va vs. tn, tell me why va would be better than tn (Roanoke: sales, rent)

[joee]

I recently posted in the gen usa forum about which state out of tn,ky,wv,va,nc,sc,ga,al, people would prefer to live in if given a preferance.

va so far is leading by a mile followed by tn, so tell me what does va have that would make it so much more favorable than the other states.

naturally it's a beautiful state but besides that, is it the weather, taxes, housing cost, or something else.

while i'm posting, let's take southwest va say from roanoke south & east since it's a favorable place, if givin a choice of any town within that area were would you pick & why.

[KewGee]

I voted VA #1 on your thread. I'm looking for a great place to retire and have done much searching on the internet in TN, NC, VA, KY, and WV as these are the states I have chosen as far as mild weather and mountain regions because if I don't have a home in the mountains, I may as stay here in Texas and swelter all summer from now on. Also, housing and taxes are reasonable. I'm still checking out many other aspects but am narrowing down the search.

I have decided that VA is where I'd like to be but of course, I must visit it first which I will next summer.

TN - NC ~ growing way too fast, leaps and bounds to say the least, way too many people per square mile, mountains home prices are increasing

KY - WV ~ too impoverished

VA ~ From all the posts I've read, certain areas in the mountains of VA are less likely to grow like crazy. I don't want to be around commercialization, only peace, quiet,tranquility, nature, and beautiful green mountains.

Choosing a town would be hard for me at the moment, but I'm looking at the counties of Grayson, Craig, and possibly Giles. Once I get to VA though, all that could change. Time will tell, and I can't wait.

[joee]

I first started out thinking i wanted in the mountains of nc, so i spent a few days around franklin, went down cashiers highlands area.

well from what i saw it turned me off from nc real good, if your not rich nc isn't the place to be.
I got in those hills/mountains thought i would never get back outta there, not a level spot around, real narrow roads, 15 mph curves, i thought boy by the time i get out of here i'll have to buy a new set of tires & brakes.

but that's just 1 certain area of nc not the entire state.

so then i made it to east tn, i really liked it there it felt homey if that's a word, like yup this is were i belong.

but if tn is growing by leaps & bounds, land developers buyin up all the prime land driving up prices, well not much sence in looking into that area much more since it could very well turn into the blacktop concrete jungle i hate.

so that brings me to virginia, but since i have no crystal ball who knows what the future holds for east tn or southwest va in terms of keeping the land what it was & should allways be, farms & lots of open space, not tearing out acres upon acres of forest that have been there for decades, let progress go somewere else.

quick note about wv, i spent some time in morgantown(university of wv medical), some of the nicest people i've ever come across & 1 of the best medical facilities i've ever been in, puts washington university in st louis to shame.

[williamsburgfan]

you can not compare one state to another. You have to compare specific areas. i Love VA - parts of it. I would certainly prefer some parts of Tn to some parts of Va. narrow down your research some and then compare. I live in a beautiful part of va that many consider retiring TO - it is not for everyone. Parts of NC nad SC afe fabuluous. The area around Asheville, Boone are attractive. Georgetown area of SC. Compare areas, not entire states.

[joee]

Originally Posted by williamsburgfan

you can not compare one state to another. You have to compare specific areas. i Love VA - parts of it. I would certainly prefer some parts of Tn to some parts of Va. narrow down your research some and then compare. I live in a beautiful part of va that many consider retiring TO - it is not for everyone. Parts of NC nad SC afe fabuluous. The area around Asheville, Boone are attractive. Georgetown area of SC. Compare areas, not entire states.

In this paticular post i did put in the bottom "while i'm posting, let's take southwest va say from roanoke south & east since it's a favorable place, if givin a choice of any town within that area were would you pick & why".

but i do see were i did make a mistake of putting south & east of roanoke which should actually be south & west of roanoke but it's too late to edit it or the title.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by joee

but if tn is growing by leaps & bounds, land developers buyin up all the prime land driving up prices, well not much sence in looking into that area much more since it could very well turn into the blacktop concrete jungle i hate.

so that brings me to virginia, but since i have no crystal ball who knows what the future holds for east tn or southwest va in terms of keeping the land what it was & should allways be, farms & lots of open space, not tearing out acres upon acres of forest that have been there for decades, let progress go somewere else.

quick note about wv, i spent some time in morgantown(university of wv medical), some of the nicest people i've ever come across & 1 of the best medical facilities i've ever been in, puts washington university in st louis to shame.

From what research I did on TN, I see that it really is growing and I too don't want the blacktop concrete jungle. I checked out many counties and the population per square mile is too high for me. I would love for eastern TN to be a choice but because of that, I don't think it ever will be. I want to be away from the maddening crowd, so to speak.

