Does living in WV Suck?

RightD said:

Here is the test... Go over one Saturday morning and go shopping at a Wal-Mart (even the one on 340 in Charles Town). That seems to be a good gauge of a person's redneck/hillbilly tolerance.

You'll either shrug and say "What's the big deal?" or hustle back to the suburbs.

I am only sort-of kidding.

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I've hit the Walmart in Elkins many times. To me - what's the big deal. But I have family on the wife's side there. I would move to the Beverly area of Randolph County in a heart beat.

Pushrod said:

Schools aren't as bad as many make them out to be, and with good parental participation a child can get a first rate education.

When you move to WV, get to know your neighbors, make them your friends and you will be golden!

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I found this to be the most true advice given in this post. My sister attended Berkeley Springs High School and parental participation plays a huge factor. I went to Middletown High School which is consistently rated one of the better schools in Maryland and my sister's education is definitely equal if not better than what I received. Her drive to learn, interest from teachers, classes and after school programs were great. Many of these kids that I have met have a pretty normal home life, but there are many that are raised by their grandparents or have even been sleeping in a car or at friend's houses and going to the school during the day. It's the life you are born into and not necessarily the system...

Depending upon where you move to WV (I would guess this is not as true in Charles Town or Harper's Ferry), your neighbors will introduce themselves to you and perhaps talk your ear off a bit... In Berkeley Springs I have met and known more people in a couple of weeks than I ever have in my 9 years of owning a townhouse in Frederick County. I suspect Charles Town may be the opposite due to all of the influx of residents from Frederick County MD, Fairfax County and Loudoun County... The people in WV I feel are actually much more friendly and easier to meet.

Having said that, the issue WV seems to suffer from is a lack higher paying jobs. Many friends still work in MD or VA, because the jobs they perform are just not available within 30 minutes of driving in WV. Living in Frederick though, I have the same issue. In Northern VA you could make $100k in IT... In Frederick you are lucky if that number hits $60k. Everyone and their mother would apply for that job if it were in Frederick because they all have the same problem.. Frederick's IT sector sucks... Higher paying IT is typically restricted to Fort Detrick or the government in general.

Shopping, depending on what you shop for depends on your area. I myself am not much of a shopper, but I will say that since you would be commuting for work to Urbana, what does it really matter? Get all of your crap on the way home from work... I live in Frederick County and 80% of my shopping is done in VA since I drive to work there.

I haven't seen too many redneck and WV jokes, but did you know that it's actually legal in MD to marry your First cousin and illegal in WV. (Md. FAMILY LAW Code Ann. § 2-202 (2010) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage_law_in_the_United_States_by_state

That's true if you buy an existing home. We're trying to downsize. We got a nice deal on 5 wooded acres with stream and well about 6 minutes out from Frederick and paid cash. Then we found out the cost to try to build anything new. Regulations and building codes can kill you on new stuff.

All new residential buildings must have fire sprinkler systems.
Minimum ceiling insulation is R49
Minimum wall insulation is R 24, which means 6 inch thick exterior walls
Only BAT septic systems allowed now $12-$15,000
$18,000+ impact fee
Etc.

We're in a nice, 3,600 sq ft all brick home now and have a fair amount of equity in it, but barely enough to build a 2,000 sq ft house on land we already own. The builder told us that he could not build our current 22 year old house for the price we can sell it because of new code requirements.

Speed3 said:

You can get more than that in Frederick County for sure...

I live in Myersville area...here is one $465k 3.6acres

http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/MD/MYERSVILLE/21773/10078-VISTA-CT-97956476

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DanGuy48 said:

That's true if you buy an existing home. We're trying to downsize. We got a nice deal on 5 wooded acres with stream and well about 6 minutes out from Frederick and paid cash. Then we found out the cost to try to build anything new. Regulations and building codes can kill you on new stuff.

All new residential buildings must have fire sprinkler systems.
Minimum ceiling insulation is R49
Minimum wall insulation is R 24, which means 6 inch thick exterior walls
Only BAT septic systems allowed now $12-$15,000
$18,000+ impact fee
Etc.

We're in a nice, 3,600 sq ft all brick home now and have a fair amount of equity in it, but barely enough to build a 2,000 sq ft house on land we already own. The builder told us that he could not build our current 22 year old house for the price we can sell it because of new code requirements.

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That must be the county requirements, not the State. I know where we are in WV it is nada except for the perc. ETA: Nevermind, I didn't realize you were talking about Maryland.

DanGuy48, Which builder did you talk with? I'm been considering doing the same thing but have a fear of buying property that I may never be able to afford to build on. Lancaster Craftsmen told me I would be hard pressed to build a home for less that $385k. That kind of shocked me considering the cheapest property I would be willing to purchase is $100k. Half a million is much more than I really wanted to spend on a small home...

sbtl said:

DanGuy48, Which builder did you talk with? I'm been considering doing the same thing but have a fear of buying property that I may never be able to afford to build on. Lancaster Craftsmen told me I would be hard pressed to build a home for less that $385k. That kind of shocked me considering the cheapest property I would be willing to purchase is $100k. Half a million is much more than I really wanted to spend on a small home...

