Living In Virginia VS North Carolina...Input PLEASE??? (Richmond, Hampton: oceanfront, insurance)

[roanoker 4]

Originally Posted by slowlane

Roanoke is over 3 hour drive to DC, 5 hours to Myrtle Beach(palm trees!), NC is only an hour away.

Correction: Roanoke is at least 5 hours from DC, in light traffic.

I drive Roanoke to Dulles Airport(to me that is the DC area)regularly, I-81/I-66
in 3 hours. Driving into downtown DC does take 5 hours, in traffic. Personally, I would not recommend driving Roanoke to downtown DC with the traffic. There is a new alternative. A new Amtrak train leaves Lynchburg(45 mins from Rke)at 7:39am and arrives at Union Station in 3 hrs. 42 minutes. I believe in the future the connection will be improved, only if the state approves the new service from Roanoke. LOL!!!

[itsajourney]

Sissy & Steve--thanks for your input. I haven't checked things out on here for a while. We had such a long, cool, cold winter (at least by FLorida standards) that I was thinking I should just stay here----NO WAY!!!! We are just into first days of May and the last couple of days here have been so hot & humid one can hardly breathe outside. The air is heavy with moisture & pollen--lots of both. I've spent the last couple of months going thru boxes, cleaning out & trying to sell 30 years worth of accumulated stuff so that I don't have to move it again. I can't stand to throw anything away and am packing up some things for Goodwill. Anyway, now that the oppressive humidity has knocked me back into reality, I am just itching for a road trip. I usually go in the winter months, but this summer I will probably be on the road most of the summer--so I really need to visit a few unexplored places and then go back to those that have stayed in my thoughts to see what I think of them and how they strike me this time. Looking forward to narrowing my search--just have such a hard time with so many wonderful places.

[heatherm941]

It is so difficult to know where to find a friendly area to live and plant routes. I am originally from upstate NY, have lived in Southwest florida for last 6 years and I am currently in No Va because of my husbands job in DC. I want to plant roots somewhere. No Va is just too congested and expensive, but I love the weather and feel of Virginia. I feel like my children are safer and have more opportunities than anywhere in Florida. Thank you for this post, it has given me some further insight. Some people I have met think I am crazy for not wanting to go back to Florida

[itsajourney]

Heather--that is probably because they have never lived here. I lived in Raleigh for a very short time after a serious car accident in Florida in 2004. I ran into the same thing there. Many people who knew I moved there from Florida were wanting to move to Florida-usually cause they don't like winter--tho their winter certainly is not what I was used to in Illinois or Pennsylvania.

If you read a lot of the Florida posts you will find that there are oodles of people that moved to Florida, hated it, moved back to where they came from--and hated it cause it wasn't what they remembered. Those folks often wish they were back in Florida.

Then you have the ones who moved to Florida and got tired of it. Instead of going back to where they came from, they go "halfway" back to somewhere that is new to them. Usually, the halfbacks are the happiest. I intend to be in that category.

There is good and bad everywhere. Plusses & minuses...No place is perfect--It's all what you make it. I've been trying to get out of Florida almost since we moved here in 2001. Couldn't do it anymore as I was starting the process of getting 4 kids into high school and done. Once they hit that age, moving is not such an easy process any longer.

Tho, I mentally adjusted to the differences in Florida, vs. other places I have lived--I always knew I probably wouldn't stay here forever. Living here is like having a bad boyfriend--it's like an ongoing love/hate relationship....LOL

[rxpwas]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

My relatives from Pennsylvania had a similar experience! They lived in NE PA for many years, decided to move to the Tampa area and after living there during a storm season, they came back to PA with the cold winters. For them the reason they moved back up north was their family was in PA. They now live in the Roanoke area which is often an overlooked place with perhaps the best quality of life of most places(certainly in VA). The weather is mild, beautiful scenery, nearby lakes, skiiing, etc. Its over 3 hour drive to DC, 5 hours to Myrtle Beach(palm trees!), NC is only an hour away. My favorite place in NC is Wilmington, on the coast. It has a very inviting and energetic downtown like Roanoke and I like the ocean. NC & VA are big and diverse states. I believe both are in the top 10 of states with the biggest populations and incomes. The big cities in this region such as Charlotte, Raleigh, DC,
Richmond attract young professionals, the smaller cities such as Roanoke,
Lynchburg, Wilmington, Asheville, Triad attract retirees from Florida who have grown tired of the Florida rat race. Good luck in your search!

I love the area about 100 plus miles down 1-81 from you in the Abingdon area. Very cultured town, only a few miles from Tri-Cities (Bristol, Kingsport, and Johson City), only a couple of hours from Knoxville and Gatlinburg, TVA lakes galore close (South Holston, Watauga, Boone, Cherokee, Norris, etc.), skiing in North Carolina near Boone and also between Johnson City, Tn. and Asheville very close, universities and colleges that have reciprocal agreement for Scott and Washington County Virginia student in said Tenn. colleges (e.g. East Tenn. State, etc.), medical school already close at E. Tenn. State and one coming at King College in Bristol, the usual malls and shopping centers and restaurants in Tri-Cities, large medical centers in Tri-Cities (e.g. Holston Valley in Kingsport), and Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (like the Smokies without the crowds) and the Appalachian Trail near Damascus and Marion, the list goes on and on, and this area is not as overrun with the Floridian ex-pats as is some of those other places you mentioned, or Boone, N.C. Southwestern Virginia is often overlooked compared to more easterly parts of Virginia, but in some ways, that might be good. Really, from Marion and Smyth County on down, this area is oriented more toward Tennessee than most of the rest of Virginia, despite the Virginia highway signs.

