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Looking at moving to the Morgantown area sometime next year. not sure whether I can afford to live in the City Proper(I'm still looking into it), but Fairmont was suggested to me as a close-by alternative.
How are the schools/jobs/rent prices/stuff to do/community there? I'm assuming I would not be able to send my daughter to a Mon County school.
it's close enough for a pretty straightforward commute to Morgantown for work though, yes?
Fairmont is in Marion County, which is different than Monongalia County where Morgantown is located, but a close examination of the map will show you that the 2 cities are not far apart. Many people do commute to and from both Morgantown and Fairmont to work in the other city on I-79 since Fairmont is home to NASA research facilities that have heavy involvement with WVU, and since many from Fairmont work especially in the healthcare facilities in and around Morgantown. The drive between the 2 cities will take you from 15 to 25 minutes, depending on which part of the cities you are driving to and from. Driving within the City of Morgantown also varies in terms of the time element, with the time periods of 6:45am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm experiencing heavy traffic volumes. If you are driving within Morgantown during those times, add some time to the commute.
Personally, as much as I dog on Morgantown and even though Fairmont rent prices are way cheaper, I'll take Morgantown over Fairmont or anywhere else in this state as long as we're here....
Looking at moving to the Morgantown area sometime next year. not sure whether I can afford to live in the City Proper(I'm still looking into it), but Fairmont was suggested to me as a close-by alternative.
How are the schools/jobs/rent prices/stuff to do/community there? I'm assuming I would not be able to send my daughter to a Mon County school.
it's close enough for a pretty straightforward commute to Morgantown for work though, yes?
The only plus to Fairmont is the cheaper housing. I worked there and commuted from the Morgantown area for a few years. The drive from Fairmont to Morgantown isn't bad- straight shot on the interstate. There's a technology park there with a NASA facility and a few other government operations- Mon Power has an operations base there too. But in terms of stuff to do, jobs, schools, there's really not much going on. There's a WalMart and an almost empty mall (that someone apparently wants to turn into an indoor beach if you believe their gofundme page, lol). If you decide to live in Fairmont, do so with the knowledge that you'll need to drive north to Morgantown or south to Clarksburg/Bridgeport (about 10-15 minutes) frequently.
If you decide to live in Fairmont, do so with the knowledge that you'll need to drive north to Morgantown or south to Clarksburg/Bridgeport (about 10-15 minutes) frequently.
I'm....actually ok with this, now that I have a car.
Is the population younger and/or more northern-ish, like Morgantown?
The only plus to Fairmont is the cheaper housing. I worked there and commuted from the Morgantown area for a few years. The drive from Fairmont to Morgantown isn't bad- straight shot on the interstate. There's a technology park there with a NASA facility and a few other government operations- Mon Power has an operations base there too. But in terms of stuff to do, jobs, schools, there's really not much going on. There's a WalMart and an almost empty mall (that someone apparently wants to turn into an indoor beach if you believe their gofundme page, lol). If you decide to live in Fairmont, do so with the knowledge that you'll need to drive north to Morgantown or south to Clarksburg/Bridgeport (about 10-15 minutes) frequently.
I agree with all of this. Fairmont is a nice enough little town but if your choice is anywhere but Morgantown and still be in the area, I think Clarksburg-Bridgeport is a better choice. I think it is also a perk to be on the cross road of I-79 (north and south) and US-50 (east and west). Charleston is just over 90 minutes away. Parkersburg and Ohio beyond is 60 minutes, Morgantown is 45 minutes and Tygart Lake State Park is 30 minutes.
Clarksburg has a really nice downtown that is in full use and kept up as well as working mall and the retail hubs around Lowes, Walmart, etc.
I'm....actually ok with this, now that I have a car.
Is the population younger and/or more northern-ish, like Morgantown?
My sense of Fairmont when I worked there was that the population was older than Morgantown, and if you believe Wikipedia, the median age of Morgantown residents is about 15 years younger than that of Fairmont residents. I would still consider it "northern", but the makeup of the city is pretty different from Morgantown. I don't mean this in a bad way, it's just a fact- but Morgantown residents would tend to be more educated than Fairmont residents too.
My view would be that Morgantown is a growing town attracting a lot of talented people and a variety of new types of business, and Fairmont is a town struggling with the decline of the coal industry (I would assume) and trying to find a new identity. In all honesty, I think it's identity is going to end up being that of a suburb to Morgantown and Bridgeport- it's really the perfect location for someone who wants to be close to those cities without the higher housing costs.
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