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We are planning on moving to the Eastern Panhandle later this year. Many of the posts that I have read have to do with people with grown children moving to the area. We have two little girls and I would love to know what type of things there are to do in the area with small children.
We are currently living in Sydney Australia (where we have been for 10 yrs) and are originally from NM - so I don't really know much about the Eastern Panhandle at all. We currently have access to great family amenities like public swimming pools, gymnastics lessons, soccer etc.
Can anyone give me an idea of what is it like to live in the area? We are thinking Harper's Ferry or Charles Town or anywhere around there.
I don't know anything about these towns, but I'll post my impressions until someone does.
Look at Wikipedia and consider what the statistics mean.
Harpers Ferry has less than 300 people. There are 131 families (only 43% are married) and only 20% have children under 18. 17% of the residents are under 18. That means there's only 22 children under 18 in the entire town.
Charles Town is larger with 5,259 people. There are 2011 households (only 47% are marred) and 37.2% have children under 18. 26.9% of the residents are under 18. That means 1,415 children are under 18.
Between the two, Charles Town is a better place because there are other children for your children to befriend. It's doubtful there are many amenities for children in Harpers Ferry since there are only 22 children in the entire town.
On Charles Town's government website, it shows there are many parks, including a skate board park and swimming pools.
Google maps for gymnastics shows a gym 5 miles outside of town. But Winchester, WV is showing 6 gymnastic studios right in town. You might want to research Winchester as a possibility.
I don't know anything about these towns, but I'll post my impressions until someone does.
Look at Wikipedia and consider what the statistics mean.
Harpers Ferry has less than 300 people. There are 131 families (only 43% are married) and only 20% have children under 18. 17% of the residents are under 18. That means there's only 22 children under 18 in the entire town.
Charles Town is larger with 5,259 people. There are 2011 households (only 47% are marred) and 37.2% have children under 18. 26.9% of the residents are under 18. That means 1,415 children are under 18.
Between the two, Charles Town is a better place because there are other children for your children to befriend. It's doubtful there are many amenities for children in Harpers Ferry since there are only 22 children in the entire town.
On Charles Town's government website, it shows there are many parks, including a skate board park and swimming pools.
Google maps for gymnastics shows a gym 5 miles outside of town. But Winchester, WV is showing 6 gymnastic studios right in town. You might want to research Winchester as a possibility.
My three kids were elementary school age and younger when we moved into Charles Town from NOVA. Overall we have been pretty happy with the schools in Jefferson County. There is a well-run recreational soccer league in Charles Town and Shepherdstown, as well as travel leagues that play into Virginia and Maryland. We definitely enjoyed the soccer leagues here. You mention soccer specifically, but there are also football, baseball and cheer squads locally that are very popular.
There is an outside pool at Jefferson Park in the center of Charles Town, and one of the gyms in town has an indoor pool. Shepherd University in Shepherdstown has a pool in their "Wellness Center" that I believe is open to the public, but I don't know any details. Honestly, my kids would choose to spend the afternoon along the Shenandoah River. I can't speak to the gymnastics, as none of my kids were involved.
For soccer, AYSO/JCYSL is a great, casual league. See their website at AYSO Region 322 - Jefferson County Youth Soccer League, esp. see under the About AYSO tab along the top. I believe kids can start as young as age 4. No yelling coaches, the emphasis is on FUN.
We live around the center point of the Charles Town / Harpers Ferry / Shepherdstown triangle, and like all three places, they're all pretty small and homey. Pretty good schools out here, our son is in middle school.
In case this isn't obvious... Don't expect anything like Sydney out here! As you know, Sydney is a major cosmopolitan city with tons of great international restaurants, serious arts, etc. Out here it's small-town. Not sleepy and barren, but definitely nothing like big-city life.
For soccer, AYSO/JCYSL is a great, casual league. See their website at AYSO Region 322 - Jefferson County Youth Soccer League, esp. see under the About AYSO tab along the top. I believe kids can start as young as age 4. No yelling coaches, the emphasis is on FUN.
We live around the center point of the Charles Town / Harpers Ferry / Shepherdstown triangle, and like all three places, they're all pretty small and homey. Pretty good schools out here, our son is in middle school.
In case this isn't obvious... Don't expect anything like Sydney out here! As you know, Sydney is a major cosmopolitan city with tons of great international restaurants, serious arts, etc. Out here it's small-town. Not sleepy and barren, but definitely nothing like big-city life.
That entire region is close to the DC/Baltimore area, which has an amazing array of international restaurants, some of the very best and most serious arts offerings in the world, yet it provides the peace of mind that comes with small town living. Americans are zealous about parks at every level of government, and you are likely to find them at least as common there as they are in Australia. Every town of significant size that I know of here has public swimming pools, or is located close to a town that has them. There are also sports of most types available, including soccer.
That entire region is close to the DC/Baltimore area, which has an amazing array of international restaurants, some of the very best and most serious arts offerings in the world...
You're right that DC and (to a lesser extent) Baltimore has those things... just depends what you consider "close", with DC being an hour+ away and Balty 90 minutes.
I grew up in that area, Kearneysville to be exact. I went from Elementary school through the High School before it became extremely over populated back in the early 2000s. It was a great place to grow up, small, tight nit communities; however, every time I go back it just keeps growing and growing. A lot of people from the city move out to West Virginia and Virginia to save some cost on housing.
I have also been to Sydney and more or less all throughout NSW. It resembles nothing like Sydney and you will sorely miss it there. At least I know I would if I were to attempt to compare the two both from a cultural aspect and a "things to do". There are a lot of hiking, biking, and outdoors things to do in the general Eastern Panhandle area and with DC about 45min-60min away it's not bad getting into the City and doing the museum "stuff". I just couldn't see raising a family there to be quite blunt.
Honestly I would not have been opposed to raising a family there when I was growing up in the area; however, now I would definitely not. That's the opinion of someone who grew up going through the schooling system there so take it for what it's worth.
Can you please give more information about your quality of life needs related to moving? Besides good schools and recreation, anything else? There are a wide-range of differences between counties, municipalities and communities in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. So, more details, the better.....price range for housing, how much land, other family interests, education preferences (public v. private), are you retiring or still working (if so, where?), do you like living in a planned community/subdivision or something more private, etc. This is a good starting point.
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