Carroll County Area Virginia (Roanoke, Blacksburg: for sale, real estate, rent)

[Country Kathy]

I currently live in Vermont. My Mom is in Assisted Living up here ($62,000 per year). Not good service at all. The cost of living in Vermont is High. The weather is very cold. We would like to move to Virginia as Mom's family has had ties there. We went to Roanoke and found too many old houses. I am 57 and alone , I only need a small home 3 bedrooms, no basement 2 baths, this is so Mom can come spend the night with me at times. There is Commonwealth Assisted Living in Christainsburg and in Hillsville. My dilemma is trying to figure the least property taxes as I am on disability. I would be happy with a one story. Something not too old , maybe 1989 and up. Not with in a balls throw of a neighbor, a yard that is not too big to mow. Now my main issue is which town? county? so confusing and the Realtor's do not have that info. I have equity in my house up here in Vermont, enough to pay up to $175.000 cash for a house in Virginia. I just do not want to be burden with taxes too high. In Vt we have a income sensitive property tax rebate so I pay $840.00 per year.

I would love to get any advice as Mom's house is up for sale and her 2 land properties. I need to put my house up and it will sell fast. But I must know where to go. I thought Hillsville or Christainsburg were the area's that were reasonable. Please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated.

[TN Lily]

For whatever reason, real estate is cheaper in North Carolina. Or perhaps it is that real estate is expensive in Virginia. Whatever. Your dollar will buy a newer house in NC and you will have many more houses to choose from. At least that is my observation from goofing off on realtor.com. Plus, in North Carolina you can find a much larger selection of houses built in the last 20 years in your price range. I realize finding a one story that is not a modular or manufactured home is harder. So many stick-built houses are two stories. Check out Raleigh and its surrounding areas & Greensboro. There are several sub-forums on the NC forum on city-data.

Re property taxes in Virginia, you should be able to go on the Commissioner of Revenue website for each county you are interested in and find the tax rate.

Your situation is more complex over your mother's situation. Where ever she lives, you will need to monitor her living conditions. The advantage of a larger metro area is that you would have more options for her should you decide to move her. In small towns, there may be few acceptable options. Good luck.

[Autm88]

Kathy, I live in Hillsville, VA. My father-in-law is in an assisted living program close by in Galax and is doing very well. IMHO, Hillsville/Galax/Independance are much different than living in Christiansburg which is about an hour away. I think it's much more beautiful here. People are pretty friendly, and there's lots to do/lots of things to get involved in but you have to seek it out. It's also very rural, but there are neighborhoods as well. Our largest store is Wal-Mart about 20min away. However, I prefer driving into NC for shopping which is about the same distance (Mt. Airy) or a 45 min drive to Winston-Salem. There's a good hospital here, but some people prefer to go to Baptist hospital in Winston-Salem. If you want a busy town, or need to work, you'd probably have better luck in Christiansburg. In general, people who work at home or have a medical background can do well here. Otherwise it can be difficult. Christiansburg is about 8 miles away from Virginia Tech, so there's a lot more to do. My advice would be if you're planning a move anywhere they're not familiar with, you should take a few weeks (at least) and visit. If you're still interested, rent for one year. Rent is cheap here and worth every penny if you don't know the area. We'd have made a big mistake if we had purchased right away. If you need help getting any specific information for my area, let me know. I'll try to help out if I can. Take care!

[Country Kathy]

I can not take the time away from Vermont responsibilities to go down to Hillsville. I am so involved in selling properties here and packing. I have my Mom who I am bringing down there and it is difficult to bring her there without putting her in Assisted Living. I also have my little dog. I just want to be sure that Hillsville has enough places to obtain clothes, groceries and living items that are not priced high die to no competition. I want a good hospital which I was told there was one in Galax. Time is not on my side as we should be able to leave here in April. The Assisted Living in Hillsville is Commonwealth. Not real sure there is anything else. I googled it and apparently this is the only one. I like rural but do not mind an evenly spaced neighborhood. I have been told NC is cheaper, not sure, but my preference is Va. Can you answer some of these issues? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks
Kathy

[Serious Conversation]

I couldn't see the differences being that great, especially if you are looking at rural areas in both states.

[JayJayCB]

Rural VA and rural NC aren't too dissimilar in these pockets. Hillsville or Stuart in VA wouldn't be too different from Danbury or Sparta in NC (just random examples from this particular area). If you prefer VA, go for it.

I'm sure you already know, but these areas you're looking into are pretty remote. Just throwing that out. For example, Hillsville is puny and kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Christiansburg is better, being closer to the college town of Blacksburg and the Roanoke metro up the road. However, if you prefer rural, go for it. If not, look closer to Roanoke if you choose VA and Winston-Salem if you choose NC (assuming you'd wish to stick around these areas we're discussing).

Good luck! Very pretty areas.