Curious about Fayette County WV... Need some help. (Charleston, Beckley: ski resort, apartments)

[livebyoptimism]

Hello all! I'm currently teaching art in SC & am originally from Ohio. In recent weeks, the neighboring towns surrounding us have had MANY problems including homicides, shootings, & robberies. I don't mind living in the middle of a forest in the middle of no where, but the violence is starting to get to me. Also, my boyfriend & I would love to live closer to home.
I saw that Fayette County is hiring, so I'm in need of some help. Can anyone tell me what it's like there? It is a decent place to live? Is there a city near by? What's the population? How are the schools? What's the town considered- rural, suburb, etc? Is it easy to find apartments around there? And how about other jobs... I know the economy is bad, but is it possible to find other work there? We've been living in SC since August & my boyfriend still can't find a job here. It's a 'you have to know someone' kind of place.
I do have LOTS of questions, but any real life info would be a great help! Reading data is fine & good, but I'd much rather get some info from people who can tell me about it!
Thanks for your help in advance!!

[vec101]

Figure you may not want websites but provided some just in case you may find them of interest.

Closest larger town would be Beckley (in Raleigh County). I like Beckley a lot. I live in Charleston and the only reason I would not move to Beckley is cuz it is at a higher altitude and gets more snow (I HATE snow). (Not sure what part of Ohio you are from, but especially if it's the North, you are used to snow). BTW, there is a little ski resort outside of Beckley called Winterplace.
Here's some info on Beckley
City Of Beckley, WV
Raleigh County West Virginia Travel and Tourism - Southern West Virginia CVB

Beckley is 1 hour from Charleston, the WV State Capitol. Lots more shopping, etc. here. I know of a LOT of people who live in Beckley and work in Charleston.

Fayette County and Raleigh County are side-by-side. Guess it depends on which school you were at whether you could live in Beckley or if the drive would be too far. (Hmm, do you have to reside in the county where you teach, is that a requirement?)

You can check City Data for info on sizes of counties, towns, etc. Also take a look at the WV govt website at New River/Greenbrier Valley
http://www.city-data.com/county/Fayette_County-WV.html

Fayette County website: Fayette County Chamber of Commerce

Fayette County is rural. My guess is that Oak Hill is probably the largest town. I have mixed feelings about Oak Hill. In my opinion, the town is pretty depressed. However, I have known wonderful people from there. The really good news is that Oak Hill is only about 15-20 minutes from Beckley and as I recall the road is pretty good. The town of Fayetteville is a cute little town but not much there.

Fayette County is pretty with a lot of outdoor activities. People come from all over the world to do white-water rafting in Fayette Co. (the New River and the Gauley River). People also come from all over the world for Bridge Day. There is also a great state park called Hawks Nest.
New River Gorge, West Virginia Events - New River CVB
West Virginia White Water Rafting
Bridge Day: New River Gorge Bridge Day Fesitval in Fayetteville, West Virginia (WV)
Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia State Park

Crime - I wouldn't be worried, however, like anywhere in the world - use good judgement. Here's a link to crime info but looks only up to 2005 http://www.disastercenter.com/westvirg/crime/index.html
Also see the city-data info

The people in WV are wonderful - I just love them.

Job opportunities in Fayette County? I couldn't begin to guess.
Don't know what your significant other does but I'd say job opportunities are pretty good in Beckley area (or drive to Charleston).

May want to check out: https://www.workforcewv.org//

For Nov 2008, the National Unemployment rate was 6.8%, WV was 4.6% (for Dec Ntl is 7.2%, don't think the states rates are out yet). Also, 44 states have deficits, WV is one that does not.
May not find high wages here as in other states, but we are doing well considering the Ntl economy. A lot of it has to do with coal.

[livebyoptimism]

Originally Posted by vec101

Figure you may not want websites but provided some just in case you may find them of interest.

Closest larger town would be Beckley (in Raleigh County). I like Beckley a lot. I live in Charleston and the only reason I would not move to Beckley is cuz it is at a higher altitude and gets more snow (I HATE snow). (Not sure what part of Ohio you are from, but especially if it's the North, you are used to snow). BTW, there is a little ski resort outside of Beckley called Winterplace.
Here's some info on Beckley
City Of Beckley, WV
Raleigh County West Virginia Travel and Tourism - Southern West Virginia CVB

Beckley is 1 hour from Charleston, the WV State Capitol. Lots more shopping, etc. here. I know of a LOT of people who live in Beckley and work in Charleston.

Fayette County and Raleigh County are side-by-side. Guess it depends on which school you were at whether you could live in Beckley or if the drive would be too far. (Hmm, do you have to reside in the county where you teach, is that a requirement?)

You can check City Data for info on sizes of counties, towns, etc. Also take a look at the WV govt website at New River/Greenbrier Valley
http://www.city-data.com/county/Fayette_County-WV.html

Fayette County website: Fayette County Chamber of Commerce

Fayette County is rural. My guess is that Oak Hill is probably the largest town. I have mixed feelings about Oak Hill. In my opinion, the town is pretty depressed. However, I have known wonderful people from there. The really good news is that Oak Hill is only about 15-20 minutes from Beckley and as I recall the road is pretty good. The town of Fayetteville is a cute little town but not much there.

