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I'm from nearby Abingdon. Abingdon is a beautiful, rolling area in the hills with great views of the mountains. There are some very well regarded restaurants in Abingdon, the Barter Theater, Virginia Creeper Trail, Martha Washington Inn, a brewery, winery, and easy access to both the Jefferson National Forest and South Holston Lake.
Damascus is really tiny. It's basically a small town on the Appalachian and Virginia Creeper Trail catering to bicyclists and hikers. The national forest is just east of the town limits.
The Max Meadows and Hillsville areas are also beautiful - a bit higher in elevation, so cooler summers, closer to Roanoke, but not as much nearby. Hillsville is starting to get into the Winston-Salem, NC sphere of influence.
The elevation of Hillsville is up on the New River plateau and part of that region. Much higher elevations and different geology that way on down by W-S. Not sure where I would go for really big shopping.... Roanoke and Winston-Salem are about equal driving times.
Story time: My grandfather started the first movie theater in Damascus..... back during WW1 IIRC. That was one of his first attempts at promotions. He went on to be a well known and successful real estate auctioneer in NE TN in the 40's-60's.
Last edited by nm9stheham; 01-06-2022 at 09:38 PM..
Interesting point about shale-rich soil. These little details are what makes establishing a realtor relationship tricky. It drives home the necessity of a realtor familiar with farmstead/homestead needs.
Draper, Abingdon, Bland, Damascus, Galax, Hillsville, Max Meadows and Floyd I’ve made sure are part of our filtered searches.
Isn’t Greenbrier Valley, Union/Lewisburg in WV?
Appreciate all the guidance and local insight. Makes the task seem less daunting when doing 90% of it remotely from Texas atm.
Well, I would not have expectations of a realtor to know soils and geology... that's not what they do! Maybe... and that's a big maybe... you might find that knowledge in someone who specializes in farmland, and only if they have been at it for a while. I just mention the soil/rock type for you to begin to have some idea on what to be on the lookout for as you examine lands. In this region, you're in the transition between the Appalachians to the east (older metamorphic rocks) and the Alleghenies to the west (sedimentary rocks like shales), so the underlying geology can vary and intermix. The nature of the land changes rapidly from place to place in this region due to that geological history. For example, north of Damascus along VA91 and west towards Abingdon is rolling farmland of varying degrees of hilliness cut by some small river bottoms... but everything immediately south and east of Damascus is heavy forest and mountains. It is like that all over this region... quick transitions of terrain. Current and old river bottoms lands will tend to be best by far but you find some pockets of very good land scattered here and there far away from any river. So you really have to 'lay your eyes on it' to know.
And the list is just some suggestions to give you a starting point. I would plan several trips, the first to just travel all around the region, and poke down some of the byways and 'pig-paths', and get a feel for the culture and towns and find areas of land that interest you. As noted, there are a lot of small pockets of good land that might be just right for you... I can recall some like south of Wytheville along US21 heading towards Independence that have caught my eye... but you would never know they were there without driving through... you may not readily ID them from on-line searches.
And yes, the Greenbrier River valley is Union and Lewisburg. Union and north of Lewisburg is where I would look. Had good friend who had 500 acres more or less down south of Union on which he did much of what you want to do.
I'm from nearby Abingdon. Abingdon is a beautiful, rolling area in the hills with great views of the mountains. There are some very well regarded restaurants in Abingdon, the Barter Theater, Virginia Creeper Trail, Martha Washington Inn, a brewery, winery, and easy access to both the Jefferson National Forest and South Holston Lake.
Damascus is really tiny. It's basically a small town on the Appalachian and Virginia Creeper Trail catering to bicyclists and hikers. The national forest is just east of the town limits.
The Max Meadows and Hillsville areas are also beautiful - a bit higher in elevation, so cooler summers, closer to Roanoke, but not as much nearby. Hillsville is starting to get into the Winston-Salem, NC sphere of influence.
Thanks for the areas and feedback. You’re absolutely right, from what we have seen in listings those areas have some real beauty.
Well, I would not have expectations of a realtor to know soils and geology... that's not what they do! Maybe... and that's a big maybe... you might find that knowledge in someone who specializes in farmland, and only if they have been at it for a while. I just mention the soil/rock type for you to begin to have some idea on what to be on the lookout for as you examine lands. In this region, you're in the transition between the Appalachians to the east (older metamorphic rocks) and the Alleghenies to the west (sedimentary rocks like shales), so the underlying geology can vary and intermix. The nature of the land changes rapidly from place to place in this region due to that geological history. For example, north of Damascus along VA91 and west towards Abingdon is rolling farmland of varying degrees of hilliness cut by some small river bottoms... but everything immediately south and east of Damascus is heavy forest and mountains. It is like that all over this region... quick transitions of terrain. Current and old river bottoms lands will tend to be best by far but you find some pockets of very good land scattered here and there far away from any river. So you really have to 'lay your eyes on it' to know.
And the list is just some suggestions to give you a starting point. I would plan several trips, the first to just travel all around the region, and poke down some of the byways and 'pig-paths', and get a feel for the culture and towns and find areas of land that interest you. As noted, there are a lot of small pockets of good land that might be just right for you... I can recall some like south of Wytheville along US21 heading towards Independence that have caught my eye... but you would never know they were there without driving through... you may not readily ID them from on-line searches.
And yes, the Greenbrier River valley is Union and Lewisburg. Union and north of Lewisburg is where I would look. Had good friend who had 500 acres more or less down south of Union on which he did much of what you want to do.
Sounds exciting! Best of luck!
Thanks again. Lots of very useful insights and direction with some history sprinkled in.
