PLEASE HELP! Where to (not) Live in WV??? (Charleston, Parkersburg: sale, real estate)

[vec101]

My suggestion is Buckhannon, WV.
Small town but close to I-79, about half an hour from Clarksburg, an hour to Morgantown, 2 hours to Charleston or Pittsburgh.
If you head in the other direction on Rt. 33 - you are roughly an hour from the "playground" of Canaan Valley.

Lot of people who live in Buckhannon work in Clarksburg (esp at the FBI facility).

Buckhannon is just a very nice small town - don't know how better to describe it.
The schools are very good, low crime, people are friendly and hard-working.
Lots of rural areas around Buckhannon for growing your own garden (relatives live about 6 blocks from downtown and have a huge garden in their yard).

There is a hospital in Buckhannon - I'd go to it for emergencies but I'd head to Clarksburg or Morgantown for more serious illness, etc.

Honestly, Buckhannon sounds just like what you are looking for.
However, also agree with other poster that Elkins or Lewisburg may also fit the bill. Advantage of Buckhannon - it's closer to the larger towns (about a half hour closer than Elkins or at least better roads).

[GottaHerdOn]

Originally Posted by vec101

My suggestion is Buckhannon, WV.
Small town but close to I-79, about half an hour from Clarksburg, an hour to Morgantown, 2 hours to Charleston or Pittsburgh.
If you head in the other direction on Rt. 33 - you are roughly an hour from the "playground" of Canaan Valley.

Lot of people who live in Buckhannon work in Clarksburg (esp at the FBI facility).

Buckhannon is just a very nice small town - don't know how better to describe it.
The schools are very good, low crime, people are friendly and hard-working.
Lots of rural areas around Buckhannon for growing your own garden (relatives live about 6 blocks from downtown and have a huge garden in their yard).

There is a hospital in Buckhannon - I'd go to it for emergencies but I'd head to Clarksburg or Morgantown for more serious illness, etc.

Honestly, Buckhannon sounds just like what you are looking for.
However, also agree with other poster that Elkins or Lewisburg may also fit the bill. Advantage of Buckhannon - it's closer to the larger towns (about a half hour closer than Elkins or at least better roads).

Time for my Elkins push...

How is the section of Corridor H west of Buckhannon better than the section headed east towards Elkins? Do tell ha ha Corridor H will eventually connect with I-81 in Strasburg, VA making a drive to Washington D.C. much safer, easier, quicker, and direct.


Elkins has Davis Memorial Hospital and is the headquarters of Davis Health System, with more specialists and is able to treat everything from cancer, birthing, cardiology, physical therapy & rebab. Every month, surgical services performs more than 200 day surgery procedures and an average of 350 surgeries. DMH (Davis Memorial Hospital) has two pediatric med/surgery units. My mom has worked for Mon. General in Morgantown, Davis Memorial in Elkins, and St. Joes in Buckhannon and then back to an Express Care in Elkins, she likes it much better in Elkins.

Davis Health Systems


Both Elkins and Buckhannon have great small liberal arts colleges. Wesleyan in Buckhannon has a higher student population and is growing. Davis & Elkins (D&E) has seen a 50% in freshmen on campus and a 22% increase in full-time students over last year. With increases like this year after year, they are bound to need more faculty.

Davis & Elkins College

Comparatively... according to CityData.com

Estimated median house/condo value in 2007:
Elkins: 26241 $111,855
Buckhannon: 26201 $98,909
West Virginia: $96,000

Both areas have responsible appreciation rates, with Elkins having a slightly higher rate.

Estimated median household income in 2007
Elkins: $36,799
Buckhannon: $35,449
West Virginia: $37,060

Elkins also has had higher than the WV average of foreign born population since 1980, especially since 1995-2000 (the latest figures available.) With the largest foreign born population being Chinese. 31%

Buckhannon is more even with its foreign born population in comparison to the WV average. The largest foreign born population here is German at 23%.

There is a plethora of information out there, have at it.

[profedwards330]

These are all great suggestions! I am so incredibly grateful for the level of detail so many of you willingly provide. We're scheduling a trip back to see properties in several of the areas mentioned.
My follow up question (based, in part, to many replies to the "Dow at 10K, World still Sucks" post) is this:
Is NOW a better time to buy? We can't move until June, when my university contract ends.
I can buy now or in spring.
Do you think prices are going to go lower? My interest rate has already climbed a little higher...
THANK YOU for your help thus far. Please keep the suggestions coming!!!
With a grateful heart,
Future PROUD WVians

[GottaHerdOn]

Originally Posted by profedwards330

These are all great suggestions! I am so incredibly grateful for the level of detail so many of you willingly provide. We're scheduling a trip back to see properties in several of the areas mentioned.
My follow up question (based, in part, to many replies to the "Dow at 10K, World still Sucks" post) is this:
Is NOW a better time to buy? We can't move until June, when my university contract ends.
I can buy now or in spring.
Do you think prices are going to go lower? My interest rate has already climbed a little higher...
THANK YOU for your help thus far. Please keep the suggestions coming!!!
With a grateful heart,
Future PROUD WVians

There was an 8k federal credit.. I'm not sure if that is still going on, or if you would qualify. I would say now would be a great time to get a mortgage though due to the low rates. The housing prices in most of WV will remain relatively the same, unless the booming suburbs like Putnum county or the eastern panhandle recapture their appreciated value that was lost.

