Working in Lexington but living in Staunton: Good idea? (Roanoke: transplants, apartment)

[Lady6String]

Hello! My spouse landed a job in Lexington, VA. We were hoping to live within the city limits (we've had negative experiences living in the boonies of OH) but we are discovering that much of the housing there is ridiculously expensive. So we are thinking about living in Staunton instead. Of course, this will mean a long daily commute on I-81 for my spouse.

I would like to know if there is anyone out there who has such a commute and what should we take into account if we decide to live in Staunton. How much should we expect to spend on gas per week (we have a Toyota Camry, if that helps)?

Thanks for your help!

PS--We've looked at Buena Vista and it wasn't to our liking. In fact, it reminded us of a lot of the economically-depressed towns that surround us in OH.

[seanpecor]

Do you want to live inside a more populated town or would you also consider a rural town? If you'd consider the latter then you have alot more choices that are closer than Staunton. From a cost of living standpoint you would save alot of money living in an attractive semi-rural area closer to Lexington. And there is some beautiful country around Lexington that is still 10-15 minutes into town. We don't live in that area but we have a horse farm and travel to Lexington regularly for competitions at the horse center. There are some attractive rural outskirts in the Lexington area that I wouldn't call the boonies at all. Remember that Lexington is home to Virginia's largest equestrian center where state, national or world competitions are held every week. The outskirts of Lexington are rolling hills and horse and cattle farms, with no cranky Ohioans who are out of work from a state economy in turmoil If you don't mind answering, what is your ideal budget range for your future home? I'm not a realtor but maybe I could suggest some areas based on what you'd like to pay.

Rural Virginia is not quite like the rural areas of Ohio. Here, there are alot of little towns in the country that have nice little centers where you can do your business (banking, pharmacy, general store, farm store etc) and really friendly people. For example, we're from Vermont and we've settled in nicely into the country in SW Virginia. We're in the "boonies" 5 miles from a dinky town called Boones Mill, but we're 15 minutes to a town of comparable size to Lexington (Rocky Mount) and 20 minutes to Roanoke. Perhaps the best thing in your case is to rent a house out in the country for a while to test the waters. If you decide you like it, then you'll end up saving an enormous amount of money on the upkeep of a car that your husband won't have to drive 22,000 miles a year commuting in, and 480 hours of his life every year stuck inside. If you could cut that commute in half by living in a rural outskirt than that's 240 more hours each year he can spend at home and 12,000 miles a year he won't have to drive. As you know it's more than just fuel costs. Even if you assume $0.50/mile in gas and automobile upkeep than that's about $915/mo in car upkeep to commute from Staunton to Lexington. If you lived 3 minutes from work in Lexington, cutting that driving out would allow you to afford another $100,000 worth of house with today's interest rates.

Staunton to Lexington would be +/- 80 miles round trip. It depends on your model, but a Camry might get around 26mpg. So you'd be looking at about 16 gallons a week, or about $256/mo in gas.

Sean

[Cdshiflett]

Call Buena Vista what you will, Yes is is going through some hard times right now. The city is working hard to change that. Depending on your price range there may be a few places between Lexington and Staunton. You are going to have to drive either north or south to get to most anything. Which is why people choose to relocate to Buena Vista. We are located 6 miles from Lexington, cozy small town feel, great school system and the housing prices havent gone through the roof yet. You still get what you pay for.

[delusianne]

Why not out in Rockbridge County? Out by Collierstown, Rockbridge Baths on Rt. 39, Natural Bridge area. Also as Cdshiflett points out BV is growing and changing with overflow from Lexington.

IMO BV is just about the right distance away; a commute from Staunton is insanely long and will only get longer especially in bad weather. Though you might find something you like in between the two on Rt 11.

Right north of Lex on Rt. 11 between Lexington and the Drive-In there are very interesting nice areas - Timber Ridge is the only name I can think of but there are several on both the Alleghany and the Blue Ridge sides of 11.

[alice_61]

Are you aware that Virginia has independent cities? The school systems for independent cities are seperate from the surrounding counties. The school systems for surrounding counties are often quite good. For example, Albemarle county has very good schools surrounding Charlottesville, another independent city. In many other states, such as NC, the city schools are run by the county and the city can automaticly annex ajacent county land. The cities in these states can grow geographically. In VA, when a city grows, the population growth often happens in the surrounding counties. Therefore, the urban area of a city often extends into the surrounding county in VA.

[tamlee7]

Hi! Having lived in both Lexington and Staunton, and having children that attended both schools systems, I feel I can help you here.
The commute to Staunton would not be advisable. I-81 is an extremely busy interstate with high accident rates, especially between Roanoke and Winchester. The Route 11 drive into Staunton, while scenic and safe, will take a little bit longer on your commute time.
You do not say whether or not you have children, but the Lexington City School system cannot be beat, for safety, small class sizes, teaching standards, and very high SOL test scores for the state in general. Also, the quality of after school programs is wonderful. For instance, my daughter took French after school in second grade, same for band/music programs.
As for quality of life in general in Lexington, with or without chidren, it is very good. I'll bet you'll find that people are very accomodating and nice to newcomers, and you have the diversity of the 2 colleges there to give flavor. Even though it is a small rural town, you'll feel as if you are in a much bigger place at times.
Staunton, although bigger, has problems with a high growth rate in their school systems, and they don't offer the same programs as Lexington city/Rockbridge schools do. I enjoyed greater shopping choices there, so that is a plus.
I agree with one other post that advised renting for the fiirst year or so to get your bearings until you personally figure out what place is right for you. The market is not tight, there are usually plenty of choices. Good luck to you, and I hope this helps!

[NewGirl1]

My husband and I retired two years ago. We were tired of long winters with large snow totals in the snowbelt of eastern Lake Ontario.After a long search we decided that we wanted to live somewhere in the Shenadoah Valley of Virginia. We love the hills and mountain views. Winters here are so mild and the Spring and Fall seasons are long and wonderful.

We decided to rent an apartment in Staunton while we looked for a home or building lot either in Augusta or Rockbridge Co.. Then we lived in a Pinnacle Hill Townhouse in Lexington while our home was being built. Land here is espensive compared to the depressed area in NY where we grew up. After a very, very, long search we finally found a lot near the golf course in Buena Vista. Views are spectacular! In five minutes we can be in Buena Vista or Lexington or riding on Route 81. If you like small towns, I'd say look for a country home near Lexington as it has a quaint historical feel with the advantage of having VMI and Washington and Lee Universities and the Virginia horse Center. Buena Vista lacks appeal at first sight, but the longer we are here the more we appreciate Maury Park, Vista Links Golf course, Southern University and proximity to Blue Ridge Parkway.

We enjoyed living in Staunton. If you don't mind a 35 minute commute and you feel the need to be in a larger town with more services and shopping, then I'd choose Staunton. It has many antique shops, small cafes, recreation of Shakespear's Globe Theater, and Gypsy Hill Park,our favorite place to walk and feed the fish! It is convenient to Waynesboro/Stuarts Draft on Route 64 which has a new mall area and a 40 minute ride to Charlottesville with lots of stores to explore(as well as Thomas Jefferson's Montecello).

I agree that renting a townhouse/apartment and testing the waters is the best route when moving to a new area. I'm glad we took our time to find a place because we really got to know which develoments, roads, and smaller areas were more to our liking. The local people are friendly and we have been suprised by the number of transplants who also love living here.

Good luck.
New Girl in Town

[Cdshiflett]

Well Said New Girl!

Welcome to BV