AARP says: Retire In The Alleghenies (Wheeling, Morgantown: land, retirement, ranking)
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The September issue of AARP The Magazine (online here) lists the top 10 cities to retire in, on $100 a day (before tax).
Three of the ten are in the Alleghenies! The print version of the article leads with (and devotes the most space to) Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 (there is no 1-to-10 ranking) are Morgantown and Roanoke VA. (OK, I'm stretching the Alleghenies a bit, Roanoke is really in the Blue Ridge, but it's close.)
FYI, the other seven cities are Spokane, Las Cruces, Eau Claire, San Antonio, Omaha, Grand Junction, and Gainesville.
The September issue of AARP The Magazine (online here) lists the top 10 cities to retire in, on $100 a day (before tax).
Three of the ten are in the Alleghenies! The print version of the article leads with (and devotes the most space to) Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 (there is no 1-to-10 ranking) are Morgantown and Roanoke VA. (OK, I'm stretching the Alleghenies a bit, Roanoke is really in the Blue Ridge, but it's close.)
FYI, the other seven cities are Spokane, Las Cruces, Eau Claire, San Antonio, Omaha, Grand Junction, and Gainesville.
It is saying retire in Morgantown if you go to WV. Pittsburgh which is also close by is also on the list.
Yet another award for Morgantown's LOOOOOOONG list of awards. At some point you win so many that it isnt even a big deal.
The September issue of AARP The Magazine (online here) lists the top 10 cities to retire in, on $100 a day (before tax).
Three of the ten are in the Alleghenies! The print version of the article leads with (and devotes the most space to) Pittsburgh. Also in the top 10 (there is no 1-to-10 ranking) are Morgantown and Roanoke VA. (OK, I'm stretching the Alleghenies a bit, Roanoke is really in the Blue Ridge, but it's close.)
FYI, the other seven cities are Spokane, Las Cruces, Eau Claire, San Antonio, Omaha, Grand Junction, and Gainesville.
The "Blue Ridge" is part of the Alleghenies. It is essentially the first ridge on the East of the chain.
According to Wikipedia, the Alleghenies are to the west of the "Great Valley" of the Shenandoah, and extend only as far as western Virginia to the South. The Blue Ridge Mountains are to the east of the Great Valley, and extend as far north as South Mountain (near Harrisburg) and as far south as northern Georgia.
Yes, the Alleghenies and Blue Ridge are two different mountain ranges, but both are part of the Appalachian chain (as are the Smokies, White mountains, etc.)
The term is in itself confusing. The "Blue Ridge" actually only consists of the first mountain ridge in the chain, which traverses all the way from Georgia to Pennsylvania (where it is called South Mountain). The other mountains in that system are part of the Blue Ridge Province of mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Range. I was, however, incorrect in saying the Blue Ridge is part of the Alleghenies.
According to Wikipedia...
"Although the term "Blue Ridge" is sometimes applied exclusively to the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains, the geological definition of the Blue Ridge province extends westward to the Ridge and Valley area, encompassing the Great Smoky Mountains, the Great Balsams, the Roans, the Brushy Mountains (a "spur" of the Blue Ridge) and other mountain ranges.
The Blue Ridge extends as far north into Pennsylvania as South Mountain."
The Blue Ridge itself is in an area to the East of I81. If you traverse from Martinsburg to Morgantown via I81, I70, and I68 you are actually crossing the Alleghenies and are not crossing Blue Ridge. The "High Alleghenies" are in the area East of Elkins, while the lower Alleghenies start on the East side of Cheat River. Here in Morgantown itself, we are in the Allegheny Plateau, and the hills we have here are part of the foothills. If you are driving along Mileground Road, heading eastward, you can see the mountain range itself in front of you, but it is on the other side of the river.
It is interesting to drive westward on I70 out of Wheeling, and not far before you get to Columbus you leave the foothills of the Allegheny Plateu and it becomes flat... real flat, for something like 1,500 miles... corn as far as the eye can see... then wheat as far as the eye can see... then sunflowers as far as the eye can see... then prarrie land and finally the Rockies.
It is interesting to drive westward on I70 out of Wheeling, and not far before you get to Columbus you leave the foothills of the Allegheny Plateu and it becomes flat... real flat, for something like 1,500 miles... corn as far as the eye can see... then wheat as far as the eye can see... then sunflowers as far as the eye can see... then prarrie land and finally the Rockies.
It's really interesting when you hit the badlands in the Dakotas and Eastern Montana. You go from that flat prairie to high mountain desert and then the rugged, cut-up, gorged badlands. When I moved from WV to Montana I was amazed at the vast stretches of essentially nothing. Nothing but badlands to my south and wheat to the north.
Helena MT is neat too. Big valley and BAMM- climb straight to the continental divide to the west. No foothills to speak of.
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