WHAT is happening to Charleston?? (Morgantown, Lewisburg: student loans, relocate, hotel)

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Jeffjphilly

Some of the negative comments re: Charleston surprise me. My wife and I moved here 1.5 yrs ago from Philadelphia and we love Charleston.

This whole thing about it being a "playground for the rich" seems odd...The prices are great, the cultural offerings are diverse. I think people here just need to open their minds a bit and enjoy what they have here. We go to Mountain Stage a lot, what a great asset. Some incredible acts come through town for Mountain Stage and it's only $15!

Downtown Charleston could use some investment, but what's going on in the Capitol Street area is very promising.

Well, you have to understand "West Virginia incomes" regarding the playground for the rich thing.

Many people in West Virginia, including Charleston, don't exactly make 6 figure incomes. As a matter of fact, $8 an hour is considered pretty good in many areas. When I moved down here to Atlanta I was AMAZED at how you can drive through neighborhood after neighborhood mile after mile of homes that cost $500,000 and much more. Back when I was growing up in Charleston there was just one small stretch of Kanawha Avenue in Kanawha City where there were "fancy homes". You could populate several cities of Charleston with the mansions you find here in Atlanta. So by OUR standards back home, we would call these people "rich", even though here they consider themselves middle-class down here.

So, anything up there that costs more than $6 to get in is "fancy" to more people than it would be to those from larger more "rich" areas.

Capital Street used to be a very thriving street. When I was growing up in Charleston in the early 70s, it was filled with businesses, multi-level department stores, and restaurants. When Town Center Mall opened, it dried up as many stores relocated into the mall, and those that didn't simply went out of business due to the lack of foot traffic as pedestrians left Capital street and went directly into the mall. Nice to hear it's coming back, but as I said in an earlier post, it took decades for it to do that.

I hope the West side does get better. I grew up there and it was nice. My sister not long ago took a pic of the house I grew up in and sent it to me and that neighborhood is just destroyed now. Very sad to see. Maybe it'll do a turnaround and come back.

[Georgia]

Still one of the best looking Capitol buildings in the country in my humble opinion.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Well, you have to understand "West Virginia incomes" regarding the playground for the rich thing.

Many people in West Virginia, including Charleston, don't exactly make 6 figure incomes. As a matter of fact, $8 an hour is considered pretty good in many areas. When I moved down here to Atlanta I was AMAZED at how you can drive through neighborhood after neighborhood mile after mile of homes that cost $500,000 and much more. Back when I was growing up in Charleston there was just one small stretch of Kanawha Avenue in Kanawha City where there were "fancy homes". You could populate several cities of Charleston with the mansions you find here in Atlanta. So by OUR standards back home, we would call these people "rich", even though here they consider themselves middle-class down here.

So, anything up there that costs more than $6 to get in is "fancy" to more people than it would be to those from larger more "rich" areas.

Capital Street used to be a very thriving street. When I was growing up in Charleston in the early 70s, it was filled with businesses, multi-level department stores, and restaurants. When Town Center Mall opened, it dried up as many stores relocated into the mall, and those that didn't simply went out of business due to the lack of foot traffic as pedestrians left Capital street and went directly into the mall. Nice to hear it's coming back, but as I said in an earlier post, it took decades for it to do that.

I hope the West side does get better. I grew up there and it was nice. My sister not long ago took a pic of the house I grew up in and sent it to me and that neighborhood is just destroyed now. Very sad to see. Maybe it'll do a turnaround and come back.

Sign of the times Greg,
Heck the entire downtown of Martinsburg is ghetto where I grew up.

It is sad

[Sillybrry]

Wow, I am surprised at the negative comments about Charleston - I have lived here for nearly ten years now, having moved from Oklahoma, and love it!

One thing that I have noticed about Charleston is that, unlike many cities, there isn't really a "bad part of town". The division isn't that clear. There are bad areas on the West side...bad areas on the East side...heck, there are bad areas in South Hills! But overall, I think the crime rate is lower than most places and I certainly feel safer in downtown Charleston than I ever felt in downtown Tulsa!

I think a lot of people have migrated out to Cross Lanes, Teays Valley, and other "points west". I live about ten minutes from downtown in a little community (if you want to call it that) called Davis Creek. There are a lot of semi-rural areas from which people commute in order to work in Charleston. Within Charleston itself, the higher-end areas are South Hills, Kanawha City, and Edgewood. Only Edgewood, however, is within the city proper.

