SperlingViews - Morgantown, West_virginia

its a good small university town, however the cost of living varies especially rents on whether you live near to the campus or far away from wvu. there are only couple major employers. its well populated for the size of the town though and the cost is comparable to big towns like pittsburgh.[read more...]

I wholeheartedly agree. I am a WV native, born and raised. I have to say this use to be an okay place to live, but over the past ten years the college town mentality has ruined the housing market and the town as a whole. Students come here every year and trash the town and the housing that is built specifically for them. The majority of these students get a degree and leave, and this is for a good reason. There are no jobs for people with degrees in Morgantown. Almost all of the jobs are service jobs geared at the college students and those who are uneducated or undereducated, and I do not say that to say West Virginia's are dumb. West Virginia's are some of the most honest, hardworking, and friendly people you will ever meet. The problem is for the younger generation of natives or those who would like to move to Morgantown, there are only about three good places to work Mylan, the hospitals, or WVU. Apparently the competition for these jobs is fierce, because I have a Masters degree and applied everyday for a year(literally 5 days a week for 52 weeks) at Mylan and couldn't get as much as a call back, and the same for WVU I applied to approximately 165 positions and received 5 responses. Other than that just about every job is at a restaurant, gas station, or a place like Walmart. Someone stated that Morgantown has not been hit by the recession, but this is not true at all. The truth is the University and its affiliates have not been affected, but many other industries such as the coal industry have been hard hit. Morgantown is not a bad place but unless you have a connection with someone who can get you a good job you are probably out of luck. Sorry Mountaineers I love you, but if your from here you know its true. [read more...]

I grew up and went to college in Morgantown. Although there are many things about the city (big town) that I liked (schools were great, crime was minimal); the weather is horrible. With about 220 days of the year being cloudy and gloomy, Morgantown can be very depressing. The sunny days are linked mostly to the summer, which is nice but that leaves 9 other months of the year where you find yourself bummed out by the grey sky. [read more...]

just thought that anyone looking to move to morgantown might be interested in a review, so here goes... i grew up in morgantown and i am an alumni of wvu. morgantown is a very special place--as the walt whitman award-winning poet and singer-songwriter (and former morgantown resident) ben doyle put it, "it seems everyone who leaves this town gets their name in bright lights". this has been my experience within my group of friends and acquaintances with whom i grew up...morgantown has given us a sense of security and of adventure, allowed us to be ourselves, and from it we have developed a strong work ethic that has served us well. morgantown is safe, but not sleepy. it is secluded, but there is still a lot going on. a college town, it is multicultural (thank god) and diverse. it is affordable, it's on the rise (somehow it has not been affected by the recent economic downturn), and it is bursting with natural beauty. it is also a place with a significant sense of pride--for mountaineers, for its beauty, and for its innate sense of freedom. i love it.[read more...]

After living here for 2 years Morgantown has started to grow on me. Con's: Housing is expensive unless you purchase an older (40+ yr old home) or condo. Since it is a University town the city doubles in size with students and they need a place to live. Think of Morgantown as land of the condos. If you are downtown near the Main Campus you may be shocked at older housing your college student may be living in. Con's: Roads are not well maintained and winters can be harsh. Lots of 4x4's and Subaru's driven. Con's: Very limited work opportunities for white collar. Major employers are Government, Health, and one major manufacturer. Other jobs expect low pay. Con's: Friends you make may only be here short term while they are earning their degree's. Pro's: Taxes are bearable. Pro's: University brings events and concerts to town. Pro's: Great small town feel and place to raise children. Access to 2 hospitals. Schools are decent. Pro's: Pittsburgh is a little over an hour away and offers extensive shopping, sports events, zoo, children's museum, etc. [read more...]

I moved here from Miami, Florida and I must say that the crime way is far less than what it was back home. Morgantown is a safe place to live. I can still leave my car door unlocked overnight and come to find everything intact. However, the crime element is coming to town. I am not sure if it is via college students or the increase of new residents but crime rates are increasing Although I must say that they are nowhere near the national average for big cities. Traffic here is terrible because every road has to pass the University and there isn't much development here outside of the University area. Also, because the population increases yearly the housing prices are way to expensive for what you get. For example, they are selling luxury townhomes (although some of the nicest I have ever seen) for $350,000 in the Suncrest Area. The downfall to that is not 50 yards away from those exact same townhomes sits a trailor court of 10 raggady trailors. To add, it is "chilly" or cold her about 7 months out of the year. Nationally, you get paid less per profession and socially there isn't much to do here for young children, teenagers, or older adults. If you can not figure this out I am planning a move within the next two years.[read more...]

