moving to shepherdstown, WV area; question on jobs (Martinsburg, Jefferson: house, find a job)

[loch raven]

hello all:

first time posting on this forum, hope it goes well. i will be moving to the shepherdstown, WV area this coming august to start a new job. i will be relocating with a partner, who will be looking for work in the graphic-web design field. i realize that the opportunities for her in shepherdstown proper are slim to none. my question is, how is the greater metro area for these kinds of jobs? charles town? hagerstown? frederick? winchester? martinsburg?

we would prefer not to get too close to the traffic nightmare of DC, and so are trying to avoid looking at places such as rockville, silver spring, etc. any tips on where to look, or where to live, would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

[7th Direction]

Welcome.

Shepherdstown has a very rich environment for artists and the like (check out the Arts and Humanities Alliance (http://www.ahajc.org/index.htm - broken link)), but she won't find a job in her field in the immediate area (I mean Shepherdstown proper).

I am sure there are jobs in Martinsburg, Winchester, Leesburg, Frederick or Hagerstown (all within a 45 minute drive).

She could also look into options about working in DC since there is a MARC Train Station 10 minutes from Shepherdstown. (I know you were saying that she doesn't want to deal with the "traffic nightmare" in DC, but she would be riding the train/metro for the entire trip - no traffic involved).

[clintsullivan]

I live about 3 miles outside of Shepherdstown, and like 7th says, there are few big shops for graphic artists within Shepherdstown, but there are lots of opportunities that are commutable. In town there is Studio 105, which is a small graphics & web design business; check them out at www.studio105.com Also I would think with that type of work you would have the option to work from home at least part of the week?
If you decide to live in Jefferson County especially the Northern section near Shepherdstown, you don't have to worry about traffic. And housing is affordable again as prices have come down quite alot. For example I have a building lot next to my house that I've dropped about $50k in the past two years.