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  • GUNSnROTORS

    nude member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 7, 2013
    3,620
    hic sunt dracones
    Heading to the undisclosed location this weekend. 18 degrees forecast low for Veterans's day in Sugar Grove. I'll be > 1k ft higher ... and primitive camping.

    If freezing the balls off a brass GnR is the cost of freedom, I'll gladly pay it. :party29:
     

    44man

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    10,129
    southern md
    Wyoming County is about as rural as you can get. It's also very south. I was born in Mullens WV but anywhere south of Beckley would probably be okay.

    I will take her for a weekend down there soon. Buckley area dopers caused my problem so it can’t be too near there. Funny, she’s always been pro 2a but since that incident she a frigging worse carry but than I am, and when we are in md and can’t carry she’s so paranoid it’s difficult to get from one place to another on foot. She’s assessing every single person and thing to the point we can barely move. I am all for situational awareness but wow.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I will take her for a weekend down there soon. Buckley area dopers caused my problem so it can’t be too near there. Funny, she’s always been pro 2a but since that incident she a frigging worse carry but than I am, and when we are in md and can’t carry she’s so paranoid it’s difficult to get from one place to another on foot. She’s assessing every single person and thing to the point we can barely move. I am all for situational awareness but wow.

    "Near" takes on a whole different connotation in WV. Welch, WV is almost the same distance from Charleston as Ghent as the crow flies, but takes nearly twice as long to drive to.

    If you want to stay away from dopers, you're going to have to be very cautious right now in WV. Almost everywhere has a town or a region that is heavily affected by the opioid epidemic. Especially the southern coalfields.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    "Near" takes on a whole different connotation in WV. Welch, WV is almost the same distance from Charleston as Ghent as the crow flies, but takes nearly twice as long to drive to.

    If you want to stay away from dopers, you're going to have to be very cautious right now in WV. Almost everywhere has a town or a region that is heavily affected by the opioid epidemic. Especially the southern coalfields.

    I have family in Welsh, Jolo and Bradshaw. All are dealing with opioid addiction problems. This problem is all over the country. What makes it seem worse in WV is the economy. It's really rough right now it those areas. Very little work to be found. Good people are leaving these small towns and all that's left are the folks too poor to leave. Then more good people leave and it spirals until the towns are barely sustainable. I was born in Mullens and the entirety of Wyoming County is really having issues.

    The area around Beckley and just north, Prosperity seem to be holding their own but much further north and you get into that depressed area and the drug problem is rampant again. South West Virginia is not the area I left when my family came up to Maryland. If you have a decent retirement plan, you can live well. Don't think you'll go down there and find work that will sustain your lifestyle as you know it now.
     

    44man

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    10,129
    southern md
    I have family in Welsh, Jolo and Bradshaw. All are dealing with opioid addiction problems. This problem is all over the country. What makes it seem worse in WV is the economy. It's really rough right now it those areas. Very little work to be found. Good people are leaving these small towns and all that's left are the folks too poor to leave. Then more good people leave and it spirals until the towns are barely sustainable. I was born in Mullens and the entirety of Wyoming County is really having issues.

    The area around Beckley and just north, Prosperity seem to be holding their own but much further north and you get into that depressed area and the drug problem is rampant again. South West Virginia is not the area I left when my family came up to Maryland. If you have a decent retirement plan, you can live well. Don't think you'll go down there and find work that will sustain your lifestyle as you know it now.

    just before we had our "problem" I was speaking with some guys in Beckley about work. they all said there was plenty of work for the forseeable future there and it paid well by wv standards, BUT, they were having to import help from other states because all the decent help had already left wv leaving the dopers and those on some sort of welfare so they had no local people applying for these jobs. kinda sad really.

    come springtime we are going to take a trip and do some more looking, far south west va or tennesee, even thinking nc maybe. we will see.

    but I did love the Beckley area.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    just before we had our "problem" I was speaking with some guys in Beckley about work. they all said there was plenty of work for the forseeable future there and it paid well by wv standards, BUT, they were having to import help from other states because all the decent help had already left wv leaving the dopers and those on some sort of welfare so they had no local people applying for these jobs. kinda sad really.

    come springtime we are going to take a trip and do some more looking, far south west va or tennesee, even thinking nc maybe. we will see.

    but I did love the Beckley area.

