Thinking of moving to WV from UK (Charleston, Huntington: home, teaching jobs)
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Almost forgot, since you are looking for more outdoor activities, here are links to all of the lakes close by if you like fishing or watersports. Here is also a link to Carter Caves, about 45 minutes away in Kentucky. They offer some neat things there like an annual Winter Adventure Weekend and often play some movies in the caves during the summer. Very neat place.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District - Lakes and Reservoirs (http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/_kd/go.cfm?destination=Page&Pge_ID=1031 - broken link)
I certainly disagree with my distinguished fellow poster from Huntington (we've done that many times) as to which area has more to do, so here goes.....
If you like amusement parks, you don't have to be 3 1/2 hours or 5 hours from a real one to live in West Virginia. About 1 hour 20 minutes from Morgantown are the outstanding world class Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, PA and the Sandcastle Water Park in Homestead, PA. That will be shortened when the new Mon Fayette Expressway is completed. Those parks are NOT a waste of money...
As to regular entertainment, you can choose between Huntington's Marshall Thundering Herd (I think Tim posted a link ... chech it out) and compare it to the Morgantown's West Virginia Mountaineers for athletics...
The doctoral level music department at West Virginia University has its own symphony, which regularly performs in Morgantown. In addition, the world renowned Pittsburgh Symphony performs here, as does the West Virginia (Charleston) Symphony and the Wheeling Symphony. In summer months, the concerts are at the beautiful waterfront park.
There are numerous smaller galleries in Morgantown, but more importantly you are located near Pittsburgh's world renowned galleries and museums without the hassle of living in the big city itself...
Monongalia Arts Center - Read all reviews for Monongalia Arts Center - UpTake.com (http://attractions.uptake.com/art_museums/west_virginia/morgantown/monongalia_arts_center_7963425.html - broken link)
I've already mentioned the outstanding outdoor venues... the nearby whitewater rafting, mountain hiking, rock climbing areas, the state forest and lovely lake area. There are also numerous public parks in the region, and you're not a major hike from them like in some other areas. Outdoor wise... it isn't even close. Morgantown wins hands down.
I'm sure it was an oversight, but those lakes Tim posted for the "Huntington District" of the Army Corps of Engineers
are mostly located several hours from Huntington. Huntington just happens to be where the district headquarters
is located. Some of those lakes are actually closer to Morgantown than to Huntington, and Morgantown is near
lakes from the Pittsburgh District, and many of those actually are near Morgantown...
Morgantown is growing because more people want to be here.
Morgantown doesn't need to be revitalized... it is still a thriving community
with a college town feel rather than a worn out industrial town.
You have a much better chance of getting a job in Morgantown, which has the State's lowest unemployment rate. Morgantown is Monongalia County and Huntington is Cabell County...
Bottom line though, don't make any decisions based on what we are saying here... do yourself the favor of actually visiting both places and checking them out. Tim and I both are prejudiced toward our own areas. Huntington is a nice town. I think Morgantown is nicer. But you're the one who should be making the choice. You'll instinctively know which one is your cup of tea (it's kind of neat to use that pun with a Brit).
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 01-30-2011 at 11:49 PM..
Definately be sure to check the towns out and pick the town that suits you. As to the more to do debate, again, to take opinions out of the equation all you have to do is look at the lists posted in the other thread to see which has more using the same criteria. Twice as much in fact. Also notice how many events were based in Huntington and how many you have to travel to Pittsburgh to go to in the previous post.
And Kennywood, while a nice park, is also more of a nostalgic park and certainly not to the level of Kings Island, Disney World or Universal Studios (the last two are about the same time away via direct flight).
With regards to performing arts, Marshall has been listed as having one of the top 50 performing arts programs in the nation and offers its own symphony as well. So if you like symphony music, 2 are actually based in Huntington.
For art, you don't need to wait for a new museum to be constructed in Huntington. Even after the WVU gallery is constructed, the Huntington Museum of Art will still be the premier art museum in the state due to its size and the quality of the collection that they have. This is in addition to the Birke Art Gallery and Gallery 842 which are run by Marshall.
With regards to the lakes listed on the Huntington site, most are 2 hours or less away with several being much closer in fact.
And with regards to this paragraph:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTMountaineer
Then there are the towns themselves...
Morgantown is growing because more people want to be here.
Morgantown doesn't need to be revitalized... it is still a thriving community
with a college town feel rather than a worn out industrial town.
You have a much better chance of getting a job in Morgantown, which has the State's lowest unemployment rate. Morgantown is Monongalia County and Huntington is Cabell County...
If fewer people want to be in Huntington, why does it have nearly 20,000 more residents? And as posted previously, if you are looking into teaching, there are more teaching jobs located in Cabell County (public and private schools) and the teachers are also paid better here, not to mention the lower cost of living in Huntington.
