What's the Best City in West Virginia? (Charleston, Huntington: theater, YMCA)

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Please, and state government is supposed to represent the state of WV, but it largely represents goofball political hacks who specialize in pork barrel bull$hit. I've heard the rumors of what happened 150 years ago, and neither of us were alive then to remember whether or not there is any truth to that. Besides that, it is irrelevent. Much of the success of WVU is attributed to the outstanding residents of Morgantown, and much of the failures associated with our state government... well you get the picture. And now, all of a sudden, Charleston is the same as Huntington? That's a good one. You're the first person I've ever heard make that claim. I'm good friends with somebody from Hurricane, and they don't seem to claim either place there. In fact, a lot of them are there to get away from Charleston.

The state government does represent WV! As does the city of Charleston! WVU is the state and also represents it, not the town of Moragntown.

I never said Huntington was Charleston, but they are in the same metro. The I-64 corridor is almost all developed now, and it is all linked together. The metro even has a bus system. It is like a smaller version of Dallas/ Fort Worth. Morgantown has Fairmont and Clarksburg, as its partner towns.

The only reason there is a putnam county is because of Charleston/ Huntington outward expansion. I don't blame people for wanting a bigger house and more land outside the city, but still really close. The only inward growth Morgantown is seeing is from college students, not families like in Charleston.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

The state government does represent WV! As does the city of Charleston! WVU is the state and also represents it, not the town of Moragntown.

I never said Huntington was Charleston, but they are in the same metro. The I-64 corridor is almost all developed now, and it is all linked together. The metro even has a bus system. It is like a smaller version of Dallas/ Fort Worth. Morgantown has Fairmont and Clarksburg, as its partner towns.

The only reason there is a putnam county is because of Charleston/ Huntington outward expansion. I don't blame people for wanting a bigger house and more land outside the city, but still really close. The only inward growth Morgantown is seeing is from college students, not families like in Charleston.

You're kidding, right? The college students aren't even counted as "permanent residents" for populaton purposes even though they live here most of the year. There has been growth in a number of facits here... The University's student population has actually stabilized by design (the focus is on expanding and growing the graduate programs and research now, not headcount). Mylan Pharma has basically doubled in size in the past few years. Research is growing exponentially at The University as well as at the National Energy Technology Lab. Many Morgantown folks work at the expanded FBI facility in Clarksburg as well as the Federal prison system which recently underwent an expansion. Coal is on the upswing around here. Marcellus development in the region is going great guns, impacting Morgantown. Tourism is doing well here. There are spin off businesses from all the above and more.

WVU and its affiliates are the largest employer, but by no means the only employer. They account for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 jobs around here counting the health services sector.

And, you feel Charleston as a city somehow represents the state? Interesting. Ask anybody in the northern part of the state if that is the case. In fact, ask somebody in Huntington. I have a hunch they consider themselves the equivalent of Charleston at the very least. I wouldn't be surprised at whatever they decide to do with the arbitrary "metro" designations, but having a couple busses with a couple dozen riders on them doesn't mean the towns are joined at the hip. We're soon going to have several busses going to the Pittsburgh area every day and that is about as close as I want to being joined to there. The new Mon Fayette Expressway is opening up the entire heavily populated Mon Valley for us and it is expected that it will bring a great amount of business to this town, especially in the health care areas. It is essentially one big population area all the way from Bridgeport/Clarksburg to Pittsburgh going up the valley, but it was seldom tranversed because of very poor highways. That is changing. I'm just glad we have a couple dozen towns between us and them to serve as a buffer.

40 years ago, the only way into and out of Charleston was on two lane roads and they had almost double the population they have today. Charleston got the roads, and lost population anyway. Political pork took roads to your area first, but now we are starting to get some roads too. Imagine the potential here with what has been going on lately.

