wouldn't see any neighbors' houses or any man-made lights of any kind----and be surrounded by thick forests and see only light from the beautiful stars, moon, & sun above! He would only drive to town once a year to get supplies! Yep, He is a true mountain man at heart----remember wonderful ole' Grizzly Adams in the movies? I wouldn't be surprised if he and my hubby were closely related!!!!
My hubby loves animals too and he would love to have a Morgan horse again. He, too, loves wood-working and is great at making wooden toys! He is an all-around outdoors type----he just loves being outside in any kind of weather! He wants a shop where he can work on our cars and a big yard where he do landscaping and set up fish ponds!
Our Daughter:
Well, if she had her choice of where to live, she would like to live in town with neighbors 20 feet away and be able to walk to shopping malls and have teen hang-outs nearby and movie theaters at all corners of the town and loads of fast-food places and friends on every street in town----yep, she is the typical teen!
She does enjoy pets and would love to have a horse of her own and just this summer she discovered that she loves goats----the neighbors orphaned baby goat adopted our daughter as her mother----totally stold my daughter's heart with that sweet little "baaaaa"....to this day, months later, that little goat comes running everytime she see her! So, no doubt, now when we get settled somewhere, we are going to have to get a baby goat or two for our daughter to raise! So, other than visiting with the little goat, our daughter prefers staying indoors and writing songs and talking to friends on the internet and watching movies----is that the normal teen these days???
Our daughter likes festivals, fairs, and trade shows (especially the food samples!) and she would love to get involved in a band or anything to do with music (guitars, drums, keyboards)!
Hope I haven't bored you too much! I just think it is important to share personal hints so everyone who offers a view can kind of know what kind of people they are helping!
Please know that my family & I sure do look forward to reading comments on here! We are totally in love with the idea of becoming West Virginians and want to learn all we can about the beautiful state of WV!!!!
Thank you again
Sounds to me like Wood County can satisfy everything here. However, it does get humid at times. There are areas of the county where you could settle and have about everything here. Just come and look around. If your hubby is going to work in Parkersburg, I can tell you that I sure wouldn't be looking at anyplace else with everything else you listed above.
Shinnston, WV This web site is pretty good and tells you more details about Shinnston. It is very convenient to Morgantown (45 minutes), Fairmont (20 minutes), Clarksburg (20 minutes) and the FBI center (15 minutes). To be honest, the humidity can seem awful at times (upper 80%). However, I grew up in Texas and can say it doesn't compare to Texas humidity/heat. Plus, it's only humid about 1 month or so out of the summer. The highs in the summer are in the upper 80's to low 90's and it pretty comfortable I think. I usually turn my air conditioning on sometime in mid-June and run it till the end of August. I located this site that gives a lot of statistical data about Shinnston, including weather information. http://www.city-data.com/city/Shinns...-Virginia.html I think the crime information must be for all of Harrison Co. though, rather than just Shinnston. It has some crime, but that is mostly domestic violence and drug related. (But you're going to find that in most cities any where.)
As far as how to fit in?... well, I found getting active volunteering in the school a good pathway. Another way would be through the churches if you are so inclined. Getting involved with sports is another... coaching or just going to games.
As for flooding... just don't get a place along a river or stream. Look for hilltop property and you'll be fine. Because of the hills, any low lying, valley land is prone to flooding. Since the Stonewall Jackson damn was built, this area has had only minimal flood problems.
As far as the schools working with learning disabled students, I can speak of one friend of mine who has a learning disabled son. She moved to Shinnston specifically because she had researched surrounding areas and felt that Shinnston had more to offer her son than other areas. I do know several of the special education teacher at the high school and they are competent, caring individuals that truly care about their student's well-being and future.
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....it is so true that every town has its bad points and it is also true that those bad points tend to stick in the minds of some people more than others....in my experiences with new towns, it seems that younger people tend to have the most bitter attitudes (say toward cops and toward whatever the town is "known for")....I really don't understand why that is so? Does anyone have any enlightening thoughts on the matter????
!
)! 
....to this day, months later, that little goat comes running everytime she see her! So, no doubt, now when we get settled somewhere, we are going to have to get a baby goat or two for our daughter to raise! So, other than visiting with the little goat, our daughter prefers staying indoors and writing songs and talking to friends on the internet and watching movies----is that the normal teen these days???
