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I'm looking at several different towns in several different states, so if you see me posting similar questions in other forums, that's why :-)
I'm looking to move next year from West Texas, as the place no longer suits me. I'm exploring options and have done a lot of research. Wheeling, WV is on my list so I wanted to know more about it from people who know the town.
My situation: I'm in my 50s and single and looking to move to a small-medium town. I'm very introverted and definitely not looking for a place that has a lot of activities and swinger-type stuff. I live very modestly and quietly. I also work from home, so employment isn't going to be an issue.
My criteria:
Crime: Since I'm an older woman living alone (and will stay that way), I'm looking for a place where I can feel safe walking around. I don't go out at night, so that's not an issue, but I need to feel safe doing errands during the daytime. Reading some posts in the CD forums, I did see that people have commented on drug issues in Wheeling (though a resident in a recent YouTube video said it's starting to get better and the town is starting to address the issue). Is this confined to one or a few areas that I could stay away from? Is there a safety issue with this (i.e., theft, break-ins, etc)? I am used to seeing people on the street who are homeless and/or drug addicts as I lived in San Francisco for a time. It's not pretty, so if I can avoid it by avoiding certain areas, that would work for me. Also, are there certain areas of the city I should stay away from when looking for housing (I'll be renting for now, not buying)?
Weather: Yes, I know, West Virginia has a lot of snow. Despite living in Texas, I'm not a total newbie when it comes to snow (spent part of my childhood in the Midwest and several years in South Dakota as an adult). My main concern is that I don't have a car (hate cars, hate driving, and don't plan on buying one :-D) so I do my errands, including groceries, on foot. I usually have very few errands, so the only big one is weekly grocery shopping. So during the winter went there is heavy snow, would I be able to do grocery delivery? I did check a few addresses from Zillow in Instacart and it looks like there are deliveries through them but I wanted to make sure. I don't want to be slogging through inches of snow to do my shopping (a few inches, fine, but 7 or 8, nope).
Also, my lease in Texas ends in mid-January. I know that's not a great time to move (dead of winter) and I could probably stay on for another month but beyond that, the cost would be prohibitive for me. Checking out the average weather, it seems like January has less weather issues than February in terms of snowfall and temperatures (on average), but maybe people who are more local would know if it would make a difference moving in February as opposed to January?
Natural Disasters: One of the reasons I'm getting out of West Texas is the frequency of tornado watches and warnings has increased over the years. I do not have the stomach to be on edge all the time when tornado season rolls around. I did do some research and I understand earlier this year there were tornado warnings in the Ohio Valley and strong winds in Wheeling that upset trees and caused some damage. So I'm a little concerned about this. I don't want to be getting anxiety attacks come spring with having to be on the alert for severe weather alerts on my phone and rush into a closet with a bike helmet in a panic (I know that sounds alarmist, but it's an issue for me).
Internet connection: Since I work from home, I do need a pretty strong internet connection (50Mbps is what I have now). Might there be issues with internet speed and connection because it's a small town?
Critter situation: I'm fine with harmless critters like flies, ants, spiders, etc., but what is the situation in Marietta with less harmless critters (like snakes, scorpions, bears, etc)? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but living alone, I would rather not deal with critters who might be harmful. In South Dakota, there were sometimes rattlesnakes (though none got into my apartment - I just saw one cruising down the street during a walk) so I just want to make sure.
If I chose Wheeling, I would try to visit there for a few days, but probably not until November.
I know it's a lot of very specific questions, so thank you to everyone for your help!
As long as you are not in a more rural area of the Wheel you should have plenty of options for internet such as Comcast, Verizon, etc. Stay away from Frontier if it's offered though, it's junk.
I wouldn't worry about tornadoes. The worst the entire valley has seen would be the very rare microburst. They issue warnings but nothing ever comes out of then.
It really just depends. The last few years the area has seen more snow in February than January but that's not always the case. Sometimes there's more in Jan, sometimes there isn't like noted. Overall, I don't think a move in either month would make much of a difference.
It's basically the generic answer when it comes to crime, depends on where you're at. Overall, it's not a bad city, certainly nothing like Reading or Detroit as far as crime goes. Definitely much better than Charleston and Huntington. The one place I will say avoid at all costs is the island - Wheeling Island. That place is 90% crack dens, where Ohio unloads their drugs for purchase or storage. Speaking of the island, that's why I would not recommend downtown living as even though downtown is still relatively fine, the drugs and BS from the island have slowly started making their way across the bridge into it so there's been an uptick in crime there resulting from that crap. I mean, I go to downtown Wheeling like once a week or every other week and never worry about crime or my car getting broken into but unfortunately being in proximity to that *****y island means at times some of the garbage there can trickle over to the mainland.
We live north of Wheelingin Wellsburg. We had the option of Comcast but decided against it. We opted for TMobile 5G Home https://www.t-mobile.com/home-internet and no we don’t use TMobile for our cell service. We’ve seen speeds averaging 250 gigs download and have seen over 300. The nice thing is no contract. If you don’t like it, cancel. You are only on the hook for one month at a time.
As to the rest, I hope you find what you need. We like it here but we have a vehicle.
My family settled in Wheeling 110 years ago. There is flooding the closer you are to the river. It's pretty safe but certain areas at night can be a little dicey. That is right downtown. But places 1-2 miles outside like Bethlehem, Elm Grove are rather beautiful. Then you have Oglebay which is the crown jewel of the area. Wheeling Park is nice as well. Any specific questions let us/me know. Good luck.
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