moving to area (Covington) from Texas (Low Moor: for sale, house hunting, apartment)

[Va4lovers]

If you have anymore questions just let me know. I was born and raised in Cov.

[V-8]

Originally Posted by texaschic

Well I think we have narrowed it down to Covington... if we can find a home there! I've communicated with a realtor and she has came up with some finds that I couldn't. We are hoping to find something within the month. From everything I hear, Covington seems like a nice town.

I was a little worried that the folks in Virginia would think of us as odd country hillbillys... (ya know us Texans tend to think of everyone North of us as Yankees).... but from all the posts I've read in the different forums I think we will fit in just fine! Our querky accents & all! I've also heard a lot of people say that Virginia is still considered the south... God Bless America!

All those that may be Yankees... take no offense please... I love all of you! My husband (God bless his heart) is a Yankee also!

Hi-
We moved to Covington from way up North a year ago.
We used to live in a big city. Covington has between 6-7,000.
We love it here. It's a great place for the kids. And Roanoke only takes us about an hour to get to.
Covington seems to have more to offer than Clifton Forge.
In fact, if you move to C.F., you'll probably be making trips to Covington often. Wal-Mart, food places(McD's, Burger King-soon, Applebee's, Wendy's...) more shopping here than C.F.
We like it here. No regrets. But, do miss city life sometimes.

[texaschic]

Can anyone tell me more about the differences between Alleghany County schools and Covington City schools? While my husband was there a week ago, he met someone that told him that the county schools are more "clickish" and harder for kids to get into sports. The town we live in is very small (2000) and very clickish... everyone has grown up together and it's hard to break into that circle. I was hoping to get away from that with a bigger town.... anyone out there with kids in these districts?

[Va4lovers]

texachic

I went to city schools and my father works for westvaco they are about 5 miles apart

[Va4lovers]

Alleghany High School there is about 1200 students compared to Covington High School with about 400 students

[texaschic]

Originally Posted by Va4lovers

texachic

I went to city schools and my father works for westvaco they are about 5 miles apart

thanks Va...

[texaschic]

Originally Posted by Va4lovers

texachic

I went to city schools and my father works for westvaco they are about 5 miles apart

Originally Posted by Va4lovers

Alleghany High School there is about 1200 students compared to Covington High School with about 400 students

that is quiet a big difference in numbers. Our high school here has about 550...
our daughter will be in 8th grade and I noticed that if she attends city she will be in high school; with county she would still be in Jr High... I'm not sure if I'm ready 4 her to be in high school yet! I work 4 the high school here and I know what goes on with the older kids!

Thank 4 the info... gosh this is hard!

[finley-fincastle]

About 5 years ago, our family of 4 moved to Virginia from far out-of-state. My husband was transferred here as a chemical sales rep at Westvaco also! He just took another job in the area, so his chemical sales job was recently
filled....perhaps by your husband? wow, small world .

Anyway, when we flew in to look for housing in Covington, I almost cried. You need VERY STRAIGTFORWARD advice here, since where you live will determine everything: your kids' friends, your lifestyle, your happiness, etc. So, on that note, I must tell you that Covington is a very economically depressed area with a poor school system. Also, the housing is cheap because resale is impossible!! It's a MILL-TOWN. Did your husband mention the odor? oh my. I would most DEFINATELY recommend having your husband commute 30 minutes and look for housing south of Covington. We live in Fincastle. It's a really quaint little town south of Covington on 220. It's rural, 20 minutes north of Roanoke (where you can find everything you'd ever need), and the schools are excellent. The middle school, Central Academy just won a prestigious state award. And the high schools (either James River or Lord Botetourt, pronounced: "bot-eh-tot") are very, very good too. The people here are friendly too. You'll be pleasantly suprised!

Just south of Fincastle is the town of Daleville, which would make your husband's commute about 40 minutes. This area is the current "hot spot" for real estate. There you'll find gorgeous homes (around $450-600k) in nice subdivisions, a new town-center is being built, but the area still has a rural feel. The high school for this area is Lord Botetourt also. It's excellent. A lot of Westvaco people (engineers, management, reps) live in Daleville and Fincastle. I think some of them carpool, but my husband hasn't gotten into that yet.

I could go on-and-on with advice, since I've lived through a move so similar to yours. And NOW I know the area like the back of my hand. So just ask if you want any other advice. When are you looking for houses again? And when is the big move?

[texaschic]

wow... lots of great info fincastle! I appreciate your frankness! I'm surprised at the similarities!! We have looked at Fincastle & Daleville , but my husband was so looking forward to no commute time... it may be a hard one to sell him on!

When you say Covington has a "poor" school system, what exactly do you mean.. I have looked them up on greatschools.com and they seem to be rated well. Are the Alleghany County schools the same as well?

We will be traveling up the 2nd week of June to look more closely for homes. It has been very frustrating dealing with the agents in that area... as they seem in no hurry to work. (with the exception of Cathy whom I met in this forum!) Our final target move date is mid-July... so we have no time to spare.

My husband didn't mention the smell... but he probably didn't notice! He has worked in pupl mills for the past 17 years so I think he is immune! He used to tell me... oh honey, that's just the smell of money! Yuck!

How old are your children? Boys, girls? I will have to go check out Fincastle schools now because you have peaked my interest!

Thats all my questions for now... I may come up with more later!
Thanks again!

[texaschic]

WOW.... I don't think I will have a problem getting used to the scenery here! O my gosh... this area is so beautiful!

We drove in from Richmand today... flew into Richmond yesterday. The drive was wonderful... and we are here for a week searching out homes. We still aren't having much luck here in C-town... which saddens us because it seems like such a great town!

We will be travelling to Fincastle & Lexington to visit those areas and compare housing markets. Hopefully we can find something by the end of the week! July is quickly approaching!