Info on Beckley, WV or areas close by (Charleston, Huntington: best neighborhood, for sale)

[curious1104]

My family and I are looking to relocate to the Beckley area. We have lived in Fla, Pa, and are now in NJ. We have family in all of those places but have yet to find a place that feels like home to us. We have three small children and another on the way. Is this a good place to raise kids? Ideally, we are looking for a place with small town feel but close to a bigger city where there are things to do. We'd obviously like somewhere safe with good schools. I've looked at many websites that show statistics but according to those this area is low in education and high in crime. However, I also know it's hard to judge a place by those websites so I was hoping to get some insight from people who actually know and live in the area. Where are the best schools and neighborhoods? Is there a place for kids to play indoors when the weather is bad? Any info anyone could provide would be appreciated. We also considered some of the smaller towns north of Atlanta, Ga if anyone has any info on there as well. Thanks.

[vec101]

The best neighborhood is Glade Springs but the houses are pricey.
Glade Springs Village - Home
West Virginia Skiing & Resorts | The Resort at Glade Springs | West Virginia Ski & Spa Resort

I really like the town of Beckley.

Here's a couple other posts with info on Beckley:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/west-...5-beckley.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/west-...o-beckley.html

[curious1104]

Thanks for your reply. We are also looking at the teays valley area. Is this a good place to raise a family? How does it compare to Beckley? If anyone could give us any info at all on either area, we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

[vec101]

Teays Valley is a great place to raise a family and has great schools. It basically was farmland until about 20-25 years ago then housing exploded. TV is pretty much a bedroom community of Charleston.

Differences:
Beckley is at a much higher elevation - more snow and cold.
Closest big town to Beckley is Charleston - 1 hour away. TV is located between Charleston and Huntington - on the interstate I think it's about 20 miles to Chas. and 20-25 miles to Barboursville Mall by Huntington. Good interstate connects them all.
Good interstate between Chas and Beckley but you are going down (or up) a lot in elevation and the road has some curves which make me nervous the way the trucks fly down them.
More job opportunities in TV/Chas/Huntington area. BTW, a lot of people live in Beckley and work in Chas.
More shopping, etc. conviences in TV/Chas/Hunt area.
Chas airport costs a small fortune to fly out of compared to Pitts, etc. - I figure Beckley airport is even more. Surely lot less destinations. Most people I know from Beckley drive to Chas to fly.

[curious1104]

Thanks vec101. Do you know of any good websites we could check out houses for rent on? Also, do you know what the average price for a 4 bedroom house might be in either area? Is the cost of each area about the same?

[smileykaren]

Hi, have you thought about maybe the outskirts of Beckley?? I live in Daniels, WV and LOVE it here. I am secluded yet close to town. Shady Spring is another nice place and also Cool Ridge. Shady Spring I hear has nice schools...I am not sure as my son is now out of school and did not attend around here (went to a diff. county) Daniels, Shady Spring, and Cool Ridge is all close to Beckley yet not right in town. I do not recommend living right in town of Beckley, just MY own personal opinion, but crime CAN be high in certain places there, but outskirts is not bad at all. Beckley has lots of places to eat out if that is something that you like, and shopping too. Best wishes!!

[kookamus]

Why don't you visit Beckley awhile and see for yourself? You need to stay and get around town and get a feel for the place. I hit Charleston cold in January of 1980. I didn't know a soul here. I transferred from Texas and it took some gettin' used to.

[snorpus]

From Texas to Charleston, in January, had to be quite a difference, weather-wise. Had you ever lived in a colder climate before?

[vec101]

Originally Posted by curious1104

Thanks vec101. Do you know of any good websites we could check out houses for rent on? Also, do you know what the average price for a 4 bedroom house might be in either area? Is the cost of each area about the same?

This is an awesome site for real estate - they have their listings as well as listings of other brokers. It may take a week or so for a house to get listed on the site, but once sold, it is usually taken off quickly.
Old Colony, REALTORS - Charleston West Virginia Real Estate - Real Estate Listings Search - Page 1

Under "select a database":
For Chas area - click on KVBR
For Beckley area - click on Beckley Board of Realtors

In greater Chas area, 4 bedroom homes really vary in price depending on the location. Generally, a decent 4 bedroom in a decent area will run $180 - $250K (that is NOT a new built home). Newer home, step up in area - about $300 - $400K. New build home in nice and new subdivision $400 - $600K. You can get a pretty fancy home for $600+K. The fanciest homes in the area in the fanciest subdivisions pretty much run 1 Mill or more, although there is 1 in Fox Chase (probably the fanciest subdivision in Charleston) for $625. It's been on the market quite a while - don't know why it has not sold except that for Fox Chase, it is not as grand as others there.

I'm not familiar with home prices in Beckley - just know Glade Springs is gorgeous and expensive.

[vec101]

Sorry, just realized you said "for rent".
For Chas, try Charleston Newspaper - West Virginia - Gazette-Mail Homes - Homes for Sale
Don't know about Beckly but may try the newspaper The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia - Home Page