Possible retirement to Elkton, Staunton, Monterey, or Floyd areas.

[hiltonbrit]

Thanks for the advice.

[Nomad1320]

Originally Posted by hiltonbrit

Hello. I've spent many hours poring over these forums, but now
need to get up close and personal for informed answers and suggestions please.

My husband is retiring in a couple of years, and we want to move to the mountains of western VA, NC, or even Georgia. We've been living in northern and eastern VA for 20 years and I can't tolerate the hot, humid summers here any longer.

My number 1 priority is moderate summer temps with highs of 75-80. Lower is better.
Priority number 2 is to be within a 4 ish hour drive of Washington Dulles. I'll be flying home to visit my family and friends in England, and I hate changing planes.

We'd like a small town with charming/historic downtown. Friendly, welcoming people. A few restaurants, and enough shops for basics. We would drive further to stock up on the rest,. Surrounded by beautiful wooded countryside, and mountain views.
My husband needs golf. I'll be happy with photography, maybe a vegetable garden, and some community events.

We'd be looking for a single level 3 bed sfh on at least 2 acres, or possibly buying a few acres to build on. Wooded with views.
We are currently considering the Elkton, Staunton, Floyd, and Monterey areas. I realise that the first two have lower elevations and are not as cool in the summer as I'd hoped for.
Oh, and we'd need decent Healthcare and (compassionate) dentists within easy reach.

Thanks in advance for any information, and suggestions for places we may not have thought of. :-)

To me, VA would be a horrible retirement location given the current tax situation and the fact that if the state remains blue those will only increase, I foresee much more of a CT or CA approach to policy than one from what is widely considered a "retirement" state.

Priority 1 rules out NC, SC (my pick), and GA. Yes the mountains are cooler, yes the summer is shorter, but generally August is still August in these states.

Priority 2 is a head scratcher, why only Dulles? As far as international airports go Dulles is small. BOS, JFK, ATL, CLT all are bigger and better airports.

Given everything you're looking for I'd pick:

West Virginia - (#5 on Retirement Living's list) The biggest knock on WVA has been the schools which in your case wouldn't matter. Other than that there are a lot of towns around say Morgantown that would fit the bill and put you within 4 hours of Dulles. You get the added bonus of a state government that will be more retirement friendly.

I'd also say New Hampshire (#11 on the list), NH is a sneaky good state, truly purple in leaning with conservative state finances and taxes, ton of historic towns, mountains, and within a short drive to BOS. Plus no heat in the summer at all relatively speaking.

If you're willing to look farther afield, Arizona, specifically Flagstaff and Prescott, both of which are beautiful year round with four full seasons and are an easy drive to what in my opinion is the best international airport in the country, PHX

Arkansas is #1 on the list and is gorgeous and DFW is 4 1/2 hours away from Hot Springs.

By the way, VA is 30th on the list but if you look closely those considered worse are generally heavily Blue states which would tell me VA is heading down the list in the future given the political climate here.

[hiltonbrit]

Originally Posted by Nomad1320

To me, VA would be a horrible retirement location given the current tax situation and the fact that if the state remains blue those will only increase, I foresee much more of a CT or CA approach to policy than one from what is widely considered a "retirement" state.

Priority 1 rules out NC, SC (my pick), and GA. Yes the mountains are cooler, yes the summer is shorter, but generally August is still August in these states.

Priority 2 is a head scratcher, why only Dulles? As far as international airports go Dulles is small. BOS, JFK, ATL, CLT all are bigger and better airports.

Given everything you're looking for I'd pick:

West Virginia - (#5 on Retirement Living's list) The biggest knock on WVA has been the schools which in your case wouldn't matter. Other than that there are a lot of towns around say Morgantown that would fit the bill and put you within 4 hours of Dulles. You get the added bonus of a state government that will be more retirement friendly.

I'd also say New Hampshire (#11 on the list), NH is a sneaky good state, truly purple in leaning with conservative state finances and taxes, ton of historic towns, mountains, and within a short drive to BOS. Plus no heat in the summer at all relatively speaking.

If you're willing to look farther afield, Arizona, specifically Flagstaff and Prescott, both of which are beautiful year round with four full seasons and are an easy drive to what in my opinion is the best international airport in the country, PHX

Arkansas is #1 on the list and is gorgeous and DFW is 4 1/2 hours away from Hot Springs.

By the way, VA is 30th on the list but if you look closely those considered worse are generally heavily Blue states which would tell me VA is heading down the list in the future given the political climate here.

Nomad... thank you for your reply. It has some very useful information. We are now focused on WV where we've found some properties near towns which may suit us well. If the right lot comes up we may find ourselves exploring Virginia again but as you say, the tax burden there for retirees is far greater than WV.
Many thanks

[ship4u]

This was a very interesting discussion. We are also considering retiring to the Shenandoah Valley and the comments were very helpful. Thanks!