We are planning a week(s)-long trip of some kind in April, and another over the summer. Assuming property visits don’t bring me/us there sooner and more often. Thinking the first trip we focus on the New River Valley area and then Shenandoah Valley area on the second.
Good plan. The more you look around, the more perspective you will get on values, land quality, etc. If you are flying in, you may want to consider Charlotte NC for the first trip... it is about 2 hours from Hillsville/Galax where you would get up onto the New River plateau on I-77. Smaller regional airports would be Roanoke and Tri-Cities in NE TN. For the Shen Valley, Dulles (outside of DC) is the largest nearby airport, with Charlottesville and Roanoke as regional airports, and Shenandoah Valley regional as a very small airport with a couple of flights in and out per day in the heart of Shen Valley.
I just suggest the large airports as the time and cost of the 2nd hop to the regional airports may be a wash.
The biggest issue with western VA is how far away it is from anything else of consequence.
The nearest "big city" to Abingdon is probably Knoxville, TN, which is a bit over two hours away. Roanoke isn't as big as Knoxville. Abingdon has the essentials (Walmart, Food City flagship store - regional grocer, Kroger, Lowe's, some minor clothes and other small retail), with Bristol being 15-20 minutes away for Target, Sam's Club, etc. Anything more than that is a run to Knoxville or Asheville, NC.
The local hospital in Abingdon is OK for basics, but for anything complicated, you'll need to go toward Roanoke into the Carilion Clinic footprint or the UT Medical Center in Knoxville.
Good plan. The more you look around, the more perspective you will get on values, land quality, etc. If you are flying in, you may want to consider Charlotte NC for the first trip... it is about 2 hours from Hillsville/Galax where you would get up onto the New River plateau on I-77. Smaller regional airports would be Roanoke and Tri-Cities in NE TN. For the Shen Valley, Dulles (outside of DC) is the largest nearby airport, with Charlottesville and Roanoke as regional airports, and Shenandoah Valley regional as a very small airport with a couple of flights in and out per day in the heart of Shen Valley.
I just suggest the large airports as the time and cost of the 2nd hop to the regional airports may be a wash.
Since we will be bringing our dog with us, we were thinking about driving. It's about 1100 miles from our home here to Roanoke (for reference). Toying with the idea of an RV rental (pricey though) or just hopping around various vrbo/airbnb in the area.
Can't thank you enough for all of the insights and recommendations.
The biggest issue with western VA is how far away it is from anything else of consequence.
The nearest "big city" to Abingdon is probably Knoxville, TN, which is a bit over two hours away. Roanoke isn't as big as Knoxville. Abingdon has the essentials (Walmart, Food City flagship store - regional grocer, Kroger, Lowe's, some minor clothes and other small retail), with Bristol being 15-20 minutes away for Target, Sam's Club, etc. Anything more than that is a run to Knoxville or Asheville, NC.
The local hospital in Abingdon is OK for basics, but for anything complicated, you'll need to go toward Roanoke into the Carilion Clinic footprint or the UT Medical Center in Knoxville.
Hmm, this is a consideration to make. My wife has an immunodeficiency (Crohn's) which she manages through diet and supplementation. This means (at least until we are established and growing things ourselves) we do need access to quality meat/produce.
Here in Dallas we have way more conveniences that are honestly taken for granted sometimes. My wife seems to be of the opinion that 'plugging into the local community' via farmer's markets, CSAs, etc will help close any gaps created by moving to a more rural area. I'm less convinced and trying to make sure we aren't signing up for hours-long commutes to a "Sprouts" or "Whole Foods" for niche ingredients.
We use a lot of Amazon here (even more since March 2020 and the stay-at-home orders) and are likely to do the same when we move. Anticipating a longer wait than the 1-hour delivery available here.
Hmm, this is a consideration to make. My wife has an immunodeficiency (Crohn's) which she manages through diet and supplementation. This means (at least until we are established and growing things ourselves) we do need access to quality meat/produce.
Here in Dallas we have way more conveniences that are honestly taken for granted sometimes. My wife seems to be of the opinion that 'plugging into the local community' via farmer's markets, CSAs, etc will help close any gaps created by moving to a more rural area. I'm less convinced and trying to make sure we aren't signing up for hours-long commutes to a "Sprouts" or "Whole Foods" for niche ingredients.
We use a lot of Amazon here (even more since March 2020 and the stay-at-home orders) and are likely to do the same when we move. Anticipating a longer wait than the 1-hour delivery available here.
I'm originally from the northeast TN/southwest VA area, and still live here, though I've also lived in affluent suburbs outside of Indianapolis and Des Moines, IA.
The farmer's markets here, while nice, simply do not compare to what you would find in the Midwest. The amount of product is a fraction of what I'd see in more agricultural regions. The meat is far better than anything you can purchase at local grocery stores and you do get local produce, but they operate basically from March/April - October/November only.
Grocery stores, at least in southwest VA below MM 50 or so on I-81, are pretty lousy, and again, much worse than what I had around Indianapolis. Food City is the dominant regional grocer, and it doesn't compare well to Wegman's, Publix, or even Kroger. Anything organic or even healthy can be hard to find. For instance, I make smoothies with a dragonfruit base, and Food City simply does not carry frozen dragonfuit, passionfruit, coconut, etc., anything like that. My girlfriend lives in Asheville, NC, and I'm in Asheville every other weekend. I just take a big cooler and load up on the stuff I can't get here in the Tri-Cities.
There are some Krogers here and there. Roanoke has Earthfare (comparable to Whole Foods) and The Fresh Market.
There's absolutely nothing like Sprouts in this part of VA.
You'd need to get anything specialized, especially ethnic ingredients, online.
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