The Mountaineers represent West Virginia, and they represent Morgantown specifically. Since Morgantown has the Mountaineers, it represents the state to the whole country. We have, far and away, the State's premier sports activity here. It isn't even remotely close anywhere else. In fact, we have more and better sports activity than our counterpart institution in Pittsburgh.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

You're kidding, right? The college students aren't even counted as "permanent residents" for populaton purposes even though they live here most of the year. There has been growth in a number of facits here... The University's student population has actually stabilized by design (the focus is on expanding and growing the graduate programs and research now, not headcount). Mylan Pharma has basically doubled in size in the past few years. Research is growing exponentially at The University as well as at the National Energy Technology Lab. Many Morgantown folks work at the expanded FBI facility in Clarksburg as well as the Federal prison system which recently underwent an expansion. Coal is on the upswing around here. Marcellus development in the region is going great guns, impacting Morgantown. Tourism is doing well here. There are spin off businesses from all the above and more.

WVU and its affiliates are the largest employer, but by no means the only employer. They account for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 jobs around here counting the health services sector.

And, you feel Charleston as a city somehow represents the state? Interesting. Ask anybody in the northern part of the state if that is the case. In fact, ask somebody in Huntington. I have a hunch they consider themselves the equivalent of Charleston at the very least. I wouldn't be surprised at whatever they decide to do with the arbitrary "metro" designations, but having a couple busses with a couple dozen riders on them doesn't mean the towns are joined at the hip. We're soon going to have several busses going to the Pittsburgh area every day and that is about as close as I want to being joined to there. The new Mon Fayette Expressway is opening up the entire heavily populated Mon Valley for us and it is expected that it will bring a great amount of business to this town, especially in the health care areas. It is essentially one big population area all the way from Bridgeport/Clarksburg to Pittsburgh going up the valley, but it was seldom tranversed because of very poor highways. That is changing. I'm just glad we have a couple dozen towns between us and them to serve as a buffer.

40 years ago, the only way into and out of Charleston was on two lane roads and they had almost double the population they have today. Charleston got the roads, and lost population anyway. Political pork took roads to your area first, but now we are starting to get some roads too. Imagine the potential here with what has been going on lately.

The Mountaineers represent West Virginia, and they represent Morgantown specifically. Since Morgantown has the Mountaineers, it represents the state to the whole country. We have, far and away, the State's premier sports activity here. It isn't even remotely close anywhere else. In fact, we have more and better sports activity than our counterpart institution in Pittsburgh.

I love WVU with all my heart, but give me a break! you think that Morgantown has better sports than the city of Pittsburgh!

And yes Charleston represents our state, it is our capital city for crying out loud! It is home to both our state and federal offices, court houses, law-enforcements, and has hosted major US congressional meetings. Just recently there was a meeting here about controlling the EPA's actions nation wide. We host all of our state's major conventions, events, and national functions. When there is a map of the 50 states, Morgantown isn't on it!

Charleston and Huntington have a unique relationship. To my knowledge they work on related issues together and help each other out. The two towns have always been similar, but even more now with the suburban activity between them.

Other than WVU, WVU healthcare, and Mylan you mentioned government jobs which you are always bashing that Charleston has, coal which Charleston is capital of, and natural gas which is another thing we have lots of. Your saying that Charleston has bad jobs, but Morgantown is fine because they are growing? Mylan=Dow, WVU=state gov, FBI (30 miles away)=federal offices by the thousands in Charleston, and Coal/Natural Gas= Charleston!

[cry_havoc]

Im sure at least 50% of the posters have said this, but the answer is Morgantown. It is not only the best place to live in WV, but is considered one of the best small cities in the USA. Morgantown has been nationally ranked before for quality of life and employment opportunities. Some people on WV hate on Morgantown, but that is because they know it is better. Morgantown is a college town, but once you get away from downtown it is a normal nice small city.

Charleston is a dump. It is a dying rust belt city, where the youth move away if they can. The WV government is corrupt. They do everything in their power to stop Mon county and the Eastern Panhandle from developing, because it could shatter their political machine.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by Chriscross309

I love WVU with all my heart, but give me a break! you think that Morgantown has better sports than the city of Pittsburgh!

And yes Charleston represents our state, it is our capital city for crying out loud! It is home to both our state and federal offices, court houses, law-enforcements, and has hosted major US congressional meetings. Just recently there was a meeting here about controlling the EPA's actions nation wide. We host all of our state's major conventions, events, and national functions. When there is a map of the 50 states, Morgantown isn't on it!