One poster told me that SW VA probably won't see any major growth in the foreseeable future as apparently, there aren't a lot of job opportunities there which should keep it under control. But you are so right, no one knows for sure what will happen.

I actually think that some parts of WV would probably not be so impoverished as I hear they are. Morgantown of which you speak is just way too north for me. Two counties I did consider are Boone or Logan and suppose I need to visit them myself to make a better decision. I just don't want to live too far north or where I'm going to be buried in snow.

One thing a poster informed me that I knew nothing about is coal plant pollution everywhere in the U.S. That kind of discouraged me somewhat because of how the Smokies and the Shenandoah Valley to name a few look during a high pollution day. It's kind of scary and discouraging. If you'd like to read about it, do a search on cleartheair. The part of the country in which were seeking "refuge" is the worst area for this kind of pollution.

I'm being very picky about moving at my age and, therefore, must feel confident and satisfied. I guess I should mention that I'm searching for counties who have had for the past 56 years very few or no tornadoes as well as many other considered factors.

I'm enjoying your threads as it's helping me out a lot in my search for Heaven on Earth.

[rubytue]

I grew up in East TN, spent 6 years in SW VA, and 8 more years in other parts of VA. If I could live anywhere, it would be either Watts Bar Lake in TN or Blacksburg, VA. I love being by the water in TN, but I love the mountains and the culture in Blacksburg.

But, as to your question - realistically, I'd pick Virginia over TN. I prefer progressive income taxes (VA) to regressive sales taxes (TN). I also think the economy is doing better in VA. My husband (before we were married) moved up here from TN because, despite living in TN since he was 13, could not break into the good-old-boy system in his desired profession (electrician). He moved up to VA and found a job in the field (with no expierence) in under a week. We go visit TN a couple times a year, and despite my love for the land, the job market just won't support us (I'm in too specialized of a profession, he can't get in the system there). Houses are cheaper in TN, and that is appealing in mahy ways. But, the schools there are chronically underfunded. Last time I talked to my folks about the fiscal shape of the state, they said the state was going broke, many of the public systems were failing, but darn the roads were great due to the way they dedicate gas tax revnue. The sales tax system of revenue is much more senstive to economic flucuations, so during the downturn of 01-05, things were really bad. Virginia has seen some budget cuts, but not to the extent that TN did.

I love both Virginia and Tennessee. My heart lies in TN, but my head says Virginia. That said, I'm moving to Maryland next week for a new job.

[KewGee]

JOEE ~~ FOR YOUR INFORMATION


I just read on a Roanoke area TV station's web site that a proposed prison project in southwest Virginia is worrying conservationists. The prison would be built in Independence (a town I was considering) in Grayson County (the county in which I have the most interest) and would house about 1,000 beds. Apparently residents are worried the state will put the prison along the scenic New River which would spoil recreation and tourism. It is said it could bring 350 jobs to the area.

About which we were talking..........One just never knows!! I'm beginning to think I'm doomed to stay in Texas.

[joee]

well wether i make a right or wrong move i really need to just make a move, you know the ol saying sh*t or get off the pot.

soooooooo what i'm planning on doing is perhaps rent somewere between cookeville & kimball,tn or southwest va.

then at least i'll have my feet somewhat planted in the area so that will allow me plenty of time to explore all over the area.

there's a post in tn also on impact fees for building that's interesting, just wonder how many places in southwest va have that.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by amjb

The prison would be built in Independence (a town I was considering) in Grayson County (the county in which I have the most interest) and would house about 1,000 beds.
About which we were talking..........One just never knows!! I'm beginning to think I'm doomed to stay in Texas.

Well that would be a waste of scenic land. In fact, I'm surprised that area realtors and developers aren't squawking. New River land is becoming a hot property to build swish McMansions on and NC towns like Sparta (only 10 miles down the road from Independence) and Piney Creek are trying to attract newcomers to their area I suppose with the housing market softer than it has been in the last few years, the land owner didn't want to depend on the vagaries of selling it for residences and decided to make a quick $$. Wretch

I did some research and found a couple of websites.
The Cox's Chapel Grange is spurring an effort to get it stopped
http://www.coxchapelgrange.org/ (broken link)
(I would pay particular attention to the "New Prisons = Less Growth" link)

And here is a site which lists many of the news stories covering the controversy
http://www.[domain blocked due to spam].net/county/grayson-va

Even those who aren't residents of the area could help by protesting the project. One - a protest against development of that sort along one of the few wild and scenic rivers left in this country and, two - note that, as a potential transplant, a decision to move to the area is swayed by the intent to house convicts there. Would they rather have retirees or robbers? I know I'm going to fire off a nastygram. That's an area we have scoped out for retirement and is currently one of my favorite riding routes.