Where would my family fit in? (Richmond, Arlington: for sale, real estate, rent)

[Joysey77]

Im going on vacation soon. The whole state is new and unknown to me. Can someone point me in the right region for my needs for my family and I?

We are a conservative, Catholic, Italian/ Irish American family of 7. I can spend about 250,000 on a house, need low crime and very good schools. Im from NJ but dont like the city anymore. I want a rural area. Not too rural but not people living on top of me. maybe live on an acre? I will have a horse so I need an area with lots of riding and boarding stables. Also, I dont want to be close to the coast because I went through Sandy and never want to endure that again.

Is there any region that suits me?

[Bigfoot424]

Tough one because of the house budget. Plus you don't mention what type of work you might do. NOVA may be out of the question. I'd look down toward Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and maybe even Culpeper if you'd like to be closer to the DC area.

[VA Yankee]

Consider Richmonds, you can have acerage and still be within a commuting distance (Hanover, Louisa Counties)

[Joysey77]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Tough one because of the house budget. Plus you don't mention what type of work you might do. NOVA may be out of the question. I'd look down toward Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and maybe even Culpeper if you'd like to be closer to the DC area.

So housing is very expensive in Northern VA? Plus I looked at some towns outside of DC and they are pricey too? So that leaves Western and Central. I dont want to live near DC but would I fit in in the central or Western areas?

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Consider Richmonds, you can have acerage and still be within a commuting distance (Hanover, Louisa Counties)

Thank you. ll take a look and do some research

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Joysey77

So housing is very expensive in Northern VA? Plus I looked at some towns outside of DC and they are pricey too? So that leaves Western and Central. I dont want to live near DC but would I fit in in the central or Western areas?



Thank you. ll take a look and do some research

Actually Richmond might be a good fit for you as well. It's a city but less musy than DC or the like. Also a lower cost for housing, especially in the burbs. Places I mentioned above are great areas and in and near mountains which I love.

[Dan_in_DC]

Originally Posted by Joysey77

Im going on vacation soon. The whole state is new and unknown to me. Can someone point me in the right region for my needs for my family and I?

We are a conservative, Catholic, Italian/ Irish American family of 7. I can spend about 250,000 on a house, need low crime and very good schools. Im from NJ but dont like the city anymore. I want a rural area. Not too rural but not people living on top of me. maybe live on an acre? I will have a horse so I need an area with lots of riding and boarding stables. Also, I dont want to be close to the coast because I went through Sandy and never want to endure that again.

Is there any region that suits me?

Are you planning to OWN a horse? Or RENT a horse? Either way, you should probably be looking into Virginia's "horse country" ... here are a couple of Virginia possibilities that might appeal to you:

The Town of Middleburg (population 632 at last Census), in Loudoun County, has long been regarded as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital" and may be a good place to start looking.

The Town of Warrenton (population 14,634) is the County Seat of Fauquier County. It's a bit larger than Middleburg, and has built up quite a bit in the last 15 years or so (relatively speaking), but there's still plenty of open land out into the County. They're right in the middle of "horse country".

The Town of Culpeper (population 16,379) is the County Seat of Culpeper County. Many "horse events" take place in Culpeper County (including the event where Christopher Reeve got thrown and broke his neck). Culpeper County is the least expensive of the three. While Loudoun and Fauquier can sometimes be pricey, there is plenty of inexpensive land (and houses) for sale in Culpeper County.

Generally, all three of these Towns, and their respective Counties, still have reasonably priced acreage for sale. To keep a horse, be sure to check local regulations in the County (or Town) where you plan to buy (it only takes a phone call) BEFORE talking to a real estate agent. Some jurisdictions require at minimum 5 acres for horse ownership; others require as little as 1/2 acre, last time I checked on such things. However, if you're going to be using a boarding stable, that would be a moot point.

Crime rate in all three Counties is low, and they all have very good schools. You can be near a town that has all the shopping and amenities, and get "out in the country" in a few short miles. All three Counties have excellent hospitals.

For the past 20 years or so, as Loudoun County started to grow, their school system has rocketed skyward, and Loudoun now competes with Fairfax and Arlington Counties for "best public school system in the United States." That distinction seems to vary from year to year, but it will usually be one of those three Counties (or occasionally, Montgomery County MD, just across the river from Fairfax).

QUICK VIRGINIA CIVICS LESSON: If you're moving to Virginia, you should be aware that, unlike any other State in the USA, Virginia is structured such that Cities and Counties are SEPARATE GEOPOLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS. You can live in a CITY that may be totally surrounded by a COUNTY, but you only have to pay taxes to the CITY and be subject to local laws of the CITY, but the COUNTY has no authority over you while you're in the CITY ... not until you leave the CITY.

Unincorporated TOWNS (such as Middleburg, Warrenton, and Culpeper) are different. Although TOWNS may have their own Police and Fire Departments (some do, and some don't), each TOWN is also subject to all of the local ordinances that apply in the COUNTY in which the TOWN exists.

This may seem trivial, but it seems to be one of the first things people ask about when they get here if they don't already know. /END OF CIVICS LESSON.

Here are some informational links from Wikipedia to get you started:
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middleburg,_Virginia
LOUDOUN COUNTY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudoun_County,_Virginia

TOWN OF WARRENTON: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrenton,_Virginia
FAUQUIER COUNTY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauquier_County,_Virginia

TOWN OF CULPEPER: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culpeper,_Virginia
CULPEPER COUNTY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culpeper_County,_Virginia

Wikipedia pages for each COUNTY include a list of all the TOWNS within that County. Look around and check out the other towns too.

Once you have a general feel for the area, you can also get quite a bit of information about most cities and towns on City-Data's pages.

There are other good resources available also. Feel free to send me a Direct Message if I can help you with additional information about Virginia.

Best regards,
Dan

[LynchburgLover]

Middleburg? Affordable for acreage? Guess it depends on what you call "affordable" but OP, I think you'll find Middleburg is a very expensive area, particularly for acreage. There are a handful of small houses in town that but everything surrounding it is very expensive -- think millions. Undeveloped land goes for $250k or more an acre.

I'd suggest if you're looking for horse country that is a lot more affordable, look down the Shenandoah Valley -- Harrisonburg and points south toward Christiansburg etc.. Also look around Lynchburg/Roanoke and over towards Lexington. Lexington has the Virginia Horse Center and can have some pricey properties but there are more rural areas around it that are more affordable.

You can fit in just fine as long as you never start a sentence "In New Jersey, we do it this way". Also, you haven't mentioned employment. If you'll be working (rather than retired), give an idea of type of work and people can steer you towards cities/towns with those industries.

Good luck.

[Joysey77]

Thanks for all the tips guys

[BellaElla]

how about the Winchester area?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Dan_in_DC

Are you planning to OWN a horse? Or RENT a horse? Either way, you should probably be looking into Virginia's "horse country" ... here are a couple of Virginia possibilities that might appeal to you:

Because horses can't survive in less expensive places like the Shenandoah Valley?