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Besides WVU what are some of the larger employers within say 30 mins of Morgantown?
For residents of northern wv, what is your biggest concern or frustration?
The roads and transit infrastructure are third world quality. Road conditions in this county and town are downright embarrassing. It’s not a WV thing, it’s a Morgantown and Mon County thing. Sometimes General Motors will bring their secretive test vehicles from Detroit to Morgantown just to simulate horrible road conditions. I’ve seen them numerous times and have talked to them about it. They are testing vehicle performance in hilly terrain and sub par conditions.
The roads and transit infrastructure are third world quality. Road conditions in this county and town are downright embarrassing. It’s not a WV thing, it’s a Morgantown and Mon County thing. Sometimes General Motors will bring their secretive test vehicles from Detroit to Morgantown just to simulate horrible road conditions. I’ve seen them numerous times and have talked to them about it. They are testing vehicle performance in hilly terrain and sub par conditions.
I currently live in WNY and the amount of freeze thaw out roadway endure and get damaged by is quite high.
Besides WVU what are some of the larger employers within say 30 mins of Morgantown?
For residents of northern wv, what is your biggest concern or frustration?
Largest employer in the county is WVUMedicine, which has nearby medical facilities in Maryland and Pennsylvania, along with a flagship hospital in Morgantown, and a new hospital in Bridgeport. Second is probably the FBI Data Center, which employs roughly 3000 in nearby Clarksburg/Bridgeport. Other major employers I can think of include NIOSH, Mon Health, Viatris, METC, TTECH, Hope Gas/Dominion, PeakHealth, Nemacolin, First Energy, Gabe's, Mountaintop Beverage, and BFS.
I second the roads. At first, I thought it was a WV thing, until I went to other cities in the state and found out nope, It's just Morgantown and Monongalia County. The other frustration I have is the Morgantown city council. Lastly, it's a tad too small, but hopefully that changes soon.
Back to the roads, not only are they terrible, but the overall layout of the city is non sensible. It's like they gave buckets of asphalt to 5-year-olds chasing butterflies 150 years ago and those have been the roads ever since.
I would be interested, too. I would like to buy a modest home in Morgantown, and would like to hear locals' comments. My parents live in Central Virginia, and it is ridiculously expensive to be 85 miles from DC. Beckley and Huntington have also gotten my attention. One of the best places I ever lived was close to a large government university. Dental clinic, farm store, cheap eats, all very handy..The new national park near Beckley must have some interesting effects on the local economy there, but is there anything better than college football?
I would be interested, too. I would like to buy a modest home in Morgantown, and would like to hear locals' comments. My parents live in Central Virginia, and it is ridiculously expensive to be 85 miles from DC. Beckley and Huntington have also gotten my attention. One of the best places I ever lived was close to a large government university. Dental clinic, farm store, cheap eats, all very handy..The new national park near Beckley must have some interesting effects on the local economy there, but is there anything better than college football?
Like anywhere, there are pros and cons. Huntington also has a fairly large university, and the city itself is significantly larger than Morgantown, along with the entire Charleston-Huntington corridor. So with that said, Huntington (including nearby Charleston) will theoretically offer more amenities, shopping, and food options. Charleston-Huntington probably has the more diversified economy of the three, along with more attractions. Huntington has issues related to drug usage that isn't as problematic in the other two, and has experienced a very long period of decline not seen in Morgantown nor Beckley.
Beckley is close to the New River Gorge National Park, along with Summersville Lake. There definitely seems to be a strong uptick in residential construction around the Beckley and Princeton/Blufield areas. Beckley hasn't really ever gone through a period of decline, so it's a lot more robust than other WV cities that are recovering like Wheeling and Huntington.
Morgantown is hypothetically WV's next "boom city". The city has rough terrain and far worse roads than the other two aforementioned cities, but has managed to grow at an attractive rate, and seems to be pulling new investments. Morgantown is arguably more vibrant as a whole, and is easily the fastest growing of the three.
In a short summary based on my opinion, Huntington is probably preferred if you want a larger city with more attractions, Beckley if you want more outdoor/tourism activities in a more modern suburban area, Morgantown if you want something more vibrant and "youthful".
There is no such thing as a "modest" home in Motown.
Real estate prices are higher than the national average.
A modest house 1500 sq ft on .25 acres averages $325K.
Townhouses anywhere from $175K to $250K.
Many of these town home communities, one unit will be owned and the next one will be rented.
So many students you're never sure who will be your neighbor, I've experienced it,
if the kids happen to be partiers - most are, it's not fun.
Although enrollment has been changing, WVU states a budget shortage of $42M-$60M and will start down sizing
the 15th of this month. Many of these free thinking Profs are in for a rude awakening!
Think long & hard making the decision to move to Morgantown.
There is no such thing as a "modest" home in Motown.
Real estate prices are higher than the national average.
A modest house 1500 sq ft on .25 acres averages $325K.
Townhouses anywhere from $175K to $250K.
Many of these town home communities, one unit will be owned and the next one will be rented.
So many students you're never sure who will be your neighbor, I've experienced it,
if the kids happen to be partiers - most are, it's not fun.
Although enrollment has been changing, WVU states a budget shortage of $42M-$60M and will start down sizing
the 15th of this month. Many of these free thinking Profs are in for a rude awakening!
Think long & hard making the decision to move to Morgantown.
Real estate in Morgantown is not higher than the national average. The median home price in the US is $440,000.
What's more interesting- the average 1-bedroom apartment in Morgantown is $700, meanwhile for the nation it is $1,152. In retrospect, Morgantown's rental market is cluttered with trashy eyesores, as opposed to nicely maintained complexes and developments like other areas to include the Eastern Panhandle.
Needless to say, higher home prices and rental prices aren't necessarily a bad thing, and directly reflect supply, demand, tax structures, land availability, and local income levels. Ideally, Morgantown should maintain its current housing prices with the rate of inflation, and increase rental values by about 28%- price out slumlords and replace them with high quality developers with proven records in creating luxury rental properties.
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