Need Advice about relocating back East (living in, price, moving to)

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by emmaslovelys

Please let me know if you ever decide to go to Shen. Valley! That's where i grew up!!!!!!!

Not sure I'll ever go back east ... except for funerals ... but Shen Valley or Chesapeake Bay are the sweet spots for me.


How are you doing with your decision to go back to Richmond? At least at lot of Amtrak trains run north and south through there, get you to DC without messing with I-95.

[emmaslovelys]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Not sure I'll ever go back east ... except for funerals ... but Shen Valley or Chesapeake Bay are the sweet spots for me.


How are you doing with your decision to go back to Richmond? At least at lot of Amtrak trains run north and south through there, get you to DC without messing with I-95.

My house is under contract!!! We have to move QUICKLY if all goes well and there is very little inventory in Glen Allen to buy a home?! Hubby flying there tomorrow to look. I hope i'm doing the right thing. I can't believe there is such low inventory there!

[spencer114]

Good luck with the move.
The housing market is pretty tight in Richmond right now but I’m sure you’ll find something great. Stuff is selling fast but probably not at Aurora speed

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by emmaslovelys

My house is under contract!!! We have to move QUICKLY if all goes well and there is very little inventory in Glen Allen to buy a home?! Hubby flying there tomorrow to look. I hope i'm doing the right thing. I can't believe there is such low inventory there!

"Originally Posted by Mike from back east View Post
Not sure I'll ever go back east ... except for funerals ... but Shen Valley or Chesapeake Bay are the sweet spots for me."

People are realizing how awesome RVA is and the place is blowing up. I used to live in Cherry Creek in Denver and the only thing I miss is the mountains.

I do have a love/hate relationship with humidity. Humidity is why the mid-atlantic is so green, but I did love the humidity level in Colorado.

But I was just on the dock messing with the boat. I can be out on the Chesapeake in minutes, and I'll be back in Richmond tonight in around an hour. Used to take me that long in traffic to come down from the edge of the mountains in Denver because of all the traffic on 70.

[alloo66]

Originally Posted by emmaslovelys

Hello i came out here two years ago to SE Aurora. I was excited to move to the city everyone seemed to be raving about. I came with my children and husband (whose company opened an office here) and after a lot of research (on this page) decided that SE Aurora would be a great location for us because of schools, proximity to airport for hubby's abundant travel schedule and relatively close commute to downtown office.

I came from a very social community in VA and was honestly happy to have a break because it felt stifling sometimes. However I thought I would find somewhat of a similar situation here and that has not turned out to be the case. In VA I played on a tennis team, my kids played soccer, gymastics, swim team and various clubs (scouts , DI ect) and I had carpools for everything. I have not been able to find a single carpool for any of their activities here and being that it's just a larger bigger town everything is more spread out. I'm therefore driving all over the place all the time by myself as my hubby travels a
lot and isn't able to help much. I haven't made many friends but truthfully I haven't made a huge effort though I don't remember it being this hard to meet people before. Maybe it's my age. My mother is sick so i've had to go back and forth to VA to see her.

After this winter's weather and being constantly exhausted and depressedI told my husband I don't know that I can do another year here being so isolated. He said his company didn't really need him here as he travels so much so they might move us back. Well now they have agreed to! I feel like i should be jumping on the chance but I don't know if it's the right choice to uproot my kids (who haven't made many friends either!) and move them back? I know 100% at least today that I do not want to stay here forever.

I miss being close to the ocean (2 hours from my VA home), close to my family and I feel like it's very brown here where i live. I think if we'd have moved either closer to the City or closer to the mountains I would feel like I was living more of the CO lifestyle but it's a 20 min drive to the nearest hiking and 30-40 mins to downtown so I just stay in my house A LOT of the time. I do not want to uproot the kids to a new school here in CO. At least in VA they'd be back with their friends. Any advice?

Why go back to VA? Why not try another great city somewhere else in the Country? Have another adventure? What have you done to reach out to the community? Do you volunteer at the school? Do you participate in community activities/service? Have you done anything fun? When you move somewhere you have to reach out? People won't just come up to you? Are there any other people from VA that you know here? Move now or stay here forever? Good luck to you!

[adriftinthebay]

Richmond is the best place to land in Virginia -- plentiful jobs, the falls of the James, abundant tidal and inland rivers, Chesapeake Bay, Blue Ridge mountains. If you were heading to Northern VA, on the other hand, I wouldn't be as happy for you as I am that you're going back to Central/SE VA. Good luck with the move.

Denver and Colorado are awesome too, make sure you enjoy your final weeks there. You will miss it.

[Coloradomom22]

I think you are doing the right thing. Denver is not the "answer" for everyone as it truly is comprised of people from all over and has quite the transient population. I have family (inlaws) in Virginia and North Carolina and from observations over the years it seems people have more roots and history there (depending on the location).

Being near family is also a huge factor. Choosing a random city to move to seems silly to me if your husband's job is transferring you back.

And as a parent with college-aged kids I also want to emphasize how being on the east coast has great advantages with college choices. Compared to CO there are hundreds of schools within an easy-day's drive from where you will live. Not so here.

[little pink]

Ask yourself this question. If you were living in Virginia right now , knowing what you know about life in Colorado? Would you move to Colorado? I too , felt very isolated in Colorado , I left and moved back home to Tennessee. You cannot replace famiIy , I would go home. Colorado will always be there , but making memories with friends and family wont.

[loveautumn]

Please let us know how you are doing/feeling once you are back in RVA. I’m moving there myself in March! I “accidentally” ran across your post and so glad I did!

[Chloe333]

I don't think OP's situation was so much a Colorado issue as an uprooting from family and roots and moving to a sprawling suburb issue. Raising kids is not easy. Making friends in adulthood is not easy. Living in car culture suburbs can present downsides such as isolation, boredom, loneliness and under stimulation. Not always but it can. City life also presents its own challenges though but it can be somewhat of a buffer against social isolation.

I think lots of people in OP's situation in lots of places across the country could have written what she did in the OP. On the flip side, living near family can drive one mad too. Living near an extensive network of friends can present downsides just as OP stated. One can get restless and bored being in the same place for too long. Then you leave and you might have renewed appreciation for it compared to the contrast of the new place. You'd give anything to have just one of those irritating family or friends sitting in your living room sharing a cup of coffee with you.

CO is quite different from back east with the terrain and climate obviously so that can present a bit of a shock to transplants. It can trigger a feeling of being a stranger living in a strange land intensifying homesickness.

Just looking at her situation from different angles, I guess. Good luck OP! I would agree with the others that it sounds like you made a good decision for you and the family. I bet you are very relieved and excited.