To be sure that this doesn't turn into the typical thread between the two of us, if you have any other quesions, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help. If I answer here, I'll do my best to keep it short and concise. I think arguments for the two towns have been well laid out so you have plenty of info to choose from and to look at the merits of the towns themselves. There are MANY other threads where these points have been argued ad nauseum as well should you need more info. Good luck in choosig your new home as a big move like this is always a tough decision. We would love to have you here in Huntington. Cabell Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau highlighting Huntington, Barboursvil
A lot of people would like to throw out Charleston, but that is another story.
LOL
Tim and I basically have fun with this stuff. We've been doing it for a long time now. And, Tim... have you been to Kennywood? It is easily comparable to Kings Island and more than 2 hours closer. Morgantown clearly has as much to do, but since it is much closer to a major population area it is dwarfed by offerings there. There is such diversity and quality of offerings in Pittsburgh that they simply have to be mentioned. Hard to imagine that with the Super Bowl coming up, I forgot to mention the Steelers. Hope it isn't Alzheimers.
Morgantown is the ideal place for someone from the University of Kentucky. Good Luck.
Can anyone explain this? I'm lost.. Haha
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTMountaineer
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.
The flight I was looking at is a one-stop one, that's a connecting flight isn't it? Jeez, all this travel stuff is so confusing haha
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chriscross309
I'm just going to throw out the name Charleston!
For more information I can send you a direct message or even an email.
I feel that if I start posting, then this will only veer from the original question.
I would like to say that both Huntington and Morgantown have their positives and negatives.
As does everywhere my friend, I haven't properly looked in to Charleston yet but I shall! Thanks
Tim & CTmountaineer, Thankyou for all the help and advice! It's been so incredibly helpful! I did like the pun CT, it made me smile. However people try to argue that that stereotype is not true, is absolutely is. I've yet to meet a brit who isn't partial to a good Earl Gray Tea!
A moment ago I watched Jamie Oliver's food revolution, Huntington looked so beautiful and the community spirit was amazing. Did that programme change anything or do the kids still get pizza for breakfast? Even if it didn't change anything, it gave me an insight in to the community. I particularly loved this part:
I think you confused the original poster with your convoluted description of airports and international flights.
lovelifex,
You can fly into Huntington (HTS) or Morgantown (MGW) from anywhere in the world. Yes, they don't have customs or immigration officials. But it doesn't matter because you go through that when you arrive in the US (probably New York or Washington DC). I fly all the time and can tell you that there would be no problem flying directly into Huntington or Morgantown if you so desired. It might be slightly more expensive than flying into Pittsburgh but it will save time and be less of a hassle.
I think you confused the original poster with your convoluted description of airports and international flights.
lovelifex,
You can fly into Huntington (HTS) or Morgantown (MGW) from anywhere in the world. Yes, they don't have customs or immigration officials. But it doesn't matter because you go through that when you arrive in the US (probably New York or Washington DC). I fly all the time and can tell you that there would be no problem flying directly into Huntington or Morgantown if you so desired. It might be slightly more expensive than flying into Pittsburgh but it will save time and be less of a hassle.
Indeed, you're confusing the issue. As I said, you can get connecting flights, but not fly DIRECTLY into any airport in West Virginia from a foreign country. The closest IAP to Morgantown is Pittsburgh IAP (one hour north). It is possible to fly directly there from a foreign country.
Indeed, you're confusing the issue. As I said, you can get connecting flights, but not fly DIRECTLY into any airport in West Virginia from a foreign country. The closest IAP to Morgantown is Pittsburgh IAP (one hour north). It is possible to fly directly there from a foreign country.
I understand that, but I think you confused her when you initially said:
"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)."
Plus the only foreign destinations for Pittsburgh's so-called international airport are Paris and Toronto if I'm not mistaken. So it would take at least one connection to get to the US from the UK anyways. Might as well fly into Morganton, Charleston, or Huntington from a New York or Washington DC airport.
I'm probably just nitpicking at your choice of words, but I didn't want lovelifex to be confused as it seemed she was from her last post.
The flight I was looking at is a one-stop one, that's a connecting flight isn't it? Jeez, all this travel stuff is so confusing haha
As does everywhere my friend, I haven't properly looked in to Charleston yet but I shall! Thanks
Tim & CTmountaineer, Thankyou for all the help and advice! It's been so incredibly helpful! I did like the pun CT, it made me smile. However people try to argue that that stereotype is not true, is absolutely is. I've yet to meet a brit who isn't partial to a good Earl Gray Tea!
A moment ago I watched Jamie Oliver's food revolution, Huntington looked so beautiful and the community spirit was amazing. Did that programme change anything or do the kids still get pizza for breakfast? Even if it didn't change anything, it gave me an insight in to the community. I particularly loved this part:
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Haha
I haven't properly looked in to Charleston yet but I shall! Thanks 
