Charleston West Virginia (Huntington, South Charleston, Teays Valley: rent, insurance, low crime)
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These are my humble opinions of the Charleston proper and metro area:
Best places to live- 1) South Hills for it's proximity, great schools, shopping and high standard of living. 2) Kanawha City in the Fox Chase and Quarry Creek developments. It's a little high up on the mountain and secluded, but you will have Beverly Hills type lifestyle in these neighborhoods. 3) Teays Valley, dozens of upscale nighborhoods have sprung up in Putnam County in the past two decades. The luxury of living this far west of Charleston is that you can equally utilize Charleston and Huntington while still living in a comfy bedroom community.
Here's my outlook-I work for a locally started technology company in Charleston, there aren't a whole lot of tech jobs in the area, but it seems to be a growing field. Having lived in the Charleston area for the past 10 years i haven't spent more than 2 years in any one burrough yet. However i have found my home here in Saint Albans along with my wife. It's a small town that is a bit isolated from the rest of the metro area because the Kanawha River divides SA from Nitro and Institute/Dunbar. I-64 doesn't run near town either, you have to catch the interstate on route 34 about 4 miles noth of SA or on MacCorckle Avenue in South Charleston 5 miles east of SA.
I have more to share about but i'm running short on time right now.
Georgia that money goes a long way here and I think silka is on the money. Teays valley, south charleston, and south hills have higher property taxes but relative to the rest of USA pales in comparison. It's a great buy.
West charleston is a transitioning neighborhood after a bad trend started years ago. If you've got no patience for that, you wouldn't be happy in my neighborhood. I chose a home based on many factors, but my neighbors were the biggest influence. They mean to lift this end up and I joined them with my nickel. It's working on my hill, homes going up in value from a low of 43k to as high as 210k for substantial updating. I also have a DEA agent as a neighbor, making sure transient riff raff meaning to set up shop will not be tolerated. We stick together well yet tolerate diversity is all I can say. Yes, we do look out for the little ones, just like what I grew up around. I'm glad to be here. Since I bought at the bottom of the market I have nowhere to go but up. My house by insurance standards alone would cost $280k to rebuild but I purchased at a fraction of the cost. Lot size is large for city standards, view is awesome, classic architecture, taxes were about $400, schools are restructuring and serious attention is being focused on education state wide.
I can let you know in direct message where I did not see that commitment to cleaning up a neighborhood happening. I opted out because of the behavior and attitudes I saw from what would be my neighbors. I don't fear anything in charleston because nothing like chicago, DC, LA, atlanta or the bronx is going on there, but I didn't come all this way to deal with disrespectful people careless with their own children. That's a big deal to me, and a bell weather for what to expect in the future.
Do you mean to have acreage? This a retirement plan or you mean to participate in the economy? I think that will decide how inside or far outside city limits would make sense for you. Things like amenities or health care might be a higher priority. I think upscale housing is probably a bad investment considering the confidence people have in the economy just now. Aim for solid value you'll be fine.
Thanks to both of you very much. My wife and I are talking around many ideas in the next 5 years. Our main discussions, initiated by me and finally agreed to by her, is the fact that we will not be able to retire around here.
Atlanta and the Atlanta area is changing at a rapid pace, riff raff is an understatement here. Seem no matter which direction or no matter how low or high in price of your home area, one finds issues.
We have 5 more years, but it is never to late to start the planning phase, it will be here before you know it. Three to four years ago I would not even think of anything in regard to leaving our home, but it is something here that words just can't explain until you experience it first hand.
Thanks again for your insights, I will start researching and rep's to both of you!!!
georgia we've heard plenty of the same from atlantagreg- seems to me you two need to do homework together and save yourselves some leg work. You don't have to convince me about atlanta, I already told you my story about that nasty experience. I agree with suggestions from vec and silka if you mean to aim for a more upscale existence.
If you decide on Charleston, I would recommend that you look nearby but out of the city itself. Charleston's city services pale in comparison to South Charleston's, and Charleston has imposed a tax on people who work in the city, so people tend to look elsewhere for work. Adding to the advice above, there are nice homes in South Charleston in the Thousand Oaks, James Park and Country Club Blvd. areas. In addition, South Charleston's city services are far superior to most. Trash pickup is done twice a week and it is not necessary to carry it out to the curb. Street cleaning crews are out as soon as it starts to snow.
Naturally, all this could change if Charleston is able to force a Metro form of government on the surrounding areas. There is a strong incentive to do this to get the population of Charleston back up over 50,000 to qualify for federal funding of some programs.
These are all just my opinions. Yours may be different.
I love Elkview/Pinch area. Nice homes. Not busy (As far as traffic). It is Right off of 79 ( less then 15 minutes to Charleston ) Plenty of nec. shopping in the area here ( grocery/drug/hardware/kmart etc). It's a pretty area too. I hear from neighbors the schools are wonderful. I have no children, so I'm sorry that is second hand info. First hand though, I do enjoy this part of Kanawha county.
Thanks to both of you very much. My wife and I are talking around many ideas in the next 5 years. Our main discussions, initiated by me and finally agreed to by her, is the fact that we will not be able to retire around here.
Atlanta and the Atlanta area is changing at a rapid pace, riff raff is an understatement here. Seem no matter which direction or no matter how low or high in price of your home area, one finds issues.
We have 5 more years, but it is never to late to start the planning phase, it will be here before you know it. Three to four years ago I would not even think of anything in regard to leaving our home, but it is something here that words just can't explain until you experience it first hand.
Thanks again for your insights, I will start researching and rep's to both of you!!!
Hey Georgia - remember, I was born and raised in Charleston.
One day I'll probably return there, too. It's not uncommon to find homes up there that have secondary or "rental unit" homes behind them. Try to find one of those, and then you can rent it out to ME, and I'll move back up there too.
And yes, you know things have reached the breaking point when the ONLY thing you'll miss about living in Atlanta is your ability to shop at Costco. LOL
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