[cutiedeer]

I grew up in Elizabeth City- one hour south of Norfolk, one hour drive to Kitty Hawk, two hours to Greenville.
Elizabeth City is economically depressed, and has been so for years. Norfolk's urban sprawl has spread south of the NC line, and the new cookie cutter houses are springing up everywhere farm land used to be. Not one, but two of my former homes have been confiscated by the state to build a bypass for the developments- one that could have easily been shifted 20 feet over and not taken our home. Northeastern NC is very flat, surrounded by swamps, and has humid summers. I have spent a lot of time at Kitty Hawk also, and it has gone from a nice beach city to over development.
Having spent a lot of time in the Hampton Roads area, also, I would avoid it unless you like traffic.

I moved to Lynchburg, VA in 2003, and absolutely love it. It is a smaller city than Charlottesville (one hour to the north) and Roanoke (one hour to the Southwest). It has a lot of history, and a nice park and trail system. The 'city on seven hills' is beautiful and while it has expanded, it is not the craziness of C-ville or Roanoke. Rural areas are only minutes away, but the amenities of a nice city are within easy reach. The commuter train service to DC did just begin. Lynchburg is home to Liberty University, Lynchburg College, Sweet Briar College, Randolph College (formerly Randolph-Macon Women's College)... I personally came here for Liberty and fell in love with the city. Many students do the same, although it seems the students who grew up here can't wait to get to a real city(aka, big)...The mountains are beautiful in the distance. The terrain is rolling hillsides. There are several good public and private schools. The real-estate market in Lynchburg was sheltered somewhat from the huge hits other areas have seen in recent years. Lynchburg is home to some larger companies (J Crew, Areva, Old Va Candle COmpany, BWXT, Glad, Frito Lay, Fleet) and has an excellent health care system that I work for- rated among the top 2% in the nation for nursing excellence and patient outcomes.
Best wishes!

[katjohnson123]

So have you decided on which state to live - NC or VA?

My husband and I are pondering the same questions - looking at NC, VA, SC, and TN. We are leaning towards VA because of the historic culture, the major university (Charlottesville), vineyards, and the 4 moderate seasons.

TN had too much touristy things, too many road signs that read "congested area - slow down", and we took random roads around neighborhoods and 90% of them had no zoning (many cars parking in the yards etc), and it is too far to the ocean. The taxes were very good tho.

SC upstate area has too much rain and humid summers. Greenville area does have nice culture and a beautiful downtown tho.

NC near Raleigh gets more snow, there is too many areas that seem like building has gone wild. NC also had the most pollution and garbage along the highways.

We will be heading to VA to check out the housing. Love the rolling hills there! and proximity to both ocean and mountains (and those vineyards are nice too).

Let us know where you have decided to go. We are ex-Illinoisans. Eeek.

[sissy77]

Taxes in VA I found cheaper than NC as my taxes on 3 acres is 1000 dollars and I have almost 3000 sq. ft house custom built 6 years ago .Here you seem to pay more for bedrooms and bathrooms on your tax bill plus I have what they call a view lot because I am up on a hill overlooking everything and I have 3 bedrooms 3 and 1 half baths .Utilities for my house every 2 months is about 300 dollars and it went that I high because I installed a koi pond and waterfall by the side of my front porch .I agree no jobs here and that does not bother me as we are retired from Ford Motor Co. .We retired at 50 and are just enjoying the peacefull side of life . Last 2 winters are making me feel like I'm back in NJ .

[kakalena]

Being native to VA I love it and think it's gorgeous. But just want to inform that VA summers are no walk in the park. I have family in northern Florida and in my opinion it gets just as hot and humid as there. I guess the difference is that it doesn't last as long. The flip side is that the winters can occasionally become really harsh and brutal. 2 winters ago we were literally snowed in for a week! So if you want milder winters, NC might be your answer, although I think western NC is not so different from many parts of VA.

If you want rolling hills with mountains in the distance, I'm thinking Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville. Have you considered looking in the Northwestern part of VA or the Shenandoah Valley? I have no idea what the prices are there but Northwestern VA is frickin gorgeous! Even for VA standards. Really old stone houses and walls and really really green, it looks just like the countryside in England. The atmosphere is really Englishy too. In fact that's prolly why there's a lot of English expats. Lots of horse farms and fox hunting. The only thing is it is full of "old money" types and a bit hoity toity lol. But I think there's also a lot of transplants so you prolly wouldn't have any problems with being the "outsiders" trying to be local. The Plains is a nice place to look up, Robert Duvall lives there. Oh and because it's full of rich people, development is very much controlled.

Good luck.

[pktv]

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