By 'northern' WV, are you meaning the northern panhandle? (Between OH and PA) Or the northern border with MD?

If it's actually Ranson, (and not Romney) then that's considered the Eastern Panhandle - where I am, and a few other Pinsiders with games. There's no real locations (closest we have is Shepardstown, WV), but it's kinda close enough to DC where it wouldn't be too difficult to get to more places that have games.

Yeah, I actually work in Silver Spring (next to DC). Without traffic, it's an hour. Philly's 3, Pitts is 4. Plus, we have the advantage of much, much cheaper housing rates than neighboring states.

LTG : )

but that never happens. More typically it would take an hour from my place in Falls Church (inside DC's beltway) to drive to Silver Spring.

Harper's Ferry (Coyote's listed location) is a very nice town. Appalachian trail, C&O canal, a little bit of history.... plus you'll have York, Allentown, Pinburgh, and Ohio shows drivable. You and the boys should be fine there!

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets, or for my Pinball 2000 H+V Video sync combiner kit

Here's the short list reply to your question, went to college near there, worked there and live north of Ranson area:
1. Large modern casino with great buffet/hotel/live horse racing from a great grandstand seat if that's your sort of fun.
2. Lots of interesting Civil War history within 45 minutes: Harper's Ferry NP/Antietam National Battlefield/and others.
3. Be in 4 states in under 40 minutes north or south: WV, MD, PA and VA.
4. Less than an hour to DC, the Smithsonian, and much more.
5. Due to #4, lots of good eateries/night life in larger areas, a seemingly growing number of craft breweries.
6. Many outstanding vineyards, especially in northern VA, and southern PA, it seems (liquor/beer cost varies by state).
7. Lots of housing options, as Ranson is surrounded by developments of all kinds, and a 200 year-old house out in the countryside can still be found to refurb and restore if that's more your thing.
8. Tons of malls.
9. Free State Pinball Association, and some barcades all accessible too.
10. CoinOp Warehouse and the new Gameroom Garage all 45 minutes north of Ranson area (parts and projects!).
11. The Appalachian Trail, C&O Canal for biking/hiking, and a slew of great state parks and camping options.
12. Hunters and fishermen's paradise - each state has its pluses for each.
13. When its time to hang with your buds, that area of WV seems to have a number of 'gentlemen's clubs.'
14. Many bars are considered 'clubs' and often stay open til 3:00 AM.
15. Generally great people all-in-all. Friendly and helpful. Region tends to have a feel of community if you get involved. People's views on politics and religion run the gamet, left-to-right, mild to extreme. Very veteran and military friendly (keep in mind, federal government, homeland security, military and defense are all major employers in this region).
16. As Rob said, York Show and Allentown both make a great day trip with plenty of pins to enjoy!
17. You can root for the Eagles, Steelers, Ravens or Redskins - and their home stadiums are all within a day trip.
18. It takes a bit to get comfortable for an 'outsider.' A hybrid mix of McMansions and shacks, Porsches and pick-ups.
19. Never a dull moment. If so, drive 35 minutes, get into another state, and go roam and explore!

West Virginia Fun Fact:

Did you know that the Toothbrush was invented in West Virginia? It’s true....because if it were invented anywhere else, it would have been called a Teethbrush!

Lol

Friendly people. Great riding if your into motorcycles also.

It's got a lot of things to do outdoors. Great river rafting, zip lines, atv/dirt bike trails, hiking. The best ski resort in the mid Atlantic region (Snowshoe). Only 4 hours to Pinburgh!

Im 30 min from ranson area in md and its not a bad area for the most part. Lots to do and lots of history .

OP - are you working in the new P&G facility?

I didn't know we were also talking about non-pinball stuff!

Then if you like roadtrips, there's Skyline Drive down in Front Royal (about 45 mins from Charles Town), the wonderfully large and empty US48 heading out to the Canaan Ski Area and Blackwater Falls State park.
Caoctin Nation Forest is wonderfull as well, up a little north of Frederick, MD. Every town has it's own neat little downtown area - Front Royal, Charles Town, Martinsburg, Harpers Ferry, Hagerstown, Frederick. (Waynesboro, PA has a fantastic little burger joint there - Waynesburger - that has killer burgers and shakes.)

Great point too!
Lots of varied manufacturing and logisitics activity in this region.
Thus, depending on what you do, there are lots of different employers in the 4State in those sectors, for either later changing jobs or looking to move up.

I never lived in WVA although I have gone white water rafting and skiing there and I did live in Southeast OH from age 10 through College. It more or less resembles northern WVA from what I have seen. In general, the education and income levels tend to be lower in that region which sets a cultural tone. The people are less city like and more country like -- I expect deer hunting will be a big deal; Broadway theater probably not so much. Moving into an area like this can sometimes be a challenge since the majority of people may have lived there a long time and it could take a while to stop being known as the 'new' people -- however, this may be mitigated by a new facility with other new people coming to the area and perhaps there has been some population growth in that specific area. However, in the area where I lived, I met people that had never left the county they lived in (I'm not kidding) which means they didn't exactly have a global perspective. That said, people are people and you'll make friends, get to know people, and adapt. I never considered or wanted to move back to that region but it is great for someone that loves the outdoors (white water rafting, skiing) and I still have good friends that I stay in touch with. There are some interesting historical things in the region that are worth seeing and the cost of living is about as low as it gets in the U.S. -- My best friend bought an unrestored but good condition mansion (literally) a few years ago at the very southern tip of OH across the river from WVA for less than half of what I paid for my much much smaller house here in Pennsylvania.

If your into dirt bikes/4 wheelers don't forget Hatfield McCoy.

Hundreds of miles of trails, rental cabins right on the trails, atv/bike friendly towns. Ride right down Main Street to the gas station. Can't be beat.

http://trailsheaven.com/mobile/home.aspx

You'll get to blast John Denver on full volume without pissing off the neighbours.