Have you moved from the burbs to a more rural setting? (Chesapeake: for sale, house)

[reebo]

Husband and I currently live in a planned subdivision in Loudoun County. After the kids are gone--and here's hoping they go--we were thinking we'd like to move further west. We'd like more land, say 5 or 10 acres, just for some breathing room. Here's my question: have you made this kind of move before, from a suburb to a more rural setting? Was it a good move for you? What do you wish you'd done differently, or what do you wish you'd known before you moved? This is over five years away for us, but I like to plan ahead and turn things over. Thanks for your help.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by reebo

Husband and I currently live in a planned subdivision in Loudoun County. After the kids are gone--and here's hoping they go--we were thinking we'd like to move further west. We'd like more land, say 5 or 10 acres, just for some breathing room. Here's my question: have you made this kind of move before, from a suburb to a more rural setting? Was it a good move for you? What do you wish you'd done differently, or what do you wish you'd known before you moved? This is over five years away for us, but I like to plan ahead and turn things over. Thanks for your help.

Well, mine is one week away. I'm moving to the Ft. Knox area of Kentucky which it's anchor cities Elizabethtown, Vine Grove, and Radcliff have about 50,000 people BETWEEN them. I'm not going to miss the congestion of Alexandria. It is just too crowded for my tastes so I think it will be a needed change for me. My parents are natives of rural areas and the thing they hit me over the head with is the mileage you have to go to get certain amenities.

[AlexandriaVa11]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Well, mine is one week away. I'm moving to the Ft. Knox area of Kentucky which it's anchor cities Elizabethtown, Vine Grove, and Radcliff have about 50,000 people BETWEEN them. I'm not going to miss the congestion of Alexandria. It is just too crowded for my tastes so I think it will be a needed change for me. My parents are natives of rural areas and the thing they hit me over the head with is the mileage you have to go to get certain amenities.

Good luck with your move, Alanboy. I've appreciated your info about both Alexandria and Hampton Roads (a possible new location for us), and I really hope your new location suits you well. Looking forward to reading all about it!

[yamota]

used to be "the burbs" was just up to maybe springfield or Burke, anything beyond that was considered the boondocks, but now with all the development over the last 10-15 years, even places like Manassas and Gainesville are considered burbs whereas before it was totally rural

[FindingZen]

Here's the thing, though: are you still going to need to commute further into Northern Virginia or DC to work? It's one thing live out in, say, the Northern Neck or West Virginia, if you're working from home or retired and only need to come "into town" on occasion. But unless your destination is Dulles or Tysons Corner - and maybe not even then - your daily commute will be incredibly long from a place where you're likely to find the amount of land you're looking for.

[ChristineVA]

What is your age?

I ask because my in-laws retired to a rural area with 6 acres. They wanted land, they wanted a buffer. At first it was fine; however, they spend a lot of time and physical effort working their property. Even though it wasn't all grass and needed mowing, it needed a lot of work and upkeep. Then the health problems started and it was an issue to see specialists and it was/is a BIG drive to get to those physicians.

I knew when they moved there they should not have done so for these reasons. Maybe you are younger and a long way off from these types of concerns.

Also, their area has stayed quite rural and, as such, hit hard by the housing issues. They have desperately tried to sell and they cannot even though they have a beautifully maintained home and a nice piece of land.

[clintsullivan]

We love it in the "more rural" area --across the hill in Jefferson County WV. Although in reality it's not much different than western Loudoun when it comes to living. We've got most of the shopping & service neccesities right here within a 10 minute drive and worst case if you need something that's not here it's 30-45 minutes to Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Winchester, Leesburg, or Frederick. Clarke & Frederick county VA are the same, although Frederick county VA / Winchester & Stephens City are more built-up and hectic than Clarke or Jefferson. But to me this is not rural enough, I'd prefer to be in an even more rural area where it may be a 30+ minute drive to any store--that's why we have our house for sale.
Christine is right on with the land thing. We've got about 4 acres with the house and an adjoining almost 3 ac lot. Only a few acres are grass, but I still spend a few hours a week mowing & trimming We do the gardening thing; not a real big area, but a big enough yield to lower the grocery bills (we've still got lots of canned garden green beans, potatoes, pickles & carrots from last year.) So if you get into gardening it takes several hours a week as well.
The distance to doctors is typically not a problem here; it's an easy drive to any of the big facilities in Winchester, Landsdowne, Frederick, etc from anywhere here or in Clarke or Frederick county VA.

[reebo]

Thanks for all your input. This is exactly what I wanted.

By the time the kids are gone, my husband will be retired so daily commuting isn't an issue. Age-wise, he'll be pushing 70, so concerns about being physically able, or even willing, to do maintenance work is something I had thought about. I will be a spring chicken-like 55 so maybe outdoor work will fall under my purview.

Not being able to sell if we wanted to move is something not even on my radar. And I have read about people moving to a different lifestyle and then not being happy and wanting to move back. That would greatly concern me if we felt trapped.

Keep the thoughts coming. This is very helpful.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by reebo

Not being able to sell if we wanted to move is something not even on my radar. And I have read about people moving to a different lifestyle and then not being happy and wanting to move back. That would greatly concern me if we felt trapped.

This has turned out to be a big deal for my in-laws (they are now 64 and 72 with my mother-in-law being the older one). They are in FABULOUS shape for the age. My mother-in-law still goes to the gym, regularly bikes, etc. But both of them had had some health issues come up in the last 3 years that required specialists. They have to drive an hour to get to them. They were pretty bummed to find out that there was nothing close by.

They both spent much of their careers in the DC area, then transferred to Asheville, NC, which they absolutely loved. But, they were unhappy in that one aspect of not being close to the coast (they like to boat). So they bought 6 acres near the shore in a very rural area and they've been mainly unhappy. They have tried to sell numerous times to get back to Asheville or somewhere in South Carolina where many of their friends have ended up, but they can't even get anyone to look at their house.

So, it's really something to think about. To be fair, they did not do any research before they moved. In my opinion, it was quite impulsive. I think if you do enough research and really spend time in the area you will move, you can avoid some of these issues.

[car54]

I think the ideal situation is two residences...and split your time between them.

We have a second home on the lower Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. It's several acres of deep-water waterfront so it also saves LOTS in moorage fees for our boat. Nuthin like having your boat(s) in the backyard!

The area is out of range for commuters, so it's pretty much full time retirees, weekenders like us, and the "natives" who are mostly watermen and farmers descended from 16th century British settlers. I love listening to them talk....they still have a distinctive accent. It's very peaceful down there, one can take a leisurely stroll down the street (no sidewalks) without fear of being run down by some crazed commuter driving twice or three times the speed limit. Plus it was MUCH cheaper...a similar property near Annapolis would easily set you back seven 7 figures...

I don't think I'd want to live down there full time, at least not at this point in our lives....we have too much going on in NOVA. But it sure is a great getaway!