    You can't beat the Beckley area for all around things to do. Decent housing prices, cost of living isn't too bad for the area. You can find flatland to build your house. Go north of Beckley just a few miles into the area called Prosperity and I think You'll be happy.

    The one big plus about that area, is the New River Gorge Festival. There is also dirt track auto racing every Friday and Saturday night in the Summer in Prosperity. If I were to move back home, it would be in that area.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I'll second J_H_Smith on Prosperity in Beckley, It's a good area. We are looking near there in Cranberry at an old company store and then another couple of stores up in the Mt. Hope/Whipple area for a project I've been dreaming of the past decade or so. Whipple and Mt. Hope have more than their fair share of issues right now, but those areas would be for the business rather than living. If we were to do it, I'd move to N. Beckley/Prosperity or find some acreage out towards Fayetteville itself.

    I want to open a distillery and make Appalachian-Style whiskey (it sits somewhere between Scotch and Bourbon) as well as brandies, gin, vodka, and white-dog whiskey (what people sell as "moonshine"). The idea is to use an old company store there in the New River coalfields that isn't too far off the beaten path. US 19 runs right through there as well as I-77/I-64 which means you capture everyone heading north, south, east, or west through the central part of the state. Having a young child that will be entering public school in the next couple of years, I've been cautious about my optimism for moving back to WV but have found that if I get a promotion to a regional position with my current company, or decide to strike out on my own with the distillery concept, the areas I could move to would be just fine in terms of a place to raise a kid while still getting him a good education and keeping him safe.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    Sugar Creek or Turkey Knob would be good names for the business if you were to build in Mt Hope. Both are names associated with the town.

    Sugar Creek Whiskey
    Turkey Knob Distilleries

    Both sound good to me. Good luck!
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    We think we're going to go with "Company Store Distillery." The hope is to do two things, bring some economic growth into the area and help put out of work folks back to work. And to do the reverse of what the old scrip-paid stores did and give back to the community. A small distillery doesn't need a huge staff, but as they grow, they start creating downstream jobs in every area from farming (need the grain after all) to logistics to needing more folks working in the local stores to support those who live and work in the area from the growth of the company. The bottle label is going to have a quick history of how the coal barons abused the people and the land and how we're doing what we can to bring money back into the state and keep it there. As such, we're going to incorporate into the company by-laws that the majority of profits must be spent expanding the company in-state and that no entity not incorporated in WV may ever own the company. If Brown-Foreman or someone wants to buy us out after I die, they'd have to keep the company, 51% of the profits, and all the taxes in WV. The thought process is that as the distillery grows, we don't keep everything just in one place. When we have the money, we'll start making the vodka at another store we buy, then the rye at yet another, etc. etc. That's why we're looking at the Beckley/Fayetteville area for now. Many, many extant stores from the old New River company there. One in cranberry, one in Mt. Hope (currently a church) two over in the Whipple area (one at white oak, the other at Carlisle).

    Personally, the store I'd love to have is the Itmann store, but it's too remote at the moment to make a move.
    1200px-Itmann_West_Virginia_Company_Store.jpg


    Instead, we're looking at this one, and others like it there near Beckley.
    250px-Cranberry_West_Virginia_Company_Store.jpg


    It's a ways off time-wise. Probably 4-5 years if a promotion doesn't come through in the next 6-12 months. That's the jump-off point for me. 7 years with my current company and a lot of talk about a promotion, but so far, no real action that I can see from here. If it doesn't happen now, I'll start getting the distillery plan moving towards reality.

    That said, if the store options fall through, I certainly like your suggestions for a name!
     

    Pushrod

    Master Blaster
    Aug 8, 2007
    2,979
    WV High Country
    I'll second J_H_Smith on Prosperity in Beckley, It's a good area. We are looking near there in Cranberry at an old company store and then another couple of stores up in the Mt. Hope/Whipple area for a project I've been dreaming of the past decade or so. Whipple and Mt. Hope have more than their fair share of issues right now, but those areas would be for the business rather than living. If we were to do it, I'd move to N. Beckley/Prosperity or find some acreage out towards Fayetteville itself.

