Virginia or Pennsylvania (to rent, home, job market)
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Debating this with my wife. We have already seen 2 towns in Va we love. Salem and Blacksburg. The 3 towns on our list for Pa are Greensburg,Washington and Indiana I believe. We want excellent schools,be able to rent a 3 to 4 bedroom home for 1k a month or less,family friendly with a cozy feel. Somewhere with festivals and celebrations etc. Any reason one beats the other? Oh and we are southerners from Ga. If that helps.
Debating this with my wife. We have already seen 2 towns in Va we love. Salem and Blacksburg. The 3 towns on our list for Pa are Greensburg,Washington and Indiana I believe. We want excellent schools,be able to rent a 3 to 4 bedroom home for 1k a month or less,family friendly with a cozy feel. Somewhere with festivals and celebrations etc. Any reason one beats the other? Oh and we are southerners from Ga. If that helps.
The weather is better in VA for sure. Coming from GA, PA is going to be a shock.
The weather is better in VA for sure. Coming from GA, PA is going to be a shock.
PA seems pretty on par with North Georgia, and even rural South Georgia matches up with rural PA. Not sure what the shock would be. Real culture shock would be a move to Russia or China...moving anywhere within the U.S. is very minor. Americans are generally just like other Americans from region to region.
Debating this with my wife. We have already seen 2 towns in Va we love. Salem and Blacksburg. The 3 towns on our list for Pa are Greensburg,Washington and Indiana I believe. We want excellent schools,be able to rent a 3 to 4 bedroom home for 1k a month or less,family friendly with a cozy feel. Somewhere with festivals and celebrations etc. Any reason one beats the other? Oh and we are southerners from Ga. If that helps.
The locations you are talking about in both states are in or near the Appalachians, and it should be worth considering that that area of western Pennsylvania is a lot colder and cloudier than north Georgia. It snows several times more out there compared to southwestern Virginia, and is in a whole different ballpark anywhere in Georgia. Going from somewhere warm and sunny to somewhere colder and cloudier can be difficult on some people's mental health. It isn't Vermont, but the weather is still a factor that can make the move a difficult adjustment.
A few climate charts:
Snowfall:
Average High:
Average Lows:
Cloudy Days:
Clear Days:
Other advantages of living in the Blacksburg area of Virginia is better access to family friendly beaches in the summer (Virginia Beach) for a longer period of the year. Sure, you can make the drive from western PA to Atlantic City, NJ or Ocean City, MD, but keep in mind that you will cross into the northeast corridor where traffic and manners are an entirely different world compared to mid-southern Virginia. Virginians are also more outgoing and friendly, but I'm not sure if schools are better or worse.
On the other hand, the areas you are talking about in Western PA have better access to a major city (Pittsburgh) while southwestern VA doesn't have the same easy access to major cities. Pittsburgh is in a different league than Raleigh. Not sure if that is a plus or minus in your book.
PA seems pretty on par with North Georgia, and even rural South Georgia matches up with rural PA. Not sure what the shock would be.
As somebody who moved from western Pennsylvania to northern Georgia 20 years ago, I'm uniquely qualified to have an opinion about this. I experienced a culture shock, and it took about five years for Georgia to really start growing on me. There are plenty of differences between the two.
I also noticed that all of these communities have a college presence and I wonder if employment at a college plays a part in this decision?
Also, the PA communities have a relatively close proximity to Pittsburgh versus Roanoke being the closest city of a decent size in regards to the VA locations.
After schools,employment would be next biggest factor. I won't be working right away but wife is in medical field. I know Roanoke,Salem area has a lot of medical field jobs not sure about Pa. Also not sure about difference in prices of food,gas,living etc. The reason for the college towns is wife wants to go back to school eventually and it also brings a younger feel to the town its self.
You guys will probably love Roanoke, it's similar to Georgia. The only drawback is the job market out there isn't that great.
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