Is there much of a pool scene in Huntington or Charleston WV ?

Just came back from all around there. Very nice people all around.

For a person your speed you would enjoy it, for a shortstop and above, it would be little to no action

justinb386 said:

I was thinking that Huntington or Charleston WV might be nice area's to relocate to, but I do not know if either of those cities have much of a pool scene.

Does anyone on here know if there are many pool players in either of those area's, and if many weekly cash tournaments go on?

I know that there will probably be bar leagues, but I do not really care about joining a league.

I would hope that there would be a lot of strong players (or at least a lot of serious pool players that are not just bangers) in an area that I relocate to.

To go off of the subject of pool a little (hope that is okay), I always thought that WV might be a nice place to move to, because it is so beautiful there (I love the looks of the scenery of WV, but never been there yet).

Just wondering if there are many pool players in WV, and pool halls (with decent tables) in either of the cities that I mentioned?

I am also open to other nice area's that some of you might recommend where there is a really good pool scene going on, but also not too crime ridden, and really pretty scenery (for example, I love the mountains).

Thanks.

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I grew up in Ashland, right across the state line from Huntington. I havent been back there in almost 20 years, so take that into account.
20 years ago, there was a pretty good pool scene, not a lot of high stakes games, but there was action. Huntington at the time had 2 House of Billiards (one in Huntington, one in Barboursville) that were great. Also across the street from HOB was Shooters, which was a college bar atmosphere with the pool room off to the side. The pool room had 10-12 Diamond Professional tables, and tons of college action on the weekends. Me and a buddy used to do well there on Fridays and Saturdays. Then down 4th Ave a way and off a side street was Classics. Great room with the old Murrey Pro tables. They werent great, but they played ok.

Fast forward, to the best of my knowledge Classics is the only one left, and from what Ive heard is all bar boxes now. A lot of the guys who played well when I was there were getting up in years then, so they would be way too old now to be in the scene nowadays. Larry Price is dead now, lots of the guys are just gone.

To top that off, my family is still in that area so I hear about how the crime rate has gone up. Lots of dope heads stealing anything they can to sell or pawn for drugs. They were even talking about closing down pawnshops there for a while because all they seemed to be good for was fencing for the dope heads.

Overall, not the best place to live. The medical industry has grown huge there now, with speculation pointing to all of the industry that operated in the area for decades polluting the air and water. Several steel mills used to operate in the area along with their coke plants. At night one side of town glowed from the furnaces at Semet-Solvay. In the mornings the entire town smelled of dog shit from the leather tannery etc.

I can go on and on and on...... LOL
My advice, look elsewhere :sorry:

justinb386 said:

I also do not want to live anywhere that is really dangerous. I have thought a lot about Fairfield, OH (near Cincinnati), but I think that it might not be too safe to live in that area (very high crime rate I think). Thanks

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I went through trade school to be a machinist, and when I got out the industry in my area was changing. The two closest areas that still had good work at the time were Cincinnati and Detroit...... I went to Detroit if that tells you anything about Cincinnati..... :thumbup:

I live in huntington we got a little action

Charleston Pool Scene

I have lived in Charleston for the last 2 years. I cant recommend living here, as it is like many places in the US, very run down and poor. The cost of living is higher than one would expect.

A big reason is that coal is a dying industry in WV. There have been layoffs after layoffs in the mines. And as Bruce Springsteen sings, "The jobs are leaving and they ain't never coming back." Education is poor, the state ranks 49th in education, including high school and college graduations.

The pool scene here in Charleston remains at one location. They are all Diamond tables, including 2 9 footers, and maybe 15+ bar tables. The leagues are in-house there. There are a couple shortstops in the area and the locals will bet plenty on them, but the last time I talked to them, they struggled to find action. The pool room is safe, clean and friendly for WV.

They do have a monthly tournament and the Huntington guys come over as well as some players in Parkersburg. I found the pool room in Parkersburg poor, and somewhat seedy. I went there 2-3 times and that was enough for me.

If you would like to talk, PM me your number and we can discuss more.

I wish you the best of rolls.