    I want to open a distillery and make Appalachian-Style whiskey (it sits somewhere between Scotch and Bourbon) as well as brandies, gin, vodka, and white-dog whiskey (what people sell as "moonshine"). The idea is to use an old company store there in the New River coalfields that isn't too far off the beaten path. US 19 runs right through there as well as I-77/I-64 which means you capture everyone heading north, south, east, or west through the central part of the state. Having a young child that will be entering public school in the next couple of years, I've been cautious about my optimism for moving back to WV but have found that if I get a promotion to a regional position with my current company, or decide to strike out on my own with the distillery concept, the areas I could move to would be just fine in terms of a place to raise a kid while still getting him a good education and keeping him safe.

    :party29:
    I'd like to see you do that up around the Elkins area. With it being such a tourist hub you would definitely get the walk-in business. A lot of people with money in the area also. Schools are good for your children.
    Hell, build it in Bemis at the old school house and get the Durbin and Greenbriar Railroad to do a stop on their runs up to Great Falls and Old Spruce for the tourists to shop. It would turn Bemis into an artisan/ small shop town if the train stopped there.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    :party29:
    I'd like to see you do that up around the Elkins area. With it being such a tourist hub you would definitely get the walk-in business. A lot of people with money in the area also. Schools are good for your children.
    Hell, build it in Bemis at the old school house and get the Durbin and Greenbriar Railroad to do a stop on their runs up to Great Falls and Old Spruce for the tourists to shop. It would turn Bemis into an artisan/ small shop town if the train stopped there.

    I've got family in Elkins that have already told me I should do it up there. :D

    I'd love to honestly. Mind you, the perfect old company store for this that I'd have loved to have up in the Elkins area is now re-furbished and occupied.

    thomaswv-vandalia-foundation-4052833-o.jpg


    The old Buxton and Landstreet store in Thomas (yeah, I know, a bit of a put from Elkins, but still... it's a beautiful building).
     

    54rndball

    take to the hills
    Mar 16, 2013
    1,486
    Catonsville
    Had some good times on family vacations at Lost River, Blackwater Falls, rafting on New River and skiing in Canaan Valley. I’d like a cabin in WV just to get away from MD.


    Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
     

    Pushrod

    Master Blaster
    Aug 8, 2007
    2,979
    WV High Country
    I too was thinking of buying land in West Virginia , the dopers break-ins or robberies would make that hard to justify .

    It is no different than any other state in the Union in that regard. There is a lot of good that outweighs the small bits of bad. Be smart before you buy and talk to neighbors of the property and research the particular area you are interested in. I have had zero problems in my AO except for the occasional trespasser during deer rifle season.
     

    dfens42

    Publius
    Jun 7, 2012
    2,441
    Free America-WV Province
    Yeah if anything it is actually worse in town in some ways. We had a couple things grow legs from our front porch. I installed some motion lights on both ends, that solved the problem.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    I have been investigating a move to WV and found something disturbing if you're retired. It would seem that WV taxes your entire amount of SS. This is worse than MD. I know there's a lot more to living there than your taxable SS retirement, but between that and the personal property tax, I'm going to have to look a lot closer.

    Any retirees living in WV on the forum?
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I have been investigating a move to WV and found something disturbing if you're retired. It would seem that WV taxes your entire amount of SS. This is worse than MD. I know there's a lot more to living there than your taxable SS retirement, but between that and the personal property tax, I'm going to have to look a lot closer.

    Any retirees living in WV on the forum?

    My folks are retirees living in WV. Doesn't bother them one bit. Thing is, taxes are so low there, (especially Personal Property and Property if your primary residence is there), that the fact they tax your SSI doesn't really hit that hard. My in-laws moved to PA so that their pensions wouldn't be taxed. Turns out their township taxes more than made up for what they would have paid in income taxes in MD/WV/VA. Your dollar goes a lot further in WV than anywhere else in the region. It's all about figuring out the trade-offs.
     

    dgapilot

    Active Member
    May 13, 2013
    704
    Frederick County
    I lived in WV for about 5 years. Real estate taxes were low, but sales tax on all food, and personal property on almost everything was really stupid. In the county I lived in personal property tax was 8.5%. Had to pay for cats, livestock, computers, boats, airplanes, swimming pools and on and on. I still had my airplane then. I registered it to a Delaware Corp to hide it, otherwise the tax on it would have been about $8500 a year!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

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