Winchester questions (Leesburg, Woodstock, Purcellville: appointed, car insurance, crime)

[isis297]

I know there are many back posts I can look through and I still will, but I wanted to get up to date opinions in case any have changed.

We have lived in smaller towns for the most part. First Hampstead, MD and now Ballston Spa, NY. In both there is one main street yet they manage to fit everything you could possibly need there. We love where we are except for the cost of living.

Winchester is some place people have been telling us about and when I've looked at pictures, it reminds me of Saratoga.

Please tell me how you think it stacks up:

Safety
Schools (not looking for the kids to be memorizing the dictionary in kindergarten, but to be taught at appropriate levels with involved schools/parents...our school is like a family)
Healthcare (great surgeons/doctors - my mom has a bad heart and has survived being on life support 3 times; healthcare is paramount)
House values
Sense of Community?
Things to do (kids are ages 1 to 11)

Thanks!!

[arielmina]

I will be the voice of dissent and say that as a New Englander, and familiar with your area in NY, I have not been impressed with Winchester. My mother in law decided to move to VA from CT to retire and I steered her to Winchester, based in part on all the glowing reviews on this site. We found nothing liveable in her price range, and just driving around the city, I didn't like it at all. Alot of traffic; alot of commerce, a TON of fast food (honestly I think they have every single fast food and national chain in existance). Reports of more crime than where she was coming from. The public schools are not known to be very good. I did drive only once into the "old town" section and it looked promising, but as for the rest of the city, yeah.. no. No desire to live there whatsoever. My MIL by the way settled in Woodstock, about 30 mins south of Winchester and she LOVES it.

That said, I'm sure about a million people will come on here and rave about it. I was just very disappointed in what I saw. I live about 30 miles east of Winchester and I never see the need to go there, other than to Marker Millers Orchards. That said, it is a huge town/city or whatever, you can literally go 40 mins from downtown Winchester and still have a Winchester address.... and I did see some very nice areas outside the city itself.

[arielmina]

oh and if you give us some more details on what you're looking for, we can probably steer you to other places as well. Frankly I wouldn't describe Winchester as a "small town" unless you're from a city. I am in the Purcellville area, now THAT's a small town

[globalburgh]

Like arielmina, I am familiar with the Ballston Spa area (I spent most of my childhood in Charlton, NY). I don't think Winchester is like Saratoga Springs. A better match would be Leesburg. Saratoga County and Loudoun County have a lot in common. And I can envision how Purcellville might remind you of Ballston Spa. On that note, you might also feel at home in Berryville.

That said, I like the old town of Winchester. I spent a lot of time on the pedestrian mall with my young children this summer. The Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum is located there. Jim Barnett Park is on the outskirts of downtown and the perfect place to let your kids play with other kids.

Cost living and housing are a lot more reasonable than you will find in NOVA. It is too far from DC to be a manageable commute. I've heard mixed things about the schools. I don't know anything about the local healthcare/hospitals. I like the sense of community, very family friendly.

Winchester has a diamond in the rough feel to it. Meaning that I think it is trending upwards and there are some very nice neighborhoods that could make it worth your while. I recommend digging deeper to see if it might be a good fit.

[BellaElla]

I really like Winchester.I agree with the statement of it's a diamond in the rough.I live in Berryville which is near but very small. I often have to go into Winchester for shopping and medical stuff.My family has had good experiences with the hospital there.My inlaws both have heart issues and we feel they are in good hands with the doctors and at the hospital.

[loveautumn]

Winchester isn't anything like Saratoga...it's kind of out there, far from major shopping etc. Saratoga has alot of culture (arts, etc.) and of course horse racing. I agree, Leesburg might be a better choice.

[isis297]

Thank you everyone for the responses. Like I mentioned, I'm from MD but we moved to NY about 8 years ago. I love a lot of things about where we live primarily the schools and safety. Unfortunately, financially the place is killing us. We have a roughly 1500 square foot house on .33 acres and our taxes are roughly $4600/year. The thought of what our taxes will be when we retire or what they would be if we move into a bigger house disturbs me. Add to that the fact that there is always an extra tax of some kind attached to things because we are in NY (can't tell you how many times I've heard "Oooh...you're from NY...yeah, it's going to cost you more just because of that") and the cost of groceries are ridiculous...we are ready to make one more move to our "forever home" where we can raise our children and go through the rest of our lives hopefully in a place our children will be happy to continue living in as they become adults. The problem is, we just don't know where that is.

