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Old 12-21-2009, 11:01 AM
 
Location: Huntington, WV
4,936 posts, read 8,886,069 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gibbyrick82 View Post
I kind of like the sound of a small city with a "metropolitan" feel to it.

College towns have the benefit of bringing in businesses and a more or less higher education level, with the drawback of having so many younger folks away from home for maybe the first time wandering around, getting up to stuff.

Which town is the most "grown up" -- as in where an older person, not associated with the college, would find appealing?

How are the singles scenes in these cities comparatively?
TelecasterBlues did a pretty good job addressing some of your questions in a previous post. My experience with the singles scene is that the two towns are similar, it just depends on what you are looking for. Here's that post I was referring to for you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TelecasterBlues View Post
Alrighty.....I'll bite.

Morgantown = more vibrant, youthful, relaxed, liberal, etc. It revolves around the university for just about everything in terms of culture and entertainment from what I've been able to gather. It's more or less the "coolest" and "most social" city in West Virginia and easily has the most potential for night life and whatnot. It's a stereotypical college town through and through, but it's its own thing and not a branch off of Pittsburgh. It has a lot of the whole SWPA/Pittsburgh type of feel to it though.

Huntington = A small city with a more metro feel to it...a little more classy and "urban" if you can say that about a 50K population city. It doesn't have the quirky, youthful college town feel to it that Morgantown does. It's more of its own city and own entity with a college tacked on to it as opposed to Morgantown...which is appropriately nicknamed "the university city" and is 100% about the university in every way. It's much more proper than Morgantown, and has a bit of that "old South" type of feel to it by comparison.

Go with Morgantown if you want a more "fun" experience in a place that's dominated by youth/youth culture, and the university presence itself. Morgantown is a really nice little city that's growing, you'd enjoy yourself. Go with Huntington if you want something with a smaller university presence by comparison and the opportunity to escape the college atmosphere without having to leave your backyard(IE..Pittsburgh is your escape from Morgantown/college land...Huntington is more split into city and university as opposed to one entity). If you want something that's a little more low-key, sectioned, and "grown up" feeling but still fun, then go with Huntington.

...just visit both on a weekend and make the decision for yourself. You'll know in one visit which of the two is more of what you're looking for.
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Old 12-21-2009, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Morgantown, WV
1,000 posts, read 2,339,241 times
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Yeah I've only passed through Huntington a few times and couldn't say much about it from a long term stance, but dating/activities/night life in Morgantown is going to be all about the 18-26 age group. Personally, after spending some time visiting, I love it as a 24 year old and anybody within their 20s shouldn't have a problem with having places to go or finding people to meet. It's West Virginia's 20-something city. Dunno what happens when you get a little bit older and in your early to middle 30s and beyond, but I wouldn't imagine that it would be an issue, however this is where somewhere like Huntington might be an easier transition into true adulthood since it's both a city and a smaller university separate from each other.

Another way to look at this by data...just go by median age groups:

1. Columbus Ohio: OSU, combination of largest city in Ohio and one of the largest universities in the nation...median age = 30.6, which is a very "youthful" median age by all accounts. Tons of young people here within their 20s and 30s. 28-32 is probably your healthiest range to have as a large area. It shows that you have lots of people in school, lots of people sticking around after school, lots of people in career phase and with families, etc. This is a thriving, growing, healthy city with a nice future for all age groups.

2. Pittsburgh PA: Pitt/CMU/Duquesne/RMU/etc...Largest city in SWPA, large elderly population mixed with many universities...median age = 35.5, above average overall. It's clear that you have lots of 40+ year olds, lots of 18-25 year olds, and not so much in the way of 25-35 year olds sitting between those two demographics. The city's shrinking population backs this up even further, as many people head elsewhere after college, while those who stick around usually have great jobs and become the next wave of "40+" year olds countering the college kiddies in their 20s.

3. Wheeling WV: Wheeling Jesuit, no major universities...older city, older population. Not a thing to balance it out or skew the numebrs, really. Median age = 42.4. Not much in the way of young people and a very old city by the numbers.

