WV What little place (Charleston, Huntington: rentals, low crime, houses)

[WVSuZQ]

My husband was born and raised in Illinois and his job allowed him to live in Georgia, Virginia, Wyoming & Texas as well as traveling and spending time in Chile and Austrailia which he admits is beautiful. He often tells everyone that West Virginia is the best kept secret. I was born and raised here and we have spent our 10 years of married life here. We are in the 50 to 65 age group and live in central WV near Bridgeport. Good schools and shopping and a good place to raise your children. Although we certainly do welcome you my husband fears of the secret getting out.....fear of overcrowding! It is a beautiful state, very reasonable economy, wonderful history and sights to visit and just plain good people. Every state will have some downfalls and some negative people so come to WV overlook them and enjoy! It's what you make of it.

[citygrl707]

Ive been looking at Southern charleston, bluefield , princeton and athens wv. I kind of want small town but i also want a job. I was in bluefield in auguest and loved the mall and the old houses . There is a very poor run down part but overall its very beautiful.

[jmag]

Originally Posted by Lorann

Just wanted to say good luck w/ your decision to move and all. Wow, Jersey houses sound just like AZ houses. I'm soooo sick of subdivisions!!! Hopefully we'll be relocating to WV this summer. I can't wait to live w/ some trees
What area of WV are you considering moving to?

Well we are not exactly sure yet. We've been to the Morgantown area before and are going back soon to stay around the Elkins area. We're trying to stay within the area that will allow us to travel back to NJ in no longer then a six hour drive. I believe it took us five hours from Jersey to Morgantown and figure that Elkins shouldn't be any more then an hour from that. Please someone correct me if i'm wrong.

It's so funny because since i've been looking into this move, I've heard of so many others trying to do the same thing. My dental hygenist is actually considering moving to WV i found out last week.

Yeah i can't stand subdivisions, there is no damn privacy at all, everyone minds your business and tells you what you should do with your house. It's ridiculous! There's so much concrete sidewalk around my house since i'm on the corner it's ridiculous when it snows. I want trees, mountains and all of the good stuff including fresh air.

Good luck with your move as well, what area are you looking in?

[jmag]

Originally Posted by WVSuZQ

My husband was born and raised in Illinois and his job allowed him to live in Georgia, Virginia, Wyoming & Texas as well as traveling and spending time in Chile and Austrailia which he admits is beautiful. He often tells everyone that West Virginia is the best kept secret. I was born and raised here and we have spent our 10 years of married life here. We are in the 50 to 65 age group and live in central WV near Bridgeport. Good schools and shopping and a good place to raise your children. Although we certainly do welcome you my husband fears of the secret getting out.....fear of overcrowding! It is a beautiful state, very reasonable economy, wonderful history and sights to visit and just plain good people. Every state will have some downfalls and some negative people so come to WV overlook them and enjoy! It's what you make of it.

Thank you so much! See this is exactly what i want for my children, just down to earth nice people. I appreciate your information and message. I know that there are downfalls to everyplace, i think my major problem is getting the guts to pick up and leave here because it's all I've ever known my whole life. I've never lived anywhere but Jersey. I understand your side of it, if i lived in such a beautiful place where the people were so friendly i would be afraid of everyone coming there and ruining it. Well i'm going to have to just go with my gut and get over this feeling if I want to find out. Thanks again!!!!!!

[wv4life]

The best area in WV is the Charleston area...the whole state is nice for raising kids...BUT...if you want things to do on the weekends PLEASE look into the areas around the big cities....either Charleston or Huntington. In order to avoid the drugs of the inner city communities try small suburbs of Charleston like Cross Lanes, Dubar, South Charleston, Alum Creek, or Madison.

