Small Towns Outside of Huntington? (Beckley, Pea Ridge: fit in, real estate, sex offenders)

[nightwishfan]

I have been lurking and reading tons of WV posts and learning a lot, and as such, am becoming sold on Huntington . When I first started thinking of moving to WV several years ago, I was interested in the Beckley area (reasons, I can't recall exactly), but now that I'm thinking again of moving out there, I'm not set on any place yet (and am also considering KY).

Anyhow, Huntington sounds great, but I'd like to live in perhaps a smaller town near by. Are there any historic/older "main street" towns outside of Huntington? If so, which would you recommend to a 31 yr old progressive, single mom of two (6&7), who is not a Christian, but who still gets along well with pretty much anyone? I currently live outside of a very tiny town (we have a post office and a school, that's it) which is politically and religiously conservative, and I get along fine with everyone I know. I'm not too "in your face" about my ideals (though little girls do tend to pipe up about their beliefs, so better if we won't be chased out of town with torches!).

I'm working on my elementary ed degree and would like to teach for a time, but am also planning on getting a master in historical preservation (structural and landscape), Lexington ky has a program, that seems to be the closest college offering the degree (mapquest says it's about a 2 hr drive from Huntington?).

Thanks for any ideas .

[tbailey1138]

It sounds like Barboursville would be perfect for you. Barboursville is a small town (pop. ~3,300) but it has a lot of convenience to it. The "downtown" area itself is quaint with some neat old buildings and a city park with a gazebo, some benches and a little waterfall/stream. The main city park has something like 900 acres of land with several ponds, athletic fields, playgrounds and a walking path around the lake. Barboursville is where the Huntington Mall is so you very close to the shopping there as well. Huntington is only a quick 15-20 minute drive so this makes everything downtown very convenient too like Pullman Square, Downtown activities, usually work, Marshall University, etc.
Village of Barboursville > Home
Barboursville, West Virginia (WV) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders
http://www.huntingtonmall.com/home/index.ch2

Lexington is right at 2 hours from Huntington straight down I-64. You literally get on at the Huntington exit and get off at the Lexington exit with no exchanges or confusing intersections in between. It's the easiest drive you'll ever make. Your historical preservation degree would fit in well around here right now since Huntington is doing a lot of revitalization with an emphasis on historic preservation. Many of the buildings downtown have been restored and they just increased the size of the historic district last year so that more preservation/restoration could be done. You might enjoy listening to the audio for the walking tour of downtown Huntington. It talks about a lot of the history of the area and would help to get you aquainted to Huntington before you move here. Just click on the files listed in this link.
Downtown Walking Tour a stroll through the past - Huntington, WV -- The Herald-Dispatch

Other places that you might consider would be Milton and then other unincorporated areas like Pea Ridge, Martha, Route 2 and Route 10.
:: The City of Milton
Milton, West Virginia (WV) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything else.
Tim

[creemarie]

Originally Posted by nightwishfan

I'm working on my elementary ed degree and would like to teach for a time, but am also planning on getting a master in historical preservation (structural and landscape), Lexington ky has a program, that seems to be the closest college offering the degree (mapquest says it's about a 2 hr drive from Huntington?).

Thanks for any ideas .

That's exciting! I think the Huntington area and even more so, downtown Huntington would be a good fit if you ever decided to start your own historic preservation business. There are so many historic properties (especially residential) down here, I don't think you would have trouble building a clientele. Actually when I was in college, I did a business plan for this very thing to be stared in the Huntington area.

If your interested in architecture, James Casto, a local author has written some very nice books on Cabell County and Huntington's architectural history. Here's a link to his website: James E. Casto, writer, editor, lecturer, of Huntington, West Virginia (his books are probably available on amazon.com) Another good book I recommend is Huntington, WV (Images of America series) by Don Daniel McMillan. It also has some great pictures and history of Huntington.

Hope this helps and good luck with your move! We'd love to have you down here!

[awakenthesun22]

I second Tims suggestion of Barboursville. If I were to select a permanent home in the Huntington area, I'd go with Barboursville hands down, no second thoughts about it.

[The Village Idiot]

I'll cast a third vote for Barboursville. It's convenient to the mall and I-64, and is just a few minutes from downtown Huntington. Not bad for a town of under 4,000 people. Milton (pop. 2,206) could be another option, but it really doesn't offer many advantages over Barboursville and is farther from Huntington, so I can't think of many reasons why you'd choose it over Barboursville (not that it's a bad place).

You may want to consider a few other options as well. Ceredo-Kenova is west of Huntington. These are actually two separate towns, but they sort of run together and seem more like one town than two. Their combined total population is 5,160. Kenova has a little bit of a "main street" type business district with a nice little historic soda fountain. However, one potential negative is that the town feels a bit like the land that time forgot. You might find this charming, but it also might give you the feeling that the town has seen better days. Personally, I could live in the Ceredo-Kenova area, but I prefer Barboursville.

Catlettsburg, KY (pop. 1,960) is just across the river from Kenova. It has a small, somewhat historic downtown near the courthouse, but other parts of the town feel a little run down.

Ashland, KY (pop. 21,981) is located farther down the river. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Huntington from Ashland, which might be too far for you. On the other hand, Ashland is big enough that you wouldn't necessarily need to go to Huntington for anything. Ashland has its own mall (although it's not nearly as big as the Huntington Mall) and a nice park and theater downtown. Ashland could be a good compromise if you want something smaller than Huntington but larger than the other towns I've mentioned. The downside is that if you really love Huntington, places like Barboursville are much closer.

Your post mentioned that you were considering WV and KY, but didn't mention Ohio. If you decide to consider Ohio, you could look at Ironton (pop. 11,211), which is a few miles from Ashland. It's not that close to Huntington, but is large enough to have a decent sized downtown of its own.

Chesapeake, OH is a very small town located directly across the river from downtown Huntington. While it's literally a couple of minutes from downtown, it's probably the most run down of all the towns I've mentioned.

The Proctorville, OH area is another option. Proctorville itself is very small, but is adjacent to a larger unincorporated residential area in Rome Township. Huntington can be accessed from this area by the East End Bridge. Proctorville and Rome Township share the same school district (Fairland) which appears to be one of the best in the Tri-State area (at least on paper). This area doesn't have a lot of businesses, although it does have a couple of grocery stores, banks, and fast food places. However, it's not too far from Wal-Mart and other stores on the east side of Hunington. The best way to think of this area is sort of a bedroom community across the river from Huntington. You may find its business district a little lacking, but it's probably still worth a look if you decide to consider Ohio.

In my opinion, if you want to live in WV but not actually in Huntington, Barboursville will be your best bet. If you want to stay in the area but prefer KY, Ashland is the best choice. In OH, I'd lean towards the Proctorville/Rome Township area.

[myrc60]

I have family living in Proctorville. They have been there since 1960. The town has progressed in that time from one stop light to about half a dozen. You will have a post office, several grocery stores including Kroger, a Laundromat, McDonald's, a few gas stations and a few drug stores. I've probably left out a few places but what I mentioned will meet your needs fairly well.

I have cousins that went to Fairlane and they all grew up to be successful individuals. You do however have to be careful about areas that flood and that is true of Huntington as well. Make sure you do your homework when considering property near the river.

Above poster is correct about Chesapeake but it also has some nicer areas if you get off the main road. Chesapeake is also prone to flooding but the higher up the hill you are away from the river the better you will fair here.

I was born in Huntington and look forward to going home but that happens way too little these days. The hills have been calling me all my life and I suspect they will never lose that hold on my heart.