It is somewhat surprising (and pretty disappointing) that a city that is home to a large university is so,... well... local. Most people working at the university grew up in WV, also went to school at WVU and now are employed by it. The incestuous (no pun intended) nature of the school means encountering narrow, entrenched and sometimes just odd people and perspectives. There are some good people but they don't tend to stay - just the locals. The University itself is not horrible, but is more or less an excuse to have a local football team. More shopping has been added lately (Best Buy, Borders, Target) and the now (for some odd reason) have 2 Super WalMarts. Housing cost is surprisingly high for such a small town, but the Hospital, Health Science Center, and a LOT of lawyers means they can command some pretty high rents and surprisingly high home costs.[read more...]

My family will be moving to Morgantown summer '08. What is the best area in town for a family with kids? I'd like to be relatively close to WVU for work, but not living in a purely 'student' section of town. Any help?? We'll be house hunting in a couple of months there and would like to know what parts of town to look in...[read more...]

Morgantown is a nice town to go to school in overall. The activities that were available through WVU were good and could keep the average student busy. My biggest gripe is that once you graduate, there's not a lot to do actually in Morgantown after you lose access to many WVU related activities. WVU also pretty much runs the town and whenever the city tries to do something positive, it often has to fight WVU to fend for the best interest of the residents. Residents often take a back seat to students as the ratio is about 1:1 and students will soon outnumber the residents if current growth continues.[read more...]

This small town's biggest draw is the university. Football reigns supreme here. The town nearly shuts down during games.[read more...]

It is a nice average-size town, very lively by WVU students. It is very hilly, driving is tough in winter when it snows.[read more...]

I lived in Morgantown from summer of '04 to fall of '06 and I must say, I do like Morgantown. The people are nice, driving distance from the country to the city is not very annoying, the scenery is beautiful, and there is always, ALWAYS, something to do. Plenty of local restaurants, live bands, nice bars, live band karaoke, wine and jazz festival, buckwheat festival, golf courses, local softball teams to join during spring and summer, a bike/running trail... the possibilities are endless here. Too bad I just haven't done everything there is to do here. If you are religious, chances are your religion is here in full force. Politically, Democrats and Republicans are pretty hot and heavy towards each other. You'll find a guy in a chicken suit standing on the street corner holding up Democrat signs, protesting. You'll find Republicans driving down the road, flipping the protesters off! There are over 20,000 college students here at West Virginia University in addition to the local population. Rent is high here and finding an place to live is a challenge. The college is a party college, and college football here is a real pain if you don't like football or sports in general. However, if you love football and getting drunk and partying, this is your college town! The hospitals here are really good, because University Hosptial is a teaching hospital. Once you've lived here for a while, you will find that you'll meet someone who knows someone you met recently. Small town feel. The shops on High Street and surrounding areas are fun to shop at, as well as the little restaurants and bars nearby. Parking is hard to find, though, and traffic congested at times. Don't move here if you hate snow from OCTOBER TO APRIL and you hate summers that aren't HOT. The only thing I can't stand about Morgantown is the crappy weather. It's cool even in May and September. June, July, and August are the only tolerable months here. Believe me, if you have arthritis problems, DON'T MOVE HERE. Again, college football reins supreme here. They even shut down roads and businesses due to all the traffic around game time. People burn couches a lot around here, too. It's even a city ordinance to have your couch off your porch and inside your house so it won't get burned.[read more...]

Summers aren't too terribly hot (for too terribly long) and winters aren't as rough as one might imagine. Nearby towns at higher elevations see much more snow than Morgantown does.[read more...]

Although it is quite true that most groups are under represented in teh local population, this is a college town with many international students. Some of these students from abroad bring children with them & my daughter has had friends from school from several countries. We have a world map with pins representing where her friends come from. Morgantown has much to offer in the way of diversity.[read more...]