Please help! like to relocate to quaint safe town, I am a portrait photograper (Newport News: house, neighborhood)

[pretty_in_pink4]

Hi and Thanks for looking!
We are a small family of 3, we are currently on the Eastern shore of Mobile , AL and would like to relocate to a mountain view home or a historic downtown area.
I have a successful small portrait studio here at my home, but my hubby wants to move north.
Unfortunately...according to city-data stats most of the small towns have income levels around half of the state average and much lower than where we live now.
It took me many years to build my business to a "upscale" clientele.
I am very scared to let that go, but we would like to go someplace that has art, antiques, kind hearted people and a slower pace of life.
Can anyone recommend a very pretty small town that could use a fine portrait photographer?
Thanks in advance for the info!!!

[Dr.Jim]

Small towns and money/upscale usually do not go hand in hand here.
I might suggest setting up shop in Charlottesville,...as it has some people with $$$ for sure,...and you can live outside of Cville to the north or west (mountains,..Crozet..etc) and find very nice small towns to :"live in".
Charlottesville is a very liberal (for va) place, good feel, hip (for va) atmosphere and such.
It also has a (not small) historic downtown area with extremely lovely restored homes and such...but they are very pricey.

[Erma]

Danville, VA

[ToughLuv]

Newport News, VA

[Tanja M]

Dr Jim "said it all".
I encourage you too to check out Charlottesville. Visit the least, if you can.

[SRose59]

Charlottesville is a nice area and has a lot of what you are looking for. Check out Abingdon, Va, Bristol, Va and surrounding areas.

[Mearth]

I don't know how it compares to the other towns mentioned, but here in Alexandria, VA, I live in the town of Del Ray - home to 90% of the dogs in Northern VA (it seems), people who actually smile and say hi, historical fire/ems station, independent cafes, specialty shops (cheese, wine, chocolate, butcher, crafty goods), summer block parties and neighborhood potlucks, running trails and bike lanes, multiple state parks less than 30 minutes away... and plenty of upscale clientele in the metro area. No mountain view, but Shenandoah isn't that far away.

[Alanboy395]

Alexandria- Not small and VERY expensive. VERY fast pace. VERY cold and rude people.

Newport News- Not small, no mountains, and not the most interesting city photographically. Not that cheap.

Charlottesville- I think this is your town.

[Mearth]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Alexandria- Not small and VERY expensive. VERY fast pace. VERY cold and rude people.

I agree that this is true of MOST of Alexandria, but not this town. Which is why it is such a haven.

You can offer an opinion without insulting the people who live here. Ahem.

FYI - my dog escaped through a window while I was out (it was screened and only slightly open, and she had never attempted to get through a screen before), and THEN jumped the fence. No fewer than THREE neighbors took care of her/me. One stayed at the house to make sure no one took anything, one caught her, and another kept her in their yard and let her play with their dog until I returned.

A apologized profusely but no one was upset - they were happy to help, and I was so relieved. That's what this town is like.

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by Mearth

I agree that this is true of MOST of Alexandria, but not this town. Which is why it is such a haven.

You can offer an opinion without insulting the people who live here. Ahem.

FYI - my dog escaped through a window while I was out (it was screened and only slightly open, and she had never attempted to get through a screen before), and THEN jumped the fence. No fewer than THREE neighbors took care of her/me. One stayed at the house to make sure no one took anything, one caught her, and another kept her in their yard and let her play with their dog until I returned.

A apologized profusely but no one was upset - they were happy to help, and I was so relieved. That's what this town is like.

You do realize that DelRay is a neighborhood of Alexandria and not a town, right?

I didn't intentionally insult the people who live in Alexandria, i just said my experiences with Alexandrians. Granted i've never actually set foot in DelRay (unless you consider Mt. Vernon Ave/W Glebe part of DelRay or riding through on a bus) but i just get the same vibe in every section of Alexandria i step in and i can't imagine DelRay being an exception.

Just to say it again, i think Charlottesville is a much better choice than Alexandria for the OP.