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That must be in Maryland. I don't think you have to get a sprinkler system put in your WV hideout cabin! Maryland sucks! I had to pay O'Malley $75 for a new hunting license last week.

sbtl said:

DanGuy48, Which builder did you talk with? I'm been considering doing the same thing but have a fear of buying property that I may never be able to afford to build on. Lancaster Craftsmen told me I would be hard pressed to build a home for less that $385k. That kind of shocked me considering the cheapest property I would be willing to purchase is $100k. Half a million is much more than I really wanted to spend on a small home...

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It's a combination of county and state ordinances. Frederick is actually not as bad as some (e.g. in figuring wall insulation values they don't take into account window area, they just base it on what the insulating walls are...some take into account window area with it).

That's interesting what you said about Lancaster Craftsman Builders. We had Mark finish our 1,600 sq ft basement several years ago. They did a great job and were very good to work with. We were thinking about talking with him again but your price info is about what we got. We are just looking at a 2 bdrm simple house, about 2,000 sq ft and it will apparently be right about at $370,000 based on current info. We're trying to figure out what to do.

We had the plans drawn up by Caddworks in Frederick and we are currently working with a project manager that both the architect and my wife's real estate company recommended. He's not really a GC so we would kind of pay him as we go for his work, but he would oversee the project. We're not sure what to do right now.

Anywhere has got to be better than Maryland!!

I was considering talking with Caddworks. As I understand the process once you have the home plans they can assist with the materials cost after they do a site survey of the property. Which PM are you using if I may ask? Also, would you recommend Caddworks?

I considered buying property in WV some years ago. It is sooo cheap! Unfortunately, the property I really loved was in a 100 year flood plain. Based on my research we were at year 95.

We moved to WV almost 10 years ago and haven't looked back at MD since. The eastern panhandle is a lot like the Frederick/ Hagerstown area, so you're not missing anything if you move to Berkeley Co. You're still close enough to pick up the Washington, D.C. radio stations on your car radio if you ever feel the need to hear 24/7 traffic reports, and close enough to go to MD for your doctors, although most docs out here take Carefirst BC/BS of MD.

And, the Virginia state line is 10 minutes or so south of Inwood/ Martinsburg on I-81; gas is consistently 35-40 cents a gallon cheaper and cigarettes (if you still smoke) are about $3.50 a pack.

Taxes are low, and if you are disabled or 65 or over, you can get the homestead exemption on your property taxes, which is an automatic $20,000 off the assessed value of your house and property.

Need to buy a gun? Handgun or long gun, walk into the store, pick it out and fill out a one page form. You pay for the gun, and ammo, too if you want, and walk out the door with your new gun 15 minutes after you walk in (as long as you're a WV resident with a clear background). The last time I bought a gun, it took 20 minutes because I couldn't decide on another Glock 19 or a Glock 27.

Open carry is legal without a permit. If you want to carry concealed, a concealed carry permit runs about $100 for a 5 year permit. WV is a shall issue state; the only "catch" is that you have to prove you have completed a firearms safety course.

If you are retired law enforcement, qualification under HR218 (LEOSA) is ridiculously easy and you don't have to pay MSP for your cert card or fill out a 9 page application and get fingerprinted/ have everything notarized every year.

WV has reciprocal agreement for handgun permits with 36 states (if I remember correctly), but the People's Republic of Maryland isn't one of them. You can drive from the PA/ NY state line to Florida (but don't go into NY state) while legally carrying under your WV concealed weapons permit.

License plates for your car are $30 a year. There is a yearly mechanical inspection (headlites, brakes, tires, etc.) but no exhaust emissions test anywhere in the state.

The only reason we ever go back to MD is to visit the kids and grandkids, otherwise we'd never, ever cross into MD again.

My only regret is that I didn't move here earlier and commute. For those who work near a MARC train station, there's a MARC station in downtown Martinsburg.

And, finally, we don't have red light cameras, radar cameras, "aggressive driver imaging" or a rain tax.

Y'all welcome to come out and visit anytime, and you're more than welcome to move out here. We don't tax groceries, and usually twice a year there is a tax holiday on electronics so kids going back to school can get new computers.

Like someone said before (and this is the last thing I'll say), there is no county piggy-back tax on your income taxes.

We went to Caddworks because Brian Ellison, the owner, did design work on a number of homes in the community where we live now. We liked some brief encounters we had with him and liked the plans he designed in our neighborhood so that seemed easy. We've been working with Brian Bradfield in their office.

If you have not bought your property yet, there is a fantastic website, available only for Frederick County. It's called GIS Frederick at a Glance, just Google it. It has just about everything you'd want to know about a property, including 2 foot vertical resolution topographic maps that can be overlaid onto aerial imagery.