Ken

We stayed sat and sun, and could only find one game and he was way out of our speed.

21 was a nice pool hall, great people, awesome spaghetti, and friendly all around.

Everyone will bet on one guy, if u can beat him. (I see no need in putting a name out there)

Fairfield is michaels, nice pool hall and 24 hours.

Back to WV, Dow chemicals is there, and in ashland there is marathon oil


QUOTE=justinb386;5224592]Thanks for your reply. So did you find any nice places (with good tables), and you seen some good players while you were there? Please reply with the places you visited (if the list is not too long)? I assume by your reply that there are not many (if any) super strong A level players in either of the cities I mentioned? Were you just visiting the area for a short time, or did you live there? I really want to relocate somewhere that has a really great pool scene (maybe a place where road players travel through often), but I also do not want to live anywhere that is really dangerous. I have thought a lot about Fairfield, OH (near Cincinnati), but I think that it might not be too safe to live in that area (very high crime rate I think). Thanks[/QUOTE]

Justin,

You might want to contact Mike at www.tvmike.tv regarding your question. He streams quite a few tournaments from that area. Also Dan Madden who runs the PA State 9 Ball Tour. There is a lot of bar box action as well as one and two day bar box tournaments near Charleston. Lots of quality players in Southeast Ohio. Finding games should be easy. Being competitive is another question. Good luck.

Lyn

Justin, just come on down here to North Alabama. You will fit right in with us. We have some great places to play and CHEAP. A $5.00 flat rate from open to close on Diamond tables cannot be beat at Bumpers.
Huntsville, AL is the place to be. What kind of job do you have or are you looking for?

Allen Brown said:

Justin, just come on down here to North Alabama. You will fit right in with us. We have some great places to play and CHEAP. A $5.00 flat rate from open to close on Diamond tables cannot be beat at Bumpers.
Huntsville, AL is the place to be. What kind of job do you have or are you looking for?

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I must agree .. Northern Bama' is one of the real good places on earth .. Wonderful climate too.

State and local taxes are low, lower than the northeast anyway.
If you are in a skilled field of some sort, work isn't too hard to find.
Good paying blue collar jobs are hard to find.

Cost of loving isn't too bad, not sure what part of Zimbabwe Ken moved here from:grin-square:

Most leagues, 8ball and 9ball.
League Room in Parkersburg has like 15 tables, just added 4 9' GC's
They also have lowest rates I've seen anywhere in the country.
The other room in Parkersburg was kind of sketchy, not this one though

21 in Charleston has 5 7 footers and 3 9 footers, very clean and safe.
There is action, but not what you would find in a big city, mostly on tournament or league nights, $8 hour table time, $1 game on 7 footers

justinb386 said:

Thanks for the info. I am thinking Huntsville would be a nice place to live. Not too big, and not too small. Hopefully there is a strong field of pool players there (and not just mostly league players that play just once or twice a week).

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There are a lot of league players down here, but don't get stuck on league players not being strong players. I don't play APA, but I do play BCA and most everyone that I play with isn't a scrub.

There are APA, BCA, In-House money, and American Rotation leagues here.

You will feel right at home in the Valley.

ElKabong said:

Cost of loving isn't too bad, not sure what part of Zimbabwe Ken moved here from:grin-square:

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What is the going rate? And is it true love?

justinb386 said:

Thanks for your reply. So did you find any nice places (with good tables), and you seen some good players while you were there? Please reply with the places you visited (if the list is not too long)? I assume by your reply that there are not many (if any) super strong A level players in either of the cities I mentioned? Were you just visiting the area for a short time, or did you live there? I really want to relocate somewhere that has a really great pool scene (maybe a place where road players travel through often), but I also do not want to live anywhere that is really dangerous. I have thought a lot about Fairfield, OH (near Cincinnati), but I think that it might not be too safe to live in that area (very high crime rate I think). Thanks

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There's a lot of areas in northern Cincinnati that are very nice like Fairfield, mason, Loveland, blue ash, etc. The bad areas are in the inner city areas. Lots of action in Cincinnati for a low shortstop too.