Moving to Charleston WV-anyone familiar with these apartments or have anything else to add about favorite areas to live? (Huntington: section 8, apartment complexes)
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My hubby and I are relocating to Charleston for our work, and are in the exciting process of learning more about the city. I've read through many of the other threads which have mentioned various parts in and around Charleston to live (Kanawha City, being mindful of certain areas in extreme West/East ends or North of Washington St, South Hills, Mt. Alpha Rd, Louden Heights, Fox Chase, South Ridge, portions of South Charleston, Edgewood, Spring Hill, Saint Albans, Teays Valley, Dunbar, and Fort Hill).
We are driving over to the city shortly and are planning to take a few days to see the different parts of the city ourselves. We are looking for anything within a 20 -30 minute, preferably shorter, commute to downtown. Our hope is to rent for the first 6-12 months while we scope out the housing situation and neighborhood schools.
Is anyone familiar or does anyone have any strong concerns with the following apartments which we are planning to see:
-Roxalana Hills Apartments
-Valley View Apartments
-Terrace Park East
-Edgewater Apartments
Also, we've been trying to contact the following apartments, but no one ever picks up and our messages have never been returned...does anyone have any observations/experiences about these? Personally, I am concerned that with such a poor response rate, they would not be efficient at addressing apartment concerns in a timely manner for folks who ARE renting...:
-Stratford Apartments
-Roselane Apartments
-Kanawha Village Apartments
-Chilton Manor Apartments
-Hickory Hills Apartments
And, do any of you have particular pros/cons about the following apartments for which there are few online resources or no available reviews?:
-One Morris Apartments
-Charleston Medical Center Housing
-Governor's Court Apartments
-Albert C Harris Apartments
-Salina Village
-Mill Creek Landing Apartments
-Victorian Arms Apartments
We are looking forward to our move and will appreciate any suggestions folks have to offer about residential neighborhoods and/or the above-listed apartments. Thank you most kindly and we wish you all well!
Terrace Park East is expensive housing. I think Kanawha Village and Chilton Manor are owned by the same company and have been around at least since the 1050's. I haven't been in one of their apartments for many years. One Morris Street is deco-style old. Governor's Court are pretty low end apartments across the street from the entrance to the Governor's Mansion.
A followup, after a whirlwind 36 hour trip to Charleston to look for apartments...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
My hubby and I took a whirlwind 36 hour trip out to Charleston and visited several of the sites I had inquired about. As far as our observations, this is what we had found (for any other prospective movers/apartment hunters):
-Roxalana Apartments - out in Dunbar but right off of 64, so you can get to downtown Charleston very quickly; unfortunately their location isn't mapped on several GPS models; nicely situated with apartments, tennis courts, raquetball courts, and pool; several young singles, hospital residents, working professionals, and families reside there; allows cats but no dogs; offer yearly lease or a 6 month lease (which they tag on an additional $60/month); 1 BR (708 sq ft) is $630/month (or $660 if has washer/dryer in apt) and 2 BR (916 sq ft) is $730 or $760/month; basements house W/D units for apts without them... They do offer a month-to-month lease only for fully furnished apts with W/D that goes for $1440 (gulp!) a month. There's a $25 application fee and a $250 refundable deposit (or $500 for furnished apt); monthly utilities supposedly run $40-80... They had no immediate openings for us, and the one apt they showed to us still had the strong cigarette smell in the carpets and wall paint, despite their trying to shampoo and clean the surfaces... All the online reviews speak favorably of the place that their maintenance is quick to respond to every call (a plus, as many other apt companies wouldn't even answer or return our calls)
-Valley View Apartments - located on Kanawha Blvd after the river heads South, slightly south of Maiden; painted a dark brown, it looked similar to an old motel, tucked into a lot of brush from the street; the lot didn't show as well as others, and it wasn't well lit at night with the winding driveways; no one ever answered our calls so we weren't able to see an actual apt...located right by the busy portion of K. Blvd...
-Terrace Park East - located on Kanawha Blvd, is a collection of apts/condos; it faces opposite to the IMPERIAL TOWERS apts/condos directly across the river off of MacCorkle Ave (and across from the entrance to University of Charleston) which is also owned by the same company; rent is much pricier here, but if someone is looking for a downtown location and short-term stay in furnished settings while looking to buy, this is an option (if you're willing to spend the extra $$)... Didn't get to see actual apt at Terrace Park, but we were told it has approximately 190 units (Imperial Towers has 109) and streetside parking (Imperial Towers has an actual lot). Rent is same at both units; unfurnished 1 & 2 BR available with 1 year lease for $650 or $1100 a month...furnished 1 & 2 BR available on month-to-month lease for $900 or $1500 a month, respectively; in all apts, you are responsible for electric and high speed internet bills, but all other utilities (including cable tv) are covered; the buildings are not setup for wireless internet (they can offer DSL), so they're recommending folks get air-cards (which can add an additional $60/month according to a resident there); most units do NOT have W/D in unit, and therefore folks use the coin operated W/D in basement; the IMPERIAL TOWERS also has a pool sauna, gym, and garbage chutes; requires an equal security deposit. On a positive note, the lady who showed us some apartments at IMPERIAL TOWERS and who shows the Terrace Park East place was very prompt to answer calls and even provided her direct cell to reach her...
