Grew up in upstate NY and then NH. Love me some trees and hills. Currently living in Philadelphia, for the music scene, culture and food. I could deal with the filth and rudeness when there was an exciting scene, but all of that is gone now, and 90% of my friends are terrified to even get together and play a board game. Left with a zombiefied Center City with joyless maskies.
Time to go.
I was looking at near Pittsburgh. And PA’s gun laws are still somewhat decent. But then I noticed how cheap WV was, lots of trees and mtns and each passing day more pro 2A.
Will I be hobo murdered if I step foot in a holler?
So pedes tell me about WV; good, bad or ugly.
Almost Heaven...☺
If you don't want to, and have no need to, ever speak to a human being, it's a wonderful place. Get a cabin in the hill and a few acres, and disappear. If you like neighbors . . . there's always Tennessee.
That’s pretty much the goal for most of the time. However I do have gay, black and brown friends and wonder if they’d be safe coming out to visit.
Tennesse is on the list. Fell in love with it on a road trip to TX as a kid. A cop bought me a rad Tennesse hat at a rest stop just because as he told my mom “he looks like a good polite kid”
However humidity is the bane of my existence. I can do cold. You can always ad layers. But 85 degrees and 85% humidity and I’m pretty much useless.
Stay in the Eastern hills, then. Knoxville maybe
Thanks, will check it out.
WV is beautiful, but residents are rightfully distrustful of outsiders. Around here, they are not friendly... not initially, anyway. Do not trespass, or you may disappear. :) WV attracts lots of out-of-state adventure seekers and outdoorsmen, so towns near attractions will have more amenities, but you're also more likely to run into leftist assholes there.
The population seem to be terrified of the China flu right now, and are still under unconstitutional restrictions thanks to Big Jim's power trip. I was surprised how much an otherwise conservative people happily gave up their rights for safety. That said, you're probably not going to get harassed for breaking their stupid mask rules, unless you're at one of the attractions I mentioned above.
Land is affordable, but make sure you check that your purchase includes mineral and water rights before you buy. Some rural counties have DSL or even fiber Internet, but many have no decent ISPs or cell service, so keep that in mind. Most decent size towns will have both.
If you're looking for a big music scene, you'll probably have better luck in Charleston, however you'll find musicians everywhere. WV does have scary parts, meth addicts, tar paper shacks, poachers, even actual cults. It's not all pretty scenery, but there's plenty of that.
Lose the NY license plates and accent quickly.
Thanks for the thought out response! NY is 32 years ago. Got more South Philly accent than anything now but yeah that’s be a huge “outsider” indicator.
I’m not even looking for a new music scene right now, and can deal with rolled back Internet access.
The goal would be to find a spot w 5-10 acres and an outbuilding. I can vacation off grid for weeks but definitely wouldn’t aim to live that way.
Interesting about the trespassing and disappearing. Maybe it’s because I was a teen but a lot of New Hampshire shrugged at trespassers just looking to cut through the woods. If you came to cause mischief that’s a whole mother story. But we cut through peoples land all the time.
Happy to help. You'll find lots of smaller plots like that with a small cabin, outhouse, and not much else. I have seen people converting those outbuildings into cabins with some insulation, a wood stove, etc.
You're likely to be met by an angry man with a firearm if you trespass in WV, and at least asked to leave. Not everyone is like that, but not worth risking it. Just get to know people and then they'll likely let you cut through their property or even hunt / fish there. Like most places, it's about building relationships and trust.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there seems to be a lot of land-locked plots of land, where you can only access the property via a right-of-way on another person's property. This happens when a family farm or acreage is split up among the kids, and sold off piece by piece. I'd avoid those if you can, and find something with its own public road access.
Yet another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes electricity is not close to where you might want a cabin, so consider the cost of having it run to your building site (sometimes miles; the power company will charge you thousands), or the cost of building an off-grid solar setup for power.
Well in WV on Thanksgiving they pumpkin! (shitpost comment, not serious)
Took me a second but I got it kek!
Where did EAST Virginia go?????????