Needs for engineers in WV (Charleston, Huntington: house, movie theater, middle school)

[tbailey1138]

Originally Posted by mezzogirl

Are there jobs for engineers in Charleston, Huntington, or Parkersburg?

We'd love to have you here in Huntington. I'm not an engineer so I'm not entirely sure of the market here but there are several potential employers that your husband may want to look into. The Huntington district of the Corps of Engineers may be a good place to start as well as the state department of highways. Marshall University has recently restarted their engineering program so they may be able to give some good advice if you contact that department. CSX just moved 80 new jobs here from FL and they contributed to MU's engineering program in the hopes that it would produce more candidates for the positions they needed so they may be worth looking into as well. I'm also not familiar with local firms that may fit your needs either. Here are some links to get you started as well as the classifieds from the local paper. I'll also include a few links about Huntington just incase you haven't come across them yet. Hope this is useful and let me know if there's any other way I can help.
Tim

Engineering Links
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District - Vacancies / Information
CITE Graduate Engineering Program
CSX news
Employment Opportunities
Herald-Dispatch -- Classifieds

Huntington links
City of Huntington, West Virginia
http://www.city-data.com/album/album...-Virginia.html
The Greater Huntington Community Web Portal
Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District
Pullman Square - Restaurants Shopping Entertainment
http://www.huntingtonmall.com/home/index.ch2

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by mezzogirl

Oops. Definitely meant WEST Virginia. We are not concerned about getting a high paying job- just something reliable and steady. Thank you for all the input.
My heart is not sold to any particular town, but I found Buckhannon to be quaint and cozy. I don't want to be totally isolated, but I'm not interested in being by the mall and tons of restaurants. Been there and done that.
I also liked that Buckhannon had a college that really reached out to the community, but I would never have consider it a college town. I got a question for you though. Why are the land prices there so high? (well, compared to say, Spencer or one of those other little towns)

Since your husband is a civil servant, he might want to follow the same course in West Virginia. I'm retired from both West Virginia and New York myself, and believe civil service is the way to go long term. While the pay might not be up with private firms, the retirement benefits are generally far better. As Bailey said, the Army Corps of Engineers has locations in many West Virginia towns... generally wherever there is a navigable river... the Ohio, Monongahela, Kanawha. State or Federal would probably be the way to go. I tell my son that, but he wants the up front money.

[snorpus]

I'm not sure if it's organized the same way in WV, but here in PA the Turnpike Commission is a separate entity from the state Dept of Highways (PennDOT up here). So it would be an additional place to contact/apply to.

The electric power and natural gas companies probably all have CivE departments for rights-of-way, etc., as well as major construction projects.

[vec101]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

Severe shortage of Civil Engineers...Thrasher Engineering...Glen-Mark Holding...Triad...March-Westin are the really good ones up here...all are looking for people...

In case you are not real familiar with the areas, I think by "up here" DK is referring to the Morgantown area. (Yes DK?)

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by vec101

In case you are not real familiar with the areas, I think by "up here" DK is referring to the Morgantown area. (Yes DK?)

Those companies are located in Morgantown. That would be a great choice, not only for the cultural amenities afforded by The University, but also because of the very close proximity of wonderful outdoor areas such as Cheat Lake and the mountains... some really neat places to live. And, for those times when you want to "visit" a larger city (Pittsburgh) there is one an hour up the road, and Washington is 3 hours to the East.

[mezzogirl]

I'm going to risk sounding sappy and cheesy, but I really appreciate all the feedback that everyone has sent. It's funny that someone mentioned Pittsburgh. I have a business out of my home- www.calligraphyatlanta.com and I have actually had some business out of Pittsburgh as well as a wedding magazine from there that called to put my listing in their vendor info. I figured I would end up tossing in the towel. In my experience, it is much easier to sell this service in an affluent high population area.
True confession time- I'm a little nervous about mover so far north because I have always lived in the deep south. Born and raised in New Orleans, schooled in north Louisiana, and now moved to Altanta area. I noticed that the southern part of WV sorta had a southern feel about it. (biscuits, greens and cornbread, you know?) and northern parts seemed more cold and industrial. Am I totally off base here?
OK, one last question for all you experts. Does WV have any kind of symphony orchestra or chorus? It's my passion and I sang with Atlanta Symphony Orch Chorus, recording several times with them and traveling to perform. It doesn't have to be that grand of scale, and I wouldn't want to drive to Pittsburgh for anything like this. I was just wondering if Charleston or Huntington had any of these amenities.