[clintsullivan]

My favorite answer... "It depends."
Some areas have not really been affected and probably will not change much in the future. The I-79 corridor, Morgantown to Clarksburg has been steady and less affected than most areas (I've been considering a move to the area because of it.) Here, in the eastern panhandle I think we are bouncing around on the bottom and some segments of the market (types of homes) are finally beginning to increase in price again. There are more pending sales of homes priced over $250k than there has been in 2 years. Also, I think interest rates are as low as they will go with a 30yr around 5% right now; it had gone up for a while and then dropped again. But the feds keep talking about raising the obr; if that happens expect to see mortgage rates begin to climb again.
I would base my decision on finding the right property in the area you want to live.
PS. The $8k credit is for first time homebuyers only.

[Threerun]

I don't think it really matters much out here. Some areas near corridor H have over appreciated, IMHO. But for the most part, Elkins, Buckhannon and other similar markets have been relatively stable.

If I was going to buy a larger acreage parcel, I would be more concerned about performing due diligence with regards to deed and property rights/location and not feel as concerned about 'missing' the lowest price point.

There seems to be a lot of larger parcels coming up for sale in the location of the proposed PATH powerline. I would be very, very careful about where you choose to live, and take a hard look at the proposed PATH transmission lines before you pull the trigger on something in the Elkins/Buckhannon general direction.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by red.ochre

I have seen Confederate flags in West Virginia.

I'll ask an owner about it next time, but for what it's worth, even though this is the second poorest state in the country, and probably the most toothless (due to people pulling their own teeth who can't afford a dentist), West Virginia ranks near top of people who know the Constitution. Hillbillies are smart, go figure.

I'm no expert on the topic, but it is my understanding, the Confederacy was closer to the Constitution (a Constitutional Republic) than what we have today in the Federal government. So you might try giving it a benefit of a doubt if you see one, that perhaps the statement unto itself is to the Constitution.

Can't knock your concern though. Like symbolism was hijacked by Nazis in the swastika, I wouldn't argue the Confederate flag has been hijacked by rednecks. And I understand urges, as I have a rational one everytime I see a flag not American raised atop a Federal building in this country replacing the American flag, which is, in no uncertain terms, an open declaration of war.

As for earning $40,000 year, working from home . . food for thought, average wages in West Virginia are about $28,500.

Best wishes.

Apparently you haven't spent any significant time in the large cities like New York or Hartford (the Nation's poorest city). Poverty in these places make even the poorest parts of West Virginia look like nirvana, and they have a far wider disparity between the rich and poor.

Racism exists in a manifest form in NYC as well, especially that of the race baiting variety such as Al Sharpton and so forth. Contrary to what most wackos would have you believe, most people who display the Confederate flag do so out of a sense of historical pride or because they are Civil War history buffs... it generally has nothing to do with racism. However, there are racist groups that have hijacked historical symbols like regional flags or crosses and attached hateful meanings to them.

[David Kennedy]

Switch-hitters?

I've noticed that almost all of the Wv Civil War re-enactors here have both Union and Confederate uniforms...they wave the Stars and Bars proudly and give the 'rebel yell..
take a break and change uniforms...

Very impressed with the gatherings I've seen.
Glad our state flag is embossed with the victims of feudal servitude (miner $ farmer) instead of the rebel flag...it's taken a beating...and those confederates were strict constitutionalists too...states rights issues...were the conservatives of their day (Democrats) ha ha ha..

How things have changed..
I was explaining Wv school segregation to a fellow the other day.

Black teachers were required to have a Masters to teach, while their white counterparts had a 2 year certificate.
Hence the blacks had a better school system and preparation, as many of their teachers had taken Degrees from Columbia, Tuskeegee, Howard and others and had seen a different/broader part of America, while many of their white counterparts had not even been out of the county or the state.

Integration, should have made that system available to whites and used it as a model for education..

The rub would have been administration...how would you have let the blacks into the administration of the school systems?...
It was 40 years later that we even began to have a smattering of black Principals...

It's no wonder Johnny and Jane go on to college to buy their Degree and the Professor says...'Johnny/Jane, You must first be able to read and write.. You will be needing that to take my class."



seems pretty normal to me...

[red.ochre]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Apparently you haven't spent any significant time in the large cities like New York or Hartford (the Nation's poorest city). Poverty in these places make even the poorest parts of West Virginia look like nirvana, and they have a far wider disparity between the rich and poor.

Racism exists in a manifest form in NYC as well, especially that of the race baiting variety such as Al Sharpton and so forth. Contrary to what most wackos would have you believe, most people who display the Confederate flag do so out of a sense of historical pride or because they are Civil War history buffs... it generally has nothing to do with racism. However, there are racist groups that have hijacked historical symbols like regional flags or crosses and attached hateful meanings to them.

You're arguing by agreeing with me; I said something to that effect. Maybe you were addressing the original poster?

As for your "apparently" though, I'm fairly well traveled on many levels, and it would be a lengthly response to remember everywhere, so I'll return your presumption to you. West Virginia is poor, and the disparity here is evident, even historically, negating your argument.

Anywhere else in this country, I can take photos of "apparently" abandoned houses. It's a hobby. I can't do that in West Virginia because I've approached too many and been shocked to find people living in them. There's makeshift shacks, homeless including youth, and on the hill is dynasty while at least 20% of the population is a ward of the state, etc.

I'm saying this politely, your assessment that one poverty is greater than another is bunk. If there's a difference, perhaps it's in the people, not the place, and quantity of impoverished.

[dreamingc]

i would reccomend Bancroft, although i have never been there, it has allways appealed to me.