The panhandle is gorgeous— hiking, kayaking, horseback riding and skiing easily accessed. Housing is cheap, and you don’t have to deal with traffic congestion to run to town or the store. Shepherdstown is one of the most progressive towns in the region - very blue - and a lot of quaint, mom and pop shops.

I think people move to WV for the landscape not the politics.

Not a Trumper by any means, but I would MUCH rather move to WV than Florida.

Anonymous wrote:WV is gorgeous. We just got back from the area around Green Bank Observatory and really it is just beautiful. I can see why people want to move there from the scenery. I haven't seen people being nicer than in DC (but also don't find DC people to be rude).

When we were last in WV, I was asked if I was part of the deep state, its a lot of Trump lol. I don't see people as any nicer there than here (but don't see them as mean here personally).

The thing about living in West Virginia or some other place like that, you sort of get used to the scenery. It's like anything else. If you see it all day every day, it's just normal. I have family in the area you're talking about and it's really difficult to get anywhere populated in less than an hour. There's no hospitals nearby and my family drives an hour to shop at Walmart. For most trips they go to one of those Dollar General stores that doesn't charge a dollar but rather way too much for staples. Then of course there's the fact that the county is massive and has one single high school for it which means that some kids have 2 hour long bus rides to school. There's only a handful of restaurants there too. It's a fine place to visit but I would never ever consider living there. Hopefully you took your kids on the Cass Railroad when you were there. That's one of the other fun things to do.

WV is gorgeous. We just got back from the area around Green Bank Observatory and really it is just beautiful. I can see why people want to move there from the scenery. I haven't seen people being nicer than in DC (but also don't find DC people to be rude).

When we were last in WV, I was asked if I was part of the deep state, its a lot of Trump lol. I don't see people as any nicer there than here (but don't see them as mean here personally).

Anonymous wrote:Exurban housing developments and the I-81 corridor give the Eastern Panhandle some life, but Martinsburg is still a dump.

The rest of West Virginia is an economic dead zone with a ton of challenges (e.g., high poverty, high addiction rates) and a lot of long-term environmental damage.

I would never live or buy property there.

Have you ever been there? I own a house in Canaan Valley and the scenery from 81 to my house is beautiful. People are much nicer than in DC as well. Too bad I can’t move there full time, but it’s a great escape.

Exurban housing developments and the I-81 corridor give the Eastern Panhandle some life, but Martinsburg is still a dump.

The rest of West Virginia is an economic dead zone with a ton of challenges (e.g., high poverty, high addiction rates) and a lot of long-term environmental damage.

I would never live or buy property there.

Dc has just turned so rude. Might be the blue effect though. I'm sick of hearing woke and cringe in response to things that aren't woke.

Anonymous wrote:turn it blue people...or at least purple-y. in this era of remote work, the 2 hour commute to be in the office occasionally in DC is doable.

Turning it ‘blue’ when your entire state and its general assembly is red is useless, ask the residents of Austin how it feels to be in a state that banned abortions and watched a mass elementary school shooting happen without blinking.

turn it blue people...or at least purple-y. in this era of remote work, the 2 hour commute to be in the office occasionally in DC is doable.

Anonymous wrote:I would not be caught dead moving to West Virginia.

+1,000

We didn’t “move to” West Virginia, but we did buy a beautiful property on 7 acres in the panhandle at the start of the pandemic and love it. It’s less than 2 hours from DC and within a 5 minute drive of pretty much anything you’re gonna need. There are several blue pockets in Jefferson County where it’s pretty easy to forget that you’re in WV, especially if it’s your second home and not your main one. Our place has also appreciated by nearly 50 percent in the last two years, a nice and unexpected bonus.

It’s great having a getaway so close to DC.

They’re trying to convince you because they’re surrounded by kind but simple-minded Trumpers. Everywhere they go - their banks, their churches, their teachers, the police and it wears on your soul. But boy is it nice to have 5 acres for cheap!

I would not be caught dead moving to West Virginia.

I know they find it quite lovely, I just wish everyone would stop trying to convince me to join them. What am I missing? What towns did you consider?