-Edgewater Apartments - nice location on Kanawha (where a lot of other apts seemed to be) but never got a callback to see an apt. Looked like mostly street parking around it...
-Parkside Place Inc on Kanawha Blvd - just an FYI; this appeared on several of our searches for apts...but it's actually a condo; the guy never returned our calls b/c he is inundated with folks inquiring about apts, which they don't offer. We met him when we went to the building in person...and learned the condo's there range from $180,000 to the high $200's, and that the average residents there are 50-60+ years old.
-Chilton Manor Apts/Hickory Hill Apts/Kanawha Village Apts - never got any callbacks to see apts; drove by and saw the buildings which appeared to be much older and in variable conditions; Kanawha Village Apts were in a nice downtown location of one of the main artery roads; parking was limited to around the building, first-come-first-served in appearance; busier street with appropriate traffic noise for location on MacCorkle Ave. Also drove by Hickory Hill Apts which were tucked away and further from downtown locations; it had a few units and an open parking lot in need of repaving; unless there's another way there, we had to drive up a good bit of some hills (thinking of Winter) to get to the Hickory Hill location
-Roselane Apts/Stratford Apts - never got callbacks, but drove in the Roselane neighborhoods which seemed quite nice; went through portions with single family homes and well-maintained lots
-One Morris Apts - never got callbacks, but drove by it on 1 Morris St; just as you described "dec-style old;" looks like parking again is on streetside and limited; right near the Kanawha Blvd to have a nice river-side walk
-Salina Village - located just across street from the Valley View Apts, they had no openings so we did not look any further there
*Some other apartments we had looked up were either closed (or phones disconnected, as with the Fife Street Apts), mislabeled/misrepresented on the Internet websites, or parts of programs such as Charleston Housing Properties (Section 8).
**Finally, some of our apartment hunting was most fruitful by just walking around the blocks around Kanawha Blvd (such as Virginia St) where several independently owned apt buildings had signs on their front lots. We found several establishments that offered 1, 2, and 3 BR apartments for a range of rents in the low $400 all the way up to $900/month, but most were only willing to do yearly leases and not month-to-month or 6 month leases...
Thanks again, and if anyone still has thoughts to offer on apartments, areas for buying housing that is relatively near to Charleston (as we will be working off of MacCorkle Ave), or anything else, we're all ears! =)
And becoming more familiar with DISTANCES to places around Charleston, WV
Another thing, we did several test drives to locations from one end of Charleston WV (by Kanawha Mall; where MacCorkle Ave and I-64/I-77 meet) all the way over to Huntington, WV. Huntington, via I-64 W, was a little under an hour's drive for us.
We learned that I-64 exit numbers, which start from 1 in the west (by Huntington) and increase to 180+ to the east (toward Virginia), do not follow in sequence around the portion of Charleston where I-64 and I-77 overlap.
People have said that Teays Valley is a nice place to live, and there certainly were nice single family homes we could see from the interstate, but it is a bit of a drive to the east end of Charleston. (we met some folks who even make the daily commute between Charleston and Huntington...)
For some perspective on distance, we recorded the following exits on I-64:
#6 - Huntington
#34 - Hurricane
#39 - Teays Valley
#40 - Scott Depot (where the DEVONSHIRE Apartment complexes are... Devonshire at Teays Valley - Welcome )
#44 - St. Albans (also reportedly very nice for young single family homes; we didn't have time to drive it)
#45 - Nitro
#47 - Crosslanes
#50 - WV State Univ.
#53 - Dunbar (where Roxalana Apts were; looked to be about 15-20 min drive to east end of Charleston via I-64)
#54 - MacCorkle Ave
#56 - Montrose Dr
#58 - where I-64 and I-77 meet...
#101 - over by Clendenin St
#100 - over by Capitol St
#99 - over by Greenbrier St
#98 - over by 35th St Bridge
#97 - over by Kanawha Blvd
#96 - over by route 60
#95 - over by Kanawha Mall
We were able to drive through some neighborhoods in South Hills and South Charleston (Rosemont Ave, Spring Hill, and Montrose Dr areas) regions which had nice single family homes. We toured the Louden Heights area which had beautiful homes tucked away on a fairly steep hill at points; also saw Fort Hill which had nicely maintained single family homes, often with variant architectural styles, also on a nice hill - that offered great panoramic views of the city at the higher points. We also enjoyed some of the downtown neighborhoods, such as on Virginia St or off of Kanawha Blvd.
