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I'm considering relocating from Ohio to WV this summer. I love the mountains and my family's favorite pastime is hiking, exploring nature and enjoying peace and quiet in the outdoors. Counties in the mid and south western part of the state seem to have what we're looking for as far as a milder climate than where we come from in northern Ohio (summers not quite as brutally hot, winters not as frigidly cold).
One consideration that remains to be addressed is healthcare. We aren't blessed with optimal health and need specialists such as cardiologists and rheumatologists who keep up with the latest research and treatments available. We would prefer if they were no more than an hour's drive away from where we settle, but could go up to 90 minutes.
I've read some horror-stories about lack of access to health care in south western WV and read some scary reviews about Greenbrier Valley Medical Center. What have your experiences been with getting advanced care in the more remote parts of the state? How difficult is it to use your insurance in VA or MD if you live in a border county? What are the best rural-county medical centers? Do any larger hospitals have branches in these areas? (I've searched, but haven't been able to find any).
And am I correct that these counties (Randolph, Webster, Pochahontas, Greenbrier, Mercer area) have a more moderate climate than most midwestern areas? Definitely not expecting Mediterranean weather, just an improvement from what we're used to.
Thank you!!
Last edited by sammichsammich; 02-20-2017 at 07:26 PM..
I'm considering relocating from Ohio to WV this summer. I love the mountains and my family's favorite pastime is hiking, exploring nature and enjoying peace and quiet in the outdoors. Counties in the mid and south western part of the state seem to have what we're looking for as far as a milder climate than where we come from in northern Ohio (summers not quite as brutally hot, winters not as frigidly cold).
One consideration that remains to be addressed is healthcare. We aren't blessed with optimal health and need specialists such as cardiologists and rheumatologists who keep up with the latest research and treatments available. We would prefer if they were no more than an hour's drive away from where we settle, but could go up to 90 minutes.
I've read some horror-stories about lack of access to health care in south western WV and read some scary reviews about Greenbrier Valley Medical Center. What have your experiences been with getting advanced care in the more remote parts of the state? How difficult is it to use your insurance in VA or MD if you live in a border county? What are the best rural-county medical centers? Do any larger hospitals have branches in these areas? (I've searched, but haven't been able to find any).
And am I correct that these counties (Randolph, Webster, Pochahontas, Greenbrier, Mercer area) have a more moderate climate than most midwestern areas? Definitely not expecting Mediterranean weather, just an improvement from what we're used to.
Thank you!!
The areas that you have mentioned have a lot more extreme winter conditions than midwestern areas. These counties are on the western slope of the Appalachian Mountains. As a result, they have large rainfall/snowfall totals. And we're not talking a nice winter snow....we're talking snowfall totals that rival somewhere like Vermont.
As far as healthcare, outside of Huntington, Charleston, and Morgantown (and Wheeling to a lesser extent), the healthcare across the rest of the state is severely lacking. I would not be comfortable recommending that you rely on rural clinics and hospitals in the state. You should be within close driving distance to one of these cities. Outside of the city, it gets very rural, very quick so there are options.
I can't really provide a good recommendation because I don't think there's a place that I could recommend that could check your boxes of mild climate + mountains. They don't go hand in hand. If you could give any more information or what areas you could compromise in, that would be helpful.
Edit: I actually will make a recommendation. Look west of I-79 or south of I-64. You will still get hills and these are rural areas with cooler, milder climates.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. After my post I came across some data about snowfall totals in the region and realized Pochahontas and Greenbier counties would be out of the question (although they do have much milder weather as far as temperature extremes are concerned, interestingly enough, at least according to published data).
Mercer, Monroe and Summers counties look like they have a lower risk of buying their residents in feet of snow , so that's where I'm focused on now. I'll take your healthcare advice to heart, as it's consistent with what I've read. I wanted to make sure this was a real issue and not another WV stereotype blown out of proportion.
So health care in Bluefield, Princeton, Lewisburg - not what you would call world class by any means? Do you know if southern WV residents have any luck with Blacksburg, VA facilities?
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. After my post I came across some data about snowfall totals in the region and realized Pochahontas and Greenbier counties would be out of the question (although they do have much milder weather as far as temperature extremes are concerned, interestingly enough, at least according to published data).
Mercer, Monroe and Summers counties look like they have a lower risk of buying their residents in feet of snow , so that's where I'm focused on now. I'll take your healthcare advice to heart, as it's consistent with what I've read. I wanted to make sure this was a real issue and not another WV stereotype blown out of proportion.
