Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm going to have to say that for all that it offers, Huntington is the best city in WV. Huntington is a well planned city with wide avenues and easy access to just about any part of town. It has probably the best parks system in the state with the most beautiful of these being Ritter Park. It also offers plenty of culture with the Huntington Museum of Art, The Keith Albee Performing Arts Center and all that Marshall University has to offer with its performing arts programs. Having Marshall in town, there is also plenty to see in terms of sporting events, the biggest of these being football and basketball. In terms of athletics, Huntington was also voted as the number one Sports City in WV by Sports Illustrated for the many parks and athletic fields as well as the high calliber athletes that are often found in this area. The Huntington High School basketball team is the most recent example of this, currently ranked #3 in the nation among high school teams. Speaking of schools, the Huntington area is home to several WV schools of excellence along with several private schools that are also recognized for their excellence. Most of the public schools in the Huntington area have also been recently rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt. This will allow the students here to have access to modern facilities with greater opportunities. The downtown area is also currently going through a revitalization and has seen a lot of growth and redevelopment in the last few years. Pullman Square is the highlight of these new developments. It is billed as an entertainment center with theaters, restaurants, a comedy club and shopping that has also spurred development in the downtown buildings close by. In terms of shopping, the Huntington area is home to some of the best shopping in the state including the states largest shopping mall. Huntington also has excellent healthcare as it is home to two of the states largest hospitals as well as several smaller facilities and doctors offices. There are also plenty of fairs and festivals throughout the year that are unique and enjoyable experiences. These include a Hot Dog festival, a Greek festival, Oktoberfest, Chilifest, Ribfest, the Hilltop Festival, Jazz Festival and a couple of Arts and Crafts Festivals to name a few. Huntington also has very mild weather as compared to the rest of the state and while we do see some snowfall, it is not usually more than one or two big snows a year. To back up Huntington being the best city in WV, it was recently voted the #1 city in the state by the readers of Graffiti Magazine. This is a publication in WV and this ranking was decided upon by the publications readers who have traveled throughout WV and visited most of the cities in the state. Hope this helps.
Tim
Last edited by Waterlily; 02-14-2007 at 04:50 PM..
Reason: Links
Thanks for the good desription of Huntington Tim. I can just about picture it in my mind even though I have never seen that city. I have been to Charleston once but that was probably 18 years or so ago. I don't know it well enough.
Now does anyone else have a favorite city? I'd really like to know about some of the small towns as well.
To me one of the best cities in WV has to be Morgantown. It's a city on the verge of becoming the largest in the state (population hovering close to 30,000) and has the most potential out of any city in the state in terms of placement. The I-79 area of Clarksburg, Fairmont, and Morgantown is seeing more growth substantially than the I-64 corridor has seen even tho its at a slower pace compared to I-64 but the projects planned along I-79 are large and from multinational corporations like Charles Point in Clarksburg, the connector road project in Fairmont and the proposed I-268 project in Morgantown. Morgantown continues to grow and prosper and always ranks high in National public magazines and papers. Recently being named one of the smartest cities, one of Fortune Magazines top small cities to live, and many other numerous awards that no other city in WV has won. Morgantown has a high quality of life with one of the two best hospitals in the region with close access to Pittsburgh to the north (45 mins), Hagerstown, MD (1:30 or so east) and Washington, DC is a drivable 3 hours from Morgantown. Yes our downfalls is roads but when you live in a state that doesn't support the area then you have problems. Morgantown is one of the only cities to see such growth that not even Martinsburg can claim that fame with most of its growth coming from population not population and job growth. Having the flagship university of the state located in Morgantown your greeted with all the wonders of having a college in town. The academic possibilities, the sports, the culture, and the ability to know that your healthcare provider or other bussiness person you engage with went to school right there in the community is a great asset. Morgantown retains a great deal of its graduates adding to its growing possibilities along with it having the lowest age group living within a city in the entire state hovering at a median age of 32. Morgantown is also home to some of the states best and busiest night clubs and high end bars and restaurants. The Wharf District is still a work in process you can see from downtown with the Marina Building slated to finish work this summer as one of the many breathtaking buildings in the state along with a growing up skyline as more buildings are in the works along with the redeveloped idea of a 19-22 story building to be built in Morgantown's business district. The city boasts some of the best educational facilities in the state hosting Suncrest Middle which is a National Blue Ribbon school and the construction of new schools throughout Morgantown will be home soon to the most modern and up to date schools in the state. Alot of the schools work closely with WVU so you'll see alot of help from local students in helping teach, coach, and work happening with these students not only from them but professionals many who gotten their education right here in Morgantown. Its a city of possibilities as you can see shopping is the newest attraction to the city. Clarksburg was once home to the region's shopping attractions until completion of the University Town Centre which hosts Target, TJ Maxx, a Hollywood Theaters, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and the state's only Barnes & Noble with Cheesecake Factory and Starbucks. The Morgantown Mall also continues to flourish as 2 stores in the mall have moved so their stores can be expanded into larger stores to better serve its customers. Also on the way is the Suncrest Town Centre which will be built along Rte 705 close to Ruby Memorial Hospital and Mon General Hospital which at the moment will have a Khol's and Home Depot. Home building and improving is a popular past time in Morgantown as the city is already home to 2 Lowe's on either end of the city. Morgantown is a wealth of opportunity still wrapped up in small town charm as it continues to mature and prosper and still hold the title as West Virginia's Fastest Growing City.
