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I recently drove through a gorgeous slice of WV and MD on Route 68. It was beautiful and it inspired me to consider moving here for a year.
I currently live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in CA - at around 2500 ft elevation. I live in a small town (12K population) with a 45 minute drive to things like malls, Costco, Trader Joe's etc. I prefer a rural setting to urban.
My mom is 91 and has mid-stage Alzheimers. She is in a home right outside Philadelphia. I usually visit her 3x a year but it is getting harder and harder to find the money. Plus, I have 2 dogs and 2 cats so the whole pet sitter thing is challenging as well.
I'm on a fixed income (medical retirement) and certain parts of WV look much more affordable than where I am now. However, I am not willing to forfeit outright natural beauty, multiple opportunities for hikes, rivers, mountains, lakes etc.
Some of the very few searches I have done have turned up the towns of Elkins, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Vienna.
I grew up in Pa, when it actually used to snow, and have a 4WD SUV so am prepared to live in more rural or mountainous areas. But, not too far away from town!
Any and all help would be appreciated!
Peace, Maria B
ps: If this matters, I am a progressive liberal and sort of a hippie lol I fit in really well in my Northern Ca town but I am kind of scared outside of Ca. I use medical marijuana (after my forced medical retirement resulted in a loss of health insurance) so I am a little nervous even mentioning this since all of my Pa family still think cannabis is a killer gateway drug that leads to heroin addiction hahaha!!
I recently drove through a gorgeous slice of WV and MD on Route 68. It was beautiful and it inspired me to consider moving here for a year.
I currently live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in CA - at around 2500 ft elevation. I live in a small town (12K population) with a 45 minute drive to things like malls, Costco, Trader Joe's etc. I prefer a rural setting to urban.
My mom is 91 and has mid-stage Alzheimers. She is in a home right outside Philadelphia. I usually visit her 3x a year but it is getting harder and harder to find the money. Plus, I have 2 dogs and 2 cats so the whole pet sitter thing is challenging as well.
I'm on a fixed income (medical retirement) and certain parts of WV look much more affordable than where I am now. However, I am not willing to forfeit outright natural beauty, multiple opportunities for hikes, rivers, mountains, lakes etc.
Some of the very few searches I have done have turned up the towns of Elkins, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Vienna.
I grew up in Pa, when it actually used to snow, and have a 4WD SUV so am prepared to live in more rural or mountainous areas. But, not too far away from town!
Any and all help would be appreciated!
Peace, Maria B
ps: If this matters, I am a progressive liberal and sort of a hippie lol I fit in really well in my Northern Ca town but I am kind of scared outside of Ca. I use medical marijuana (after my forced medical retirement resulted in a loss of health insurance) so I am a little nervous even mentioning this since all of my Pa family still think cannabis is a killer gateway drug that leads to heroin addiction hahaha!!
For a real quick reply without much detail,
I think geographically you described the Eastern Panhandle of WV. It's close to a lot of amenities, with big cities like Washington, DC and Baltimore nearby, it is populated by small towns with the biggest being about 18K, and it is still quite rural. It's probably the closest to Philly if that's what you desire. However, I believe the most liberal city in the state is Morgantown. The general rule for finding progressive-liberal areas in the state, and most other states as well, is to follow the colleges. So WVU, Marshall, and some others. In the Eastern Panhandle there is Sherpherdstown WV (pop. about 2.5K and rising). It is home to Sherpherd University, and is very close to the WV-MD border and thus a lot of amenities close by. Though I don't think that it is the MOST liberal place in WV, I believe it would probably be a good fit. I would suggest checking it out.
Thanks for the quick reply! I use city-data as a snap shot for rent and Shepherdstown is on the high-end of my range but I will def. look into it a little more as well as the other towns you mentioned.
I would stick to Elkins and points east. My votes would be Elkins, Parsons, Davis, Thomas, Shepherdstown, and Berkeley Springs (Bath). Being close to Morgantown would be a great fit, too, but might be more expensive.
Try looking at some other towns near the Maryland line along I-68. Think about Hedgesville, Keyser, Berkeley Springs, Romney, Charles Town, Harper's Ferry, and Falling Water. It shouldn't take long to drive from any of those places to I-68 for your trip to Philly. The towns at the eastern end of the panhandle are not as near the mountains as the more western ones mentioned.
Just going on a few things that you mentioned above .... 45 mins from malls and shopping, hikes near lakes and rivers, somewhat rural ...... I would look around Berkeley Springs, WV; Cumberland and Hancock, MD; and slightly up into Pennsylvania above Hagerstown, MD. All should put your within and hour of shopping (approx 1 hour west of Cumberland gets you into Morgantown, WV). WV's eastern panhandle counties of Berkeley and Jefferson are probably more expensive as far as housing than any of the towns that I have mentioned above. All would keep you fairly close to RT 68 for ease of commute to see your mom.
I agree with you regarding the beautiful area along RT 68. I drove along there last night on my way to WV's northern panhandle, and will return that route tomorrow. I love the drive along there.
You might consider Chambersburg, PA or above Frederick, MD towards Thurmond, PA. There are lots of towns that could fit your needs.
I can't provide any insight on the medical marijuana. There is certainly growing acceptance of it's use to treat medical issues.
Try looking at some other towns near the Maryland line along I-68. Think about Hedgesville, Keyser, Berkeley Springs, Romney, Charles Town, Harper's Ferry, and Falling Water. It shouldn't take long to drive from any of those places to I-68 for your trip to Philly. The towns at the eastern end of the panhandle are not as near the mountains as the more western ones mentioned.
Sorry this is a pet peeve but its Falling Waters, not Water, I used to live there and its really annoying, Falling Waters (Marlowe) is in WV while Falling Water is the famous Frank Lloyd Wright house in PA. The ones bolded are not anywhere near 68. They are closer to 70 and 81. 70 breaks off near the PA border and 70 goes into PA to the PA turn pike while 68 heads west through western Maryland to WV ending in Morgantown. Charlestown and Harpers Ferry would be quicker to get on rt 15 and head into Frederick to hit 70 East to then hit 95 to Philly than back tracking the whole way to Martinsburg to hit 81 to 70. Going from these towns bolded to 68 would be heading west and not east. Berkeley Springs is directly south of the I-68 and I-70 split, but the road from Hancock Md (tiny town that is at the split) to Berkeley Spring is a NIGHTMARE of a road, especially during the summer.
Jefferson county seems to meet most of your needs, it's a beautiful area and seems to be more of the political and demographics you are looking for. Shepherdstown in Jefferson county seems to be the best fit (maybe other than costs), but its close enough to DC, its a pretty short drive to hit 70 East that will take you to 95 which will take you right to Philly. And you are close to Frederick Maryland there, and Frederick is such a nice town.
Great thread guys. Glad this was cross posted. Trolls who bash the mountains and its people have descended upon the MD thread as they tend to do.
To add: I would second Berkeley Springs as well, my family takes a few trips there every summer, including at least one long weekend. Nice little eclectic town with great water and very nice people.
The Eastern Panhandle is an option too, but it less mountain forest and more rolling farmland in a big wide valley. More expensive too. On the flip side, you are closer to the amenities of D.C. and will find more transplants there than any place except MAYBE Morgantown on the I-68 corridor.
If you find you really like it out here and are a good fit, some of the small towns listed in this thread become options, but the small towns in this neck of the woods can be really insular and hard for newcomers to break the ice. So, my advice is to stick around the larger communities at first. Just my opinion though.
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