I agree that there really is a lot going on in terms of revitalization - downtown Charleston is experiencing something of a boom right now and it is beautiful to see. There has been an enormous amount of development down Corridor G - which is fast becoming another "trendy" area to live - and some fairly big players have entered the retail market here in the past few years. There is always more that could be done of course -- I would love to see a little more "night life" for example -- but overall I have found it a lovely place to live and to raise children.

[wvandwvufan]

I have selected the first comment to reply to not to target that poster alone but just because it states what started the rest of the conversation.

I came across the post while writing a research paper on rural communities. I choose the town of Clay. After seeing these posts I searched Charleston, WV on City-Data.com and found numbers that seem to be the exact opposite of what those who think Charleston, WEST VIRGINIA is so awful and disturbed recently in crime.

From this site, since 1999 crime has dropped in ALL areas. If you are interested in the numbers it is a spreedsheet-type chart on down the page, I won't quote them here.

What can be said is that our crime index score is double that of the national average. However, I would say the index is based on the total population. So, using basic math and some of my current statistics course at WVU I feel confident saying that percentages will be higher when there are less people. That is if the crime-index if figured by total number and not per 100,000. So, it could be that the index is per 100,000 and the index is just high. However, living in four different areas in Charleston for 18 years the worst crime I have ever directly been a victim of or heard any one else be a victim of was when my bike was stolen from a friend's garage. However, the kid that stole it knew the garage was not locked on a regular basis, therefore, using insurance rules, I am more at fault more than the community ever will be for that crime. Although, I am not excusing the behavior.

As communities become larger and more diverse it is a trend for crime to increase. As this nation grows older, crime increases in ways. However, crime is still declining in Charleston over the past 6 years. I am not going to do extensive research but Charleston is much safer than Atlanta which is where I would guess the first poster is from just from his/her username. I compared crime numbers on Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed and it looks much, much worse.

What bothers me is, when people do think that Charleston is so awful there is little but talking about how bad it "is" being done.

I would like to bring it to everyone's attention that the City of Charleston has made some amazing upgrades at its community centers. Currently there are handfuls of centers open daily across Charleston. We have them in all areas so if you feel so "unsafe" you are more than welcome and able to go to another center where you think you are more "safe". There is the King Center Community Center, Kanawha City Community Center, North Charleston Community Center, Vandalia Community Center, Roosevelt Center, and Sugar Creek Community Center. All services are free unless special events like certain classes where there may be a fee of $5-20.00. The city also has five public, free pools. There is one at Cato, Kanawha City, North Charleston, King Center, and Vandalia. Cato also has a public Golf Course and charges 4-8 bucks for rounds depending on age and the number of rounds. They have snacks and drinks and rentals available.

North, Kanawha, and King all have fitness areas. North even has a room just for women. This is all free.

Currently, since last fall til now, all of the local playgrounds scattered across Charleston have been updated from the dangerous, old wood sets to the newer, safer, modern structures. Also, the trail around Cato Park has been undergoing renovations for over a year and the changes will invite many more hikers and walkers to the area.

The city opened a Dog Park downtown near Roosevelt.

At the centers there are SO MANY things to do you can't keep up! Crafts, 3-3 basketball tournements, aerobics, special aerobic classes, yoga, movie nights, pool tournements....and so on...it never ends!!!

The city also sponsers the annual Joker Run/Walk near the beginning of April, the Independence Day run near the 4th of July during the same time the city hosts many other celebration activities on the Boulevard.

Every Friday night in the summer there is Live on the Levee where mostly local bands perform while children and families dance around near the front of the stage...there are prizes and fundraising for Charleston's homeless.

Every Wednesday night in June, weather permitting, there is a movie played on a huge screen on Magic Island for FREE!!!!! where literally hundreds of people of all ages turn out to enjoy life, the weather, the summer, and their city and community.

I know I am forgetting some of the MANY things the City of Charleston offers as a way to prosper over the bad. Check out Welcome to Charleston WV and call and visit to find out all details.

It will take time to change the bad, but considering WV is such a poor state it is fairing up quite well and is making headway and pushing on. The mindset of the area, the stigma, the stereotype, and the location all poses problems.

Ignoring the "troubled" areas is no way to fix anything. The West Side (as well as the East End, although I know more people on the West Side....) is full of wonderful families who feel safe and secure and have never delt with crime. I even know of a large family who resides on the WS and doesn't lock their doors. They have lived there for almost 30 years. Their children went to Stonewall so they are exposed to some of the worst children who have no guidance and go home to people who don't care and people across the state and nation who just say how awful they are.

