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It starts by the trip up from Charlotte, NC, I hit some rain, get way up in elevation into VA, then into WV. Massive dark brooding clouds, reaching all the way down into the hills. The photos shows it lighter than it actually was. Pretty dramatic place to travel, gets your attention. Idiots driving without lights in dark cars. Into mist banks at higher speeds. The tops of those hills are actually way up into the clouds in some places. This was the same in December on the way down through the area, maybe a little bit worse, real black clouds then, kind of scary.
We had lots of gray clouds and rain here too. Despite Florida being the "sunshine" state it has wet and dry seasons. I have seen clouds covering the top of the hills when I vacationed in Wyoming. I would love to climb one of those hills and be right in the clouds Was there any tornados or lighting? If not then not scary!
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Coming south to north, finally going thru the tunnel outside of Bluefield, it is a toll road. Town is fairly isolated, you will be in a captive market for whatever is available.
Plenty of houses available, saw some really nice ones that sold a few months back. Huge brick houses for around $50k, buyer got a good deal! How much did the toll road cost?
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Originally Posted by Cosmic
Ok we finally get into something that looks like town. Actually this is the newer burbs built on more open land outside of the old downtown proper, talking big bucks.
In order to understand the situation like on Realtor(dot)com, you have to sort the prices in reverse order. The nicer houses, town sections are big bucks, 200K, 100K, well over 50K. Typically on bigger lots, more laid out like a normal urban area. Mostly all out of brick. As you get down in price the quality, lot size and desirable locations quickly peter out. You probably got to pay maybe $70K to get something decent.
If my home internet business gets me at least $30k a year then yeah I can swing for $70k if thatll net me a nice big house with two stores, basement and attic. Sorry but no way am I paying $200k to live in Bluefield when I can choose 500 other locations for that price. I can get(choose from) some very nice big brick upscale houses in Texas for under $200k. I would need something approaching a mansion in Bluefield to justify the insanely expensive $200k tag when most houses are a fraction of that cost. If I was rich enough(I do play the lotto ) I would be looking at a mansion in a safe, peaceful town.
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Most wooden houses are questionable. The very cheap look mean and dangerous. Junk yard dogs tied up out front, no way I even going to try to photograph any of those areas. Some houses had condemned signs.
Probably the $5k to $20k houses are those. Realtor com has one of those at $15k and its a huge house but unlivable. How much of Bluefield contained those run down neighboorhoods? 10%? 20%? Ill just avoid those neighboorhoods.
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So where are the cheap super bargains? Got to drift downtown. Duh, I had to ask twice just to have a clue. The entire place is best described as disconbobulated or disconnected, everything is separated in vertical distance, lots of ledges, ridges, rocks etc jutting up all over the place, super twisty roads, lots of changes in elevations everywhere. Kind of like building a town on a book shelf with many layers and then sliding the layers a bit over from each other. Everything is nooks and crannies. Most older houses on tiny, tiny lots, some streets more like goat trails or bicycle paths.
Thats to be expected in a small city. I now wonder what Woodsfield, OH is like. Waiting for pictures of your home town
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Downtown is in like a valley that is all messed up with ravines, branches of vales, ledges. Everything is up and down. Only by seeing it as larger view does it start to make sense. The cropped photos by realtors is a sort of an illusion of what it is really like in the area.
The hills dont really bother me and houses on hills are safe from floods anyway. I think its an interesting change from flat Florida. Thanks so much for the pictures. I could see nothing disturbing in any of the pics you posted but I believe Oil city is better anyway.
I grew up in Oil City, left in 1974 for California, and am amazed at the number of posts on the forum dealing with what is basically a small, unpretentious place nestled in the hills overlooking the Allegheny River. I imagine most of the credit goes to NAH, bless his heart.
Oil City is nicer than those pics and isn't as rural as those pictures show.
Some of those pictures had some shabby spots but you will find that in almost every place.
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I grew up in Oil City, left in 1974 for California, and am amazed at the number of posts on the forum dealing with what is basically a small, unpretentious place nestled in the hills overlooking the Allegheny River. I imagine most of the credit goes to NAH, bless his heart.
Oil City was brought up because at one point he had a criteria of wants in a town,I lived in Oil City for a time and my sister moved back there from here in SC about 4 years ago,well Oil City seemed to fit so I suggested it.Franklin Pa is also another.I have told him what I beleive to be the pros and cons,the main con being lack of higher paying jobs and the snow. Other than that it is in my opinion a nice,safe town and doesn't feel rural at all. Obviously he needs to check it out for himself.
Last edited by mystree; 02-26-2007 at 08:43 PM..
Reason: himself not homself
I allways like pics no matter were they are, neat dog ya got in the back too.
i'm not for NAH nor against COSMIC so don't think that in anyway, w/o pics one is only speculating on a certain place.
but i've ran up & down wv some & just in my opinion i like the place, not all of it but most i'll say, most of the towns are small, sit down in valleys, lots of out of the way places.
the fog yea it rolls in come evening but your in the hills so it's to be expected, now driving well you better be on your toes most of the time since straight it's not lol.
it's common to take a turn and i mean turn at 70 in those hills, the toll 77 you can avoid some of it coming out of morgantown southbound by taking 19 it's a real good road, the tunnel well ya gotta luv those.
some of the towns just as cosmic says you turn off not much there at all, i pulled into a town right at beckly late one nite to get fuel, now that place i do have to admit gave me the creeps but most others aren't bad.
i never really have time to stop and shoot pics so most are out window on the go deals, but i'll post some pics of wv (no towns though, just hills & road)that i have from summer, looks totally different in the green.
most of my travels have been northern to mid part of wv, some mighty purty countryside.
Mystery solved. I love hearing about Oil City. That part of western PA is gorgeous in the spring, summer and fall. And as a kid, I didn't mind the winters either.
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Was there any tornados or lighting? If not then not scary! 
) I would be looking at a mansion in a safe, peaceful town.
NAH is entertaining, I have to give him that.
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