Moving to Harrisonburg Soon

[OutofFLsoon]

Well I was in the D.C. area for two weeks and was able to go to Harrisonburg for a weekend to look around with a realtor. Very peaceful and calming area (At least as opposed to South Florida!). The realtor and I went looking at houses in Rockingham County on a Saturday. Although I found some really nice areas and homes, none seem to fit my families needs. Amazing but even houses with .5-.6 acres had very small yards. Guess it's the size/positioning of the house, etc. A few lots I would have to tie a rope around my daughter while she played in the backyard so I could pull her back up the hill!! We went to Augusta County on a Sunday and it was a world of difference. Much more house for the money. Great views, etc. Found several homes that my wife and I loved.

My wife and I are very excited about the pending move. Hopefully we'll be there in a month or two. So ready to get out of South Florida, especially considering that I'm $70,000 in the whole with my house and climbing. Anyone want to buy/rent a very nice 3/2 in Broward County?

Thank you all for your input and advice. Maybe I'll run into some of you. I'll be the one with the huge smile on his face!!

[GOTCHATLC]

Hello. Harrisonburg is a very nice area. I am 34 years old and have lived in this area the entire time. If you will be working in Harrisonburg and will be traveling home to Massanutten after 5 p.m. you will not like the traffic as Route 33 is two lanes to Massanutten. I consider the road dangerous as no one stays at 55 and it's pretty busy with traffic. Once you get to Massanutten they have widened the road and it's not a bad drive at all. The east side of the county is very nice as mentioned above. Homes in the Battlefield area (off of 33) are large and beautiful and do have yard space. Battlefield is a subdivsion that has been there for a few years so the homes are established. Battlefield is about 5 minutes from Harrisonburg. There are other beautiful homes in subdivisons off of Port Republic Road which is parallel to Route 33 and Port is more of a rural area compared to Route 33. Homes are still being constructed as well...beautiful homes. A brand new hospital is being built on Port Road and will be only about 5 minutes from most subdivisions. If you have any more questions please email me at shiffltl@jmu.edu or post them here and I'll be more then happy to help you or even send you pictures. I can tell you the people are friendly here and it's a very safe area. Take care, Tanya

[Daisytattoo]

The cool thing about Harrisonburg is all the smaller communities surrounding it. McGaheysville, Bridgewater, Grottoes, Weyers Cave, etc. We live in Grottoes which is 20 minutes from H'Burg and I really like it. The crime rate in the entire county is extremely low. The main problem is meth/drugs and some minimal gang activity. Very, very, very few violent crimes (only 3 or 4 murders that I can remember in the 8 years I have lived here). The smaller county schools seem to be really good. My child goes to the elementary school in Grottoes and we are very happy with the school. It's small enough that she doesn't get lost in the crowd. I have only heard good things about the county schools--Harrisonburg schools don't have that great of a reputation, unfortunately.

To answer someone's inquiry about Harshbarger in Weyers Cave--they are nice houses for the money but they are on top of one another. It is a very crowded subdivision and the yards are very small. We didn't even consider it when we were looking at homes because of those reasons.

I think someone asked about traffic at the resort (sorry if it's already been answered--I didn't read all the replies). We lived up at Massanutten for 3 years and while we liked being up there, I hated the commute. The traffic isn't really that bad (will be better when they finish the construction up there) but we lived up at the top of the mountain and it was just too long of a drive for me. At that time they didn't even have school bus pick up at the top of the mountain (I think they do now). But it is a nice quiet community. They do have a lot of rules and regulations (don't think about painting your front door pink!).

All in all, we love living in the Shenandoah Valley. It is a really great place to raise kids. We are sad that we are going to be leaving next year and relocating to NC. We'll miss it here!

[Dr.Jim]

33 is not 2 lanes at Massenutten. It is 4 lanes the entire duration......just to correct an earlier post.

Perception of traffic is very relevant to individuals. I think 33 at rush hour is a joke! A little congested maybe,...but in no way 'traffic'. BUT, there are plenty of people who rightfully feel its insane!
It all depends what you are used too......

[Demon Frog]

The real traffic isn't on 33, it's on 11 on South Main Street around JMU and not far from Court Square. I've sat in traffic for over an hour there.

[CTnative99]

Hi, I heard that during certain times of the year, the areas close to turkey farms smell really bad. anybody knows which areas those are?

[540_804]

Originally Posted by CTnative99

Hi, I heard that during certain times of the year, the areas close to turkey farms smell really bad. anybody knows which areas those are?

My dad has a corporate customer in Harrisonburg that is into poultry (either turkey or chicken..can't remember...I think the customer is Tyson actually) and yes it does smell really bad in that area. I've gone on trips with him to visit the customer and the smell is AWFUL...Im not sure if he was joking but my dad said that his customers have told him that once you lived their you get used to the smell and forget it..lol.

But to answer your question, yes the poultry "processing" centers smell disgusting...

Heres a map with the locations of the Tyson's places...hope it helps

tyson harrisonburg - Google Maps

[horseplayer]

It was only noticeable on campus (JMU) during the pre-Thanksgiving turkey slaughter. I've been to Shadybrook farms and it was real clean, in Dayton. Hburg is great. The really good neighborhoods are pretty expensive.