The Amtrak train station is located right next to the South Side Bridge, and is approximately 15 minutes drive to the far east end of Charleston down Maccorkle Ave (several signals and traffic)...
I had a buddy who lived in Roxalana Hills, in dunbar.
It was nice. I don't know what he paid for it, but it wasn't outrageous. This was just a year or two ago, but I'm sure it's not changed that much.
And in dunbar, you have your own krogers, gas stations, etc.
And it's just a quick 5 minute zip up the backroad (25, through Institute) to Nitro where there's a SuperWalmart, movie theaters, Lowes, a bunch of other stuff, and the race track/casino.
Living in south hills, imo, isn't what it's cracked up to be. In fact, living in charleston proper, isn't what it's cracked up to be. The roads suck, you are always on hte side of a hill, etc. Kanawha city, is nice, it's flat, but housing is outrageous there (for the area, anyway). PLUS, in charleston, you have to pay a fire/police fee, AND if you work in the city, you get hit with a 2 dollar a week "user fee," (and it's going to eventually go higher).
If you live in one of the suburbs, and work in Chas, you still have to pay the user fee, but usually don't have the same police/fire fees as in charleston. IMO, it's cheaper all around to live in the 'burbs.
Also, (now that I've read the whole thread, and see you've already visited some places)if you like roxalana, the same company also has some other apartments in dunbar. Grandview Point, I think, is the name. They overlook the interstate off of route 25. I had another buddy live there too, and he had no complaints. He even had a washer/dryer in his apartment, that came with it.
And the thing about the exit numbers. At the "split," you begin using the I77 exit numbers. 64 "follows" 77 until beckley. Then it breaks off east toward virginia.
Last edited by IveHadEnough; 07-24-2009 at 07:09 PM..
Every Tuesday a local "Ad Bulletin" is published which is a 3-section newspaper of classified ads. There will be a lot more apartments for rent listed in there than in just the newspaper. A new Ad Bulletin comes out every Tuesday and can be bought at grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, etc. It costs around $1.50.
A few other comments:
Hickory Road (where the Hickory Hills apartments are) is a main road through South Hills and is salted.
If you live in Teays Valley and other areas west of Charleston, you will have a lot of traffic to deal with if you work in Charleston.
The apartments mentioned in Dunbar (Roxalana, Grandview Pointe) are nice. There are also some in Dunbar called The Oaks which are nice.
There are some in South Charleston called Country Club Village which are nice.
Also in South Hills are the Greenbrier Garden Apartments.
Victorian Arms apts. are ok, too. They would be convenient to Kanawha City as you could take Bridge Road down to the bridge and down the ramp to MacCorkle.
There are also lots of smaller units (like maybe 4 townhouse units, etc.) scattered around. Some of these are really nice. But, you won't find these as "named" apartment complexes in the phone book.
Get an Ad Bulletin. Probably your best bet. Hope this helps.
I've lived in Terrace Park for a couple months a year several times. I've found rent is somewhat negotiable. It's a good place to be on a temporary basis, although I know some people have lived there for years.
Another thing you have to worry about in south hills, is the stuff that's close by that you may need.
Going out to southridge(walmart, target, dick's, lots of restaurants, lowes, home depot, movie theaters, etc), always seems to be a nightmare. Don't get me wrong, southridge is the BIG shopping center in the valley, by far. But traffic just kills you out there. Sure, you can hit Ashton place krogers easy enough, or even the krogers on the westside from south hills, but dealing with southridge/dudley farms traffic, for instance on weekends or after work, is a serious pain in the butt. And don't even go there anytime from thanksigiving to xmas. And the jefferson road backway into south charleston also backs up at the drop of a hat, plus you have the trains that run through there that back up the traffic.
And going to kanawha city isn't much better.
And yeah, Hickory road is pretty well maintained, BUT, the road itself, sucks. Super-windy and kind of narrow in places. Plus, it backs up easy, because it's a main way in and out of south hills. I'd say it, oakwood, and bridge road are the three biggies.
We've finally moved into an apartment in Kanawha City and will be looking at houses over the next few months. Many thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences. If anyone has anything more to add regarding neighborhoods (safety, traffic, schooling, location, etc), we're still reading Hopefully this chain of messages has helped consolidate info for others who are looking to move to Charleston, as I saw many scattered bulletins in this forum prior to my inquiries.
It's hard to really suggest an area to live - depends on the price of home you are looking for, etc.
Keep in mind, in a lot of the Chas area, a house can be in a nice neighborhood but then 3 streets over is a not-so-nice neighborhood. Living in Chas for a while, you will become more familiar and find the perfect neighborhood/town for you. Don't just stay in your area - venture around and explore. When you find a house you like, come back and we'll give you the scoop on the neighborhood/area.
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A followup, after a whirlwind 36 hour trip to Charleston to look for apartments...
Hopefully this chain of messages has helped consolidate info for others who are looking to move to Charleston, as I saw many scattered bulletins in this forum prior to my inquiries.
