Moving to the area, need info please (Parkersburg, Morgantown: transplants, crime)

[redbear5]

Hello! I am considering moving to WV and I need some input. I have 2 young kids and I would like to have them attend a private non-denominational school with small class sizes. We love to ski and want to be close to at least 1 ski area. I want to live in a medium-size town, maybe somewhere around 10,000 people. I am looking for a low-crime area. I have been reasearching the Morgantown area as well as Fairmont. Anywhere in that general area. My kids' education is the #1 factor. Thank you in advance!

[CTMountaineer]

Although West Virginia does not have any big towns, we don't have any as small as 10,000 either that would offer exactly what you're looking for. However, Morgantown is relatively crime free, has the advantage of having the State's flagship University located there, and has the Lighthouse Christian Academy. You might check them out.

[snorpus]

I don't know about the private schools, but Elkins (smaller than Morgantown) is the closest "city" to Snowshoe and Canaan Valley ski areas.

[RVAtoCNC]

Originally Posted by redbear5

Hello! I am considering moving to WV and I need some input. I have 2 young kids and I would like to have them attend a private non-denominational school with small class sizes. We love to ski and want to be close to at least 1 ski area. I want to live in a medium-size town, maybe somewhere around 10,000 people. I am looking for a low-crime area. I have been reasearching the Morgantown area as well as Fairmont. Anywhere in that general area. My kids' education is the #1 factor. Thank you in advance!

You may want to look into Bluefield/Princeton area - these are realtively small towns around the size you are looking at, are close to the ski place at Flat Top Mountain (forget the name - Winterplace??) and probably have a couple private school options, although I am not sure about that. Elkins is isolated up in the mountains. Morgantown is a large land-grant university town (WVU), and the other towns within you parameters are a little far from skiing areas. Inquire into Bluefield/Princeton - may suit your needs.

[NewJW]

I was born and raised in Fairmont and left in 2006. I visit often though. Fairmont is a nice place to raise a family. It has a larger population than 10,000 though. It is a really safe place to be and a slower pace of life. I have lived in West Fairmont and South Fairmont. I enjoyed South Fairmont area alot. It is close to Walmart, restaurants, movie theatre, and quick access to Interstate 79. Fairmont is a college town as well. The private school that comes to mind is Fairmont Catholic school in downtown Fairmont. However, I think once you get to high school age you attend the public schools. I really can't recall any non denominational private schools in Fairmont. My family moved away before my oldest son started kindergarten so I can not elaborate alot on the public schools. However, growing up there I believe I got a great education and it prepared me to succeed in college and graduate school. Morgantown may have more options in that area. I commuted to grad school at WVU and spent alot time in Morgantown. It's a growing area and can be more expensive to live there, but it's nice too. Morgantown has a lot of diversity with the University and more transplants. Morgantown offers lots of additional amenities that you may not find in Fairmont. You might also check into Bridgeport area. I always heard good things about their schools. I hope this helps a little.

[Poca-Kat]

If your kids education is a factor, then teach them at home. Private schools are in business for profit, not education. Public schools are so bad that China has better education. Religious schools, are for profit, and teach questionable traditions that brainwash children for life. All 3 have less than marginal educational levels, that are far below the global average. TOP=1 BOTTOM=38 Global ranking: 24th of 38 in mathematics, 9th of 38 in science, 7th of 38 in reading, and 20th of 38 in problem solving. It means as a nation our children are really stupid, because profit is more important than people. We should be #1 in every category since we all live in a materialistic society that markets perfect, and beautiful people that are living in a clean, perfect world, full of plastic Hollywood idols that we lampoon, ape and mimic. The television keeps us focused on illusion, and building debt is considered a perfectly normal social need. In this wonderful plastic society, education should be our only goal, to eliminate the crash-course with a future of brain dead robots that cannot think past the TV remote.

[dani2013]

I'm a West Virginian, born and raised, until I moved to Virginia. I lived in a very small town in Ritchie County, and though we had no private schools, it was still an amazing place to grow up at. Parkersburg, in Wood County, has a Catholic private school, but it's a little bit bigger then Ritchie County. It's still a nice place though.

[pirana]

You may consider Princeton, WV. It is a small town, close to WinterPlace (20 minutes), private schools, family-oriented community, nice hospital and friendly people. I lived here for 11 years and I like it, specially since I came from a huge cosmopolitan city.