Top 10 Pros to Living in West Virginia

whether you're thinking about living off the land off the grid or just off the beaten path west virginia has a lot to offer especially if you're considering hey welcome thanks for joining me for this episode of homesteading west virginia the semi-weekly web show where i share some of what i learn as a budding homesteader and local realtor here in the mountain state if that's something that interests you please do yourself a favor and click subscribe right now great and now you should also click the little bell that just magically appeared so you get notified of new videos every time i upload if you've been doing your research and you're ready to take that next step start looking for your own slice of west virginia countryside check the description for my contact information i'd love to help you on your journey to a more satisfying and fulfilling life right here in west virginia but most of you aren't there yet so for now let's just talk about the top 10 pros to living in west virginia be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end for my number one reason coming in at number 10 is history from controversial beginnings to exciting firsts from stories of riches and stories of poverty west virginia is a wonderful place to teach hands-on history there are many historic sites throughout the state that are well worth a visit one of these organ cave is a beautiful natural cave that my husband and i visited on our honeymoon of note in this case history is that it was used during the civil war by the confederate army they mined 70 to 90 percent of the salt peter that they needed to supply gunpowder for the army they also found a way to refine it and have church all inside the cave you're not a history buff but you're still interested in west virginia well stick around for the next point you should definitely want to hear about west virginia's cost of living west virginia comes in roughly 20 below the national average for cost of living the greatest factor for that is going to be housing which we'll discuss in just a minute but you can also expect to save about five percent on groceries 15 on utilities and 10 on transportation i'm thinking about making a future video all about the cost of living if that's something that would interest you please let me know in the comments but for now let's just say if your budget is a little tight elsewhere in the united states you might have just enough to make it in west virginia speaking of tight budgets nowhere does a lack of funds become more obvious than when you're house shopping especially if that hunting includes a desire to live off the land that comes with a house in a lot of places where maybe you're considering going the cost of land and housing is drastically more than in west virginia in fact west virginia ranks in the top five for most affordable places to find housing we are 60 below the national average that means a house that maybe costs a hundred thousand somewhere else could be bought in west virginia for only forty thousand now this doesn't apply to everywhere in the state and it's definitely changing as people flee the cities in search of more space but on average in west virginia we are 60 below the national average for housing costs especially if you want more rural remote acreage and you're okay with the significant different distance between you and the nearest walmart do you know what tends to come with rural acreage lots and lots of trees at least it does in west virginia i don't know about everywhere else but here we have plenty of timber if natural resources is one of the things on your checklist that you need for being able to move well west virginia can stay on your list for sure we have plenty of rural acreage that is completely full of harvestable timber now this has many benefits the obvious one would be that you could sell the timber and recoup some of the cost of buying the land this is not only beneficial because of the money but it's also beneficial because the logging companies that come in will create clearings where they bring all of the wood to to load up and also bring a nice big bulldozer and make roads so that they can get access to where they need to go this would leave behind nice clearings that you didn't have to create and bulldozed roads to gain greater access to more remote parts of your property another advantage to having timber on your land is that if your dream is to build a house with the wood from your own property you can do that here it's not easy and definitely would take time but if that's your dream one thing's for sure as long as you have the right tools to utilize what nature has given us you'll never want for wood in west virginia speaking of things nature has given us the state of west virginia is very well watered with an average rainfall of 44 inches a year west virginia is more likely to leave you dripping than hanging when it comes to water whatever you're trying to grow you get tomatoes calms or tiny humans there's always enough water to go around not saying we don't get a drought every now and then but i think i've only seen two in my lifetime being that water is very vital to the survival of anything why would you choose to live in a place that only has 15 inches of rain a year or less and they have to truck in water to keep things green and growing i personally like knowing that i'm not going to be left high and dry [Music] west virginia won't leave you dry it might just leave you high no not that kind this kind the state of west virginia is the only state that's considered to be 100 within the boundaries of the appalachian mountains that means that we have plenty of scenic overlooks and beautiful views to go around in fact the scene that you're seeing behind me is a picture that one of my good friends took of her own personal property she does family photography and portraits if you happen to already be in the area and you're interested in such a thing you can check the link below one of the biggest pros to me is west virginia's beauty it's one of my favorite parts of my job is that i get to take people a lot of times from out of state and they come and they look at the properties and