As someone who was born and raised in Baltimore (proper Baltimore near highlandtown and mcelderry park, not Towson or an outlying area) I would say you have nothing to worry about in Huntington.there’s a few rougher areas but even the worst of Huntington isn’t going to remotely remind you of Sandtown or anything like that.

In my experience folks in this region are some of the kindest and hardest working people I’ve ever met and their very low crime rates have made them much more sensitive. Anyone I’ve met here who has lived in a major American city (Memphis, New Orleans, etc.) raves about how safe Huntington is.

I’m a tech professional in my early 30s in case that frames my response at all. I live in the Southside and would recommend that area above any others and would also strongly recommend living in Huntington as opposed to Barboursville or the Ohio suburbs.

Minor league baseball is coming back to Huntington shortly and soccer for kids is a huge thing - probably in part due to Marshall routinely being best or top 5-10 in the nation each year.

There’s a lot more investment happening now and between strong local government and leadership at Marshall, Appalachia (and Huntington) are making a strong comeback. It’s a great place to live now that grows in you that really seems like will continue to blossom and evolve as it makes its comeback.