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

[treduece]

West Virginia's city's all have pro's and cons, but i will rank them by how i think they are.

1. Huntington
pro's - city is growing, has university, friendly southern charm
con's - problems that come with many students in city

2. Charleston
pro's - largest city in WV, with many corporate opportunities
con's - loss of many jobs

3. Martinsburg
pro's - In DC Metro area
con's - good jobs hard to find in city

4. Morgantown
pro's - Alot of jobs that come with having a large university and quiet in summertime.
con's - city is full of college students which brings alot of small drugs and alcohol and the crimes that come along with it (WVU is known as a party school)

5. Parkersburg
pro's - open to small businesses and close to many large cities
con's - soaring crime rate/gangs/loss of factory jobs

6. Wheeling
pro's - Has alot of money and is close to Pittsburgh
con's - Being known as rich city also comes with unfriendly snobby people

[mean2402002]

Martinsburg is a nice small town located in the eastern panhandle close to dc and baltimore.

[CTMountaineer]

Morgantown is one of the State's two growing areas (Martinsburg is the other), and home of the State's first rate flagship University. It is far enough from the urban blight of Pittsburgh to provide a safe, wholesome environment with all the amenities of a growing comprehensive University, including some of the best college athletics to be found anywhere.

Wheeling has the world's best municipal park but otherwise is a small version of Pittsburgh (low incomes and losing population). Like Morgantown, it is a safe city but does not have nearly as much educational opportunity.

Charleston is the best of the southern part of the State, and although it is also losing population and lacking economic opportunity, it is much better than Huntington. That latter is losing population, has a small university that really is a glorified teachers college (it's fine if you're a teacher), but is headed by the most incompetent bozos in higher education. Their athletic program is best known for being on NCAA probation, and the city has a Detroit based drug climate.

Martinsburg's prosperity is due to its proximity to Washington, DC while Morgantown's is based on the pharmaceutical industry, research, and the outstanding University.

[Orwelleaut]

Nobody mentioned Weirton. From what I saw, it seems like a decent old city. Some hard economic times, but no worse than many nearby cities.


Having been to Weirton but also Wheeling and Parkersburg, I would rate all three well. Parkersburg feels like WVA, while Wheeling feels like Ohio and PA very strongly. The central location of Wheeling should combine with the cheap cost of living, natural beauty of the area and nice supply of older homes and low crime to stimulate some growth in the future, I think, mainly folks from Columbus and NE OHio looking to get away from the big cities but still be near things.

[Buzz123]

I'm originally from Clarksburg, and many years ago I would have said that it's the best city in WV. It still has great food and great people, but it has deteriorated so much it breaks my heart. And people all over West Virginia don't recognize this in themselves, but since I'm on the outside looking in, I see the negativity that has always been there. Having lived in the west for 43 years now I can't understand why anyone would live east of the Rockies. In terms of amenities, weather, and peoples' attitudes, the west is the only place for me. But, I ask myself this all the time; if I HAD to live in WV, where would I live? My first thought is in or near the eastern panhandle. My second choice is a tie between Clarksburg and Morgantown.

[tbailey1138]

Well, for an unbiased opinion check out the Forbes list. Huntington ranked 36 places higher than Charleston in the overall category and was rated well in crime rate, job growth and income growth. It was also rated number one for overall cost of living. And the "Detroit based drug climate" while still present has nearly been eliminated. But as with any larger city, drugs will likely always be present. Also, Marshall is hardly a "small university that really is a glorified teachers college." Is it smaller than WVU? Sure is. But 16,000 students hardly qualifies as only a teachers college. Marshall is well known for it's forensics program and has made some advancements in the Biotechnology field. And as for being "headed by the most incompetent bozos in higher education", I think this is hardly true as Marshall's president is actually a qualified academic that is actually advancing the university despite the hurdles the state puts in his way. WVU's new president is a Morgantown lawyer with no experience in higher education let alone leading a major university and virtually none of the faculty wanted him. And the Marshall athletic program is probably best known for the plane crash tragedy or as having the winningest team of the 90s in football rather than being known for NCAA sanctions. Just needed to clarify some things again. Also, here are the links for Huntington and Charleston data for the Forbes list. Hope this helps.
Tim
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/1/0...n-WV_2930.html
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/1/0...n-WV_2871.html

[lukepoke]

I lived in Huntington for 6 years before moving to Charlotte. It is a great place to live and has a lot going on for small city. I got my masters degree at Marshall with alot of monetary help from Inco Alloys/Special Metals, thanks to those fine folks. I never bought a home in Huntington but there are lots of great neighborhoods and the cost of living is reasonable. I didnt want to move there in 1996 when I got a job with Inco, my friends in Pittsburgh to me I was F...... crazy to move there. But I was truly surprised and I made some of my best, strongest friendships there. It's just too bad there isnt more employment opportunities.

[Stonecoldharbours]

What bout the Berkley and White Suplar Springs areas? Anyone know of these?

[ohdee]

What about Moundsville and/or New Martinsville?

I've been researching my maternal family and that's where most of them lived.

[dunkhouse]

I have lived in the Huntington area most of my life. There was a time that Huntington would hands down be considered the nicest town in the state. That is not necessarily the case now. Marshall University is the best thing going in town and recent downtown revival and the states largest mall are plusses. However, Huntington, like most of WV, is in financial strains. Police protection has been cut (crime rate skyrocketing), roads are full of potholes, the entire sewer system needs to be replaced, etc and there just isn't any money. A good ole boy government has thwarted the city for years which hasn't helped. On the plus side- cost of living is reasonable, health care excellent, climate best in state, and Marshall. Lexington KY(2 hours), Cincy (2 1/2 hrs) , Columbus (2 hrs) provide big city access. I guess if you are looking to retire, Htgn is good. If you need to find work, you will be challenged. There are a number of small towns in the state that I like, but obviously, they come with small town drawbacks. These small towns are very scenic, as is much of the state.