once that goal was met , they were free to move anywhere in the world . As they started a list of potential homesteads to visit , their criterion was simple : they wanted to be able to hike from their front door . After several trips , they narrowed their list to two places : Boulder , CO , and Harpers Ferry , WV .
“ We love the mountains ,” says Grant . “ We loved Boulder , but it is super expensive . Cost of living was huge to us . When I left my job , we wanted to have a bit of a slower life . We have two younger kids , and I didn ’ t want demands on my time that were outside my control and I didn ’ t want to feel as stressed out . We felt moving to a place that had a high cost of living wouldn ’ t help us achieve that because there would be pressure to earn a lot of money . In a place like West Virginia , our money would go a lot further , which is one of the reasons we chose Harpers Ferry .”
While the family had visited Harpers Ferry to hike in the past , they had never considered it as a place to live .
“ We love this town , and I feel so lucky we moved here ,” says Grant . “ We thought it was going to feel like the middle of nowhere , but it hasn ’ t at all . Harpers Ferry is small in terms of size , but there is always something happening here . I also underestimated how cool it would be to have Shepherdstown , Charles Town and even Brunswick , MD , all pretty close to us , because we use those amenities as well .”
Grant is originally from upstate New York , and she loves the familiar terrain West Virginia provides .
“ The mountains are the best part to us ,” she says . “ The hiking here is so amazing and having it right outside our door has been life-changing for us . The way we think about it is , we used to live in the city and drive out of the city whenever we could to go hiking . Now we ’ ve flipped that and optimized for what we ’ d rather be doing . Now we can hike a few times a week , and if we want to drive to a restaurant or to do something cultural , we can do that occasionally .”
The favorable housing market combined with a cost of living 16 % below the national average and a cost of doing business amongst the lowest in the country is a recipe for success . Throw in easy access to river , rail and highway transportation , proximity to various major cities and seven commercial airports , and West Virginia is a remote worker ’ s dream . median home price in Charleston , for example , was $ 153,700 in the third quarter of 2020 , which is only half the national median home price . In regard to home sales , like most parts of the country , West Virginia sales were running around 10 % higher in the second half of 2020 compared to the prior year .”
Yun believes West Virginia is likely to benefit from the remote work trend , as areas outside Washington , D . C ., and Baltimore — such as Shepherdstown and Harpers Ferry — have already witnessed a significant boost in housing demand as workers gain remote work flexibility , which may become the new normal even after the vaccine is more widely dispersed .
“ This means commuting cost is less of a factor in purchasing a home ,” he says . “ Moreover , a homebuyer can get a larger home at a more affordable price surrounded by cleaner air in West Virginia .”
Remote worker Alexis Grant moved to the Harpers Ferry area in 2019 from Florida . She and her husband had both been working toward the goal of running their own businesses , and
A Good Place to Play
In 2020 , Business Insider named Beckley , WV , the cheapest place to live in the U . S . However , as the Grant family well knows , the Mountain State ’ s biggest draw is its natural beauty , and Beckley ’ s neighboring Fayette County is now home to the nation ’ s newest national park .
The New River Gorge became a national park in late 2020 as part of Congress ’ COVID-19 stimulus package . A mecca for rock climbers and whitewater rafters , the area is best known for the New River Gorge Bridge , the longest steel span bridge in the western hemisphere and one of the most photographed places in the state .
Christopher Fussell , president of McChrystal Group , a consulting firm based in Washington , D . C ., and his wife , Holly , moved to Fayetteville in 2020 . The couple has had a home there since the early 2000s , so they were already familiar with what the Mountain State had to offer when they made the decision to relocate .
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