Is Virginia for me? (Waynesboro: for sale, rent, employment)

[angelaf]

I live in Wisconsin and am really tired of the long, dark, bitterly cold winters. It's not unusual for us to have a week or more with literally no sunshine. This is hard on a person!
I've been looking very seriously at North Carolina, mostly Asheville, Morganton/Hickory, Salisbury and the Charlotte area, and will be taking a trip there next month to check it out. I'm wondering if I should be looking into Virginia, too. I've seen lots of property for sale in the country, which is what we want, and the prices are great. How are the winters in Virginia? I don't mind some snow-- it's the long, bitterly cold, dark winters I hate. I also want to avoid the intensely hot and humid summers that parts of the Carolinas have. I will be graduating this spring with my BA in creative writing, and my fiance will probably look for factory work. We don't want to live in a big city-- some acreage outside of a small-to-medium sized city where we can still make a living would be ideal. Can anyone compare Virginia to North Carolina in terms of weather, economy, cost of living, etc.? Thanks!

[mither]

I love Virginia and you might too. I love Virginia's history and the beauty of its countryside. It's summers are, in my experience, hot and humid. Spring however is great! In the summer people go to the beach or to a theme park -Busch Gardens, or a water park. It's not so bad with air conditioning. It isn't quite as hot as NC -of course if you start in Northern Va and go south it will get increasingly hot and humid. Winter varies but isn't dark and gloomy for long long stretches. We have years where it hardly snows at all (like this past winter). In southern Va it rarely snows, especially not til after Christmas. Where I live property prices are very high so if you have found some cheap property go for it! Hope it helps.
P.S. I'm originally from Indiana and really like the green tree-covered hills/mountains of Virginia as opposed to flat farm land.

[mertweed1]

I am also thinking the same thing either NC or VA. Any help you find I would appreciate. VA is full of history and culture but NC has more promise for employment and growth I think. I'm changing my email to MERTWEED@HOTMAIL.COM if you hear of anything.

[htlong]

va is a great place to live, the winters are mild the snow east of richmond melts by 11 am, west of richmond is the mts., you can ski in the winter, swim at va beach or nags head in the summer, the cheasapeake bay is great fishing , stay out of anything north of fredricksburg , for its just a suburb of washington dc,
the farther south you go the hotter it gets, n. carolinsa is to hot in july and august but the winters are non existent, east of themts.
va has a lot going on. i moved here 23 years ago and will never go back to the welfare oops i mean winter wonderland!!!!

[mary corter]

boy it seems like everyones on the same page here.my husband and i have traveled to alot of states and recently stopped in a town called waynesboro va.it was so clean and refreshing.we thought about buying here or also asheville nc.i have 2 boys and 1 will start highschool and in nc the corporal punishment is still alive,.that scares me .in va that does not exist.im so uncertain of which will best fit our needs,hospitals,low humidity,great edgucation and work along with nice nieghborhoods of course not in that order.i know im asking for alot,but you guys know how stressful it is to move your family around and not knwing right .well good luck

[momof2boys]

mary corter- don't worry, your'e not alone! I've been on these websites for weeks just digging for info. We've narrowed it down to TN, or a town in SC. (mainly E.Tenn). I researched VA, and as wonderful as it sounds, I can't really find anything affordable in our price range. (It seems like an expensive state!) We have family in PA and FL, so VA would have been great! (and I'm trying to figure this out from the West coast!). I also have kids, elem. and middle school, so I'm right there with you. Schools are my #1 priority! Oh, and by the way, we have friends that used to live in Waynesboro, and absolutely loved it!! Good luck with wherever you decide.

[mary corter]

motherof2boys.thanks for the input.we actually traveled to tn.it is a beautiful state.where about were you looking,i may be able to give you some info about the area,realtor,and schools .we looked very seriously in 1 major part(seveirville) mainly,but have a friend who moved into johnson city.to be honest her area is not the best.well atleast her area.she has done nothing but complain since she got there.no work ,her son is bored in school because he did the work years ago.i truly believe though if you want it to work it will.good luck with the move and honestly we could tell alot about that whole area.if your interested let me know.

[momof2boys]

Hi Mary,
Actually, its strange you should mention Sevierville, because that's exactly the town we are interested in! As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with a realtor there (southern people are the nicest people I've ever met!), and I think we are going to go for it! I'm nervous and excited at the same time! So ANY information you could give me about the town or schools would be great. I found a website for the H.S., but can't seem to find much about the middle school. I heard the schools in Pigeon Forge were the best in the area? It seems like a nice area (I know, lots of tourists), but that's what back roads are for. Very reasonable housing though, and so much to do in the area! Thanks again, Mary!

[mary corter]

for starters mcCarter reality was very sweeeeet .only if your interested.sevierville schools and seymore had a great rate,but pigeon forge was a fairly new school so they told us to wait a while to see.its also in the city.big on football especially seveirville.very baptist state so im not sure if thats a problem.schools still inforce the corporal punishment so i would ask about that.not sure which schools did away with that ,but i know there is alot that did not.if you move closer to pigeon forge or gattlinburg the traffic may drive you crazy .very touristy.they have tons of outlets ,go cart racing,helicopter rides.ride the movies,jurrasic park ride(dont waste your money)arcades,way to much to tell.back in seveirville.seymour,kodak(boyds creek is really cute) its a more country living,but you do have krogers food store.lowes,supercuts, in the area.that area gets trafficy.verytrafficy.hospitals are ok for minor things ,but if it was bad go to knoxville hospital,thats a good 1.i have lupus so that was a factor for me and that was the reason we chose no to tn.flapjacks is a great breakfast place.thats all they serve till i think 4.ruby tuesdays in pigeon forge(its on the main rd in and out of pigeon forge)was the best food .great for dinner.i think thats about it. hope it helps a bit.any thing else just email me . oh yea 1 more thing dont rent any rooms from family inns grosssssss.johnston inn was clean and its in pigeon forge .walk through the town its beautiful.good luck and godbless

[Elquemataranas]

Originally Posted by mither

I love Virginia and you might too. I love Virginia's history and the beauty of its countryside. It's summers are, in my experience, hot and humid. Spring however is great! In the summer people go to the beach or to a theme park -Busch Gardens, or a water park. It's not so bad with air conditioning. It isn't quite as hot as NC -of course if you start in Northern Va and go south it will get increasingly hot and humid. Winter varies but isn't dark and gloomy for long long stretches. We have years where it hardly snows at all (like this past winter). In southern Va it rarely snows, especially not til after Christmas. Where I live property prices are very high so if you have found some cheap property go for it! Hope it helps.
P.S. I'm originally from Indiana and really like the green tree-covered hills/mountains of Virginia as opposed to flat farm land.

I am also from Indiana, but obviously not your Indiana. My Indiana--southern Indiana--is intensely green and hilly; much like the Central VA where I now live.