Joe Betz with RMS Construction Management (his company) is the guy that we're working with as a project manager. He lives in Frederick County and used to live in our community. Both my wife's real estate employer, which also does mechanical contacting, as well as Caddworks, recommended him independently of each other. If you decide to contact Joe, tell him that the people on the Putman Road project recommended him.

We used RF Gauss & Assoc. for the initial survey since they had done the initial plat about 15 years ago. They said once we select a home site, they can do a high resolution, detailed topo plot of just the house site, which saves a lot of money over doing the whole lot. I assume you're familiar with RC zoning in Frederick County. Many mountainous properties fall into this zoning. Because of the restrictions on anything greater than 25% slope, some appealing properties are really not suitable for building. Be aware of all RC zoning restrictions. The survey Gauss did for us indicates the several areas on our property with slope restriction. Fortunately, they do not interfere much at all with where we want to site the house or put in a driveway (no disturbance is allowed in slope restricted areas). I think Caddworks uses Fox & Associates for surveys. We had used them once briefly for a small issue and they were good to work with also.

Edit: re materials cost, Caddworks can help in selection of materials and of course drawings, but they've been turning to Joe for materials and labor cost estimates, since he would source the work crews and materials.

sbtl said:

I was considering talking with Caddworks. As I understand the process once you have the home plans they can assist with the materials cost after they do a site survey of the property. Which PM are you using if I may ask? Also, would you recommend Caddworks?

I considered buying property in WV some years ago. It is sooo cheap! Unfortunately, the property I really loved was in a 100 year flood plain. Based on my research we were at year 95.

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jdr1142 said:

My only regret is that I didn't move here earlier and commute. For those who work near a MARC train station, there's a MARC station in downtown Martinsburg.

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Gave serious consideration to this but the Marc train on the Brunswick/Martinsburg line is never on time. It regularly takes 3 hours to travel a 1 hour route.

Hi -

I would flee to WV from MD in a minute. Once my son is out of HS, I start looking to move, probably south to the carolina's or georgia, maybe FL or TX. Time to get out of The Police (oops, I mean Free) State.

The only thing that scares me about WV, is its proximity to DC. I fear it will end up going down the toilet. The SOP for libs is to move into an area, vote for lots of stupid expensive shit and then flee to a neighboring area when taxes skyrocket. It's in the final stages in NoVA now. Once the balance of power shifts, NoVA will tilt that state blue and it will end up like MD.

Rob

I like those WV mountains and I don't think enough sh$#birds from DC would be able to tip the scales in favor of their libtard agenda. But I can definitely understand your feelings.

54rndball said:

I like those WV mountains and I don't think enough sh$#birds from DC would be able to tip the scales in favor of their libtard agenda. But I can definitely understand your feelings.

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****I used to feel that way about certain parts of the state of MD many years ago, and more recently, Northern Virginia.. The cancer will eventually spread to WVA.

Maybe, but not for a few more generations. Current day I wouldn't pack up and move to Virginia (as a Maryland resident), but would go to WV if I could afford to/retire to.

I recently moved to Charles Town from Frederick county. Mind you I lived in NY 6 months before moving to md. My wife even loves it here. We are close enough to frederick so nothing as far as day to day kids activities were really interrupted. As far as commute, my office is in Urbana. As far as the locals here are concerned, I never see them. They have built developments here that are almost exclusively transplants from va and md.
Did I mention the fact that I went to walmart for milk and eggs 2 weeks ago and got the following: milk, eggs, Bushmaster ar 15. Thirty minute trip in and out.
We have found the cost of living to be significantly less.

I am a Urbana to Jefferson County transplant myself and i work in North Frederick. I will never move back and i lean much more liberal than most people on this forum! I love the gun laws (Buying my LCR took a phone call and i was on my way!) and the lower taxes/home costs. There is plenty to do because i like the outdoors and shooting and oh, MD and VA are like a hop skip and no jump needed away. Plus there are a ton of shopping an dining options between Martinsburg and Charlestown. Add to that quick shot down the bypass and you are in Leesburg.

As for downsides. The schools are in fact not as good as MD (most in the country are not as good) but Jefferson County has pretty good school district. I find that the cost of Water/Sewer is a lot higher here but in the end i spend less to live where i am. I do agree that there are a lot of MD, VA, DC transplants and that my entire neihborhood is full of them...so what? I am a MD transplant myself! I will also say it suck not to have a bar i can go to without being bomabarded with smoke..But oh well i sit on the patio at longshots or i deal. Beer is cheap! No alcohol sales tax difference and i can get Sierra Nevada Pale ale at Wal-Mart or some nice trappist ales at Weis!

Anyways. The move is certainly worth it.

Rob you are so right man. Thats is exactly what happen in md.

I would love to move to WV. I visited Martinsburg a while back, it was pretty diverse. Although my commute would be 2 hours into DC, almost impractical.