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Old 09-23-2014, 08:27 PM
 
28 posts, read 37,630 times
Reputation: 40

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My husband may take a job at the university. Everyone I tell thinks we are crazy to move to such a small town. I have three kids. Is it really that small? Where we live now our life revolves around our kids, their sports and extra curricular activities. Is there enough for them to do? They swim competitively, play basketball, dance competitively, do gymnastics, go to football and basketball games at the university here and we do a lot through our country club. The country club provides the kids with activities like tennis, golf, swimming and parties.

The schools look good on paper getting a 10 rating. Who do they compete against in sports? Are there Stem programs and enrichment. I get nervous looking at the website for the middle school and the last newsletter was from January last year. Why can't kids in middle school have their phones with them and use them for research? This seems archaic? What country clubs provide things for the kids? Any have an indoor pool or bowling alleys? Is there an active parks and rec? YMCA?

I guess I'm looking for an answer to tell people Morgantown isn't so bad.
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Old 09-23-2014, 09:36 PM
 
79,900 posts, read 43,874,910 times
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I am not familiar with the schools and such in Morgantown but it would be tough to place it in a better place to raise kids.

You are only a little over an hour in one direction to Pittsburgh and go the other direction about the same time and you are in some of the most beautiful lands east of the Rocky Mountains.

There are quite a few posters here from the area that can and will provide more local details.
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Old 09-23-2014, 10:09 PM
 
36 posts, read 51,184 times
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I'll chime in on a few areas of which I have direct knowledge:

1) I think you'll find plenty of athletic and extra curricular activity opportunities at the local schools. Morgantown High and University High compete in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, which is the largest high school conference of its kind and offers the chance to compete against not only WV schools but some pretty good Ohio schools. MHS in particular and University in certain sports have historically strong programs, so they typically schedule pretty competitively.

2) The Pines Country Club (The Pines Country Club :: Home) is Morgantown's only "country club" in the traditional sense, featuring a pool and some other activities outside of golf. It's not an uppity place, but the golf course is very good and I know some folks who enjoy the pool. There are also a couple of golf-only clubs that are both ranked in the Top 50 in Golf Digest's America's Greatest Courses -- Pikewood National is in Morgantown but is pretty exclusive, expensive, and more for the serious golfer than the family. The Pete Dye Golf Club is 35 miles south of Morgantown in Bridgeport, and while also not an inexpensive membership, it's doable if golf is a priority. Also in Morgantown is Lakeview Resort that offers two golf courses and some other activities. I find it overpriced for the quality, but some people like Lakeview.

3) Is it really "that small"? That depends where you're coming from and what you expect. When compared to true cities of even moderate size, for instance Pittsburgh – yes, Morgantown is relatively small. If, however, you’re looking at a census and see the permanent population of 30,000 or whatever it is, don’t be fooled. That population doubles when the WVU students are in town, and that says nothing of the thousands of people who travel into town each day to work at the University, the hospitals, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, etc. Morgantown functions considerably larger than the city limit population might suggest.

4) The University brings a ton to the town – that can’t be overstated. While Morgantown is not a melting pot a la NYC, it nonetheless has more diversity than a lot of comparably sized cities, as the University's presence brings with it international students and people of many cultures.

5) There is an abundance of opportunities for outdoor activities in the area, from hiking (Coopers Rock State Forest) to boating (Cheat Lake and DeepCreek Lake), whitewater rafting (Cheat River, Youghiogheny River), and more. Wisp Resort in Maryland is 45 minutes away and offers skiing and other winter activities. Overall it’s a beautiful area.

6) Proximity – If you’re yearning for some expanded culture and time in a city, Pittsburgh is 75 miles away, while Cleveland, Columbus, Washington DC and Baltimore are all with a 3-4 hour drive. While a day trip is pushing it for most people, those places are all easy to reach from Morgantown for a weekend away from home. Some people might ignorantly try to make you think you'd be moving to the boonies, a day's drive away from civilization, but that's just not the case. I know a dozen people who commute between Pittsburgh and Morgantown daily.

Here’s a link to a video that shows some neat scenes from around town:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hPE4P6PYSk

And, this site lists some of the recent accolades that Morgantown has received:
Awards | City of Morgantown, WV official website

I hope that helps a bit.

Last edited by DevelopEER; 09-23-2014 at 10:26 PM..
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Old 09-23-2014, 10:21 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,973,275 times
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Our state has no large cities, but in a lot of ways that is a definite plus. Morgantown has most of the amenities of larger cities... an excellent arts scene, a good educational system, a prosperous and growing local economy, good local parks, awesome outdoor amenities right out our back door, and all the cultural and athletic amenities being home to a national doctoral level, Land Grant university has to offer. It is also a safe city, with a per capita crime rate far smaller than that found in most large cities or even other smaller cities. The city has won numerous national awards for quality of life. Those who seek to disparage a move to our growing city simply do not know it. We have people from all over the country, and some from throughout the world who are choosing to make this their home.

http://www.morgantownwv.gov/about/awards/

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/thing...wv-104249.html

http://boe.mono.k12.wv.us/

http://events.wvu.edu/index.shtml

http://www.coopersrockstateforest.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYe4GQMu7g

http://www.cheatriveroutfitters.com/

Last edited by CTMountaineer; 09-23-2014 at 10:35 PM..
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Old 09-24-2014, 08:31 AM
 
671 posts, read 1,052,455 times
Reputation: 335
Have these people (who are telling you that you are crazy for considering this move) ever lived in a small city? I'm raising my kid here and its great. The schools are excellent, with very competitive sports and plenty of non-school extra curricular activities. If you've never experienced living in a smaller metro, you might find that you enjoy being able to get from place to place without a 60-minute drive. Depending on the sports that your kids might pursue (if athletics are as important to your family as your post makes it appear -- which is a good thing) then you might want to look at whether University or Morgantown High has a stronger program for the particular sport and adjust your housing search to neighborhoods in the respective school district. However, both high schools are competitive each year in most sports. Academics-wise, MHS has the edge over UHS in terms of national rankings, but both schools are quite excellent and would do no disservice to a well-intentioned student.
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