So health care in Bluefield, Princeton, Lewisburg - not what you would call world class by any means? Do you know if southern WV residents have any luck with Blacksburg, VA facilities?
Thanks again.
Mercer, Monroe, and Summers are definitely better choices for what you are looking for. I don't think Blacksburg has a very good hospital. I think it's about on Beckley's level. If you move down that way, I would recommend heading to Roanoke Memorial but.....depending on where you live, you may be splitting hairs on the distance between going there and to CAMC in Charleston. And no, I wouldn't trust Bluefield/Princeton and Lewisburg to treat much more than the flu.
Hmmm....have you considered places like Mineral or Hampshire County in the Potomac Highlands?
You would be in the rain shadow of the high Alleghenies, so the snow totals are more modest.
You have mountains of the ridge and valley type, still very rural with lots of forest.
You could find a place within about 1.5 hours from the good hospital systems at WVU and in Winchester, VA. For more routine care, WMHS in Cumberland, MD is in the mix too (although it is not of the quality of Ruby in Morgantown or Winchester's hospital.)
Snow and temperatures are functions of altitude and latitude. Here in North Central West Virginia, it is not uncommon to have temperatures vary by as much as 15 degrees between the low lying areas and the nearby mountains, and snowfall it similarly much more in the higher elevations. Quality healthcare options are available within an hour from any place in northern West Virginia, either in Morgantown (which has the #6 ranked academic medical establishment in the Nation, or in Pittsburgh and to a degree in Wheeling, but our weather patterns are similar to those in the Midwest. In the nearby mountains, there is actually more snow than you have in the Midwest. They also have quality healthcare in Charleston and Huntington, but the remote areas in southern and southwestern parts of the state have sparse population and poor healthcare facilities. Our Eastern Panhandle also has access to good healthcare facilities within an hour in DC and Baltimore. In short, the lowlands in WV are similar to Ohio in terms of weather except for the Eastern Panhandle which is typically milder due to the effects of the Noreaster wind patterns from the Gulf, and the upper elevations have more severe winter weather. Quality healthcare access is good anywhere in the North or the Eastern Panhandle, and in the Charleston and Huntington areas, including Putnam County which is between those 2 areas. With your health issues I would not recommend any place located more than an hour south of Charleston.
I'm basing my knowledge about temperature on this map https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.56b0ebaa884d. If you put the slider to show days between 50-76 degrees you can see many counties in western WV have many more pleasant days than Ohio (by as much by 60 days a year - the equivalent of 2 months). The same map shows the same counties have fewer days over 80 degrees or below 40. Is this map misleading?
I'm basing my knowledge about temperature on this map https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.56b0ebaa884d. If you put the slider to show days between 50-76 degrees you can see many counties in western WV have many more pleasant days than Ohio (by as much by 60 days a year - the equivalent of 2 months). The same map shows the same counties have fewer days over 80 degrees or below 40. Is this map misleading?
What I can tell you about the map is that you can follow the ridge line of the high mountains pretty easily from PA through Western Maryland and into WV. Those counties will be colder and snowier than the counties to their east or west.
I guess my best advice is to worry less about the weather, and more about narrowing down the communities you would want to live in.......then check and see if the weather agrees with you. I think this thread has plenty of suggestions to consider, and information about the healthcare in each.
It is also important to keep in mind what CT said; in the mountains the weather can change drastically in just 5-10 miles because of elevation and microclimates. My 12 miles commute just north of WV in Allegany County, MD takes me from a city that averages 28 inches of snow a year (deep valley, rain shadow,) to one that averages 82 inches (1200 feet higher and located on a mountain slope.) If I head up the mountain another 5 miles, I am literally in an Arctic bog (located in the saddle of a nearly 3,000 ft. ridgeline) That map won't reflect changes like that.
I'm basing my knowledge about temperature on this map https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.56b0ebaa884d. If you put the slider to show days between 50-76 degrees you can see many counties in western WV have many more pleasant days than Ohio (by as much by 60 days a year - the equivalent of 2 months). The same map shows the same counties have fewer days over 80 degrees or below 40. Is this map misleading?
You didn't say in which part of Ohio your home is located. I'm sure you know that the areas near Lake Erie have much colder weather and more snow than areas further south. If you live near the lakes, then yes... your snowfall will rival what is found in the mountains. If you live south of Canton, you'll find the lower elevations in WV to have a similar climate to the corresponding latitude. As you know, the 2 states share a very long river valley and there is no difference in climate from one side of the river to the other.
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