Is it really difficult to get to Alexandria from Bedford or Lynchburg? (Burke: rent)

[Ready to Semi-Retire]

Hi all - and thank you in advance for your help and insights.

We are a long-time married couple looking to semi-retire. We have no kids and have lived for the past 2 decades in Maryland - from Bethesda to Annapolis where we live now in a cottage on the water. This area is just too congested and we need a change. Also, it's very expensive to live here and if we semi-retire we want to lower our living expenses.

We visited Lynchburg and Bedford in June and I really liked Lynchburg, and my hubby really liked Beford. The problem is that it seems to be very far away from the little bit of family we do have in Alexandria VA. Has anyone lived in lynchburg/bedford and traveled to Alexandria once a week or once ever two weeks? If so, was it awful or do you get used to it and it's no big deal? Is taking Amtrak the best solution?

What we love about the area is the lack of congestion, the lower cost of living, the availability of grocery shopping and close to a real hospital (not that we need one now but can imagine we might in our 60s or 70s). We like that Liberty Univ is in Lynchburg as well as other colleges (we're Catholic and appreciate the Christian values). We don't really care about shopping and restaurants. We do travel several times a year but driving from our house now to Dulles is 1 1/2 - 2 hours so to drive 3 1/2 hours to Dulles is a bit further but not outrageous.

We do need high speed internet and good cable and we do want some land (2+ acres so we do not have to see our neighbors or hear a neighbor's dog barking). We'd like a small-ish house - it's just the 2 of us so we don't need 2000+ sq ft and don't want the maintenance of that anyway. We want to stay under 250k (ideally under 200k)

But I'm just worried about the trip to Alexandria. I will need to make it a couple of times a month and don't want it to be impossible. Any help you can give is greatly greatly appreciated!

[springgrl]

Originally Posted by Ready to Semi-Retire

Has anyone lived in lynchburg/bedford and traveled to Alexandria once a week or once ever two weeks? If so, was it awful or do you get used to it and it's no big deal? Is taking Amtrak the best solution?

I go every few weeks. Train is definitely the easiest: you can board/disembark at King Street, but I use Burke Center more because I can leave my car there. And it sounds like there will soon be a third option for the train. Timing wise it takes about 3.5 hours to get to Alexandria.

Driving from Alexandria, I find 95 South to 3 to 20 and so on the easier way outside of rush hour. When I leave early morning it takes me ~3 hours. During rush hour I'll cut across on the FFX parkway to 66 and come down 29.

After 6 years of doing this the caveat is I have yet to find the ideal time of day to drive TO Alexandria. I never make it up there in less than 4 hours.

On groceries, I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I find the selection in Lynchburg leaves much to be desired so I often bring back HTF groceries when I drive.

[Ready to Semi-Retire]

springgrl thank you for replying. I thought the train might be the best choice - do you go up and back in same day? Where do you leave your car? What's HTF food? Also, how long to get to Dulles - if Alex is 4 hours is it 5 to dulles airport?

Did you previously live in NOVA? If so, how was the adjustment to moving to lynchburg? Did you rent and live there for a bit before buying? I think the Forest area may work for us to get some land - boonsboro doesn't have homes with the land we want that I can tell. I grew up in NY (right outside the City) and have been in Maryland for 20 years (college and law school) and have never lived in the country so to speak - just suburbs. Any other insights are greatly appreciated!

[sregorat3]

I have traveled to Alex. numerous times, but always on recreational trips. Almost always take the train and stay around King St. I don't worry about HTF (hard to find) stuff unless it is something like furniture! Check the Bedford County side of Boonsboro. It is very convenient and there are more housing opportunities with land. Trent's Ferry Rd, Coffee Rd, Hawkins Mill Rd.

[Ready to Semi-Retire]

Thank you sregorat3 for the reply and info!! We will definitely check out that area! Another question for you - have you ever spent any extended time in the Woodstock/Front Royal area? That's another area we are now looking at due to its closeness to Alex. We love Bedford/Lynchburg but I'm so worried about the travel to Alex. Do you think we would have the same type of living experience in the 'northern mountain' area that we would have in bedford/lynchburg? Also, any thoughts on living in Farmville? That was the first place in Southern VA I learned about during this quest for our semi-retirement spot but now it maybe seems to be not as convenient (no train station)?

[springgrl]

Originally Posted by Ready to Semi-Retire

springgrl thank you for replying. I thought the train might be the best choice - do you go up and back in same day? Where do you leave your car? What's HTF food? Also, how long to get to Dulles - if Alex is 4 hours is it 5 to dulles airport?

No, Dulles would take about the same (or less) time than Alexandria (depending on 29/66).

I don't usually do the same day. When I go up there I go for work: need a full day. If you're meaning on the Lynchburg end, I leave my car at the Lynchburg station. Outside of difficulty finding a spot, I've not had an issue.

I have lived in Northern VA (Falls Church then Alexandria) since the 90s. Because I go up there regularly and Lynchburg has been growing I don't miss a lot, just, as noted, hard to find (HTF) food items, but even that has gotten better. At first I was frustrated with how many small stores still follow blue laws (it's hard when you work full time to shop at a place only open 10-6 M-Sat), but I've adjusted.

I came here for personal reasons in 2009 and the market was good for buyers, so I jumped on a great opportunity. I knew enough about myself to know if I moved to a more rural area I'd be a complete home body (I work from home when here), so I bought downtown where I could easily walk out my door to social activities and get to trails and the river just as fast.

[headnsouth]

Seconding the train. Lynchburg to DC is effortless, so to Alexandria even more so.

As for Front Royal, you will think I'm crazy but the drive on 66 is more of a hassle than the train. I go to Bethesda regularly and I plan my trip to hit Front Royal no earlier than 7 p.m. because the traffic just isn't worth it. Since you are in the area already you have probably heard traffic reports for *years* that always, without fail, include the phrase "from Nutley Street to the Beltway." That's what you have to get through to get to Alexandria.

If you still want to be on the water consider Smith Mountain Lake. It's just below Bedford but much more interesting.

[LionLady]

We moved here from Baltimore last fall. It has been a bit of an adjustment from living in the Balt/DC metro area. But it isn't as if we've moved to Alaska. There are those HTF foods: Esskay hot dogs, and limited access to a good selection of organic produce (we're big fans of Mom's Organic Market). To the good: We love that we don't need to fret over personal or property security like we did in Baltimore County, and folks seem to just be friendlier.

There's one other thing I miss having access to, down here: IKEA. Lynchburg is 3 hours and a few minutes from either the Potomac Mills, VA or Charlotte, NC store. Its a bit farther to NC, but traffic is less crazy, and there are at least a half dozen good barbecue joints on the way.

I make the drive north about once a month or so to visit my kids, etc. The train is certainly easy. And you can't beat that there's a station right in town. But you've got to plan ahead, check departures, etc. Often, I'll wake up and decide to make the drive. Its a solid 4 hour trip. There are 3 basic driving routes that I use, none of which involve I-95. Most times I take 29 through Charlottesville and on toward Winchester, or I81. Sometimes I take a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway and then decide.