[tbailey1138]

Originally Posted by mezzogirl

I noticed that the southern part of WV sorta had a southern feel about it. (biscuits, greens and cornbread, you know?) and northern parts seemed more cold and industrial. Am I totally off base here?
OK, one last question for all you experts. Does WV have any kind of symphony orchestra or chorus? It's my passion and I sang with Atlanta Symphony Orch Chorus, recording several times with them and traveling to perform. It doesn't have to be that grand of scale, and I wouldn't want to drive to Pittsburgh for anything like this. I was just wondering if Charleston or Huntington had any of these amenities.

Your assessment about the northern and southern parts of the state is pretty accurate. The southern part of the state considers themselves to be more southern while the northern part of the state associates more with the north. When visiting, did you have the opportunity to visit Tudor's Biscuit World? Great breakfast food and food in general. There are also several other good local places here where the food is fresh and home cooked like FlapJacks and Jewel City Seafood.

Tudor's Biscuit World
Jewel City Seafood

In terms of the orchestra and chorus question, Huntington does have it's own symphony and they often have vocal performances along with it. There are also a few local chorus groups but I'm not too familiar with them. Here are some links that may help to answer your questions though. Also, there are a few places that you may be able to still do your calligraphy in conjuntion with. One is called Most Unusual Gifts and Paper Items Anywhere (MUG and PIA) and the other is the Downtown Depot which is for local artisans. Let me know if you need anything else.
Tim


Mug and Pia (for contact info as the website is still under construction)
http://www.city-data.com/profiles/12131 (Downtown Depot)

Symphony Links
Huntington Symphony Orchestra of Huntington, West Virginia (they only list their Winter concerts but they also have a Spring/Summer series as well)
Here are some videos ofthe HSO performing:

YouTube - Huntington Symphony Orchestra Valentine's Concert

YouTube - Huntington Symphony Orchestra 's Laura Evans and Concert

YouTube - Huntington Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert

Other Links
Arts Resources For The Tri-State (I know some of the chorus groups meet here but I couldn't find any info on them on the web site)
River Magic Chorus - Sweet Adelines

[genesee]

West Virginia Symphony Orchestra And don't forget the West Virginia symphony orchestra! ( currently performing Mahler at the Clay Center in Charleston). Tim, I can't wait to check out Huntington's Orchestra too!

[GottaHerdOn]

Originally Posted by vec101

Not really sure why land prices are higher than say Spencer, etc. except that figure there is probably more demand since Bkn is the town that it is. Plus, there is more industry and business in Bkn than in many of the other smaller towns.

Also, after the FBI fingerprint plant went in at Clarksburg, demand for housing in Bkn went up. Even though it about 30 miles from the plant, a lot of new people coming in to work at the plant looked at Bkn for the town where they wanted to live.

Even in Elkins I used to have a few neighbors who worked at the FBI center and would drive it. My dad actually works in Fairmont, and has an apt there and drives back to Elkins on Wednesdays and weekends...

[mezzogirl]

Originally Posted by GottaHerdOn

Even in Elkins I used to have a few neighbors who worked at the FBI center and would drive it. My dad actually works in Fairmont, and has an apt there and drives back to Elkins on Wednesdays and weekends...

Woah. We live 30 miles from my husband's work. He has a 1 hour commute in the morning and 1 hour commute coming home. If there is an accident, an event downtown, bad weather or holiday shopping- you can start adding 10 minute increments to the drive time. Most of the time he is sitting on a 5 lane interstate, parked in gridlock or crawling along.
Sigh. Can you feel me? Talk about wasting life...