I lived on the West Side, Mink Shoals (which is an amazing little place on the outskirts of Charleston), Big Chimney, Pinch, (also amazing places) and never had problems. My parents have moved to Kentuck which is off the Kenna exit on I-79 on the way to Ripley, and they have experienced more crime and violence there than anywhere else.

Take into consideration who the victims and criminals are. Since this is a close state and full of tradition and families, I am willing to put money down on the fact that most crime is family related and well I could go on for days about that....but, I would take this crime over random, senseless violence, or even a random community with no primary ties.

I will never leave this state. I feel it obligatory to stay here and help the economy, graduate from WVU and no matter what get a job here. I have picked a profession that has many opportunities and have since picked up a double major and many minors just incase. I feel it my job to do as much as I can and I will do everything to stay here and be a part of this community forever. I love this place and it is the only place I will ever feel so "at home" and completely comfortable. I will raise my children with this pride and while they can go to any college they want I am willing to bet they will have special feelings for WVU or instate schools by the perspective I will bring to it. I can't really capture all I am trying to say in words here...

As I make money after graduating, I will make sure I travel the state and put money into its tourist attractions. I am even taking a WV History course for fun this fall. Other than hours and a grade, this course goes toward nothing for my major and minors. However, I haven't studied WV since 8th grade and I am craving more knowledge of the 2nd best place to disney land on earth!!

There is crime everywhere. But, since I am one more law abiding citizen I will be one less to worry about. I urge more good people to come and stay and enjoy the endless wonders and opportunities in this state.


LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!!!!!!
LET'S GO WEST VIRGINIA!!!!!!!!!!
and, of course, LET'S GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-A.S.

[wvandwvufan]

sillybrry, thank you for your comments on wv!!! I love seeing people pro-WV!!!! It is a feeling, for me, like Christmas and the 4th of July!!!! I appreciate you!!

[wvandwvufan]

Hey, I forgot to mention the Power Park which has been a MAJOR success and I can't wait to get back home to support the Power and spend time outdoors with families and baseball!! YAYYY!!!!

[Big_Al]

I live in Charleston for 3 years and recently desided to stay here. It's very friendly and pretty town. It's very easy to travel all over the world from here. It takes 15 min to go ANYWHERE! Beautiful, awesome place! Much better than the East Coast I left without any regrets. But you better have 6 figure income to enjoy Charleston completely.

[steelersfan]

Charleston is not as good as some the people before me claim it to be. Don't take me wrong , it's not crime ridden or a dirty city either. Charleston has down to earth people(except the rednecks), it has great outdoor opprunities, and offers some of the same entertainment as other cities offer (except real professonial sports ). If you are in a stable career or have a degree in nursing , then Charleston is a great city to live in. I don't agree with the person that said you have to make a 6 figure income to enjoy charleston , but like anywhere else you have make at least 30,000 a year. So good luck finding a job in charleston making 30,000 a year. To let you know how it is here , I am a college graduate who makes 25,000 thousands dollars a year , all my friends are graduates, out all of them the one who makes the most is a school teacher. The number one employer in charleston is the state of WV, followed by a health care orgainzation CAMC. Charleston also is small enough city to where it runs on a good ol boy system, meaning if you are lucky enough to have grown up with some of the elite in the city , then more and likely you will have a career waiting on you with out little work to get there. Earlier someone mentioned that capital street is cleaning up , well it has cleaned up but the buildings are filled with government offices , lawyer offices,bars, and no private industry that creates jobs. In closing Charleston has potiential but the powers that be have got to allow it to grow, and if they don't there won't be a Charleston in the future because the young people are leaving to find better work like me. As soon as I finish graduate school , I am leaving to find more opprunity.

[David Kennedy]

Slowly and almost unknown to anyone...little Morgantown replaced Charleston about 4 years ago. With the CAC at WVU the culture of New York City and Pittsburgh came south in an instant and the efforts of WVU and the medical community to broaden the area demographically brought new attitudes and unprovincial open outlooks for the future.
The great personal investments of Glenmark Holding took root and showed finiancial confidence. Also the huge Federal investment outlays aka Sen. Robert Byrd (our big Daddy) cannot be ignored...also coming to that regions rescue was the new Penn State and Carniege-Mellon Campuses at nearby Uniontown...
All in all, a new regional community has sprouted...new people, new attitudes and new life replacing the old...
West Virginia is alive and well...and its brand new baby (Morgantown) is crying for more roads and better, far sighted leadership...almost needing and wanting a 100 year development plan for the future...
It might be time to pack up the old Packard and move up north...the capitol could always be moved.