Morgantown, WV anyone live there? Been there?

[MacroGuru]

Just had a job offer roll into me, and I am weighing the decision if Morgantown is worth it. Granted I know I will be one of the only BYU fans there, I am curious as to what the area is like and if anyone has lived there. Is living there, or what not.

[VPI97]

Do you have an affinity towards setting furniture on fire? If so, you'll fit in nicely.

[Ksyrup]

Gilligan likes it...



Bob Denver will broadcast from his house<!---##CCI#[/Text]--->
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Bob Denver, who starred in the '60s sitcom Gilligan's Island, is starting a radio station in his house.


Denver says he plans to promote West Virginia by creating the station downstairs in his Princeton home.

He wants to broadcast oldies music and radio dramas when he takes to the airwaves within a month. He says the station will reach 100,000 people in southern West Virginia.

"I expect it to have quite a reach," he said.

On Gilligan's Island, (1964-67) a small boat was caught in a storm and wrecked on the shore of an uncharted South Pacific island. Denver played the hapless deckhand Gilligan.

Denver, 69, says he's surprised by the following Gilligan's Island has maintained through reruns. "I love the letters we get from the children. They say, 'My mom and dad said they watched you when they were little.' They can't believe their parents were ever little."

[amdaily]

On paper it seems nice, except for the eternal cloud cover: http://www.city-data.com/city/Morgantown-West-Virginia.html

[VPI97]

Gilligan likes it... Nah...Princeton isn't anywhere close to Morgantown. Morgantown is up north near Pennsylvania, while Princeton is way down south, where I grew up.

Bob Denver moved there when I was in high school...it was pretty well know that all he did was hole up at his house and smoke pot all day.

[Koryo]

I went to WVU. Morgantown is a nice place imo.

[st.cronin]

Most college towns are wonderful places to live. Madison, Boulder, Ann Arbor, etc.

[bossfan2000]

my wife grew up about 30 minutes south of morgantown..and her brother still works at a hospital there. I have only visited once, never made it to morgantown itself. The bigger cities might be fine, but driving around, you can really see how poor the state is..it was kinda depressing to me.

I think you would only be 60-90 minutes from pittsburgh, though..

[terpkristin]

Paging Robbgmaier...

I love Morgantown until football season. Then it's a nightmare and a half.

But, as someone else already said, that is mostly to do with it being a college town...

/tk

[Bee]

I went to school there for a couple years and I think it depends on what you are looking for in a place to live whether it's a good fit for you.

[Crapshoot]

Its West Virgina. I counsel you strongly to stay away/

[korme]

swaggs could probably tell you a little about it

[Swaggs]

I was born and lived in Morgantown until I finished college and my entire family still lives there, so I visit often. It is usually ranked among the top small cities in the United States. There are are normally about 50,000 people there, but it is nice in the Summer when all the students go home, and it drops down to closer to 30,000.

It is definitely a college town, and I would say a late night town, in that there are a lot of restaurants/stores that are open all night, as opposed to some of the larger towns I have lived in, which seem to close down around 10-11 PM. There is a historic downtown area centered around High Street, which is kind of nice. There are not many (if any) buildings that are taller than 10 stories. If you are into sports, you can embrace WVU sports--if not, you can do what a lot of people do, and leave town on football weekends (Pittsburgh is about an hour away, DC is about 3.5 hours East).

I would say the healthcare and education systems are very good. Most of the town's economy is based on the University, the Hospital systems, Mylan Pharmaceuticals (one of the largest generic drug producers is HQed there), and services catered toward those who work there. There are a fair amount of cultural events for a small town (thanks to the University) and the population is fairly diverse, particularly for West Virginia.

There are four distinct seasons. The snow can be bad (snow + lots of hills = tough driving) and, at times, it can be very humid in the Summer (especially if you are coming from out West).

Let me know if you have any particular questions.

[MacroGuru]

The snow for me is no biggie, as we get a ton of the stuff here. Summers, I can see being a little rougher as we are a dry heat...nothing like AZ, but dry.

As for the Public and Private School Systems, are they solid? What is the crime rate like? (I know during football season, random rioting is commonplace :D )

What are the housing costs like?

[Bee]

The snow for me is no biggie, as we get a ton of the stuff here. Summers, I can see being a little rougher as we are a dry heat...nothing like AZ, but dry.

As for the Public and Private School Systems, are they solid? What is the crime rate like? (I know during football season, random rioting is commonplace :D )

What are the housing costs like?

http://realestate.yahoo.com/re/neighborhood/search.html?csz=Morgantown%2CWV

crime is really low but so is the cultural index...:D

[steelerdaddy]

My wife lived there for five years. As much as people rip on West Virginia, there are advantages.

1) For a college town, it's very quiet...well, except when their basketball team loses.

2) Cost of living is low...especially if you don't mind driving to nearby Clarksburg to do your shopping.

3) IIRC, I think Pittsburgh is a 2 hr drive away if you want something resembling a city life. Baltimore isn't horribly far either.

[henry296]

My wife lived there for five years. As much as people rip on West Virginia, there are advantages.

1) For a college town, it's very quiet...well, except when their basketball team loses.

2) Cost of living is low...especially if you don't mind driving to nearby Clarksburg to do your shopping.

3) IIRC, I think Pittsburgh is a 2 hr drive away if you want something resembling a city life. Baltimore isn't horribly far either.

Downtown Pittsburgh is probably about just under and 1 1/2 hours. Baltimore is usually just over 3 hours.

[Abe Sargent]

I lived there for six years.

Morgantown has been rated as one of the best small cities in America in which to live. It was rated the best small city east of the Mississippi. Lastly, it was rated America's #1 Dreamtown. Various publications give out these sorts of scares based on factors like health care, crime, cost of living, availability of recreation, transportation, average income, unemployment, and so forth. It's a great place to live, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to live in a nice suburb with a good, collegiate culture.

-Anxiety