Great Cacapon (1 hour North of Martinsburg) is a W
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6/18/2011
I came to Great Cacapon in the mountains (just between the Potomac and Cacapon Rivers) 4 years ago from the busy suburbs of Columbia, MD. The scenery is beautiful - every day is a changing picture postcard. No, I don't have the amenities of the suburbs, such as cable, sidewalks, street lights, fire hydrants, etc., but my taxes are almost 1/4 of what I paid in Maryland. My well water is very, very clean and the air I breathe is pure. I live on several acres of land that cost a fraction of what I paid in Maryland. I work from home since commute times to Hagerstown or Martinsburg are an hour-plus.
Some people call the area depressed, but I love the freedom we have to build as we please and to find happiness in mobile homes, if we want, for far less money. I live among thick forests and I use bug killer along the foundation of my house, and I spray whenever I see wasps begin to settle around my house. I love the many butterflies and moths and types of frogs. My ground has lots of shale rock, but I still have enough soil for a large garden. The tranquility here is incredible. I notice even when I hear one car pass by, and I very seldom hear aircraft overhead (someone that occurred WAY too often in Maryland). I don't have many neighbors, but those I have are wonderful and we look out for each other. There are lots of small churches here. The local post office employees are very caring, and they look for ways to provide benefit to the little community. There are many private gravel roads here, and lots of fairly steep hills. Driveways are often gravel too. We often drive carefully because deer cross the roads now and then. Snowfalls vary year to year -- we can get lots or not-so-much. State road crews are pretty good at keeping the county road clear. The private roads have to be maintained by the residents. We usually have plenty of rain, but again it depends on weather cycles.
The local country people are very self-sufficient. They maintain large gardens and share or can their extra food. In the beginning I sort of missed the wide variety of ethnic groups that I had in Maryland, but I'm accustomed to seeing mostly white people now. The few black folks I've seen appear to be educated and higher income that many people here (so I wonder whether they came from another town, the way I did), and I've not seen any Hispanic people here in Great Cacapon. We do have a few Hispanic folks in Berkeley Springs.
Don't expect fancy stores here
Mary Ellen | Great Cacapon, WV