Winchester, Can Anyone Tell Me About The Area? Housing, Schools, Real Estate? (Dayton: spring break, crime)

[deeds]

Drove through the area. Wondering if anyone could tell me about the area. Thanks

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by deeds

Drove through the area. Wondering if anyone could tell me about the area. Thanks

Frederick County Va is a nice location.
Winchester does have some dicey areas like any other town but for the most part it is a good place.
Medical care in Winchester is some of the best in the state of VA, and better than anything you will find in Martinsburg or Hagerstown.

[Katie1]

Winchester is actually bring business in as well as housing. Tho housing maybe cheeper just inside the WV line, than in VA. But with gas prices that may counter act the costs.

[Georgia]

From a Martinsburg native, stay on the Virginia side!
Remember the old saying
"You get what you pay for"

[cathy J.]

Really the biggest downside against Winchester is their annual Apple Blossom Festival.
The entire city really does shut down for the few days in the beginning of May. Why Winchester feels the festival must take place on a Friday and the weekend rather than having it just a "weekend festival" is beyond me. What is closed?

ALL Schools
Banks ( they shut down early on Friday and all day Saturday )
many factories ( though that number has gone down in recent years )

Mail, UPS, Fedex, ect.. delivery still takes place but I believe even that slows down quite a bit due to the "bloom"

Forget having a pizza delievered to your house during the festival.

Just about all of the downtown businesses and even a few in the berbs like Stephens City.

and if you have friends who live pretty much within the city limits and you have no desire to see the bloom, might as well forget visiting them. Its a pain in the butt to get inside the city. The National Guard/ Military Police sees to that.

Crime goes way up during the bloom as many people believe it the time to get drunk and party and many do which results into quite a bit of fights on the streets and other illegal "activities".

But Winchester believes the bloom brings in a lot of money for the area which it does but it is hell living there when the bloom takes place and one has no interest in it.

[BellaElla]

On the other hand some people really enjoy the Apple Blossom Festival.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by cathy J.

Really the biggest downside against Winchester is their annual Apple Blossom Festival.
The entire city really does shut down for the few days in the beginning of May. Why Winchester feels the festival must take place on a Friday and the weekend rather than having it just a "weekend festival" is beyond me. What is closed?

ALL Schools
Banks ( they shut down early on Friday and all day Saturday )
many factories ( though that number has gone down in recent years )

Mail, UPS, Fedex, ect.. delivery still takes place but I believe even that slows down quite a bit due to the "bloom"

Forget having a pizza delievered to your house during the festival.

Just about all of the downtown businesses and even a few in the berbs like Stephens City.

and if you have friends who live pretty much within the city limits and you have no desire to see the bloom, might as well forget visiting them. Its a pain in the butt to get inside the city. The National Guard/ Military Police sees to that.

Crime goes way up during the bloom as many people believe it the time to get drunk and party and many do which results into quite a bit of fights on the streets and other illegal "activities".

But Winchester believes the bloom brings in a lot of money for the area which it does but it is hell living there when the bloom takes place and one has no interest in it.

Sorry, doesn't bother me at all, but then I'm used to living 40 minutes from Daytona and having to deal with Spring Break, Black College Reunion, Two NASCAR Races at Daytona Speedway, Bikeweek and Biketober fest throughout EVERY year.....

So Apple Blossom is a treat IMO....

[billybobwv]

Originally Posted by BellaElla

On the other hand some people really enjoy the Apple Blossom Festival.

For the most part people do but I believe the festival could be better without the "has-been" celebrities. My wife and I attended the festival last year and we could not believe how rude and nasty singer Wayne Newton was. We actuallly saw one of his bodyguards actually slapped the face of a teenage girl because she got a little to close by accident to Wayne and his family when they decided to check out downtown Winchester. The Winchester police watched this and did nothing. I myself have a 14 year old daughter. If someone ever slapped her face you bet I would raise hell about it.

Lucie Arnaz was in town for the festival a few years back. One of the local radio stations reported that when she wanted to eat at a local restuarant she DEMANDED the other customers leave or otherwise she would not eat there. One would think that by coming to a small city, one should expect to mingle with some of the local folks. Maybe this sort of thing is ok in New York City, Hollywood or Las Vegas but not in Winchester.

[LadyLinda]

Winchester, Home of Patsy Cline.Search Google and see alot.
The Apple Blossom is traditional for the reason it has depended on the apple croup so much it was time to celebrate.. back when.. But there are also NICE stars that will visit and usually stay in someones home! That is the major celebration, but there is teh Patsy Cline Celebration every labor day weekend. No parade but a LOT odf fans from all over the WORLD.. People who want to stay away for the boom jut plan their out of town trips and vacations for then. And y ou get to know the other route to travel around town and avoid a lot. . You KNOW it is the first weekend in May. It is actually one of the largest happenings in the tri state area and even on the east Coast. Lots of history in WInchester and surrounding areas. It is growing so fast that if you don''t read the paper you would wonder where did THAT restaurant come from.. or road.. Or mall. Or Wal Mart (there are 2) About every restaurant is there now. The hospital and Drs ARE the best .. I think the rating is in the top 5 on the East coast.. You can look it up. Google it and follow the links to most of it. Plenty of work and recreation. It is becoming a very large city now.

[LadyLinda]

The police are all out full force during the "Bloom". I cannot imagine that happening. Not with police watching. Maybe a temp rent-a-cop just for the occasion.That is celebration is one of the largest on the coast. And the hospita is a teaching hospital for x raytechs and nursing. And it IS in the top 5 on the coast.
Google Winchester VA and you will be surprised. It is fast growing and probably1/2 are not FROM there. But the is plenty of work and recreation. The other main weekend is Labor Day weekend .. Patsy Cline's birthday is Sept 8th and the fan clubs merge there from all over the world. But no parade or congestion except in the hotels, just tourists on the Patsy tour (She was born in Winchesters old hospital and is buried there.Everywhere you look is something about Patsy. A museum is in the works and a statue of her at the radio where she got started at 14.
There is a little crime of course in a large city and one weekend. Most residents who are not into the Bloom, plan their vacations and out of town that week
It is bursting out all over.At least one of every rest there is.
Avoid the North side off Pleasant Valley. The older homes bring in the lower income people and there is more problems there. That is why I left besides the fact that my ex had a GF. LOL. That would be area behin the post office going toward rt 7 toward Berryvillle.