Thinking of a move (Richmond, Roanoke: lawyers, employment, income) - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

JA0304 · 05-29-2011, 11:26 AM

Hi everybody ! I found this forum a few days ago and have been reading through all the many threads about Virginia. It seems like everybody is proud of the state and has a lot of good things to say. I didn't know quite where to put my question, so I started a new thread.
I am contemplating a life change and a move to a new location is possible. I notice in reading through the relocation threads that it seems most of the people moving to Virginia are wealthy professionals, and or retired/semi-retired. Or, young professionals looking to get established. My situation is this. I'm soon to be fifty years old. I'm what I have heard described as a "Gray Collar" semi-professional, neither blue collar or white collar. I have never made more than 35K as a paralegal in Northwest Ohio. My job here is tanking and wanted to get some opinions on a possible relocation to Virginia. I was in Virginia for a short vacation last year and really liked my stay. Virginia is a beautiful state and the people were friendly everywhere I went. I was mostly in Nelson County and some points north on I64 and I81.
Given my brief details, thoughts and opinions on move would be welcome.
Thanks

roanoker 4 · 05-31-2011, 10:27 AM

Why not? You will be welcomed here but if you plan to live closer to Washington DC(Northern Va) you will need much more money due to a higher
cost of living. I would think your paralegal experience would be very helpful
in landing a job. Good Luck!

LDH · 05-31-2011, 08:23 PM

Hubby and I are planning on moving to VA when he retires from the military in 3 years. He will be 54 and then plans on working another 12 years. I will be 51 years old and am not a professional but will plan on working another 9 years. If you want to move to VA, then do it! We finally decided that we are going to do what we want for once and not stay in a place we hate just to make everyone else happy.

I wish you all the best!

CAVA1990 · 06-02-2011, 07:14 PM

There are a lot of really great places to live all over the state. I would think a paralegal could work just about anywhere as every county has a courthouse and lawyers. As Roanoker said you probably want to stay out of the DC suburbs due to the high living costs. If you liked Nelson County you might consider Charlottesville or Lynchburg. However, Richmond might be a relatively easier place to find a legal job since it's the state capital and there's a Federal courthouse there. Go for it. I've loved living here for the past 20 years.

TN Lily · 06-04-2011, 12:31 PM

Check out the employment page on the Virginia Supreme Court website. You may be able to get a job as a court clerk. They usually pay decent plus have benefits.

You may want to also check out the federal court system for jobs.

Virginia is a beautiful state with lots of variety - cities & rural areas, mountains, beaches, rolling hills and flat land.

Good luck.

JA0304 · 06-04-2011, 12:41 PM

Thanks for the responses so far. I have been surfing this forum a lot the last few days, and there are a lot of people looking to move, not only to Virginia but other places as well. Some responses are in favor of a move for younger folks, not so much for older folks like me. Some suggest sticking it out where you are and others say move on. It will be a tough decision, but I'll keep working on it. Please, further comment and advice is welcome.

Teebyrd86 · 06-04-2011, 10:25 PM

People are saying to stay out of the Northern Va/Dc suburbs because its more expensive but they are forgetting that you do get paid more here because of that so it evens it out. Your 35k salary here will most likely be 50k or more. In my own experience when I first took my job 2 years ago I jumped 20k a year in pay. But spent double a month on rent. With that said, Virginia is a great state I have lived here my entire life. I grew up in Richmond spent 2 years in Roanoke and have been living in Northern Va for 2 years as well I can say great things about each area I have lived in. I cant really say I like one over the other because they are all give or take. Dont listen to all the negativity people will give you about Northern Va. people draw conclusions and make up their own opinion of this area before they even visit especially those in other parts of the state.

roanoker 4 · 06-05-2011, 05:32 AM

It is very hard to advise anyone moving to Virginia who is unaware of the diversity of this state as it regards to employment, cost of living, etc. Our state has some of the wealthiest people in the nation and it also has some of the poorest. It is hard to generally say who would be a good "fit" to move to NoVa as it has a huge population of younger highly educated higher income people. I don't know why a retiree would move there unless they are coming from a similar area such as the NYC metro area, New England or California.
I think a lot of people on here are looking to move away from the higher priced areas and they think all of VA fits their needs. Of course pretty soon when they all move here this state will eventually become just as expensive as the states they left due to the higher demands for service, in my opinion.

tgbwc · 06-05-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teebyrd86

People are saying to stay out of the Northern Va/Dc suburbs because its more expensive but they are forgetting that you do get paid more here because of that so it evens it out.

That's also what I was thinking. It might also be easier to find employment.

Teebyrd86 · 06-05-2011, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

It is very hard to advise anyone moving to Virginia who is unaware of the diversity of this state as it regards to employment, cost of living, etc. Our state has some of the wealthiest people in the nation and it also has some of the poorest. It is hard to generally say who would be a good "fit" to move to NoVa as it has a huge population of younger highly educated higher income people. I don't know why a retiree would move there unless they are coming from a similar area such as the NYC metro area, New England or California.
I think a lot of people on here are looking to move away from the higher priced areas and they think all of VA fits their needs. Of course pretty soon when they all move here this state will eventually become just as expensive as the states they left due to the higher demands for service, in my opinion.

Retirees all have their reasons for moving to places, believe it or not I have met several who have moved to the Northern Va area but as you said they are mostly from up north. There are many "havens" In Nova for retirees, it is not all hustle and bustle like it is generalized and not everyone here is rich. That said If I was a retiree and a job was not a concern I would move to Roanoke (for the low cost of living, scenery and overall nice people) but in this posters case a job is still on their list and they arnt as easy to come by in the Roanoke area. I think the OP has a lot to choose from in Virginia and knows that, I just dont want them to be put off on the cost of living in Nova and scratch is off their list without realizeing the other side of it. I think they should definatly check out other areas of Va as well. Richmond is a great place too.