Charleston and Huntington have a unique relationship. To my knowledge they work on related issues together and help each other out. The two towns have always been similar, but even more now with the suburban activity between them.

Other than WVU, WVU healthcare, and Mylan you mentioned government jobs which you are always bashing that Charleston has, coal which Charleston is capital of, and natural gas which is another thing we have lots of. Your saying that Charleston has bad jobs, but Morgantown is fine because they are growing? Mylan=Dow, WVU=state gov, FBI (30 miles away)=federal offices by the thousands in Charleston, and Coal/Natural Gas= Charleston!

I said our counterpart in Pittsburgh. WVU has better sports than Pitt. I wasn't addressing professional sports. Aside from a few minor league programs, we don't really have pro sports in West Virginia.

I am a retired state employee. There is a major difference between working for the Feds, and working for the State of West Virginia. There are some Federal offices in Charleston. There are Federal workers in North Central. There are thousands of them in Clarksburg, Morgantown, and Preston County working for the FBI and the Prison System. They pay about 50% more at the Federal jobs for the same work. I am not bashing state workers. I used to be one. What I am saying is they pay them dirt. I know from personal experience, and when a town's economy is predicated on that to a large degree it will have an effect on overall prosperity.

Morgantown isn't on the maps that show the state capitols because it is not a political cesspool. It isn't a state capitol. It is on a different kind of map. It is on a map where things are happening in a progressive manner rather than a regressive one. Don't get me wrong, our city government has made some mistakes, but overall the city is on the right track.

I really can't speak to the degree of cooperation between Huntington and Charleston. Perhaps it has improved in recent years? I just know that historically they seem to compete as much as they cooperate. Aside from the fact that both towns speak a sort of southern Appalachian accent, they don't really have that much in common. But, my personal opinion, having spent some time in both towns, is I give the edge to Charleston overall, but not by much.

I don't know that Charleston is the capitol of coal any more than several other towns in the State. Coal is basically everywhere here. My son is a miner who works in Benwood, but he is on temporary assignment to a mine in Charleston so I know you have some there too.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

Im sure at least 50% of the posters have said this, but the answer is Morgantown. It is not only the best place to live in WV, but is considered one of the best small cities in the USA. Morgantown has been nationally ranked before for quality of life and employment opportunities. Some people on WV hate on Morgantown, but that is because they know it is better. Morgantown is a college town, but once you get away from downtown it is a normal nice small city.

Charleston is a dump. It is a dying rust belt city, where the youth move away if they can. The WV government is corrupt. They do everything in their power to stop Mon county and the Eastern Panhandle from developing, because it could shatter their political machine.

Exactly. They actively work against our prosperity even though they are shooting themselves in the foot economically by doing so for fear of losing political power. But, the strengths of the North Central region and the Eastern Panhandle are so evident that they are being successful in spite of Charleston's manipulation attempts. The tide is starting to turn politically, and rather than have a cooperative attitude the Charleston pundits maintain an antagonistic one. Over time, it could come back to haunt them.

There are some nice things about Charleston. The state buildings are very picturesque. The Kanawha river is likewise pretty. The ordinary person is very nice. And, Blossom Deli is a classic (I'm really glad it was salvaged). Overall, when you consider all the factors... outdoor venues, job opportunities, educational assets, entertainment, sports environment Morgantown is on a different, higher, level.

[cry_havoc]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Exactly. They actively work against our prosperity even though they are shooting themselves in the foot economically by doing so for fear of losing political power. But, the strengths of the North Central region and the Eastern Panhandle are so evident that they are being successful in spite of Charleston's manipulation attempts. The tide is starting to turn politically, and rather than have a cooperative attitude the Charleston pundits maintain an antagonistic one. Over time, it could come back to haunt them.

There are some nice things about Charleston. The state buildings are very picturesque. The Kanawha river is likewise pretty. The ordinary person is very nice. And, Blossom Deli is a classic (I'm really glad it was salvaged). Overall, when you consider all the factors... outdoor venues, job opportunities, educational assets, entertainment, sports environment Morgantown is on a different, higher, level.

