Why Would I Want to Live There? Part 2- Morgantown
This is the second of a series of articles that examines Ascend WV, a talent attraction project made possible by a $25 million gift from Brad and Alys Smith. Brad is a Kenova, WV native and former CEO of Intuit. Over the past few years, he and Alys have invested heavily into various economic development efforts in WV. Ascend WV offers $12,000 cash to remote workers outside the state who choose to move to one of three “featured cities”- Morgantown, Lewisburg, or Shepherdstown. Interested workers can apply for Morgantown now, with Lewisburg and Shepherdstown applications opening next year.
The Ascend WV website beckons applicants with an idyllic description of West Virginia life: “Say goodbye to traffic jams and tiny apartments and hello to mountain living. Here, you’ll discover everything that you’ve been missing. A slower pace. A sense of adventure. And community camaraderie that makes you feel at home the moment you arrive.” It sounds appealing, but do the featured cities live up to hype? Today we’ll take a look at life in Morgantown, West Virginia’s third largest city and home to West Virginia University.
By all measures, Morgantown is a prototypical college town. The city nearly doubles in size when classes are in session at WVU. Like other college towns across the country, Morgantown benefits greatly from the presence of a large research institution. There is a diverse array of dining, shopping, and entertainment options that makes the city feel larger than it is. According to the most recent census estimates, Morgantown’s population is just shy of 31,000.
Morgantown sits at the intersection of Interstates 79 and 68, about 75 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA. It was established in 1785 as “Morgan’s Town,” and was chosen as the site for the state’s flagship land grant university in 1867. WVU has steadily grown over the years to become a premier research institution. As the school has expanded, so has Morgantown. There are new developments and apartment complexes dotting the hills that surround the city along the interstates.
There are few places in West Virginia that are growing as rapidly as Morgantown and Monongalia County. Only Berkeley County in the eastern panhandle experienced faster population growth over the last 10 years. The presence of WVU has certainly bolstered the population over time, but it’s not the only reason. A short drive down I-79 toward Clarksburg will take you past several large government and industrial sites, including the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division and the NASA Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility. These organizations have provided the area with plenty of stable, high paying jobs.
The aerospace industry has also gained a strong foothold in north-central WV. Lockheed-Martin, Aurora Flight Sciences, Northrup Grumman, and Pratt & Whitney all have facilities within a half-hour of Morgantown. There are aviation educational programs at Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College. Along with NASA, these aerospace programs and organizations have made the Morgantown area an attractive option for those working in the flight sciences.
While coal has been on the decline for decades in West Virginia, another fossil fuel, natural gas, has experienced a resurgence. Because of northern WV’s proximity to the Marcellus shale fields that produce abundant reserves of natural gas, the industry has blossomed around Morgantown, Clarksburg, and Bridgeport. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, and many power plants are already configured to run off gas. Until renewable energy sources become cheaper and the infrastructure to harness wind and solar is more well-developed, natural gas will be an indispensable energy source.
Morgantown isn’t exactly a slow-paced mountain community as described on the Ascend WV website. There is youthful energy that you might expect to find in a major college town. Traffic can get heavy when classes are in session, but compared to DC or Pittsburgh traffic, it’s more of an inconvenience than a major problem. While Morgantown may not qualify as a true mountain town, recreation opportunities are abundant. Cooper’s Rock State Forest is only 20 minutes away and the beautiful scenery of Cheat Lake is even closer. There are lots of parks and trails nearby, including the extensive Mon River Rail Trail system.
One of West Virginia’s most touted benefits is that the state lies within an 8-hour drive of most of the US population (and one-third of Canada’s population). It is at the crossroads of the Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic. Of all the cities in WV, Morgantown may offer the most convenience in terms of location. It’s about an hour south of Pittsburgh, 3 hours east of Columbus, OH, 3.5 hours west of DC/Baltimore, and 6 hours southwest of New York City. There is also daily service to Pittsburgh and Baltimore-Washington International from the Morgantown Municipal airport.
In many ways, Morgantown is a model for the rest of WV’s cities. There is a diverse economy where aerospace, education, and government services coexist with the extraction industry. Investments in tourism, recreation, and healthcare have given citizens a high quality of life. The presence of WVU is undoubtedly an advantage for Morgantown, but other WV cities would benefit from the innovation and forward thinking shown by community and business leaders in Monongalia County.
Growth, diversity, convenience, recreation, and an energetic vibe- Morgantown has much to offer. It is a worthy location as Ascend WV’s first “featured city. Next time, we’ll take a look at Shepherdstown, one of WV’s oldest and most charming towns.