Some of MD has changed so much. We thought we found an area back there to focus on, but the school system doesn't sound like it's that great. While house prices and taxes are less than here, they are still a bit high running roughly $3K+ for a house on less than an acre.

Some friends moved to WV and swear by it. (The cost of their house and taxes blew us away!!) But one of the concerns I have about there is the vaccination laws to be honest. (I vaccinate for the most part, but do it because I believe I am protecting my children which is what I am doing when I choose not to do a certain vaccine too. In WV, I would not be given that choice.) The healthcare doesn't sound very promising either considering from what I hear City Hospital just started doing heart caths!! My mom has been getting those for almost 2 decades so that is very concerning. My friend who lives there works in Winchester though so that was how we first learned about the area. Since then, we have discovered two other old friends who live there and say they love it but the one did say you have to watch the area.

The house prices and definitely the taxes are very appealing about Winchester. I looked up Purceville and Berryville and it looked like we were on the rise where house prices and taxes were concerned again.

[arielmina]

Taxes are definitely going to be higher in Clarke and certainly Loudoun counties, but you also get what you a pay for... the schools are generally better (definitely better in Loudoun, marginally better in Clarke). If public schools are important, I'm not sure that Winchester is the best choice. Why not consider Woodstock? If you can live anywhere, it's about 30 mins south of Winchester, has it's own hospital, the schools are supposed to be better, the town is ADORABLE, and the housing prices and taxes are VERY low. It's a little out of the way, meaning you have to drive to Winchester to get a decent food store, mall etc, but it is really a great little town. It very much reminds me of Vermont when I visit.

[globalburgh]

Given your cost of living concerns, Winchester seems like a good fit. Look around the area of Sherando High School (Stephens City), which is just south of Winchester. I'm sure there are other comparable neighborhoods in the region. That's one part I know well. There's a great park next to the high school. I took my kids to the playground there and met a number of parents who live in area. Again, good sense of community. Very nice people. Safe, in a where-suburbia-meets-rural kind of way. Reminds me a lot of where I grew up in Upstate NY and Vermont.

More outsiders are discovering Winchester and moving there. They are beginning to make a noticeable impact, in a positive way. The downtown area has a ton of charm. The close proximity to a national park and beautiful mountains doesn't hurt. But don't expect Saratoga Springs. You'd have better luck finding that in nearby West Virginia.

[isis297]

I would definitely prefer not to have to go far to get to the things we need. Hampstead was like that...I had to drive a half hour just to get to a Target or Walmart. We had grocery, a McD, post office, and hardware store for the most part. They finally added a Walmart a couple of years before we moved.

When we moved to NY, we knew we wanted great schools and safe area but we also didn't want to be far from everything. Ballston Spa has been wonderful with everything from fast food to pizza to grocery, post office, DMV, etc. All the big stores we could need and doctors are all within 15 to 20 minutes (Saratoga vs. Clifton Park). I know WV is pretty awesome where stores and restaurants are concerned. Our friend lives in Martinsburg and that one strip they have has EVERYTHING along it it seems. HIGHLY recommend the steakhouse if you've never been.

Globalburgh, do you live in Winchester? What kind of changes have you noticed with the outsiders moving in? I'm wondering if that wouldn't be a benefit as far as investment goes if the town seems to be moving in a good direction. Hampstead was like that only this time, we don't want to ever move again. We want to make one more move and have that be our forever home which makes moving to an area we don't really know anything about that much harder to figure out. If I could just get the schools figured out or maybe figure out homeschooling (is there much support for that there?), it sounds like it could still be a good option. I love the idea of suburbia meets rural. I keep telling my husband and sons I would NOT be opposed to buying a small farm which they think I'm crazy but I'd much rather have the land and be able to do with it what I want vs. having my neighbor on top of me.

What about cost of living? I know VA in itself can be expensive. Do you find you guys are over taxed/overcharged on things just because you live in VA like we are here? (For example, we pay an extra NYS fee on our car insurance, our car inspections are every year, and if you get a ticket, it is an automatic $50 NYS fee on top of the fine for the ticket. I learned this after our first year here because I had missed the yearly inspection. In MD we only had emmission tests every so often with inspections do at sale. So I got a fine for a non-moving violation plus a $50 (or was it $55 fee?) on top of it.) Any idea what the cost of gas/electric is per unit that I could compare it to ours? How much is regular gas? A gallon of milk? Just trying to get a few ideas to see if it is definitely worth a detail next time we come south.

Thank you SOOOO much for your help and advice.