they fall instantly in love with the beauty of west virginia the best part for me is that i get to do it over and over again because it's not just one property that is gorgeous it's everywhere i mean even walmart here has a view [Music] now if you're looking for a good time there's plenty of that to go around in west virginia too unfortunately if your idea of a good time includes this [Music] there's not much to offer you in west virginia but if it includes this or this or this or this or this there's plenty to do in west virginia if you enjoy the outdoors you'll never want for something fun special or creative to do while you're here hunting and fishing are very popular pastimes as is hiking rock climbing boating swimming usually in something like this atv riding horse trail riding [Music] even some consider farming a recreational pastime my family and i in our current stage of life quite enjoy going to a local park we tend to go up to the top of the hill and have a nice picnic lunch or dinner then we walk down the hill a little ways and let the kids play on the playground while my husband and i just sit breathe the fresh mountain air and dream about the day that maybe one day we'll have some property of our own this park is actually in a fairly populated area but it's very densely wooded and it makes you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere when i say fairly populated i should probably quantify that this particular park is in fairmont a huge town of 18 000 people which to some of you probably sounds very small and refreshing and that is why number three on our list is country life you won't run into too many issues social distancing in the mountain state because even our biggest cities in west virginia are super small compared to most our largest towns are charleston huntington and morgantown all of which have under 50 000 people and even with those cities all you have to do is go about 10 or 15 minutes outside of town and you'll find beautiful places like this [Music] this makes for very laid back country living you probably can hear bells ringing right now that's because the small country town that i live in has the school that brings the bells with beautiful songs currently they're playing christmas carols just one of the perks to living in a small town so if you're tired of this consider coming to west virginia where you'll find plenty of fresh air beauty and freedom freedom what does that mean to you some would say that in america today we are free some would beg to differ all i know is growing your own food collecting and using water on your own land training your own children and even generating your own power should be rights that cannot be messed with now i understand on some small lots having restrictions on some livestock and you'll find that even in west virginia but having rules against growing a garden some states even seem to think they need to protect you from yourself in west virginia however we're free to grow a garden train our own kids ourselves and if you want to be part of the opt-out movement you know the one that's opting out of the grocery store it's definitely possible in west virginia even in our small quarter acre in town lot my family is allowed to have a nice block of laying hens and a small rabbitry plus most of the land in west virginia is rural even remote and on that land there's very few restrictions finally we've made it to the pinnacle of our list the number one reason that i would consider west virginia a wonderful place to live the biggest pro to living in west virginia for me and that is that west virginia is full and i use that term mostly because it's rural but she's full of wonderful kind caring loving people the people in west virginia aren't like you'll find anywhere else now i'm not saying that everyone everywhere else is rude or unkind southern hospitality wouldn't be a thing if that were true but the people in west virginia are a breed all their own they'll greet you with a hug even if they don't know you they might give you their last dollar or their shirt off their back if they think you need it more than they do anytime i think of the wonderful people in the state of west virginia i think of the time that my husband filled in for church in gilmer county we were greeted with hugs not only from the little grandmas in the church but also from my preteen little boy it felt very similar to the greeting you'd give to an aunt or uncle you don't see very often i'm not gonna lie it was a bit awkward especially since i grew up in a more populated area and it's just not something that we did but the more i've gotten out and about and around and explored my own state the more i've realized that this kind of greeting is the norm the people are super kind and sweet and nice if you want to come here and take advantage of people we've been through that too many times and you're not going to get very far but if you want to come here and learn something and add something to a community and grow the life of your dream the locals will come right alongside of you and help in any way they can if you've enjoyed this video please remember to give it a thumbs up i'd love it if you'd subscribe and also click that bell icon if you're ready to take the next step on your journey and you finally have all the information you need check the description for my contact information give me a shout and we can see what we can do to get you headed in the right direction and remember whether you're looking to live off the land off the grid or just off the beaten path there's definitely something for you in west let's see virginia is that thing still flying this is not going to work okay [Music] from controversy [Music] just a minute guys west virginia is a loud place i want a mini street corner do you have something to tell people this is my co-host uh-huh [Music] what [Music] i love you oh don't eat my mouth okay uh where were we oh yes you can say five percent on groceries i'm gonna call it done you

Channel: Homesteading West Virginia

Views: 38,344

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Id: Xt_Ntm5Eri0

Length: 15min 3sec (903 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 08 2020