Am I asking for too much? (Huntington, Weirton: real estate, property taxes, showing)

[retnjcop]

I am looking for a nice area to live in West Virginia. I am a recently retired police officer in New Jersey. However, I am not looking for a retirement community. I have two school-aged children, so I am looking for an area with low crime and a great school system. I would like to find an area with nice homes, and a few acres of land, but still be reasonably close to places to shop and eat. I receive a pension with full benefits, so I am not overly concerned about employment. I would like to find a part time job in the law enforcement field if such a thing exists there. I am only 49, and I am still in reasonably good shape. Am I asking for too much?

[tbailey1138]

Check out the Huntington area. You could live in Huntington or in one of the smaller towns in the area such as Barboursville, Milton, Ceredo, Kenova or a few others. The area has good schools overall and relatively low crime. Huntington also offers plenty to do in terms of theater, arts, great parks, great healthcare, Marshall University Sporting events, great shopping and many great festivals throughout the year. You could also contact some of the local police departments and see what they have available part time. If you have a lot of experience in the forensics field, you could also contact the forensics program at Marshall University to see if there is anything you could do with them (if you are interested in that type of thing). If not, you could still contact the MUPD and see if they offer what you are looking for. Here are some links that might be helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Tim

City of Huntington, West Virginia (check out the link to the videos at the bottom of the page)
Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District
Pullman Square - Restaurants Shopping Entertainment
The City of Huntington, WV
Cabell County Sheriff's Office
Marshall University Forensic Science Center
Barboursville Police
The West Virginia State Police
Marshall University Police Department

[GottaHerdOn]

Look at Elkins as well, I really think you would enjoy it! There is a lot to do with the outdoors in and around the Elkins area. Its home to the Mon. National Forest, near Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods Wilderness area, within an hour of 3 amazing ski resorts, you can also enjoy fishing, camping, hunting, etc all within a few minutes drive. The Tygart Valley Regional Jail is about 8 miles outside of Elkins and houses inmates from Randolph and all surrounding counties, so you could possibly look into that. There is also a medium security prison about 15 miles south of Elkins called Huttonsville Correctional Facility with a capacity of 890, they've expanded over the years and are always adding personnel.

Elkins has plenty of shopping, with a thriving downtown, and the area along the Beverly 5 Lane has every commercial venue you would need. There are plenty of places to grab a bite from sit downs to something fast like McDonalds or something.

School-wise, Elkins has some of the best schools in the state. As a whole they are newer, not overcrowded, and have some great educators. I would recommend Midland Elementary school, it is the best elementary school.

You can find several listings for homes with a few acres or upwards to 50 acres in the real estate listings for the Elkins area.

Here are some links you can browse around, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Chamber

Welcome to the Heart of West Virginia

Elkins, West Virginia

Huttonsville Correctional Center

West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by retnjcop

I am looking for a nice area to live in West Virginia. I am a recently retired police officer in New Jersey. However, I am not looking for a retirement community. I have two school-aged children, so I am looking for an area with low crime and a great school system. I would like to find an area with nice homes, and a few acres of land, but still be reasonably close to places to shop and eat. I receive a pension with full benefits, so I am not overly concerned about employment. I would like to find a part time job in the law enforcement field if such a thing exists there. I am only 49, and I am still in reasonably good shape. Am I asking for too much?

Howdy, neighbor. My move to west va is imminent. I'm leaving behind my home town in long island NY. Not sure what made you decide on WV, but I think if you shared that reason, people would be able to advise you better.

Generally speaking, my experience with WV folks has been that they're exceptionally friendly and helpful. I've heard that Huntington is good for family orientated folks, as well as for the younger crowd. The thing is, what does your timeline look like? Your question is so wide open, and the state is pretty big!
My suggestion, since your kids are likely to be what makes your decision for you, is to focus on how progressive a school district is committed to being. Housing is exceptionally affordable, and won't you be happy when you see the property taxes! Once you know what school district you mean to be in, who would know better than the local precinct what the crime situation is?
As much crummy press WV has gotten for its schools, I think the student/teacher ratio is excellent and the efforts they've made to improve the schools just isn't showing up dramatically in statistics yet.
here's a link I found for advice on how to choose a school, hope it helps.
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/96

[David Kennedy]

Small towns in the North Central area that are typical are Monongah, Barrackville, Shinnston, Grafton, Kingwood, Salem, Buckhannon and Weston. All have need of full or part time police and have good school systems.
All are small towns ranging from 450 to 3500 people...
Buchannon and Salem having small colleges and might be avoided because of that segment of the community.
Shinnston, Barrackville, Kingwood and Grafton are exceptional for West Virginia. This is a high security area.

You won't have any problem as the state is pretty good from one end to the other...

[g_massie]

Lewisburg,WV is always looking for new employment along with being close to outdoor activities low crime laid back and a small airport. Also generally everything you need locally and beckley being 30minutes nearby...Official City site of Lewisburg, West Virginia

[BJC]

OH, PLEASE check out Summersville, WV I am in a hurry, but will post more later. Good School, shopping and I am sure you can use your talents on one of the police forces there.

[dunkhouse]

The advice that the state is good from one end to the other is close. Since there are no large cities in the state, you don't have the problems of large metro areas. If you are near the borders, you can reach bigger cities easily for cultural events (not that WV doesnt have culture- just smaller markets get smaller concerts for example). DC, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati, Lexington are all within 3 hours of the border areas depending on where you locate. The center of the state is more rural than other areas. You really need to indicate more about your desires to receive better advice.

[snorpus]

If you do move to Summersville, will you promise to tone down the speed traps?

[Lone Star Rebel]

You may wish to consider the Weirton area? I am moving back there from Texas since I left WV over 25 years ago and I am really looking forward to it. I am just waiting for the sale of my home to close escrow and I am on my way. I have been doing plenty of research and Weirton is the best choice for me. I have an older brother in the Pittsburgh area where there is tons to do in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area & you simply can't beat the prices of the homes in the Weirton area. You won't believe the ridiculously low property taxes. I have no children so, I can't answer anything about the public schools there. Good luck to you and all the best. LSR