Retire to...South Boston? Kenbridge? Lynchburg? Clarksville ? (Roanoke, Danville: middle-class, transplants)

[ChesterVa]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

South Boston has more going for it than Clarksville...which has become a summer vacation destination...as the only lakeside town in VA...with many expensive vacation homes. Clarksville is quaint, South Boston is a small city with way more amenities.

Regards
Gemstone1

Thank you. every bit of information is appreciated.

[badger74]

I like Bedford a lot. Has some good restaurants. great mountain views, a good hospital and easy access to both Lynchburg and Roanoke (1/2 hour). Many nice older homes at good value--safe too.

[ChesterVa]

Originally Posted by badger74

I like Bedford a lot. Has some good restaurants. great mountain views, a good hospital and easy access to both Lynchburg and Roanoke (1/2 hour). Many nice older homes at good value--safe too.

thank you. After doing a bit more investigating, I know South Boston is off my list. I will check out Bedford. thank you again !

[TN Lily]

I came across this & thought that you (OP) might find this of interest:
Architectural Styles — Staunton VA

I use to spend time in Staunton and it's on my list as a possible retirement location.

Good luck in your search.

[ChesterVa]

Originally Posted by TN Lily

I came across this & thought that you (OP) might find this of interest:
Architectural Styles — Staunton VA

I use to spend time in Staunton and it's on my list as a possible retirement location.

Good luck in your search.

I do love Staunton and have been there many times. For me it comes down to the price of the homes I can afford for the square footage I need. Charlottesville and any city near it are out of my price range, but if I found a rare bargain I would love to retire to that section of this beautiful state. thank you for the link.

[TN Lily]

ChesterVA, I understand. When I compare houses in VA and NC (goofing off online looking around Greensboro & Raleigh), there is a huge difference between cost and what you get for your money. I look at houses along the I-81 corridor. For what folks are asking for an outdated house with a kitchen and baths that need to be gutted and dragged into this century, you can get a decent house in NC that is already updated. So often, if a Virginia house looks nice and appears to be a bargain, there's "more to the story."

I loved living in the Harrisonburg area and would love to retire there, but I look at housing prices as we approach retirement and wonder how even the folks working there afford the homes.

Good luck in your search.

[ChesterVa]

Originally Posted by TN Lily

ChesterVA, I understand. When I compare houses in VA and NC (goofing off online looking around Greensboro & Raleigh), there is a huge difference between cost and what you get for your money. I look at houses along the I-81 corridor. For what folks are asking for an outdated house with a kitchen and baths that need to be gutted and dragged into this century, you can get a decent house in NC that is already updated. So often, if a Virginia house looks nice and appears to be a bargain, there's "more to the story."

I loved living in the Harrisonburg area and would love to retire there, but I look at housing prices as we approach retirement and wonder how even the folks working there afford the homes.

Good luck in your search.

I did check out a nice house in Kenbridge Va last Sunday and that entire area is off my list.very depressing areas, a handful of nice homes surrounded by poverty and not much else. I would consider NC, but the real estate taxes seem pretty high on houses I check out and it seems Virginia and Tennessee are best Tax-wise for people who are retired. Tennessee has no state income tax and I see many beautiful homes at reasonable prices there. i have expanded my areas to explore, which now includes South Boston, Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg, and the entire Tri-Cities area of north eastern Tennessee. I do think Virginia has become very expensive, The Richmond area has really taken off in the 28 years i have lived here. As a mailman i deliver to homes that start at $200 a square foot and small starter homes start at $300,000.

[LM117]

Originally Posted by ChesterVa

i have expanded my areas to explore, which now includes South Boston, Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg, and the entire Tri-Cities area of north eastern Tennessee.

