How desirable is West Virgina, should I consider it? (Charleston: how much, affordable houses)

[Need_affordable_home]

I have a friend who lives there in a small town where houses are like 50k! This is affordable to almost everyone. He said if I make at least 20k a year, I can live there like a king! He makes 14k a year and rents a 3 bedroom house with basement for only $200 a month! To those who live there, is it really true that WV is so cheap? Are the winters that bad?


Ive seen pictures and its a pretty sight of the rolling hills! I am searching online for house prices there. Itll be alot cheaper to live outside the city, I can always commute there.


I checked Elkins. Large town of 7200 people. I checked the climate and it says 80 summer high, 20 winter low. Does it really only get to 20? I thought it got to the minus in the winter! 20 degrees isnt bad at all if thats true!


Where else is a good city or town in West Virgina?

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

I have a friend who lives there in a small town where houses are like 50k! This is affordable to almost everyone. He said if I make at least 20k a year, I can live there like a king! He makes 14k a year and rents a 3 bedroom house with basement for only $200 a month! To those who live there, is it really true that WV is so cheap? Are the winters that bad?


Ive seen pictures and its a pretty sight of the rolling hills! I am searching online for house prices there. Itll be alot cheaper to live outside the city, I can always commute there.


I checked Elkins. Large town of 7200 people. I checked the climate and it says 80 summer high, 20 winter low. Does it really only get to 20? I thought it got to the minus in the winter! 20 degrees isnt bad at all if thats true!


Where else is a good city or town in West Virgina?

My two favorite towns have always been Romney and Berkeley Springs.
As long as Corridor H does not come through and they keep the DC crowds out it will remain great.

Berkeley Springs has done a good job maintaining their identity unlike Martinsburg.

Also like Lewistown and Beckley.

Jobs though are not an easy find in the state and within the Eastern Panhandle you mostly have to commute to DC/VA/ or MD. Local homes are 300K and local wages are $6.00 per hour.

[Need_affordable_home]

Howcome some of the houses are sooooooooo cheap in West Virgina? I was checking out now in Charleston, the capital(pop 52k) and there are many, many houses for less than $50 a square foot(including lot!) There also are many, many houses for under $50k and were talking over 1000 square feet too! I found one almost 3600 square feet on .45 acres for $35k! The house looks allright from the picture. Thats less than $10 a square foot so theres gotta be some catch! I wouldnt mind if it needed some minor repairs! I found another for $23 a square foot! I am still searching Charleston, WV houses. Found a nice one with basement 2450 square feet $65k or $26.5 a foot!

I showed my dad this and he was amazed too! I told him ill take West Virgina, a less desirable location and live like a prince in a huge house for the same price as a mobile home here in Florida! Dad agreed and said smart choice! He added that you pay dearly for location, location, location and is why Florida(especially) south is so expensive in comparsion to west Virginia. I cant get anything even half decent for less than 1/4 million in s. Florida and you really need closer to half million to get a quality spacious house with a generous sized lot. s. Cali? Youd need a million for a modest 3 bedroom house on a tiny, tiny lot or a couple million for a nice house on a "huge" quarter acre lot. The land is millions per acre in s. Cali, hundreds of thousands an acre in s. Florida, tens of thousands in n. Florida and just mare thousands in some northern states, like w. Virginia and in rural areas(good for farming or a private retirement retreat) Its crazy how much location, location, location matters! I know ill be trading a less desirable location but in exchange, ill led a better quality and standard of life, be able to afford a ~$50k house which can be anywhere from 1000 to over 2000 square feet with a generous half to acre plus lot! Houston and Dallas is good if youd rather have 100 degree summers over 10 degree w. Virgina winters. Texas, while remarkabily cheap at $67 a square foot, is still somewhat more expensive than the $50 a square foot of w. Virgina and the lots are much bigger in w. Virginia too. You can get houses for $30 a square foot(or even less!) in w. Virginia depending on the location, location, location! The square foot to dollars figures include both house and lot, land, homesite combined.


"Jobs though are not an easy find in the state and within the Eastern Panhandle you mostly have to commute to DC/VA/ or MD. Local homes are 300K and local wages are $6.00 per hour."


