Wanting to move to the Shenandoah Valley area (Richmond, Roanoke: sales, insurance)

[MountainEdge]

Hello there I need some help please. My family and I want to move to the Shenandoah Valley area of VA we have lived in Nashville, NC for the last 7 years of our marriage. I have live in different states and my husband has lived here in Nashville, NC his whole life. We love love love the mountains and do family vacations there every year in October. We are looking to move in about a year and will need some help please in looking for a home and a job and good area to raise a child. We are very outdoors people we love to hunt fish and take a Sunday drive and look at the beautiful scenery. We are in love with the mountainous area of VA and want to live near an area where there are great schools and things to do. We don't mind living in a rural area though we don't mind driving about 35 min to your nearest BIG city! We currently have a grocery store about 10 min from us and a local mom and pop convenience store about 2 min away we love that!! Our house now is an older plantation home and it is truly a dream house. We love old world... we may be only 30 and 32 but are very much in love with swinging on the front porch and drinking coffee at 6am!! My husband works at a rock quarry here in NC and I have many things that I do I am a hair stylist a photographer an Insurance Agent and have worked in sales for about 10 years now!! Of course the husband is the bread winner so his job needs stability and good money. I on the other hand need about 14 to 16 dollars an hour.. our little girl is going to be in school soon thereafter we move so that is a must good schools and country living is what we are looking for. If you can help that would be great!!!

[TN Lily]

I would highly recommend that your husband get a job lined up somewhere in the valley and let that dictate where you move.

There are many places up and down the valley that would likely suit your needs.

[ShadowBat]

If you want to live within 35 minutes or so of a "big city" you're out of luck. Depending on what you consider big city. Harrisonburg is the "urban", cultural, and shopping center of the Shenandoah Valley. I-81 splits the city in half. JMU is also here, so you get a bit of a college town feel. But surrounding Harrisonburg in Rockingham county is wide open country and farms, and little towns/villages scattered around. Hburg is a small metro of just over 120,000 people.

30 minutes south of Harrisonburg is the Staunton/Waynesboro area. Staunton sits at the intersection of i81 and i64 for easy access to Charlottesville and points beyond such as Richmond. Staunton is less developed than Hburg, but has very well preserved historical districts and a vibrant downtown. Waynesboro is more of a bedroom community and has some big box retail, but not much else. Together, Staunton and Waynesboro have a small metro nearly equal to Hburg's. And again, both towns are surrounded by wide open countryside with a few towns/villages around.

Lexington is the smallest "city" in the Valley. It has VMI and W & L University. It is also on i81 and 45 minutes from Roanoke, the Shen Valleys "big city". Lexington is a beautiful historic small town.

At the top of the Shen Valley is Winchester. I don't know much about Winchester except it has been caught up in DC's exurban sprawl as more and more people flee NoVa's exorbitant high cost of living. It too is an old historic city, and would put you within 70 miles or so of DC.

But from your post, it honestly sounds like you'll be fine no matter where you settle in the Valley. But as TN Lily said, have a job lined up first. The area is highly blue collar.

[TN Lily]

I loved Harrisonburg & often wish my family was still there.
Besides James Madison University, there is Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College (in Bridgewater) and Blue Ridge Community College. The later has a Weyers Cave address. You can live west of the city headed toward West Virginia and find plenty of beautiful places.

Fulk's Run is one of the wide spots on the road that is west of Broadway. This website has a small bit of info and a topo map.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

You may want to check out some of the businesses there for jobs as well as Harrisonburg if you are interested in Rockingham County.

There is a Coors plant & a pharmaceutical plant (Merck I believe) in Elkton.
Here is the website for Elkton, VA.

Town of Elkton | Home


The Harrisonburg area (including Dayton and Broadway) has several poultry processing plants. If you move to this area, you do NOT want to be near a poultry house or dairy farm. We lived near a dairy farm. The smell was horrendous when they sprayed the manure/urine from the dairy farm. It's done from a sprayer way up on a big rig to make sure it gets in the air -- at least that is how it seemed.

The Harrisonburg area has many Mennonites who do not use cars so you will see horses and buggies around and hitching posts at many businesses.

Good luck. But come with a job lined up.