4. Huntington WV: Marshall, smaller university with a good presence...same ordeal as Pittsburgh but slightly older. Median age = 36.7. Grads more or less aren't sticking around, which is what you would expect..as most people set off to a larger city. Not a problem for Huntington due to its size, as it would be best served to just level off, but it more or less is for a larger city like Pittsburgh. This is probably a more literal translation of age and means that most people will be in their mid to late 30s or 40s in Huntington, and suggests that outside of the university you have an older population that focuses more around establishing families. Probably not as "hip" or "trendy", but more practical and mature.

5. Morgantown WV: Big state university, dominated by youth. The median age is 23.1, I think this more than clearly shows that for 9-10 months out of the year...this place is for those who are young and young at heart. More or less a spot for your 20s and early 30s and a great place to meet people within that age group. No clue what happens beyond that, but the population is growing, so clearly some of these college kiddies are starting to stick around after their 4-6 years are up...probably due to the growing medical and research fields that are creating job opportunities. From what I've seen, there's nothing but 20-somethings all over town and crowdin the streets on a Friday night. For better or worse, I'm thinking that it might be a little hard to get out of college mode after you graduate and transition into something else by comparison.

Last edited by TelecasterBlues; 12-21-2009 at 12:19 PM..
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Old 12-21-2009, 11:52 AM
 
Location: Austin
1,476 posts, read 1,765,584 times
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WV is a ocean of sludge except for the island oasis of Morgantown. Morgantown is so good it makes up for the rest of the state. That being said Morgantown doesn't need more people. So I recommend Huntington.
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Old 12-21-2009, 01:33 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,974,800 times
Reputation: 1782
Quote:
Originally Posted by TelecasterBlues View Post
Yeah I've only passed through Huntington a few times and couldn't say much about it from a long term stance, but dating/activities/night life in Morgantown is going to be all about the 18-26 age group. Personally, after spending some time visiting, I love it as a 24 year old and anybody within their 20s shouldn't have a problem with having places to go or finding people to meet. It's West Virginia's 20-something city. Dunno what happens when you get a little bit older and in your early to middle 30s and beyond, but I wouldn't imagine that it would be an issue, however this is where somewhere like Huntington might be an easier transition into true adulthood since it's both a city and a smaller university separate from each other.

Another way to look at this by data...just go by median age groups:

1. Columbus Ohio: OSU, combination of largest city in Ohio and one of the largest universities in the nation...median age = 30.6, which is a very "youthful" median age by all accounts. Tons of young people here within their 20s and 30s. 28-32 is probably your healthiest range to have as a large area. It shows that you have lots of people in school, lots of people sticking around after school, lots of people in career phase and with families, etc. This is a thriving, growing, healthy city with a nice future for all age groups.

2. Pittsburgh PA: Pitt/CMU/Duquesne/RMU/etc...Largest city in SWPA, large elderly population mixed with many universities...median age = 35.5, above average overall. It's clear that you have lots of 40+ year olds, lots of 18-25 year olds, and not so much in the way of 25-35 year olds sitting between those two demographics. The city's shrinking population backs this up even further, as many people head elsewhere after college, while those who stick around usually have great jobs and become the next wave of "40+" year olds countering the college kiddies in their 20s.

3. Wheeling WV: Wheeling Jesuit, no major universities...older city, older population. Not a thing to balance it out or skew the numebrs, really. Median age = 42.4. Not much in the way of young people and a very old city by the numbers.

4. Huntington WV: Marshall, smaller university with a good presence...same ordeal as Pittsburgh but slightly older. Median age = 36.7. Grads more or less aren't sticking around, which is what you would expect..as most people set off to a larger city. Not a problem for Huntington due to its size, as it would be best served to just level off, but it more or less is for a larger city like Pittsburgh. This is probably a more literal translation of age and means that most people will be in their mid to late 30s or 40s in Huntington, and suggests that outside of the university you have an older population that focuses more around establishing families. Probably not as "hip" or "trendy", but more practical and mature.