LOL that wont do me any good other than feeding myself! I can easily make far more with a home business! This in fact is what I may have to do because of the absence of sensable paying jobs. The problem is here in s. Florida to an extent factly.

[sealtick]

Elkins is nice. I visit there for we have a family cabin in a small town just on the outer limits. A town called Bemis. We only go, mostly, in the summer for the winter season is "very" unpredictable. I have experienced the winters being colder than what you understand. I believe that could be due to the fact that your understanding is due to a quote on the average,much like anywhere else. Since the elevation is geographically different, worst case scenarios are more likely. I live in the Parkersburg/Williamstown area, and when the weather is on the average of a mild winter season here, you can be assured that Elkins may be experiencing colder, more snow, and more of a winter setting. The summers are similiar, yet often a few degrees variance in overall temperature. That being written, figuring into the geographis of it all once again. Elkins is less modernized, yet it holds true to that of works being on its way up the trend latter which I have witnessed in the last decade or so. I like the old school flavor, and I hope they don't lose too much of the flavor for it is a good thing, in my opinion, to have some roots into the past. All is good from what I have experienced...Good Luck!

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

I have a friend who lives there in a small town where houses are like 50k! This is affordable to almost everyone. He said if I make at least 20k a year, I can live there like a king! He makes 14k a year and rents a 3 bedroom house with basement for only $200 a month! To those who live there, is it really true that WV is so cheap? Are the winters that bad?


Ive seen pictures and its a pretty sight of the rolling hills! I am searching online for house prices there. Itll be alot cheaper to live outside the city, I can always commute there.


I checked Elkins. Large town of 7200 people. I checked the climate and it says 80 summer high, 20 winter low. Does it really only get to 20? I thought it got to the minus in the winter! 20 degrees isnt bad at all if thats true!


Where else is a good city or town in West Virgina?

[Need_affordable_home]

Thanks for your posts! Positive reputation for you! WV is on the top of my list of places im considering moving to when I move out of south Florida. There are other places to consider such as TN and KY to name two.

[ElkinsTD]

I'm am new to this forum, but I do live in Elkins, WV. My wife and I have been back here for four years now. She grew up here and I attended Davis & Elkins College here.
We both love it here and have turned down far more lucrative opportunities in order to stay here. It is a friendly place to live. The small town atmosphere can be strange for some people. You can't go anywhere without seeing someone you know.
The weather isn't bad. We will typically get a few weeks of solid sub-freezing temps between Jan-March. Living in town, the roads are clear pretty quickly, and even outside of town, the major roads get cleared very early. Summers here are great, very comfortable.
Good jobs can be hard to find. You have to be resourceful. Telecommuting is a great way to go, as my wife does.
Hope this helps.

[Need_affordable_home]

Ill be self employeed, wont take much to support myself. I cant wait to move out of my parents house and get a nice house somewhere in WV for around $50k! Ive seen some other cheap cities in other states, but WV has the most cheap cities and is a great location!


I just did this: Rate this post positively
and your reputation went up! Id be honored to recieve

[citygrl707]

my parents brought a house in west virginia and i visited in aug. I live in illinois and i was hooked. It is very beautiful and the houses are very cheap. Nice older house built pretty sturdy. If your looking for a job check the onlines newspapers for the area and that should give you a good ideal on the job market.

[Need_affordable_home]

Thanks for your replies! WV is on the top of my list but im open to other states. Bluefield looks good and has affordable houses. Please share your experience in WV and what cities you like

[taohofpoohness]

Check out Morgantown.. home of the WV Mountaineers... Goooooooo Mountaineers... We are a college town, large diversity of people.. very metropolitan. Not a rinky dink town, not a large city.. a place in between with good people who have good values & morals. As far as the job market here.. its not bad <could be better>.. we have a large hospital <WVU>.. the University and a large pharmaceutical company. Neighborhoods are good, schools are good. Not alot of violence & crime. Kinda "behind the times" in some areas.. but maybe thats not a bad thing considering all the craziness that goes on in larger cities.