What's the Best City in West Virginia? (Huntington, Wheeling: gated, motel)

[LILBUTTRFLY]

Thanks, maybe I will check that out. The newspaper of course - not the strip bars lol

[theresalitteral]

Hey, West Virginia has so much going for it! I absolutly love this state, way more than many other places i have been lucky to have visited around the globe. There are many beautiful places with WV, but i do love living in Huntington. We are so close to everything here. Might i say, all cities around the world have their upsides and their downsides, i.e crime rates etc.
We have virtually unlimited access to many parks, lakes, surrounding cities, and numerous local attractions.
I came to Huntington (MU) on an exchange from Cambridge England, in 1998 for a semester and loved it. I then went onto work and travel around Europe, USA, Mexico, Asia, Ireland and Australia, and i returned to Marshall in 2000 to complete my Masters Degree. I just have to say, West Virginia is by far my favorite place of all! I love travelling around the country, but i'm in complete heaven when i'm here, and i'm pleased to say i now call this gorgeous place HOME! The people are some of the most friendly, nicest people one would ever want to meet. I really really love West Virginia! Just thought i'd add a note from a foreigners perspective - Hope we see you in WV soon!

[Clarksburg Kid]

Originally Posted by aca1

It always amazes me how everyone, puts so much emphasis on crime. If you live in a town 0f 2000 people there will still be crime and there will still be drugs, people in the country use just as much meth as people in the city. There is no magic place where you will be safe from crime.
I
m not from WV but I just got back from taking a postal exam and traveling around the entire state (except for wheeling and weirton) and would like to my opinion. WV has nice scenery and I personally am planning on moving there, but as far as the towns go, they should only be compared to other wv cities because they are almost all full of rotting buildings and empty streets, and you won't find many states with their largest city at only around 50,000
people in the city proper. I found good things about every city, except for Clarksburg, which was undescribley grimy and devoid of shopping, the guy at the gas station said i would have to go to bridgeport just to go to Wal-mart.

Noone's metioned it but I thought if one had money to spend Harper's Ferry was a beautiful small town.
I apologize for my longtypedness.

aca- first off eastpointe and newpointe shopping centers are in the city limits, and bridgeport is like barboursville is to huntington. Even though clarksburg may not have many shops in the central business district, Clarksburg is known for having the best Italian food in the state.

[FlipperX]

Huntington isnt that bad but is not enough WV-ish for me. Where are the votes for Welch, Mullens, Oxyana, Logan, and Williamson? maybe even Wots-vull(Whitesville) Montgomery and Gauley Bridge are winners too

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by LILBUTTRFLY

I moved to Gerrardstown (just outside of Inwood) last June from Warrenton Va. It is very quiet but almost too quiet. It's been hard to meet friends and I'm not to fond of Martinsburg, mainly because I don't know my way around. Some places in Martinsburg looks a little "scary". Does anyone know a good way to meet paople around here? I'm 27 years old and have 2 kids, living with boyfriend. I moved here because it was cheaper than where I am from which is a great advantage but have thought about moving back because I am an hour and 15 minutes from my job and friends. Anyone have any suggestions?

Take the move back, I was born and raised in the B'urg. Left and will NOT be back. You may find it hard to believe but over 70% of my HS graduation class left the area.

As others have stated, WV is a wonderful, beautiful, and great state, however, Martinsburg is no longer West Virginia. Just ask any native down state. It's little Washington DC.

[GottaHerdOn]

do you honestly hate your home town now? I can't imagine hating my home town. But you seem to have a lot of discontent for it Georgia. I personally like Martinsburg. I dated someone from there for a while

[KeepWVclean]

New to WV also--from NYC!!! Clarksburg folks are VERY friendly--but same time mind their own business! And we have The Italian Festival--Blackberry Festival---Everyone is so helpful and down to earth!--But Bridgeport is snooty! Don't quit "Almost Heaven" because of ONE town!!!!

[diane faith]

Originally Posted by FlipperX

Huntington isnt that bad but is not enough WV-ish for me. Where are the votes for Welch, Mullens, Oxyana, Logan, and Williamson? maybe even Wots-vull(Whitesville) Montgomery and Gauley Bridge are winners too

So are these the most WV-ish towns? Are there others also? I want the friendly WV towns not the DC bedroom or towns taken over by States or cities. It scares me to live anywhere within 2 hours of a major city. I live in a rural area that's being taken over by Chicago's ever expanding sprawl. I want a piece of land and some quiet. I love the country folk!! I am married to a glassblower so I guess I would be looking at the western half of WV for a gas well property. We have to run that glass furnace 24 hrs and the bills are killing us. I homeschool my two sons so schools wouldn't be an issue. So since I'm starting to do my research about WV any suggestions for me? I won't mind driving for supplies a half hour or less. I guess I don't want to be so far from everything my boys feel isolated but a good church full of kids can take care of that problem. Don't have loads of money but we manage to scrape by in Illinois and it's expensive to live here. Thanks for any advice.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by GottaHerdOn

do you honestly hate your home town now? I can't imagine hating my home town. But you seem to have a lot of discontent for it Georgia. I personally like Martinsburg. I dated someone from there for a while

No Herd, I dont hate my hometown.
To be honest it saddens me to see the overall potential it has while not taking the steps to achieve it.
From your profile, you were not even born during what I call the heyday of Martinsburg, however, times do change some for the good and some for the bad. In this case Martinsburg seems to hold to the latter.

When one travels the 3 county top Panhandle they can see what towns have become. For example Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown, Charlestown, Berkeley Springs, all taking steps to bring out the beauty and revive the history in which they are known.

What Martinsburg has done is to maintain itself with current issues, forget the past, and do nothing to make it the jewel of the area. Most don't even realize the history this town holds. Instead they make attempts to turn Belle Boyds' home into a condo area, refuse to even try to remodel the Gateway, which as been at stalemate for 20 years, and God forbid anyone wishing to make downtown a re-modeled Shepherdstown. Of course there are many other areas I could address on opportunity but we are only allocated 5000 characters.

Instead of the above, Martinsburg has become this so-called bedroom community of Washington DC without additional infrastructure to absorb it.
Crime has increased to above the national average, places like Martins Landing have even made the news in Atlanta, downtown is rather dreary and not a place you would want to venture alone at night.

No Herd, I don't hate my town, actually I still care thus my passion on the threads. I have 5 generations of family in Martinsburg with one side actually on different sides of the Civil War do to their location within the town bordering south Berkeley. I just pray one day that maybe someone with much more capital in their back pocket than I can lead the town back to "Boomtown" (Martinsburg's name at one time due to previous days) instead of constant road to nowhere in which it has settled over the past 20 years.

[Emerald Chickpea]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

Which city or town do you like the best in West Virginia?

The best city in West Virginia is the one that you call HOME.

I was away from West Virginia for over 20 years and more than half that time I was deathly homesick. Circumstances finally permitted me to return home and I am much, MUCH happier!

I don't care if it's a state that's considered to be "economically depressed". I don't care (well, can live with the fact) that I don't make nearly as much money now as I used to when I lived "elsewhere".

It's all mitigated by the fact that I AM HOME.

And that's what my license place says. "IAMHOME".