Thinking of moving to WV from UK (Charleston, Huntington: amusement park, new home)
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I chose Huntington because it looked like a comprehensive city with a nice small-town feel, the university is there and living seems to be cheap. However, Morgantown does look like a better prospect for us.. Hmm!
Thankyou guys very much for all of the help! It's such a difficult decisiOn isn't it, choosing the right place. You guys have certainly helped though!
Hi guys, thanks for the responses! Kookamus, just out of interest although this might seem incredibly naive as bears aren't ever something I've experienced - I thought you weren't meant to shoot at bears? I saw in a film that it just aggravates them? Sorry for the stupid question.
& chambersb, do you think that self employed fitness training could be a good idea then? For example, like 20 dollars per hour session or something so as not to be ridiculously expensive. I've decided myself to go into kindergarten or pre k education, because that also has scope for self employment. For example, montesourri daycare (sorry if you're not familiar with the term, I'm not sure if it's called the same thing there. It's basically daycare that gives an early start to literacy skills, maths, and sometimes foreign language).
We're taking a trip out this summer, likely late-July or august time, and we'd hopefully as well as sightseeing, try and make appointments at the university and local gyms and schools to see whether our careers and dreams would be viable.
You were indeed correct about Huntington being the most comprehensive city in WV for what it offers. You will find most of what you need here but if you should choose to travel somewhere else, Columbus, OH is only 2 hours 30 min away and via direct flight, Orlando, Tampa and Ft Lauderdale, FL are only about 1 hour 30 min away. We have the college atmosphere here but the town brings an equal amount to the table as well. We are the only planned city in the state and offer the fastest growing airport in the east. And if you are thinking of raising a family in the future, Huntington was named by Business Week as the best place in WV to raise a family and our playgrounds have been named among the best int he US for kids as well.
If you are considering going into education, that is something that Marshall is traditionally well known for and provides about the best teaching program in the state. They are also establishing the first Science Technology Engineering and Math (or STEM) Pre-K through 12 school in the state here and will likely need people to help fill positions. There are also Montesourri Schools here and one would likely do well with that in the Huntington area. From what I've heard, Cabell County also has one of the higher average teacher salaries in the state and they are one of the largest school districts, offering the more jobs. The cost of living here is also one of the lowest in the nation. Not only will you be paid more, but your dollar will go farther here and there is more to do. As for museums, Huntington is known for having the best and the greatest variety in WV.
There are definately more gyms in this area than others in the state and college athletes often come here to train due to our High Intensity Training (or HIT) Center and the Marshall Rec Center. There was actually an article just the other day about how college athletes from all over come to Huntington to train for the NFL.
About Dr. Terry Shepherd and Hit Centers Inc. (http://www.hitcentersinc.com/about.htm - broken link)
I think you will be happy with what you find here in Huntington. Having lived in other areas of the state and speaking from experience, Huntington is about the best you will find in WV when all things are considered.
The smart thing for you to do is drive around and check out the various possibilities in person. Get a feel for what is taking place in the towns, visit the schools, research the crime rates and overall educational level of the inhabitants, check out the variety of offerings and quality of programs of the universities and look at their facilities, talk with some of the locals and visit some of the restaurants, look at the accessability of shopping and how close the malls are to the cities, compare the unemployment rates and population growth rates, see how far it is to outstanding recreataion and outdoor venues, and explore housing trends. If you have children, visit the local schools. If you like to visit a major city sometimes, drive there from the various locales. I just know you'll make the right choice for you, which is what counts isn't it?
Thankyou so much guys!
Huntington also has a lot more things to do in a holiday I think, though as far as I've gathered on the internet, Camden Park is a little bit of a waste of time and money. Is that the general concensus or is it actually good fun?
Thank you all so much!
Could anyone reccommend any reasonably priced motels or places to stay?
If you're flying in from UK you'll need to fly into a large "international" airport that has customs and immigration officials and so forth. Try to get a flight to Pittsburgh IAP. From there, you can rent a car.
Morgantown is a short drive south of there, and the airport is actually situated on the west side of town so you don't even have to drive through much traffic. Stay overnight in the historic Hotel Morgan and check out happenings around Morgantown... the museums, galleries, The University, the park and trail system, and the restaurants, then drive to Huntington the next day (it's about a 3 3/4 hour drive) and do the same thing there. Then you'll have a basis on which to decide. Except for casinos and amusement parks (Morgantown doesn't have those) no town in West Virginia offers mpore to do than Morgantown, but don't take my word for it, come and see for yourself. The cultural and athletic amenities of being near the state's primary University alone give it the edge in most (but not all) areas.
