Charelston VS Parkersburg (Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling: crime rates, home, find a job)

[Seaharbour]

We will be working in ravenwood but want a bigger city that has more shopping and etc...I have researched the area north of Charelston, Vienna and fell in love with it9 even found a nice home for around 190 or so) around the country club seems to be a prime area to live and raise a child...the greenmount, jackson and ph school seem very ideal too, but question is, if parkersburgh is a half hour or so to ravenwood, how far would charelston be from ravenwood and are there any nice areas down in charelston that compare to vienna??? Thanks for any help!

[WVUPharm2007]

Parkersburg is closer by 20 minutes or so, but Charleston is larger with more shopping. I'm not really too sure about what the schools or housing is like in the Charleston area, though.

[Seaharbour]

thank you wvu...I really liked the greenmount area, which is Vienna that you talked bout here, but I am wonderring if Charleston would provide more jobs if we needed another down the road?

[GottaHerdOn]

Charleston has a lot of culture too, it feels more city-like than say Parkersburg. More metro, There are some really nice sub divisions south of the city on RT 119

[WVUPharm2007]

I'm not really sure what the current job situation is like in Charleston. I know Parkersburg is reeling from the loss of Fenton Glass....but at the same time, the horizon looks bright as I hear that Toyota is about to open a large manufacturing plant in Williamstown (town a few miles North of Vienna), too. Honestly, I don't think there is very much "culture" as most people define it in any city in WV...but if you were to ask which cities are the best, Charleston would be one of the better ones in the state.

[Ceezer]

Not only did Toyota buy the Walker building, but I hear they also bought several hundred acres of surrounding land for future growth/expansion.

Depending on what kind of work y'all are in, Charleston would probably have more employment opportunities. If you're a nurse or in health care then Parkersburg is a fine area because you have Camden Clark & St. Joseph's in Parkersburg plus Marietta Memorial & Selby General in Marietta (across from Williamstown). If you're in education there are several options for secondary & post-secondary schools.

Cultural/entertainment opportunities are going to be more frequent in Charleston, too. In Parkersburg there are a few theaters (Moot, Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater, Becky Thatcher, etc) and you can watch Marietta College play baseball (they have football, field hockey, and more but their baseball team is one of the best in the country) but Charleston has a pro soccer team and I think a minor league baseball team (plus theaters, galleries, etc).

The advantages Parkersburg would offer are a lower cost of living, lower crime rates, less traffic, and a bigger sense of community (more so even in smaller towns like Williamstown). They also have a geographic advantage (not directly over Charleston, but in general). Rivers and lakes provide a lot of opportunities, along with other outdoor activities like exploration and hiking. If you wanted a night out on the city then you're just 2-3 hours from places like Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, Pittsburg, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinatti, Morgantown and lots of mountains, get-away towns and resorts.

[CLUCAS]

If You Have To Live In Wv And You Find A Job
Charleston My Idea Of A Nice Place To Live If I Had To Be In The Tristate Would Be Columbus Oh What A Well Kept City

[CLUCAS]

Great Idea Why Dont Charleston City People Meet With Columbus Oh City People And Find Out What It Takes To Make A City Grow And How To Run Things...