Advice about the Panhandle (Martinsburg, Jefferson: low crime, how much, house)

[isis297]

Hi, we have been talking about moving back home to MD but my husband is not excited as he is worried about crime, schools, cost, etc. My dad was telling me about the Panhandle area of WV. I am not familiar with this area at all. What can you tell me about it? What is the difference between northern, eastern, etc.? What about schools? Property taxes? Utility costs?

Are there any health concerns in the area? After we moved here to NY we found out it is a horrible area for allergies. My family went from one that got the occasional sinus infection and cold to being sick CONSTANTLY with allergies, ear infections, sinus infections, etc. It's like it's a big joke up here now about how bad the area is for people with allergies. I'm not laughing!!! I don't want my children and I to have to take medicine every day and then we still feel like crap anyhow.

On a happy note...would it be cost effective to purchase a good amount of acreage that at some point could be subdivided? I REALLY want a BIG yard with trees and wildlife in the back.

[GottaHerdOn]

It would be possibile and I bet it would be highly encouraged. Seeing how that area is booming

[Janipoo]

I live outside of Baltimore and the air stinks as well, I never had allergies and sinus until moving here (Anne Arundel County), my kids both have bad allergies.
We are moving to the panhandle in a couple of weeks (Falling Waters) to be exact. There is a lot of building going on in the whole area. We are getting a house built on a 1/2 acre. I would suggest to stay out of the Martinsburg school district, the research I did was that Hedgesville and Musselman are suppose to be the better school district. Also, I should point out that Jefferson County is a little more expensive than Berkeley County, I guess because the DC workers have better access from that county.

[snorpus]

Concerning school districts...

WV has a county-unit school system (one BOE for the entire county). So what you have to watch are the transportation boundaries, which determine which particular school your kids will go to.

Probably not true in the EP, but some low population counties will have only one high school for the entire county.

Snorpus

[isis297]

What's interesting is we hardly ever had any allergy issues when we lived in MD. I'm wondering if it's because of living their most of our lives that we were just accustomed to the air. It is a bit of a concern of mine if we move someplace else that we won't have the same breathing issues.

What about costs? Can anyone direct me to a link or something where I can see what groceries and utilities average as well as taxes? That's a big concern of mine as well.

Thanks!

[NRaye1960]

I guess I'd have to ask WHICH panhandle...northern or eastern? ;>) As for allergies, I guess it would depend on what you're allergic to. When my daughter was an infant, we were visiting my parents in Northern panhandle and she got soooo sick. I took her to a pediatrician who said, "You're not planning on living here with her, are you?" Of course, we didn't move there but I sure missed my family and friends!
GOOD LUCK to you!

[Janipoo]

Originally Posted by isis297

What's interesting is we hardly ever had any allergy issues when we lived in MD. I'm wondering if it's because of living their most of our lives that we were just accustomed to the air. It is a bit of a concern of mine if we move someplace else that we won't have the same breathing issues.

What about costs? Can anyone direct me to a link or something where I can see what groceries and utilities average as well as taxes? That's a big concern of mine as well.

Thanks!

My husband says it the way the pollution blows over our area from Baltimore. I grew up in PG county and never had this and same with my mother she never had a problem until she moved to AA county a few years ago.

[dunkhouse]

I just read today where the Martinsburg area has like the 27th worst air quality in the country. There abouts, I think it was 27. Twenty years ago, the eastern panhandle was very sparse. Urban spawl from DC has caused a lot of land to be bought up and for that reason, land is much more expensive now. I'm not sure how much land you could find to buy up that a person could actually afford. But make no mistake, the DC sprawl will continue. As for schools, yes, each county has a school board so in some counties there is only one high school. That is changing slowly though due to travel times in some counties. With more and more consolidated schools popping up, arrangements are being made in some of those areas to allow students to attend the closest school regardless of the county.

[Georgia]

Grew up in Martinsburg and can tell you the air quality is not good.
We always refered to it as the "Soup Bowl" the little town down in the hollar that is surrounded by the hills. The pollution comes in and settles, thus the soup bowl. Today, it is even worse since the population is approaching 100k.

Remember as a kid and adult I used to go to Winchester (medical care in the Panhandle is the pits) to have shot administered once a year just for allergies.

Then again, I always knew I was allergic to that place

Now keep in mind, I think it has to do with location and being on the "side" of the mountain, but Berkeley Springs seems to have much better quality and it is a much better town. Morgan County is NOT Berkeley

[isis297]

What part of WV would still be a decent distance from MD like the Panhandle seems to be with low crime, great schools, average cost of living and housing, and some snow without hopefully too much stuff to mess with our allergies? Do any towns in the Panhandle fit that description?