Luring parents to Va. (Hampton, Roanoke: wedding, college, living)

[PaperTrail]

I have a question for those of you who are familiar with western and southwestern Virginia.

I moved to Hampton Roads two years ago and am getting married next spring. My fiancee and I are planning to move to Roanoke sometime after the wedding....it might be in the summer, it might be two years from now. Not really sure yet. I already have a job lined up, and my fiancee is from the general western Va. area, and her family is going to be within an hour's drive of where we'll likely live. Since graduating from college in 2000, I fell in love with the outdoors, so Roanoke and the mountains and everything will be perfect for me.

My question is, what would be perfect for my parents? My mom and dad, who are from northern Indiana, are already sad that they live so far from me. My mom has lived in the same city her whole life, and my dad has lived there for about 90 percent of his life. They're rooted there, but they have shown an inclination to move to Virginia some day to be close to me and their eventual grandkids and such. It'll still take a little effort on my part, but I think I can lure them here.

I'm going to play the "space" card and say that I wouldn't want them living right in Roanoke with me. I need some buffer zone. However, my mom won't want to be too far from the city. She'll want shopping that's somewhat accessible, say, within an hour's drive.

What's a good area for me to suggest they live in? I'm looking for somewhere friendly, with things for aging adults to do, and that just won't be too tedious on them as they get older. My first instinct is Bedford, but I'll admit that I don't know a lot about the town....just that it's got some quaint shops and is about 45 minutes from the good Roanoke mall.

Any thoughts? I'm open to most any ideas.