Sorry, but you couldn't pay me enough to settle down in Berkley Springs. It's become a go-to for the DC weekender crowd looking to get out of town for a few days. It's going the way of Wardensville where all the "From Heres" are being pushed out by the "Moved Here" crowd which are bringing their liberal bad habits with them.
Capon Bridge can be nice enough. The surrounding area is obviously beautiful, but way more land than you realize up that way has been sub-divided for vacation lots. Add in the proximity to Winchester and you're going to see sprawl begin to reach out that way. Maybe not now, maybe not 10 years from now, but within the next 25 or so, I suspect you'll see a lot of artsy-fartsy NoVA liberals making it their summer home or retirement place.
If it were me, and I wanted to retire to WV and get the hell away from folks, I'd go to the eastern highland (Tucker County, Randolph County, Pocahontas County) and make sure to stay above 3000 feet so that I'd rarely have to run the A/C. I know that doesn't fit your bill of staying close to your group, but man is it nice.
If you like Capon Bridge, look at Forks of Cacapon, North River Mills, and Yellow Springs areas as well. If you think you can swing the extra mileage, give Romney a shot. More insulated from the NoVA and MoCo interlopers while providing plenty of amenities and fantastic fishing on the south branch Potomac.
Capon Bridge can be nice enough. The surrounding area is obviously beautiful, but way more land than you realize up that way has been sub-divided for vacation lots. Add in the proximity to Winchester and you're going to see sprawl begin to reach out that way. Maybe not now, maybe not 10 years from now, but within the next 25 or so, I suspect you'll see a lot of artsy-fartsy NoVA liberals making it their summer home or retirement place.
If it were me, and I wanted to retire to WV and get the hell away from folks, I'd go to the eastern highland (Tucker County, Randolph County, Pocahontas County) and make sure to stay above 3000 feet so that I'd rarely have to run the A/C. I know that doesn't fit your bill of staying close to your group, but man is it nice.
If you like Capon Bridge, look at Forks of Cacapon, North River Mills, and Yellow Springs areas as well. If you think you can swing the extra mileage, give Romney a shot. More insulated from the NoVA and MoCo interlopers while providing plenty of amenities and fantastic fishing on the south branch Potomac.