5. Morgantown WV: Big state university, dominated by youth. The median age is 23.1, I think this more than clearly shows that for 9-10 months out of the year...this place is for those who are young and young at heart. More or less a spot for your 20s and early 30s and a great place to meet people within that age group. No clue what happens beyond that, but the population is growing, so clearly some of these college kiddies are starting to stick around after their 4-6 years are up...probably due to the growing medical and research fields that are creating job opportunities. From what I've seen, there's nothing but 20-somethings all over town and crowdin the streets on a Friday night. For better or worse, I'm thinking that it might be a little hard to get out of college mode after you graduate and transition into something else by comparison.
In some respects you are correct, except that you are short changing opportunities for older folks in Morgantown. I'm one of the thousands of retirees who have chosen to retire in Morgantown because it offers the amenities of a big city in a characteristically small West Virginia town, has excellent arts, athletics and entertainment options, is surrounded by outstanding outdoor venues, and provides a nice place to mix it up with younger folks. The University also is active in providing for classes and activities for older folks as well. It's a great place for us old duffers too.
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Old 12-21-2009, 01:36 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,974,800 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joejitsu View Post
WV is a ocean of sludge except for the island oasis of Morgantown. Morgantown is so good it makes up for the rest of the state. That being said Morgantown doesn't need more people. So I recommend Huntington.
The Morgantown area does indeed need more folks. In fact, it is one
of the Nation's hottest job markets. Yet it doesn't need to lose its essentially college town atmosphere. Gradual, balanced development is a plus.
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Old 12-21-2009, 01:48 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,974,800 times
Reputation: 1782
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbailey1138 View Post
You can't compare partial enrollment at one and total enrollment at the others. Good try though.

Fairmont - 4,572 students (2009)

MCTC - 2,999 (2009)

Marshall - 13,434 students (2009)

WVU - 28,898 (2009)

http://wvhepcdoc.wvnet.edu/resources...menttrends.pdf

And you should know this since you posted the above link.

3 x 4,572 = 13,716 which supports my claim that MU "has about 3 times the student population of Fairmont State." And WVU has no where near 3 times the enrollment of MU(which would be over 40,000 students), meaning MU is closer in size to WVU than FSU is to MU which disproves your claim.
Tim, ... all 4,572 FSU students are on the Fairmont Campus. There are only 9,700 Marshall students on the Huntington campus. That isn't three times as many. It's 600 more than twice as many. You're counting in all the students from Marshall's four branches. Also, all 28,800+ West Virginia students are on the Morgantown campus. Unlike Marshall, they don't lump their branch campus enrollment together with the main campus enrollment. The Morgantown campus of WVU is indeed three times larger than the Huntington campus of Marshall.

Look for yourself. This shows only Marshall's total enrollment. It also shows West Virginia's branch campuses (except WVU-Parkersburg, which is now contractually connected to WVU instead of intrinsically, but which still offers WVU undergraduate degrees). They are listed separately.

http://wvhepcdoc.wvnet.edu/resources...menttrends.pdf

I already posted the actual headcount for the Huntington campus (separated from the total). If you wish I'll dig it up and post it again.

Another interesting thing to note... Steven Kopp has been touting Marshall as being in a long term growth mode. Remove his rhetoric and look at the actual figures in the link above. You could say it is in somewhat of a recovery mode, but definitely not a growth mode. In fact, it is still lower in headcount than it was just 5 years ago. The recovery is similar to other commuter based schools as the chart demonstrates. That certainly does not indicate a trend, and is more likely the result of economy driven factors. As an alumnus, I'm not convinced the potential is there to support some of the moves he has made in the past couple years and the institution might well have trouble paying the piper later, for it is being done on the cuff and with long term debt... not with accumulated funding.

Last edited by CTMountaineer; 12-21-2009 at 02:02 PM..
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