Questions about Huntington, WV (Barboursville, Chesapeake: rentals, home owners insurance, violent crime)

[mattbward]

I am originally from Southern Ohio (Lancaster, Ohio to be precise) but now live in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Here are some differences I have noticed between those two places.

1.) NC State taxes are about 210% higher then Ohio State taxes. In 2005 I paid $1000 on $40k income for state taxes in Ohio and still got $90 back. In NC in 2006 I paid $2100 on 41K income and got about $90 back. This year I made more money, paid in $3200 in state taxes and owe The State of NC $3... I have heard conflicting info about whether state taxes in WV are higher or lower then OH and NC. Does anyone know the true deal with state taxes in WV?

2.) Property Taxes: In NC you pay property tax on your vehicle in addition to your house. Property taxes on homes in Wilmington are pretty high due to the ocean being nearbye.

3.) River odor: Does it exist? I know living near the coast there is often a smell from the oyster beds at low tide. Does the river or any plants or factories near Huntington make certain parts smelly? (kinda a random question...)

4.) Traffic: Infrastructure in Wilmington, NC is made for 50k people but we have nearly 100k. Are the roads in "metro" Hungtington pretty decent?

5.) Schools: One question, what is the best public school in the Huntington area? I am planning on starting a family upon moving to Huntington area but want to live somewhat close to the best schools available. Would even consider private schools if they test well enough.

6.) What area of Huntington has the least amount of rentals?

7.) What area has the best home appreciation close to Huntington? I have heard that the thing about buying a house in Huntington is that the appreciation rate (home value increase) is well below national average. I would assume this is all depending on WHERE you buy.

8.) WHERE do you all think would be a good buy for someone looking to spend 100k or less on a house (two bedrooms two bath nothing special)

I would appreciate feedback specifically from anyone that has relocated to WV area from Ohio or NC. Others are welcome to give feedback too.

I put this message together quickly so if some questions seem redundant I am sorry

[nikongirl24]

My husband and I have lived in Huntington, WV for about 6 years now. We only rent so I can't help you with some tax questions... but I can try and help you!

3-- depends on how close to the OH River you live... there is an odor, but it's not as bad as some say. The odor from the steel mill across the river in KY is MUCH STRONGER. Also, smells worse in Summer (heat, etc...)

4-- Roads are full of pot holes on 5th and 6th avenue, but traffic is not nearly as bad as you are probably used too. I can get from the west end of huntington to Marshall's campus in a matter of minutes. Rush hour is between 4 and 6 pm, but when schools let out at 3ish, it can be a hassle to take the interstate.

5-- Are you religious? If you are Catholic, St. Joes is the BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL AROUND!! I am Jewish myself, but some friends of mine send their kids to SJ and I know people who went there, great school, has a daycare, preschool, elementary, middle and high school.

Cabell Midland isn't bad, but I'd recommend Huntington High. Spring Valley is a little ways out of actual Huntington, but is a good school.

6-- Huntington has rentals all over, but close to campus has more, and more expensive. River Park area has PRICEY PRICEY rentals. Barboursville would have the least amount, but still has some. Guyandotte is beautiful and only has a few rentals available.

8-- Look at Barboursville, Downtown Huntington (NOT WEST END) and possibly Guyandotte for good home buys.


GOOD LUCK!! Hope you LOVE WV, it is beautiful here.

[mattbward]

Why would you avoid the west end of downtown Huntington? Crime? I know the East end is where the college is...

[tbailey1138]

2) Taxes: The best info I can give you on taxes comes from the Tax Foundation. WV usually is deceptive on taxes due to a higher number of taxes but when taken as a whole, things are most often cheaper here. You do pay property taxes on your vehicle and house. It isn't too bad though and is a percentage of the value of your car so the longer you have your car, the lower the tax is. And FYI, Huntington does have a municipal fee but this is offset by the savings in home owners insurance due to professional police and fire services. We lived in Barboursville and the decrease in our home owner's was almost exactly what the municipal fee is. When you factor in the decreased cost in gas since I walk to work, we walk to the park, walk downtown, most stores are closer, etc. it is MUCH cheaper to live in Huntington.