Morgantown is the future of the state, while Charleston represents the past. All the growth in WV is basically in Mon county or the Eastern Panhandle. The state loves the revenue these areas bring in, but dont want to improve the infrastructure of them. That money is better spent bribing people to vote for them, going to corrupt officials, or going to companies and lobbyist.

Morgantown is developing on its own with almost no help from the state, and is doing just fine, but some better infrastructure would be nice. Morgantown has the potential to be the biggest city in WV in a decade or two if they would do so.

You are right Charleston has some old buildings, but I dont find them that nice. If I want to see classic WV I would go to Lewisburg, which is nice. Charleston isnt a terrible place, but it is nowhere for a young person to live. The only thing keeping that city afloat is the fact that it is the capital. If I had my way I would relocate it to Wheeling.

[CTMountaineer]

State government's neglect of our infrastructure in Morgantown is a travesty. And, as a perfect example of how the Boss Hogg types that run our state government keep out state fighting it out for last place all the time, they are p*ssing money down the drain building roads in areas where they are seldom used (and debating how much toll they can slap on them to pad their own wallets) while ignoring their primary cash cow. Charleston has repeatedly shown it can contain the biggest bunch of political idiots east of the Mississippi.

[rawrockills]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Tim, reality is even if the 22 to 1 rate of return is accurate (and I believe it is much higher than that), it is an amazing return for the State of West Virginia. It's a several thousand percent return on investment. WVUHC is part of the health system of The University, which is technically a seperate entity but is directly related to the school in every sense, as is the major facility in Morgantown.

Historically, WVU has not played a major role in state politics. I suspect that role is becoming bigger though due in part so the antics of some folks in another higher education institution in the state, but there is no way of knowing for sure because they don't talk about those things. What is disturbing about the state's political system is it is a good old boy system predicated on special interests, a sort of microcosm of the national level. The real needs of the people take a back seat to that.

I worked for years in Oklahoma, New York, Connecticut, and California. Most of those people don't even know Charleston exists. Some don't even know West Virginia exists (they think it is part of Virginia), but Morgantown is the city they associate with the state due to the frequent publicity received by the West Virginia athletic program. I know that irks some, but it is a fact. Since the city is growing in stature, and since the athletic program seems poised for even greater heights, I don't suspect that will change any time soon.

There is some influence from Pittsburgh here, but it is not overwhelming. In fact, as you know, Pittsburgh is largely an Appalachian city in spite of its size so the influence works both ways. But North Central West Virginia and South Central West Virginia comprise the most distinctly West Virginian areas, influences aside. Our small and sparcely populated state has five distinct areas, and I would agree that South Central (The Capitol Region) is the least influenced by outside influences. There is simply nothing large near it to have any influence on it. But, like all of our state's regions, that one is small to the extent that it just isn't large enough to exert significant economic or cultural pull on the others.

I like Charleston, and was basically chidding Chris for acting like it is the center of everything in the state. It's an okay town, but no place in the state is the be all and end all for the other areas. Now, there are states where the capitol is that... Oklahoma City, Albequerque, and Indianapolis fit that bill. Charleston, Harrisburg, Lexington, and even Richmond do not.

Lexington is not the capital of Kentucky.

[Chriscross309]

Originally Posted by cry_havoc

Morgantown is the future of the state, while Charleston represents the past. All the growth in WV is basically in Mon county or the Eastern Panhandle. The state loves the revenue these areas bring in, but dont want to improve the infrastructure of them. That money is better spent bribing people to vote for them, going to corrupt officials, or going to companies and lobbyist.

Morgantown is developing on its own with almost no help from the state, and is doing just fine, but some better infrastructure would be nice. Morgantown has the potential to be the biggest city in WV in a decade or two if they would do so.

You are right Charleston has some old buildings, but I dont find them that nice. If I want to see classic WV I would go to Lewisburg, which is nice. Charleston isnt a terrible place, but it is nowhere for a young person to live. The only thing keeping that city afloat is the fact that it is the capital. If I had my way I would relocate it to Wheeling.

First off you'd relocate the capital back to Wheeling where the economy is worse, and is no where near the rest of the state? Second you think that our corrupt officials are only from Charleston? Think of Sen/Gov Joe! North Central WV at its finest.