Cities around Huntington and Charleston (Kenova, Barboursville: for sale, real estate, to rent)

[tomneidert]

We may be moving to the Huntington/Charleston area. I would love to know some nice areas or cities around there. I had heard that Barboursville is nice, but I'd love to have more ideas. There is so much to look into, and any help would be great! We have 2 boys and now 1 on the way so I am in need of A LOT of information, but let's just start with this.....

[nikongirl24]

Welcome to WV! I live *technically* in Huntington, but it's known as Guyandotte. Barboursville is a nice community, but it really depends on where you are working and commuting too. Winfield isn't too far away, and has much nicer homes/ suburbs. *It is the "upscale/pricey" part of the area.*

Look towards Ritter park in H-ton if you want to be in town, or check into Spring Valley to the west. There are a lot of different areas, and there are pros and cons to each. I'd suggest coming down and checking out some various areas. If you are going to rent, check out those areas first-- and generally, not near campus would be your best bet if you're not a student. (Not that it's bad, but there are better family areas, such as Ritter Park)

Good luck!

I am expecting also, congrats on the new addition!

[red.ochre]

As an newcomer to West Virginia myself, I'd recommend you do as much research as you can before moving here. Then put your feet on the ground to look around first before making a decision, and you'll end up happy.

There's lots of nice areas.

Best wishes.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Barbou...-Virginia.html
Barboursville, West Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barboursville, WV, Real Estate Listings and Barboursville Homes for Sale - REALTOR.com®
Barboursville Real Estate & Barboursville Homes for Sale - Zillow

[tbailey1138]

There are several nice areas around Huntington. Barboursville, as you mentioned, is a great place with lots of nice homes and very convenient. There are also some areas just outside of Barboursville like Martha and Salt Rock that are a little farther out but often have more land and cheaper homes.

Milton is also a nice area with several new subdivisions and some nice features of its own. It is the home of Blenko glass and also the Cabell County Fair. Things there a little farther out but still very nice. There is usually more of a chance to get more land in Milton.

As Nikongirl said, also look at Huntington. There are several great areas and lots of families in Huntington. My wife and I have 2 boys of our own and it is so nice living in Huntington. We let our oldest ride his bike up and down the side walk, the playground at Ritter Park is within walking distance, there are 4-5 other little playgrounds within 2-3 miles and you are much closer to many of the kids activities that go on at the Museum of Art, Heritage Farm, downtown, etc. For schools, many of the schools in Huntington are among the best in the county. Huntington High also seems to provide more opportunities for students academically with more AP classes. Students there also do about twice as well on their tests than students at Cabell Midland on average from what I've seen.

Definately come and visit and check the area out and let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Tim

[tomneidert]

You guys all rock! Thank you all so much for your advise, (and congrats nikongirl24). Driving isn't a huge issue, right now I drive about n hour to work one way, so anything closer would be great! I was wondering about some of the cities on the other side of the river, in OH. Right now I am in the early stages of looking but for a reference point I am saying that my work will be in downtown Huntington. So what cities less then an hour away would give you a great place to raise a family, not too expensive and has some land to their lots?

[tbailey1138]

In addition to the areas mentioned previously in WV, you may also want to check out a few other areas. Routes 2 and 10 both lead right into Huntington and often have some homes available with land. Route 10 is more mountainous while Route 2 is flatter with a lot of farm land as it is right beside the river. Check out the areas on Google Earth and you can see the difference. You might also want to check out some of the areas in Wayne County. Parts of Huntington actually go into Wayne County so it's still pretty close. The Lavalette area has more homes with land while the small towns of Ceredo and Kenova also offer a small town feel but close to Huntington.

Towns over in Ohio would be Chesapeake, Proctorville and South Point. While these towns are nice, the overall tax burden is higher in OH than it is in WV according to the Tax Foundation. Many of the places in these areas are also farther out and to get to the shopping offered in the area, you will have quite a drive. Some of my co-workers/friends who moved to Ohio when they initially came to the area have now moved to WV or talk about how they wish they could due to the added convenience as the get tired of all the driving they have to do. I'm not a big fan of the areas in OH myself, but you may find that it suits your needs well so make sure to check it out.

Hope this helps and let me know if you need anything else.

Tim