Do not listen to the people telling you about Huntington, it is a major college town and drugs are rampant as well as crime in general, Morgantown is expanding and probably offers the most opportunity. Wheeling in the northern panhandle, is the safest as far as crime goes, but sexual crimes are on the rise especially with children. There are few jobs in Wheeling but you have access to jobs in PA ( washington,Pittsburgh) depends on what you do. Wheeling , with the exception of downtown which is nasty, is a beautiful area and a great place to raise kids if you can find a job. why anyone would look to WV to improve their financial situation is beyond me. There is little opportunity, we rank highest in unemployment and poverty, and are at the top of the list for obesity and heart disease. most college graduates move out of state. Wheeling is very clickish also, if you have money people are your friends if not they completely ignore you and are quite rude
Well Morgantown is also a major college town and drugs are rampant there too, I went there last year. I like Huntington (Marshall) better, its just a better place in my opinion. I have many friends in Morgantown and its closer to home so I usually visit them when I go home but I will stick to Huntington (Marshall) Huntington is also bigger than Morgantown even with its WVU students, which has about 10,000 more students than Marshall. So its more student oriented in my opinion at Morgantown. Don't get me wrong, I love Morgantown, its a great place and I love it there. I just prefer Huntington more to live in and attend school in. The climate is a lot warmer here than in Morgantown, there was only one real snow this winter. Which I like, I hate snow. The terrain is also fairly flat compared to Morgantowns. But I would suggest sampling a little bit of both cities to see which one you feel a connection with. Why not even try other cities, check out the list of the bigger cities in WV and browse them, many of them have pictures and information about them. Take a week and vacation in WV and browse the cities Goodluck
Thanks for all the suggestions. I would come and look around the state before moving. I won't need a job. My husband and I will be retired with a pension. That will be enough to get by on if we pay cash for a home.
Why West Virginia? Well why not? I love the scenery and the cost of living is lower than where I am now. It's not too crowded there which I like. It will be a while before we decide where we'll go to retire as we'll need to travel around some.
Oh I'm glad someone mentioned the snow. I know it snows some all over West Virginia but I'd rather have an area without too much snow. One place I was looking for more information on was Williamson. Does anyone know about that town?
Last edited by Waterlily; 03-11-2007 at 07:04 PM..
Reason: fixed it
Well in that case.. if you two are retired I would check out Elkins or Buckhannon. Check out the newspaper for Elkins. It tells how the area has been growing tremendously lately, due to the influx of retirees. Its a great place to retire. I plan to retire there one day. I want to go all over and see the states and live in a large metropolitian city and work there but I love going home to Elkins and I plan to retire there... A great area to retire in would be the weese street district. Its near the campus of Davis and Elkins college. The homes there are older, circa 1920's but they are decent size and are stunning, some truely beautiful homes are there. The actual city of Elkins and most areas westward out of the city and towards the valley do not receive a lot of snow, sometimes it does but generally not. However if you drive half an hour towards Canaan, or Snowshoe the elevation rises considerably and receives a lot more snow.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
re
