Charles Town Area (Morgantown: real estate, rent, house)

[mnmjack]

Hello

I have been considering relocating to the Charles Town area. I have been reading your posts for some time and appreciate all you have to say about WV; it sounds like a nice place to live. I have read what you are saying about C-Town and the area around there. I realize it is not typical WV, but, since the job is there, that's where I will need to be . What else do I need to know? Thanks for your help!

[billscamaros]

i've lived in the charles town area for about seven years now, and have been visiting the area for much longer than that. it's a great place to live, and growing constantly. there are obviously problems and issues, as there are everywhere.

where will you be working - in charles town, or will you commute?

[mnmjack]

Thanks for the response, bills.

I would be working in Charles Town, so would like to live somewhat close. It looks like a good town and is close enough to other places for visiting. One of the things I would like to understand is taxes. I see that I could live in three different states and commute to C-Town, but what are differences between the states; especially property tax-wise? I am already taxed out of the wazoo here in Illinois, so anywhere would probably be better. Given your experience in the area around Charles Town, where should I live?

[David Kennedy]

The welcoming tax to WV will be the .06% the DMV will charge you to register your vehicles...06% of their value...and you will be under a time limit to change over your drivers license...They will let you pay all of it when you do that.
Example: Used BMW at $40,000 .06% is $2400.00 + $35.00 for plates...
New Chevy DeNali for the wife...value $48,000 = $2880.00 + $35.00 for
plates....plus DL...got mine in Jan. was $30.00

Then the personal property on those vehicles every 6 months...that will be a shocker too.

I don't know if C-town has a city income tax or not ...here in Morgantown, we call it a 'User Fee'...more gentle that way...

Be prepared to pay everything you were paying in Illinois...the house you buy MAY be the saving item...our property taxes were so low for so long that it is taking the government years to get them up to the mean average with the big metro areas. Senator ??? had 40,000 acres of uncut timber land in Preston County that was accessed for $4.00 per acre in the 1980's...after re-appraisal was revalued at $15.00 per acre...
hefty increase in value, if you know what I mean. Wonder what its worth now?

[mnmjack]

Thanks for the info. The "welcoming taxes" sound like fun! Illinois did away with personal property taxes some time ago, but raised everything else. Property taxes on my $150,000 assessed value house here are just under $5,000. Property taxes there seem better than that! Maybe I would just rent until retirement! What about MD, VA taxes? Is it overall cheaper to live in either of these states? When I visit my potential employer, I see plates from all three states. Should I live elsewhere?

My wife (when she decides to move) would need some shopping, a "Curves for Women" (or something like that), and we would need ready access to doctors, since she has a chronic illness. Would I be better off commuting to C-Town?

Thanks for all of your assistance. I am negotiating now and have to know all of the skinny before I decide!

[billscamaros]

I moved to Charles Town from Herndon, VA. So, I can't say that I find my tax situation all that appalling. If I recall, my real estate taxes on a 1700 sq ft house on less than a 1/4 acre were approx $1800. My 3200 sq ft house on an 1 acre lot with inground pool is roughly $2200.

The "welcoming tax" for bringing your vehicles into WV is a shocker. For some reason, I was under the impression that this tax was going away ??????

Personal property tax on three newer cars .... '99 and '01 chevys and an '07 honda, plus two older pre-'70 cars, a '94 pop up camper and a '01 utility trailer run me roughly $600/yr. Somewhat cheaper than VA. Annual vehicle safety inspections are required, smog inspections are not.

I moved from WV to VA in 1983. That was intense sticker shock time. I'm somewhat used to it now. The move back to WV doesn't carry quite the same impact.

Re: "curves for women" ....... there is a "curves" in Charles Town. Also a Gold's gym and a Charles Town fitness center w/ indoor pool. There is also a beautiful little town park near the historic section of town with running path, outdoor pool, tennis courts and basketball courts. I kinda wish that I lived right along this park, as my kids seem to spend most of their summers at the tennis courts and pool.

Winchester Medical Center seems to be pretty well respected, and neighboring Loudoun County, VA has many well established doctors. I suspect that you would have to spend some time exploring the restrictions of your new employer's health plan to see what options are available for you.

My choice would be to live in Charles Town if that is where the job is located. My current commute is 45 miles each way, and I can say that it gets old pretty quickly. I dream about jobs where I could commute via bicycle !!!

Good luck.

[mnmjack]

Thanks Bills.

I think C-Town sounds great for us. I do like the idea of being able to walk to work, if possible. Middle age spread is ganing on me! I was not able to spend much time exploring the town when I was there visiting my potential employer, but what you say sounds good.

So, all said, I would be better living in WV (C-Town) rather than MD or VA and commuting? I was also under the impression that the "welcoming tax" was repealed (per other posts a few months ago) but if it wasn't, that may be a concern.

My wife says, thanks for the info on Curves. She can't get along without her daily dose of those machines!

[billscamaros]

It seems that you have to balance "quality of life" with "quality of income". I think that it's intriguing that you're planning to both work in Charles Town and live there. I don't think that I could afford to do that, hence my 45 mile one-way commute.

I don't have any personel experience regarding Maryland, but any house that you look at in Virginia will be more expensive than a comparable place in West Virginia. The further west you go, generally speaking, the housing costs are lower. Also generally speaking, living close to work is better than live far from work.

I would assume that you've been in touch with realtors around the area? You might think about renting for a few months to start out with, and then exploring the area to determine where you want to live. another thought ........ i haven't browsed the "virginia" forum for a bit, but you might consider posting your "live in va vs. wv" question there to see what perspective you can gain.

Personally, both my wife and I are native West Virginians who lived in virginia for years. I've always loved wv's eastern panhandle, and I enjoy living on the outskirts of Charles Town. My wife, on the other hand, would move to Virginia so fast that the vacuum could cause serious damage to small homes and old buildings.

I don't see an advantage to living in either maryland or virginia and commuting into charles town. but, berryville, va and winchester, va are both nice places also.

good luck.

[mnmjack]

Thanks, Bills.

I come from a small town with little "quality of life" benefits (except having a university) and so-so "quality of income". The position in WV would allow me to expand both QOL and QOI so I could enjoy what I do. C-Town appears to be close to an ideal area for me -- beauty, history, friendly people, close enough to visit other larger areas and be involved nationally if I wish. I only wish the temperature was a constant 70 degrees during the day and no humidity, year round! Amount of snow sounds doable -- I am originally from Michigan and the thought of THAT amount of snow would scare me! Where I am now we have about two large snows each year, but they can be very large and take months to melt. I hear C-Town has snow but not as much for as long.

Again, thanks for the advice and info. I will look on the VA site and perhaps post my question about living there. I do think, with your help, I will probably look to stay in C-Town if the job negotiations work out. Only problem is, I would be coming in January! Guess it's best to experience everything at it's worst and get it out of my system! :-)

[David Kennedy]

Here in West Virginia our best weather forcaster is the 'Wooley Worm"
All of them this year are solid black which means 'No Winter At All'
..it may not seem scientific enough to some...but some of their cousins become professionals and gain work with the TV stations.