Fayette County is pretty with a lot of outdoor activities. People come from all over the world to do white-water rafting in Fayette Co. (the New River and the Gauley River). People also come from all over the world for Bridge Day. There is also a great state park called Hawks Nest.
New River Gorge, West Virginia Events - New River CVB
West Virginia White Water Rafting
Bridge Day: New River Gorge Bridge Day Fesitval in Fayetteville, West Virginia (WV)
Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia State Park

Crime - I wouldn't be worried, however, like anywhere in the world - use good judgement. Here's a link to crime info but looks only up to 2005 West Virginia Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Reports 1980 to 2005
Also see the city-data info

The people in WV are wonderful - I just love them.

Job opportunities in Fayette County? I couldn't begin to guess.
Don't know what your significant other does but I'd say job opportunities are pretty good in Beckley area (or drive to Charleston).

May want to check out: https://www.workforcewv.org//

For Nov 2008, the National Unemployment rate was 6.8%, WV was 4.6% (for Dec Ntl is 7.2%, don't think the states rates are out yet). Also, 44 states have deficits, WV is one that does not.
May not find high wages here as in other states, but we are doing well considering the Ntl economy. A lot of it has to do with coal.

AWESOME!! That was a lot of info & some great help!!!! Thanks so much!!!!

[Country4life]

Originally Posted by livebyoptimism

Hello all! I'm currently teaching art in SC & am originally from Ohio. In recent weeks, the neighboring towns surrounding us have had MANY problems including homicides, shootings, & robberies. I don't mind living in the middle of a forest in the middle of no where, but the violence is starting to get to me. Also, my boyfriend & I would love to live closer to home.
I saw that Fayette County is hiring, so I'm in need of some help. Can anyone tell me what it's like there? It is a decent place to live? Is there a city near by? What's the population? How are the schools? What's the town considered- rural, suburb, etc? Is it easy to find apartments around there? And how about other jobs... I know the economy is bad, but is it possible to find other work there? We've been living in SC since August & my boyfriend still can't find a job here. It's a 'you have to know someone' kind of place.
I do have LOTS of questions, but any real life info would be a great help! Reading data is fine & good, but I'd much rather get some info from people who can tell me about it!
Thanks for your help in advance!!

I just happen to be up working very late tonight so....I grew up going to Fayette county a lot as a child for several years anyway, I have family all over the state of WV. It was neat to see the New River Gorge bridge getting built. However, it's a really small town, very rural, and the mountains surrounding it are huge. It would have been too rural for me growing up, we never considered moving there. There used to be only one road to get there, it was very scary, it went through Gauley mountain, and you were literally driving on a curvey cliff to get there. You could see the cliff down below when going around a curve. I still have nightmares about it to this day. And Hawks nest, look out. That's way up there, in the middle of nowhere on a cliff. Now the freeway has opened up, so it's probably easier to get there. If you're not from a rural area, and not used to living that way, you might want to check it out first. Go and stay there in a local hotel and see what it's like. It's also very easy to get lost, so be prepared.

As far as other jobs, they are hard to find in WV. You usually have to know someone to be honest, because the jobs are hard to find and difficult to get. Not to say that you won't find a job or get the job ( I don't want attacked by the WV optimist above), but I'm speaking from the experiences of friends and family with professional type jobs in WV, even teaching jobs.

Also, be perpared, you may not be able to get cellular service or high speed internet in very rual areas in WV, so make sure you check that out also. (and it's not 4AM here, so I'm not sure why my post says that) lol.

Good luck to you.

[kookamus]

I have a place in Hico 10 miles from Fayetteville. I am up there every week. Fayetteville is a BIG speed trap. If driving through make sure you are going 50 MPH. I bicycle from Hico to fayetteville all the time. I bicycle across the New River Goerge bridge all the time. Fayetteville itself is a hick little town. There are a couple of resturants that cater to the river rafting crowd. There is a Ben Franklins 5%10 store, A couple of banks, County court house, not much. Go south on 19 anf there is a Lowes and a super walmart. Then oak hill has a strip mall. Land will cost you around $3000 an acre. I am going up there this afternoon,if you want me to check on something specific let me know as i go into town and pick up wifi from one of the resturants. Here are some pictures. First one is my land second is the view across the bridge on a bicycle.

[kookamus]

[livebyoptimism]

Wow! 1st off, you & Country4 Life make me realize that it might be a little too rural for me. I'm currently living in a very rural town in SC & am having a hard time with it here. There are differences though. Here it is flat as can be & is terribly boring to look at. Also, the crime is really getting out of control. Since I grew up with family in WV I have always adored it. I can't really explain how it makes me feel to think of WV. Kind of magical & wonderful really. Lots of great memories from there. And holy moly!! Your pictures are AMAZING!!!!! It just blows me away that there is such beauty here in America! Your big rock on your land is great! It completely reminds me where I used to go as a child!! I could almost put up with living in the middle of no where if there was not a lot of crime & the views looked like that!! Thanks for the pics! They really made my day!!