The Tax Foundation - Tax Research Areas > West Virginia
The Tax Foundation - Tax Research Areas > North Carolina

3) The only time I notice a river odor is if there's been a LOT of rain and even then it's just a fishy smell. Not at all overwhelming. I go down there a lot in the summer as my cousin has a house boat on the river and you don't really notice a smell. There are some good recreation opportunities on the Ohio though.

4) Huntington has probably the best infrastructure of roads in West Virginia. It is the only planned city in WV and is pretty much the only one set up on a true grid system. The roads are made to handle about 100,000 people. We typically have about 50,000 residents, 14,000 Marshall students and a 19,000 person increase due to daily commutes for jobs. Traffic moves and Huntington handles it well. There are pot holes but when you have over 300 miles of road to maintain in one city, it can be overwhelming sometimes. The city leaders are trying to be better with this though and making some strides.

5) Best elementary would be either Southside Elementary or Meadows. These then feed into Huntington Middle School which is also a well rated school. Southside and Huntington Middle are actually both brand new (opening this fall) and on the same grounds though separate. Huntington High was awarded the Parent's Choice award for WV by Greatschools.net. It offers good athletic programs and more AP classes etc. than the other schools in the area. St. Joes is a good private school and they too just built a brand new elementary school. Here's some info:

About Our School
Meadows Elementary School
Huntington Middle School

Calendar of Events
Home | St. Joseph Central Catholic High School

6) The Southside area around Ritter Park has few rentals as does the area off of Washington Blvd. There are a lot of nice homes in both areas.

7) The areas listed above have had increases in both home values and the number of sales. Houses in these areas, if not over priced, often sell quickly.

8) You see houses in this price range on the Southside from time to time but they go QUICKLY. If you have question on any house in particular, just ask and I'll do my best to help.

The west end is somewhat more rundown although there are nice areas there that are often hidden. The crime that happens there tends to be more property crime with very little violent crime.

FYI there's a farmer's market on 14 St West that is open 6 days a week. Just up from the farmers market, a new butcher has opened called Johnny's Fresh Meat Market. Both are very fresh and very well priced. On the Southside, there's also a small mom and pop grocery that most people walk to that also has a good meat section. The store is called Julian's.

Central City Market


If you need any more info or links on anything just let me know and I'll do my best to help.

Tim

[nikongirl24]

Originally Posted by mattbward

Why would you avoid the west end of downtown Huntington? Crime? I know the East end is where the college is...

We used to live in the west end. The crime was horrible there... but I've not encountered it elsewhere I've lived in H-ton. There was also a few places that were condemned and busted as Meth labs. :/ Just a sketchy area.

[GottaHerdOn]

I miss Huntington

I'll be back in 3 weeks!!!

I've never smelled an odor from the river before and I live right on 3rd Avenue.

[nikongirl24]

Originally Posted by GottaHerdOn

I miss Huntington

I'll be back in 3 weeks!!!

I've never smelled an odor from the river before and I live right on 3rd Avenue.

The odor is not really THAT BAD. After it rains you may get a fishy smell, but it depends on how close you are. I don't mind it, or really notice it at all. The steel mills give off more of an odor, and even that's not too bad, unless you are in Chesapeake.

I love WV. It is so pretty here! Right now it is great weather too! NO MORE COLD!!!

[mattbward]

What is the most snow you have seen in the last three or four years in the Huntington area?

[GottaHerdOn]

Well, usually it snows once or twice. But its nothing more than an inch or two. Its always a huge deal around campus when it snows... the kids run outside and make sleds out of garbage bags, make snow men, or snow penises ha ha

It certainly gets cold during the winter, especially in January in particular. But that is probably one of the best things about Huntington. There is still a winter but its not unrelenting and unbearable. This is coming from someone who hates winter.

[tbailey1138]

This past winter was the worst we've had in the last 5 years. We only had one stretch of "bad" weather that gave us a snow of about 6 inches. It hung around for a few days due to the cold weather but it wasn't too bad at all. Huntington will give you about the most mild winter weather in the state.