Looking to move to West Virginia (Charleston, Huntington: best city, renting, how much)

[Princess83]

I believe my fiance and i have almost made our decision and i believe we may be moving to West Virginia.

Just some questions....

What would you consider to be a good county to live in?

Is it hard to find Jobs? as in RN/Nursing jobs?

and were looking to find a rural area with lots of space (with or without a house already built on it) how hard and how much would it cost to buy an area like that?

[tbailey1138]

Check out Cabell County/Huntington. The area has a good variety of housing and you could probably find something pretty close to what you are looking for. Huntington itself has a good housing market and there are some homes that come with some land. To find what you described, you would most likely look in the areas served by Route 10, Route 2 or Route 52. I know someone currently trying to sell their house that's on 6 acres but it's about 30 minutes from Huntington. (Not sure how far you are wanting to drive)

In terms of Nursing Jobs, there seems to be plenty in Huntington right now. Both major hospitals have recently opened new additions and they are looking for nurses to fill new positions. I work at Cabell Huntington Hospital and have been told that they haven't been able to find enough nurses to open all of the new rooms that were built. According to a post in another topic, Huntington also has one of if not the highest nursing pay in the state.

Huntington also offers plenty to do in terms of theater, arts, shopping, concerts, comedy shows and Marshall University events. If Huntington doesn't have something you are looking for, several larger cities are within a 3 hour drive (Columbus, Cincinatti & Lexington) without having to deal with the hustle and bustle of actually living in these places. Below are some links that you might find helpful in making your choice. You can also see what Huntington looks like by renting "We Are Marshall" with Matthew Mcconaughey. Most of the movie was filmed here and it has some good shots of the town. Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything else.
Tim

City of Huntington, West Virginia
Cabell Huntington Hospital - Home page - Huntington, WV
St. Mary's Medical Center | Huntington, WV
The Greater Huntington Community Web Portal
Pullman Square - Restaurants Shopping Entertainment
Welcome To Your Huntington Funny Bone
Marshall Artists Series
WSAZ - News Local News, Severe Weather and Breaking News Coverage for West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, Charleston, Huntington, breaking news, Severe weather, news, weather, west Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, local news, wv, w.va, ky, oh, television, dig

[Princess83]

huntington sounds great so far....we are putting it into consideration.

here is an updated questions list....

-what are the names of the countys surrounding huntington?

-we are (hopefully) looking for a 45 minute drive to a city for work and entertainment.

-we are looking for at least 10 acres, any suggestions?

-we are looking for countys that are ATV friendly.

[awakenthesun22]

In regards to nursing, I feel Huntington is the best city in the state to work in. I really can't remember all of Cabell county's bordering counties, but Wayne and Mason are two of them. Tim offered a good option of seeking other options that Huntington may not have in nearby bigger cities. Columbus is a great city to hang out in, and is one of the easiest 2 1/2-3 hour drives that you can make. In fact, I know of some cases where nurses live in Huntington and work in Columbus. They go up and make weekend pay Friday through Sunday then go back to Huntington to enjoy smaller city life four days a week. Both main hospitals in Huntington are currently undergoing a state of continuous growth and expansion and Marshall University ties into both.

Morgantown has the WVU hospital system, which recieved Magnet Status a year or so ago-as far as I know the first and only in the state thus far to do so. Morgantown isn't a far drive from Pittsburgh. Last time I was there (a couple of years ago), pay was lower than Huntington.

[David Kennedy]

Morgantown has the 92 million dollar expansion of Monongalia General opening in mid May.
The increase of the WVU Ruby Medical complex and research centers.
20 miles south is the new UHC 280 million dollar health center under construction.
Also the proposed expansion of the Veterans Hospital into the old UHC facility.

This represents 500 million invested in just these facilities alone. The low pay exists at WVU Health Centers and they try to drive the wages low but they float on a scale and what one facility is paying, the other catches up with in a short time. WVU job board is just over $20 for RN's but that is misleading. Most in actuality make about $95k to $125 a year. Overtime and seniority are factors not mentioned in the stats. My sister and my two neices are in that catagory and that is what they make.

The Morgantown area culture is diverse and vibrant with Pittsbugh so near..
If I worked in this medical community, I would live in Fayette County near Uniontown and commute...
The reason...better schools! Menacholin Resort and Wisp to ski...

[Canine*Castle]

Lincoln and Putnam are the other two bordering counties to Cabell. Below is a link to the counties in West Virginia and as I continue to read this forum, West Virginia is looking very nice to me. I do have some questions though and rather than take away from the OP's thread, I'll start my own in due course.

West Virginia QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

[Georgia]

For Nursing I would second Morgantown.

[tbailey1138]

Originally Posted by Princess83

huntington sounds great so far....we are putting it into consideration.

here is an updated questions list....

-what are the names of the countys surrounding huntington?

-we are (hopefully) looking for a 45 minute drive to a city for work and entertainment.

-we are looking for at least 10 acres, any suggestions?

-we are looking for countys that are ATV friendly.

If you are considering the Huntington area, Wayne and Lincoln might be the areas that you want to check out based on what you are looking for. These areas will have 10+ acres in the most affordable price range and they are very ATV friendly. Wayne county also has some very nice golf courses just outside of Huntington if you are interested in that as well.

Just south of the area, there is also a network of ATV trails called the Hatfield & McCoy trails which are supposed to be very good for the experienced ATV enthusiast(never been on them and don't really ride ATVs so I can't comment).

Something to consider as well might be to find a place in Huntington close to everything and then find a place that would meet your recreational needs in one of the areas above. My friends selling the 6 acres wish they would have done this because to get to anything, they have a 30 minute drive and it makes it hard to be involved in anything. They also can't really do want they wanted to on 6 acres like they thought they could. Just something to consider.

Here a a couple of other links and let me know if you need anything else.
Tim

http://www.trailsheaven.com/
Sugarwood Golf Club
Huntington, WV Online (some videos about the area)

[NOVAmtneer82]

I third the Morgantown area

[GottaHerdOn]

Morgantown or Huntington are both great places to live! I've lived in both of them, they're very similar too. Huntington is about 3 times larger than Morgantown but Morgantown is growing very fast.