From Jersey (highest rtaxed state) to N. WV commute to Reston (Martinsburg: sales, car insurance)

[stevenmimi]

Got a call today about an opportunity in Reston. Looks very promising. However, settling down in the Reston (or anywhere in N.VA) does not look like an option. The Ryan Maddex Farms community in Shepherdstown seems to be very attractive to us. I have read quite a few of the posts regarding the commute, amenities and health care in the area among other topics. The consensus seems to agree that the area is very nice and that the commute is long, but tolerable. Taxes seem to be high and I'm not to sure about the health care.
The sales tax in Jersey is 7%, property taxes are through the roof. My home is valued at $181K, property tax are $4600 a year. I pay about $2K a year for auto ins for two cars. One is paid off and carrying the minimum coverage.
All that being said, can some of you W.V locals enlighten me?
What are your thoughts on the Maddex Farms community in Shepherdstown?
How is your health care/hospitals? How is the school system? My children are both attending a technical school and we would like to look into James Rumsey Technical Inst for them both. One is a freshman the other a junior.
Is there a train that I can take from Shepherdstown to Reston.
Any thing else you want to add.
And if you feel so inclined, go ahead and make some jokes about what exit in Jersey.

Appreciate it!!

[NOVAmtneer82]

Maddex Farm and the Shepherdstown area in general is a very nice part of the Eastern Panhandle. Shepherdstown is very quaint and historic, with a thriving main street (they call it German Street) consisting of numerous fine dining restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, art galleries, dive bars, etc.

Unfortunately there is no train from Shepherdstown to Reston, so you will have to rely on your car. A LOT of people commute from the Eastern Panhandle to Northern VA so traffic is quite an issue, I would say the commute to Reston during peak rush would be two hours at best. There is an article in the Post about a couples commute from Bunker Hill which is further out from Shepherdstown to Sterling which is close to Reston, I think the guy averaged around an hour and 45 minutes but he left VERY early.

Here is the link: Driven to Extremes - washingtonpost.com

I live in Northern VA and housing is definitely cheaper out in the Eastern Panhandle of WV but you pay for it dearly with multiple hour commutes each way to/from the closer in job centers of the DC area.

[billscamaros]

i'd have to say that my commute from charles town to herndon isn't quite as bad as that article depicts. then again ... leaving the house at 5:30 am is kinda late !!!! i usually leave home at around 4:50 am and arrive in herndon by 5:40 or so. fortunately for me i have some flexibility in the hours that i work.

my commute home usually starts at 3:45 pm or so and i'm generally home by 5 pm. i would estimate about 5 days a year where my evening commute is 1:30 mins long. but the commute home includes the cost of using the dulles greenway.

obviously living closer to work would be a good thing. but it is hard to devote so much of your income to a house. that's the draw for west virginia ... reasonable house prices for reasonable houses. if you can afford reston, go for it. reston is a really nice place.

good luck.

[NOVAmtneer82]

In the article the WV commuter got up at 530 am and left at 6:20, that is going to make the commute far different from yours since you leave at 4:50. You are indeed very lucky to have somewhat flexible work hours...

[FromNJtoWV]

Hello Stevenmimi,

My husband's job forced us to relocate from Hackettstown, NJ (both of us were born and raised in NJ) to VA. He works at Dulles Airport. After doing research on home prices and taxes in VA, we decided to check out WV and couldn't be happier. I know what you are saying about NJ. Our property taxes on a two bedroom townhouse (with no land) was $5,029 per year along with $210 a month association dues. We are settled here on the outskirts of the Martinsburg area. We now have a 3 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath Colonial with 1 1/2 acres of which property taxes for all of this is only $1800.00 per year!

My husband does work the offshift at the airport but it still only takes him approximately 1 hr 10 mins to get there. Car insurance was decreased by $28.00 per month. (Full coverage on both cars). The only surprise that we weren't prepared for was the registration fees on your cars. In NJ it was only about $38.00 a year per car and I just paid about $100.00 on each car. (When I bought our new car in NJ we were forced to pay for 4 years of registrations)

Overall, we are really happy to be out of NJ. The people in West Virginia are some of the friendliest people we have every met. It would be worth it for you to check out the Eastern Panhandle!

[mnmjack]

My wife and I are looking for a house in the Eastern Panhandle and we ventured into Shepherdstown. The community is nice and picturesque with quaint shops and restaurants -- nice place to wander around.

Housing is available, including Maddex Farms and Willowdale, along with others. My observations about Maddex Farms is that it is a typical subdivision, with large cookie-cutter houses on relativey small lots with no trees. They back to a shopping center, which is convenient, but the traffic is terrible (at least around 5:00 pm). Maybe not "terrible" compared to urban driving, but there is only a two-lane road from Maddex Farms to the main roads in Shepherdstown or to Martinsburg. We were stop and go, lined up several blocks to go through Shepherdstown last night.

I don't want to burst anyone's balloons, but Maddex Farms is not a tranquil utopia, like it's painted in some posts. As I said, it is a typical Dan Ryan subdivision -- large homes on small lots with no trees. There are lots of families there and kids if that's what you're looking for, though!

Just my buck's worth (inflation from the two cents!)

[billscamaros]

Originally Posted by jfronz

In the article the WV commuter got up at 530 am and left at 6:20, that is going to make the commute far different from yours since you leave at 4:50. You are indeed very lucky to have somewhat flexible work hours...

yep. most of the folks that i know who drive into tysons or dc are out the door prior to 5:30. that's a fairly late start.

i opt to avoid the traffic as much as possible by getting into herndon at around 5:30 and spending some quality gym time prior to work. work 7 am to 4 pm ish, and then home before 5:30.

[Georgia]

Maddox Farm and the Shepherdstown area is a very nice spot.
I am a native of the area and still visit every 3 months due to family.
I have also lived in NJ too. Was ok until the population caught a case of stupid and elected McKreepy and now Comrade Corzine.

[Threerun]

I like the S/D's along Scrabble Rd, personally. Get a little outside of the town with some river access.

Then again I'd rather catch fish than order it at the YellowBrick Bank...

[stevenmimi]

Hey Everyone, Thanks so much for all the feedback.
It looks very favorable they we will be making a move. We haven't even stepped out the door yet and we already are excited about residing in the pan handle. The only draw back so far is the commute, but that's what we do for our family. I like the idea of leaving early and hitting the gym. We are looking forward to a change of pace and getting away from the hustle and bustle the no so Garden State and relocating to the E. Panhandle area.
Won't miss the knuckle heads walk'n pass my door yelling like maniacs, (listening to em right now).

Thanks again all...

FromNJtoWV - I'm glad to hear that you are happy with the move. We will be making a relocation visit or two over the next few weeks, maybe we can get together for a cup of coffee and you can share more with us.