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Old 08-10-2011, 08:13 AM
 
27 posts, read 98,006 times
Reputation: 27

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We are originally from San Francisco, CA (but don't hold that against us ) and are currently renting a house on 5 acres in Waynesboro, VA.

We LOVE Virginia and are looking at acreage property in Martinsville to purchase (because it’s cheap -under $200k).
We have chickens and sheep and livestock guard dogs that bark (so we do not want to be too close to neighbors or subdivisions).

What is important to us:

  • High-speed Internet (because we work from home)
  • Privacy (because of possible noise from animals)
  • Rural location (zoned agricultural)
  • Within one-hour drive of an airport
  • Land soil that can grow food (which I don't think is a huge problem in VA)
  • Small town feel / friendly atmosphere / low crime
We do not necessarily care about schools, hospitals, commuting, or big-city life.

We are very friendly and greatly enjoy sitting on a porch chatting with neighbors or having friends over for a bonfire marshmallow roast making s'mores.


Is Martinsville a good choice?
And are there other areas (cheap) in VA that we should think about?

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Old 08-10-2011, 06:35 PM
 
Location: Thornrose
894 posts, read 2,315,638 times
Reputation: 1308
For the things you mentioned, it sounds like it would suit your needs. However, it is like a different world down there. It literally feels like you're in a different state. That's how I felt when visiting a friend in the Danville area. And I was coming from Staunton! The area is severely economically depressed. It was bad there even before the recession started, and I believe it holds the highest unemployment numbers in the state now. But if work isn't an issue, I'd definitely check it out. It's not far enough away that you can't take a day trip down there and investigate.
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Old 08-14-2011, 03:22 PM
 
Location: Roanoke, VA
1,812 posts, read 4,222,175 times
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I would think that finding what you are looking for with high speed Internet would be the biggest issue. At least in my part of Virginia, to have high speed access means you live in a town or a newer large subdivision. That pretty much does away with some of your other requirements.
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Old 08-17-2011, 07:00 PM
 
1,785 posts, read 2,382,960 times
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I'm a native of the Martinsville area and it sounds like it will be right for you. Though you will probably want to live in the surrounding county of Henry. You should be able to get high speed internet as long as there's a cable or a phone lline going to your house and that shouldn't be hard to determine. The local real estate agents should be able to help you. Piedmont Triad International Airport is about an hour away in North Carolina. Good luck.
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Old 08-22-2011, 05:52 PM
 
2,776 posts, read 3,595,372 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vidyapati View Post
  • Land soil that can grow food (which I don't think is a huge problem in VA)
This whole region (SW VA) has heavy (think sticks to the shovel) clay soil; I cant imagine the joy of growing on a large scale here.

You'll be tilling your butt off with this stuff.

Also, Martinsville and "friendly atmosphere" are incompatible.
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Old 09-17-2011, 05:56 PM
 
27 posts, read 98,006 times
Reputation: 27
Thank you everyone for your replies!

As it turns out, the owner did not accept our offer, so we found another farm to buy in Kentucky.

So now we're moving to Kentucky on 15 acres and there IS high-speed internet (fibre-optic) and lots of privacy!

The ONLY downside is that it's two hours from the nearest int'l airport. But how many times a month do we really need an airport, right?

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Old 09-18-2011, 06:05 PM
 
Location: Roanoke, VA
1,812 posts, read 4,222,175 times
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Good luck!
I hope you enjoy Kentucky.
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Old 10-17-2012, 06:13 AM
 
27 posts, read 98,006 times
Reputation: 27
We've now lived in KY for a year and absolutely love it!
We're growing our own food (grocery bill went from $240's down to $60's).
We raise (and eat) chickens and Katahdin hair sheep.
We plan on setting aside a half acre to grow blueberries and selling it for extra cash.
The people here are very friendly and will talk your ear off. :-)
The 2-hr drive to the airport has not posed a problem since it's a straight shot on the highway.
And it's more like a 1.5 hr drive.
My nearest neighbor runs a dairy farm, so we get all the fresh milk we can drink!
I miss the mountains of VA, but moving to KY has proved to be a wonderful experience.
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Old 12-17-2012, 01:22 PM
 
2 posts, read 5,345 times
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Default henry co relocation

Im gonna be relocating to Henry co next week and am looking for pet friendly apts? Anyone have any suggestions?
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