Staunton or Front Royal (Roanoke, Charlottesville: fit in, real estate, house)

[mountains]

My husband & I were interested in what people had to say about these two towns. We're very outdoor-type people - bike, hike, soccer, kayak, climb & such. We like that these towns are close to the Nat'l park but we also are coming from a big city & worry that this may be too small & conservative. I'm also a teacher & would like to work in a district that is realitively sane & be able to afford a house. Usually those 2 things don't go together.
Any comments or suggestions?

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by mountains

Any comments or suggestions?

Yes, the Roanoke Valley. Specifically, Franklin County, where I live. I have a horse farm here; two of our boarders are teachers in Roanoke County and they love the area. One is retiring in Franklin County, the other is currently house shopping. I'm in a volunteer group with one teacher in Franklin County; this is her first year and she is marvelling at the friendly sense of community among the teachers. Franklin County is traditionally a conservative county, but with a sensible growth rate of 8.5% since 2000, it is moving gradually towards the middle.

Franklin County boasts one state park and one national park. In addition we have three lakes. As for myself, I'm in Boones Mill, and I'm 20 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and from there a 45 minute drive to Mabry Mill, and in general countless trails and hikes. All this beauty, and still only 25 minutes from Roanoke, VA, a beautiful valley with a variety of economic opportunities; we enjoy more arts than the population of the Valley (240,000) might imply. We have the truly wonderful Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Mill Mountain Theatre, a healthy artists community and more. I'd urge you to take a serious look at the Valley. We need more teachers

Sean

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by mountains

My husband & I were interested in what people had to say about these two towns. We're very outdoor-type people - bike, hike, soccer, kayak, climb & such. We like that these towns are close to the Nat'l park but we also are coming from a big city & worry that this may be too small & conservative. I'm also a teacher & would like to work in a district that is realitively sane & be able to afford a house. Usually those 2 things don't go together.
Any comments or suggestions?

Staunton is certainly more affordable and I'd guess the best "city" type atmospheres would be around 45 minutes away (either Harrisonburg or Charlottesville).... Real estate is more affordable here, but jobs are hard to come by.

My wife and I are in LOVE with Front Royal. Entrance to the Skyline Drive is right there in town, basically. The Shenendoah River runs through town. Magnificent history and decent shopping. When you're in the mood for city life, D.C. is an hour and a half away..... Real Estate is correcting a little bit here as it got sucked in by the D.C. boom and is still on the outskirts of the commuter area. Obviously the plus is that it is possible to commute into the D.C./NoVa area for a job that pays better, but it's a decent hike.... As for teaching, my wife is also a teacher and Warren County is putting up a new High School called (appropriately) Skyline High which is basically right across from the entrance to the Skyline Drive..... Needless to say my wife is going to take a shot at getting a teaching job there....

[businessperson]

My husband and I moved to Waynesboro (just east of Staunton) a few years ago from Western North Carolina. We thought we would fit in fine being from the mountains of NC. I worked for the City of Staunton for about six months. People there treated us like we just landed from Mars. It is a VERY small town, a VERY conversative town and a VERY clannish town. I hated every day of the three miserable years we lived there.

[seanpecor]

I have a friend in his late twenties who is from Staunton and does NOT like the area. He claims it is very conservative and oppressive if you happen to have a different ideology than the majority. I trust his judgement, he's a pretty tolerant guy with a B.S. in Mathematics who just recently graduated from Tech and is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to leave Staunton for good.

Sean

[flu189]

I have been noticing comments of certain areas being conservative and this making folks uncomfortable. I am curious what actions actually people have encountered. Is it directed against those who display liberal or progressive ideas such as having bumper stickers on their cars or mailboxes? I guess being up here in Vt both sides of the fence coexist pretty well. I can fly the flag and have veteran plates on my car and my neighbor can have peace signs, "impeach bush" stickers on his mailbox and nobody really cares or messes with you. Since I am really considering looking at a future move to Va I would like to hear about this.

[Rhett_Butler]

Curious about this as well..... I don't seek any acceptance from anyone, so what would it matter unless people were actually active against me simply for being me???

Guess I'd like more specifics as well...

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by VAFury

Guess I'd like more specifics as well...

When I said conservative I also meant resistant to change and lacking a notable contingent of liberal or progressive minded folks. Now, this is not to say you would not be treated kindly. I've never been treated poorly because of my own particular views and I live in a "red" county; in fact, in reality, how often does one's political views come into play during day to day life in a small town? It doesn't come into play for me, and I frequent my local grain store, my local bank, general store, nearly every day of the week. With that said, when people say they don't want to live in a town that is too conservative, I think (and I may be wrong) they hope to find enough folks in their area that share their views, enough to gather a social circle and perhaps a circle influential enough to affect real change in their community.

Personally, I'd love it if liberal folks relocating sought out conservative towns, and conservatives doing the same sought out liberal towns. We need more moderation in this country I'd much prefer 50 purple states to be honest.

Sean

[Upstate Dave]

Since this post has been slightly hijacked ...

I would add that "progressives" can be as active to enact change in a local as "conservatives" are resistant to change... While I understand and appreciate change, sometimes change needs to assimilate over time. And I bristle when I read or hear those words used as they are today... as if progressive and liberal have positive connotations, and conservative is negative. A broad generalization to be sure, but I hope you get my point. Resistant to change is ONE meaning of the word... but the political/social meaning is more related to the government application of the word. Sometimes it seems the media and activists push this division as a tool of their own agendas without regard for the social health of our communities.

And let's not ignore all those other threads about mean southerners and rude yankees and people not feeling welcome, etc. We must recognize a communities existing social climate and make allowances to "fit in" more so than making the community accept us.

Let be honest about all this talk of conservative and liberal... if ya want to live in an area with like minded people, than recognize where those people already are. If ya need to be with progessives, then perhaps living in a community with a large college or university is where you should look to. Again, a broad generalization I know. If you can be just as tolerant of the locals viewpoints, then maybe they will be just as tolerant of yours. If your looking to judge a community for an existing political/social/religious position, then maybe you will be judged in return.

Getting back to the original post from Mountains- while I do not live in Virginia (yet), I think all the information presented here is very applicable to your question. I suggest you keep searching this forum as many of these questions and topics have been discussed.

[mountains]

I am concerned about political views. I don't want to be told I have to teach certain religious views are scientific or that I can't talk about theories like evolution for fear of backlash. If I am told to teach health or human body systems, I don't want to be told I can't talk about STD's (assuming it's age appropriate). I want to be able to discuss global warming & like topics & allow for various views but I don't want to be gagged from certain topics.
I am very worried about the comments that the area is clannish & oppresive.