realtor needed for SW VA (Marion, Rural Retreat: lease, home, purchasing)

[FARMER GIRL]

my husband and I are traveling to MARION in the next 2 weeks for a job interview...we need to find a place to rent until our home up here in NE sells..we prefer a lease to puchase as we will def be purchasing--we need acreage-privacy-for horses.... Looking at Grayson, Carrol, Wyeth, Smyth counties in particular for the horseback riding! Know a good realtor who is a HORSE PERSON? any other comments on the area would be helpful for us too! thanks!!!

[Virginia River]

Hi FG,

If you're going to be working in Marion Carroll County is too far to travel for work. Look in Smyth for close public mountain access, Grayson is beautiful and you will probably drive 30 minutes over the mountain into Marion. Realtors in Independence can help you with Grayson, maybe Smyth, too.

[FARMER GIRL]

we are looking in smythe and grayson too-but how far is too far?? is it just because of the time factor or weather?? on a rural route??

[whynot?]

IMHO, some of all of the above -- including the lay of the land and the width of the roads. For instance, Marion (Smyth Co.) to Rural Retreat (Wythe Co.) is about 16 miles/20 minutes, most of it on I-81. Marion to Troutdale (Grayson Co.) is 18 miles, but 30 minutes because it's across the mountain on 2-lane Rt. 16.

Bad weather only increases the time and risk. When I was in HS in Marion, sometimes the school kids bused from Sugar Grove (Smyth, but near the Grayson border on Rt. 16) would get there two hours late and have to leave two hours early. But the schools are cancelled county-wide or not at all.

You'll be a quick-study about it once you've seen the lay of the land. Carroll is definitely too far for a commute to Smyth, but might be okay for parts of Wythe. A lot depends on where the job is and how flexible the schedule is. It's beautiful there in fall, though.

[FARMER GIRL]

thjanks we will know toward the end of this week once we start driving around looking fwd to skyline drive t his time of year