I checked out a few of the communities today that I was thinking about. I didn't like the parts of Newark that are in my price range and of course, the neighborhoods I liked were a little too much money. I loved Dover, and a couple small towns between Dover and Newark, but the drive to and from work would kill me. I'd really love to be all the way south and move to the Delaware beaches, but I would definitely need a new job if I did that. Out of the areas I checked out today, I actually liked York and Red Lion, PA the best, but I haven't checked out Wilmington yet. I suspect the drive there may be just a little too far and if I move there I'll also need to find a new job, in which case I may as well move to the beach.
I'm a Conservative, but not a Christian, I'm a conservative Jew (political) and a Conservative Jew (denomination), and the lack of synagogues in the corner of WV I am considering (Charles Town/Harpers Ferry) will probably keep me from choosing WV. Though, the drive to the synagogues in Leesburg, Frederick, and Hagerstown (each has at least one) wouldn't be too bad, and my cousin takes his family to the one in Leesburg (he lives in Ashburn). So, I do still plan to check the area out.
As for the politics, anything will be an improvement over Central MD, probably even NJ would be better. The crowding, I'm used to that so I don't know that it would bother me, though with such a long commute the traffic will matter quite a bit. At least I do listen to a lot of books on tape (CD), it is about the only way I have time to "read" for recreation anymore.