If you're coming during the summer months, plan to take a whitewater raft trip (suitable for the family) on the Cheat River or at Ohiopyle State Park on the Youghiogheny River (both are around 45 minutes from Morgantown).
If you're coming this time of year and looking for interesting things to do, check out the Oglebay Park Festival of Lights near Wheeling (1 hour 15 minutes from Morgantown and about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh).
If you are into Casinos, there is one there in Wheeling, and another between Pittsburgh and Morgantown on route I79 near Washington, PA (about a 50 minute drive from Morgantown).
If you'd like to check out Washington DC on your way to West Virginia, you can fly into Dulles Airport, tour Washington, then rent a car and drive. Morgantown is roughly a 3 1/2 hour drive depending on traffic mostly over scenic route I68.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 01-30-2011 at 05:56 PM..
Thanks ctmountaineer! All those suggestions are great, and the light festival sounds fabulous! We were looking at flights to charleston but Pittsburgh sounds like a great idea! I never would'a thought of that, so thankyou!
If you're coming from UK, you can't fly into Charleston, WV. It doesn't have customs and immigration officers. Neither does the airport at Huntington. You have to fly into an American airport that has the designation IAP (International Airport). The closest is Pittsburgh (the airport is about 1 hour from Morgantown). Baltimore/Washington is about 3 1/2 hours away as are Columbus and Cleveland. You can also get to Huntington in that length of time from Columbus, but it would take you a lot longer from the other destinations. Huntington is much more isolated from most major cities. Charleston, WV... more isolated still. You can, however, get "connecting" flights to those destinations, as you can to Morgantown from Washington, DC.
Thankyou so much guys!
Huntington also has a lot more things to do in a holiday I think, though as far as I've gathered on the internet, Camden Park is a little bit of a waste of time and money. Is that the general concensus or is it actually good fun?
Thank you all so much!
Could anyone reccommend any reasonably priced motels or places to stay?
Right again that Huntington would prove to have more to do on a regular basis. There was actually a thread on here where events were compared between the two towns and Huntington had 150 events listed and the other town had half as many using the same criteria in the same time frame. So as you can see, some statements on here are backed up by facts rather than just opinions. Here's a link to that discussion if you like. The discussiion begins on page 3 and continues to page 4. //www.city-data.com/forum/west-...gantown-3.html
As to Camden Park, for an adult, one visit would suffice for the nostalgia of it but overall, not really too impressive. You do have Kings Island close by in Cincinnatti (just under 3 hours) and also Carowinds theme park isn't too far off in Charlotte (right at 5 hours). This doesn't even include the direct flight you could take to Charlotte or the direct flight to Orlando, FL which would take you to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Theme Parks. The Orlando direct flight is right out of Huntington and only takes about an hour and a half. You can often find specials where tickets are $15 or less one way. So if air travel is a must, you can see that the Huntington airport offers more direct flights and it continues to add more. This brings me to another false point which is quite evident, Huntington is anything but isolated. In addition to the things listed above, Columbus, OH and all that it offers is less than 2 hours 30 min (not 3.5 hrs) away and Lexington, KY is right at 2 hours should you need a larger city. Columbus is also a good airport to fly into as well. Most people here use that for their international trips. If you do fly into Pittsburgh, Huntington is only 3 hours south of Morgantown (not 3.75 hrs).
Huntington will likely provide most of what you are looking for though with the largest shopping mall in the state, Pullman Square and the various shops downtown, the largest movie theater in the state, a great local theater that plays foreign and limited run films, 3 yearly film festivals, several yearly food/celebration festivals, the Huntington Symphony, a great live music scene, the Funny Bone Comedy Club, the Huntington Civic Arena, the Marshall Artists Series and all of the other various activities Marshall provides as well. If you prefer Rugby to American football, we also have the Huntington Area Rugby Club that you could join as well. Of course make a visit to the Huntington Museum of Art which is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh, Richmond and Cincinnatti. The Heritage Farm Museum is like a collection of museums as well. If you are fortunate enough to visit while the entire "farm" is up and running, you will learn a lot about the history of the area and of America.
The best place to stay to experience downtown Huntington would be either the Holiday Inn downtown or the Pullman Plaza hotel. This puts you in the heart of downtown, close to Marshall and close to Pullman Square. And if you do like casinos as mentioned, there's actually one about 30 min away heading toward Charleston. Here's the info for all that is listed above:
So as you can see, backed up by facts and not merely my opinion, Huntington would be the most comprehensive city for you. Hope this helps.
Last edited by tbailey1138; 01-30-2011 at 10:20 PM..
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lol!
