Help! Wanting To Move Near Va Mountains , But Where? (Roanoke: low crime, employment)

[greenhornetnc]

My Family And I Are Looking For A Place To Move Where We Can Hike In The Mountains, Swim In Fresh Water, Fish, See Waterfalls, Get Snow, And Still Be Able To Have Our 2 Children Participate In Gymnastics, Baseball, Bike Riding, And Skate Boarding Park. Work In Heating And Air Conditioning Field, Would Only Like To Have To Drive No More Than 40 Min To Get To Sport For Kids And Job And Shopping. Need To Have Small Town Charm But Clean And Affordable Housing With Low Crime. Every Families Dream Right, Any Ideas?:d

[Electron]

Winchester, Virgina and the surrounding areas may fit your tastes. May have a difficult time finding many waterfalls, but everything else on your list can be found there.

Good luck to you.

[jmelts]

One word:
Blacksburg. Beautiful. Kids sports out the wazoo. nature, but in a small university town that brings in some arts, diversity, and plenty of kids of professionals whi need sports, activities, etc. Good schools, decent cost of living.
Good luck...

[mbj1284]

I'd agree with the suggestions for the Blacksburg area. The winters can be pretty cold and gray sometimes, but the area is great in the Spring-Fall. I've been there as a student the last few years, and would say it's especially nice in the Summer when nobody else is there. For Southwest VA, it's a pretty diverse and cultured area, and there are plenty of places to hike within a half hour to hour drive. The Roanoke area is also pretty nice if you want something a little bit bigger or an airport with commercial service. If both of those fall through, take a look at Lynchburg too (good schools and still within a few miles of the mountains).

[HokieinConway]

Bath County is nice too for outdoor activities, but the commute back to Roanoke would be right at your limit. I would definitely look at Rich Patch or somewhere like it if you just want to have some breathing room in rural VA. Good luck!

[jballa]

Originally Posted by greenhornetnc

Where We Can Hike In The Mountains, Swim In Fresh Water, Fish, See Waterfalls, Get Snow, And Still Be Able To Have Our 2 Children Participate In Gymnastics, Baseball, Bike Riding, And Skate Boarding Park. Work In Heating And Air Conditioning Field, Would Only Like To Have To Drive No More Than 40 Min To Get To Sport For Kids And Job:d

From what you are describing I would say that you are best fitted in somewhere inbetween Natural Bridge, Charlottlesville, and Winchester.

(My personal favorite) Natural Bridge is 30 min. from Roanoke (100K city & 100K county) and has several towns around it to choose from. Glasgow, Buena Vista, or even Elon if you're more interested in Charlottesville/Lynchburg (65Kcity & 70K surrounding) as your place of employment. This area is close to Wintergreen and Massanutten ski areas(30 min), and high enough in elevation to get some mountain snows. Employment or sports wouldn't be a problem here but the only skate park in this area is in the Wasena area of Roanoke; you gotta weight how important this is I guess. The major advantage here is the abundance of nature. The GW national forest is easily accessible and the first things you mentioned such as waterfalls, mountain hiking, swimming, hunting & fishing, ATV trails, and breathtaking vistas are a front door away.

Charlottesville is about 30 min to 1 hr. from the ski areas and on the eastern base of the Blue ridge. Currently, the city is only about 30,000 (i think) with a large suburb area(+30K) and its one of the fastest growing areas in the state, centered around UVA. Employment and sports would also be no problem here with slightly shorter commute times likely. I believe there is a small skate park here.

I've only driven though or eaten in the Winchester/Front Royal areas but I know that it's within 1 hr. of the DC area, making jobs & sports no problem. Its also on the eastern base of the Blue ridge but quite a bit farther away from any ski areas, maybe 2 hrs. If you do go visit, you'll know you're there when I-81N traffic bottlenecks.

A final idea of mine to you may be the Harrisonburg area. JMU is the local college and the city is growing fairly rapidly. Its' smaller than Charlottesville, but larger than Natural Bridge.

Sorry for the long reply, I was trying to convey as much info as possible without being too long winded. Good luck

[greenhornetnc]

thank you all for the info, my wife wants to have some room between neighbors but i dont want to be isolated either very interswted in all your places will ber checking them out anynore will be greatly appreciated tryiing to visit area this spring.

[countrylane123]

i have been to harrisonburg many times and like it. its in the mountains, so you would have alot to do.

[pjs]

I live in the area and you will find Harrisonburg to be on a smaller scale of your larger citys without the hassle. No problem finding things to do. The mountains are beautiful and there are plenty of state parks to do your hiking, fishing, etc. I'm one who liked the area like it was 15 yrs ago but that has changed since 9/11 and alot of folks from the DC area moved this way and figured it's better to commute then live there. Alot of subdevelopments have been built because of that and have taken away from some of the scenery. I guess the farmers made better money selling their land than farming it as the developers where offering big bucks. It still is a beautiful valley and I doubt you will have any regrets moving here. Harrisonburg is growing fast.

[mrt6812]

Lexington's the same way, pjs. Except we're smaller and the subdivisions are more of a shock to us, especially at the rate they've been going up.