Well, HERE WE COME!! Front Royal, Strasburg, Stephens City. (Winchester: for sale, real estate)

[Rhett_Butler]

Got a job in Front Royal and hopefully my wife will as well..... Quiet and conservative sounds good to us right now as well as the seasons and mountains.... Florida obviously was a little different... (not sure exactly where we'll be living yet, but most likely one of the three mentioned towns....)

Definately excited....

[soldono]

I am a Va native living in Fl. hoping to move to n.c. soon.We have also considered the area you are looking at. I used to camp in the Shenandoah National Park every October. Beautiful! I spend all my free time right now looking at real estate in Va and N.C. Try looking at Craigslist. It is very user friendly and has many houses for sale and rent. Blessings.

[LynnS]

VAFury, if you're heading in this area, read up on what each County is doing as far as taxes, growth, etc. We are 20 year VA residents and we're pulling up and moving out of VA. Between runaway development and escalating taxes everywhere we turn, we're heading to TX.

Warren County (where Ft. Royal is) has been on a push for new industry and their zoning regulations are very lax. It is nothing to see a very large warehouse built in an area that ruins the landscape across the Blue Ridge Mountains (Family Dollar Warehouse) or a very large water tower that was erected, ruined the landscape and the water tower has never worked since its erection about 12 years ago.

Warren County also allowed the INLAND PORT development in the I-66 corridor and there are so many trucks on I-81 and I-66 and Rt. 522 that it is extremely dangerous. None of these roads have made construction accommodations for the huge quantity of 18-wheelers, either.

Warren County has one very large development in the I-66 corridor and Rt 522 and it is all about golf. Townhomes and cluster housing start at $300,000

About 3 miles up the same stretch of road is yet another large development, a gated Over-55 community with more than 2,000 homes being built around a small lake known as Lake Frederick. This is going to be a town-within-a-town when it's completed and there is no way the current road system can handle the population.

Stephens City is located in Frederick County and part of the Stephens City area is in a high growth zone within the County (the NW part of that portion of Frederick County). VERY VERY large developments are being erected in some places and the median price of a home right now is about $400K. This high-growth area has at least been planned as the growth zones, so no surprises if you are informed. Problem is...runaway developments mean crowded schools and traffic jams...and higher taxes.

Strasburg is a quaint area that has yet to be over-developed. If I were coming to the area, I would focus on that area or a town or two just south of Strasburg (like Woodstock or Edinburg). Reason? You have better bargains, smaller community feel, no traffic jams (yet). All of those towns are accessible w/ I-81 ramp-exits and I-81 does connect to I-66. Since Ft. Royal is where you'll work, you can do a highway-run to your job and that stretch is not at all congested. I-81 is very heavy with 18-wheelers, though.

The other big plus to the Woodstock or Edinburg area is that you are a bit further south into the "Shenandoah Valley" and the scenery w/ the mountainscapes is much closer. You'll see both the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountain chains. Definately a plus.

Be forewarned about the infamous Virginia car tax, too. Every year you pay taxes on personal property---it costs to have boats, cars, RVs, etc. Every year, you pay and it's not cheap. Although there is a repeal on the car tax right now, it is an issue with our new Governor.

Good luck!
LS

[LynnS]

One biggie that I forgot to mention.....Warren County has a SUPERFUND site where AVTEX Corporation resided. All of the groundwater in the region is not only toxic, but carcinogenic. People have died from cancers (check the EPA website on this site and cancer clusters). You really do not want to buy real estate in that portion of Warren County/Front Royal. Sad, really.....it's only about 5 miles from the entry to Skyline Drive and our National Forest.
LS

[Rhett_Butler]

I've combed the area over three times and have gotten used to the lay of the land a bit.... Was unaware of the EPA issues with Warren county so thanks for the heads up and I'll look into that.... A LOT of homes out there use well water too, so what a terrible thing....

[poohki]

i don't know if this is a concern to you but my brother has 2 children in warren county schools, and is not happy at all with them. my niece and nephew (elementary age) have to ride the bus for 40 minutes each way and i believe that they are on the bus with middle and hs students also.

have you looked into fauquier county? it's not that far from warren, and i personally know the schools here are much better.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by poohki

i don't know if this is a concern to you but my brother has 2 children in warren county schools, and is not happy at all with them. my niece and nephew (elementary age) have to ride the bus for 40 minutes each way and i believe that they are on the bus with middle and hs students also.

have you looked into fauquier county? it's not that far from warren, and i personally know the schools here are much better.

Chances are we will not be living IN Warren County, but the info is helpful.... A 40 minute bus ride with older kids is what I grew up with in Albemarle, so frankly that doesn't concern me.... What about the actual teaching there???

Also, I'll most likely be in Shenandoah or Frederick County, so any additional info on those would be cool too.... Fauquier is nice, but the closer to D.C. you get, the more exponentially home prices rise. I'll look though...

Thanks...

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by LynnS

All of those towns are accessible w/ I-81 ramp-exits and I-81 does connect to I-66. Since Ft. Royal is where you'll work, you can do a highway-run to your job and that stretch is not at all congested. I-81 is very heavy with 18-wheelers, though.

Actually all those places have ways that don't take very long that don't involve interstates as well.... Strasburg has 55 (I believe), Stephen's City I can take 11 (Valley Pike) through Strasburg to 55, and Winchester has a road 342??? or something that goes directly between the two..... Hopefully trucks are not as big of an issue on those roads, but either way, not a long commute.....

Originally Posted by LynnS

One biggie that I forgot to mention.....Warren County has a SUPERFUND site where AVTEX Corporation resided. All of the groundwater in the region is not only toxic, but carcinogenic. People have died from cancers (check the EPA website on this site and cancer clusters). You really do not want to buy real estate in that portion of Warren County/Front Royal. Sad, really.....it's only about 5 miles from the entry to Skyline Drive and our National Forest.
LS

Okay, thanks for the heads up.... Did a LOT of reading on this last night. Avtex has been gone for 18 years and cleanup has been underway for 17 it looks like. They purchased any house using a well in the affected groundwater areas (primarily a subdivision across the river)... Seems they still have a few relatively (in comparison) issues to clean up, but it's VERY good to know about.

Thanks a bunch!!!

[novanwbie]

Hi! We moved to FR last March, and are planning on leaving, when we can sell our house. If you want a thriving area to raise your kids, I'd look at Winchester. There's a lot to do, there's shopping, activities for the kids, etc. The schools here in FR are not good, the water is nasty, and coinservative doesn't begin to describe it. Stephens City is not much more than an intersection off I-81, and Strasburg is equally small. If you are truly a very small town family, consider one of these three towns. But if you want to go to dinner or shop without having to drive to another town, look at Winchester.

[novanwbie]

Oh, even though the Avtex water issues might not be a problem, our town water still gets warnings for high bacteria every year.