[florida7]

Originally Posted by jmag

Hello...I'm new to this site but was reading everything on WV because I too am hopefully planning on moving there. I currently reside in NJ and have a good life. I'm very lucky, husband, two kids, two dogs, nice house in a nice subdivision with great school systems, but the people here are so hateful and unfriendly. It is overcongested, I'm right over the bridge from Philly where they're having just about a murder for every day of the year so far or more. We too also have a bunch of sex offenders who live in even closer proximity to you because there is no free land left so the house are just stacked one right after the other.

Don't get me wrong Jersey is ok, been here all of my life and that is why i am so afraid at times to take the plunge and go somewhere else, but between the hours my husband and I have to work just to pay our 2500.00 mortgage pymt, we don't get to spend alot of time with our children. I hate that i have to have someone else raise them to a certain extent. You live once and i refuse to waste the rest of their childhood wishing i had the guts to find a better way of life.

When i am able work from home because they are sick or something i have to basically sit them in front of the tv all day just to be able to complete the things expected of me so i get to see them but i don't. I hate this feeling. For me I am willing to deal with alot less as far as things in my life to be able to spend more time with my children and my husband as well.

WV to me will allow me cheaper housing, having a beautiful backyard of nature instead of my jerkoff neighbor right in my face everytime i go out there and hopefully a healthier lifestyle. Have you ever looked at the air quality in Jersey? And i keep hearing about the lack of jobs in WV from every site i go to, but my outlook on it is this, it can only go up from where it is. Things to me (an outsider) appear pretty cheap in most places. Since i joined this site yesterday I've met two different people going to WV, and i know we can't be the only ones. People want more in life like what WV stands for then the city life, and some don't, to each his own. With the world the way it is right now and how it is probably going to continue with terrorism, drugs, weather, pollution, etc i would rather be tucked up in the mountains of WV with my family and some land around me then a sittin duck in the city.

Well i hope i haven't offened anyone in any way, just wanted to give my whole "city" mentality on why i am personally considering the move. Good luck to everyone!

I am looking to move to WV likely in huntington area with my husband and 2 kids 14 and 10. good to see some encouraging comments. I live in FL and my husband is in medical field and has a great offer in huntington. I hope the shools are OK

[nurseseabreeze]

I am also looking to move this July. My husband and I are both in the medical field. We are looking to move to the Summersville area. That is where all my family is and where I grew up at. We live in Winter Haven, Florida, near Orlando and all there is here is sub-divisions galore. And the cost of housing is so ridiculous. I also pay $850 a month for a small apartment and that is the cheapest one here. My friend who lives across the road in another apartment complex pays $1025 a month and that includes nothing. The cheapest houses you will find down here to buy are well over $189,000 and most running in the $220,000 to $330,000. That is for a small city lot. And the crime here is outrageous. Not just here in this town but everywhere in florida, and talk about sex offenders there are a ton of them here. I am so relieved to know that I will definately be moving to West Virginia this summer. I am sure WV has it's share of crime also but if you look at it nationwide I believe it ranks lower on the list. Just can't wait to be in the country again. Country girl at heart.

[tbailey1138]

Florida7, if you are interested in Huntington, then check out this site http://www.greaterhuntington.com/default.asp It has some good info on the city, surrounding areas, schools and lots of other good info. Huntington is in Cabell county by the way when you are looking at school statistics. Let me know if you have any other questions about Huntington and I'll do my best to answer them.
Tim

[dunkhouse]

I have lived in both Wheeling and Huntington. Neither are booming areas. Huntington's crime rate has jumped noticably due to cut backs in the police force ( Huntington has budget problems- another story in itself) has allowed Detroit drug dealers to move in. Both cities are past their prime. However, most anywhere in WV offers a good place to raise kids all things considered. You will find crime in any area of the country. Job market is tough all over, cost of living fairly cheap. Finding a good job will be your biggest obstacle.

[GottaHerdOn]

I think it is great that so many people are finding how warm and welcoming West Virginia truly can be though. I would like welcome you all to visit the mountain state and would strongly encourage a move here. There are some posts about the West Virginia job market not being the best. Which is true, but as time is progressing so is the market and it is improving as well. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask me! I love helping people