I strongly advise against moving to Danville. If you think Kenbridge is depressing, you haven't seen nothing yet. I drove through Kenbridge in 2009 and it's no contest. Danville is known as the "armpit of VA" for a reason, although "@sshole of VA" would be more accurate. The city has absolutely nothing going for it, crime is sky-high, traffic is hell for a city it's size and has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen in my life and I've driven through Hampton Roads, Richmond, northern VA, the Triangle region of NC (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) and even Detroit so that's definitely not something I say lightly. The healthcare here (the local hospital, Danville Regional Medical Center, is one of the worst hospitals in the state) is terrible. I'm having to drive 70 miles to one of Duke's clinics in Durham, NC just to see a decent primary care doctor, so that should tell you something. The people here are very unfriendly and rude towards outsiders (I grew up in NC), so unless you're originally from Danville or Pittsylvania County, you can hang it up. Housing is cheap here, but the reason for it ain't good. If you visit Danville, drive through Riverside Drive and Piney Forest Road in the afternoon and you'll see what I mean about the traffic (and the lousy drivers). It's not limited to those two roads, but they're the most well-known. It's a good thing you're retiring, since there's no jobs in Danville or the surrounding southside VA. My advice: keep driving and head for the hills.

[ChesterVa]

Originally Posted by LM117

I strongly advise against moving to Danville. If you think Kenbridge is depressing, you haven't seen nothing yet. I drove through Kenbridge in 2009 and it's no contest. Danville is known as the "armpit of VA" for a reason, although "@sshole of VA" would be more accurate. The city has absolutely nothing going for it, crime is sky-high, traffic is hell for a city it's size and has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen in my life and I've driven through Hampton Roads, Richmond, northern VA, the Triangle region of NC (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) and even Detroit so that's definitely not something I say lightly. The healthcare here (the local hospital, Danville Regional Medical Center, is one of the worst hospitals in the state) is terrible. I'm having to drive 70 miles to one of Duke's clinics in Durham, NC just to see a decent primary care doctor, so that should tell you something. The people here are very unfriendly and rude towards outsiders (I grew up in NC), so unless you're originally from Danville or Pittsylvania County, you can hang it up. Housing is cheap here, but the reason for it ain't good. If you visit Danville, drive through Riverside Drive and Piney Forest Road in the afternoon and you'll see what I mean about the traffic (and the lousy drivers). It's not limited to those two roads, but they're the most well-known. It's a good thing you're retiring, since there's no jobs in Danville or the surrounding southside VA. My advice: keep driving and head for the hills.

THANK YOU, big time for this information because i really do want to hear the warnings. As a former resident of Petersburg Va, I know what it's like to live in a hell-hole of a city. Danville was only on my list because i saw some very beautiful homes listed on real estate sites but I had read about the crime rate. I work in Richmond which has it's really bad areas but I work in a ritzy neighborhood and you would never know the bad areas even existed in Richmond. i was hoping it might be the same in Danville. Do you have any knowledge of Martinsville or South Boston ? I know they are near Danville and both also have what at least online appears to be some nice homes at reasonable prices. thank you again !

[LM117]

Originally Posted by ChesterVa

THANK YOU, big time for this information because i really do want to hear the warnings. As a former resident of Petersburg Va, I know what it's like to live in a hell-hole of a city. Danville was only on my list because i saw some very beautiful homes listed on real estate sites but I had read about the crime rate. I work in Richmond which has it's really bad areas but I work in a ritzy neighborhood and you would never know the bad areas even existed in Richmond. i was hoping it might be the same in Danville. Do you have any knowledge of Martinsville or South Boston ? I know they are near Danville and both also have what at least online appears to be some nice homes at reasonable prices. thank you again !

No problem! I've been through Petersburg a few times and I didn't really care for it, but I'd take Petersburg over Danville any day of the week if given the choice between the two. I've been here since October 2011 so I could be close to a relative who had lung cancer (died last August) and hopefully if all goes well, I'll be leaving this cesspool this summer (moving back to NC). There might be a couple of blocks in Danvile that could be considered "good", but even then, it's a crapshoot. Between the crime, lousy traffic, lack of economic development and no decent healthcare, it just isn't worth it, IMO. As far as Martinsville and South Boston goes, I'm afraid I'm not much help. All I know is that both towns are smaller than Danville and very economically depressed which, honestly, could be said about the entire southside VA. I've heard that healthcare isn't worth a damn in South Boston or Martinsville either, but I don't have any firsthand experience, so I can't confirm (I wouldn't be surprised, though). On the bright side, crime isn't quite as high in South Boston or Martinsville and Martinsville has a NASCAR track if you like races, so there's that. If Martinsville or South Boston doesn't suit you, I'd suggest somewhere near Roanoke or Lynchburg if you want to stay in VA, but honestly you get more bang for your buck in NC. I know you said you wanted to avoid NC because of the real estate taxes, but I'm just throwing that out there.