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Hi! My family and I will be moving over the summer. We are from New York currently living in Las Vegas. We love the feel of VA, but just don't know enough. Please help. I answered all the questions that were suggested. Thank you thank you thank you in advance.
-Where I am working: I will be working from a home office. Yippee. I will be traveling quite a bit, so I would like easy/quick access to an airport. My husband is a plumer and he is working on getting into the union or the Plumber Contractor Mechanical Association (which he is already a part of here in Vegas)
-How much you are willing to spend on housing: We would like to rent for a year before we buy, so we can become more familiar with the area. For reference, 2e are selling our home in Vegas for about $320K
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate: my husband could commute up to 45 minutes MAX
-If you have kids: Private school or public school? My kids go to a charter school now. Public is fine as long as it has a good reputation. My kids are 10 and 11 years old.
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? We want small town. My husband would love county feeling. But with easy access to big city feeling - museums, shows, great restaurants, etc.
-Community amenities important to you parks, community centers, kids riding bikes outside, safe, no house keys needed (is that possible anymore) that's how I grew up.
I'd suggest Boones Mill (where we live) or Rocky Mount, VA. In Rocky Mount you'd be easily within 45 minutes of most of Roanoke, VA, the heart of our metro area. Rocky Mount's population is 5,000 although it is the county seat of Franklin County, population 51,000, so there is a historic small town feel combined with big box shopping just outside of town.
We're 25 minutes from North Cross, our private school, and believe it or not, there is a North Cross bus that picks up our kids at Cannadays on Route 220 (Cannadays being the locally owned general store).
I also have a home office and enjoy 1.5Mbps broadband thanks to B2XOnline.com's fixed wireless service. Cable is available in most parts of Franklin County.
If you were to spend $300,000 in Boones Mill or Rocky Mount, you'd get something like this 3,000 square foot home (w/ 1,300 sq ft unfinished basement) on 1 acre with views:
With real estate appreciation the way it is in Franklin County, you'd be better off buying a home because even with closing fees you're going to be better off financially should you opt out of the location and sell your home in 12 months. Because a $300,000 property today will be offered for at least $325,000 in 12 months. That's going to be the reality in many of Virginia's desirable towns that are also quite close to a metro area. Just a thought. I paid $8,400 an acre for adjoining land in 2006 and $10,500 an acre for adjoining land in 2007. If I had gone ahead and bought both pieces in 2006 I would have saved $100,000. Live and learn.
The community amenities you seek are all provided for in the Rocky Mount area. We live in Boones Mill, about 15 minutes from Rocky Mount and 25 minutes to downtown Roanoke. It's a good balance for us.
I'd check out one of the areas around/beyond Leesburg or Manassas, that way you'll be pretty far out by NoVA standards, but you'll still be close to Dulles Airport, which has excellent nationwide and international connectivity. Personally, I'm not super-familiar with those areas, but I'm sure a quick forum search would come up with opinions. I assume they have decent schools as almost all school systems in greater NoVA are good.
If you do check out the Roanoke area like Sean suggested, make sure you check out any nearby airports for connectivity. I used to travel heavily and hated when I had to three-hop flights.
I've never had to three hop from Roanoke. Roanoke Regional Airport offers non-stop flights to Chicago, Detroit, Cincinatti, New York (LGA), Philadelphia, Dulles, Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando, and Saint Petersburg.
I'd suggest Boones Mill (where we live) or Rocky Mount, VA. In Rocky Mount you'd be easily within 45 minutes of most of Roanoke, VA, the heart of our metro area. Rocky Mount's population is 5,000 although it is the county seat of Franklin County, population 51,000, so there is a historic small town feel combined with big box shopping just outside of town.
We're 25 minutes from North Cross, our private school, and believe it or not, there is a North Cross bus that picks up our kids at Cannadays on Route 220 (Cannadays being the locally owned general store).
I also have a home office and enjoy 1.5Mbps broadband thanks to B2XOnline.com's fixed wireless service. Cable is available in most parts of Franklin County.
If you were to spend $300,000 in Boones Mill or Rocky Mount, you'd get something like this 3,000 square foot home (w/ 1,300 sq ft unfinished basement) on 1 acre with views:
With real estate appreciation the way it is in Franklin County, you'd be better off buying a home because even with closing fees you're going to be better off financially should you opt out of the location and sell your home in 12 months. Because a $300,000 property today will be offered for at least $325,000 in 12 months. That's going to be the reality in many of Virginia's desirable towns that are also quite close to a metro area. Just a thought. I paid $8,400 an acre for adjoining land in 2006 and $10,500 an acre for adjoining land in 2007. If I had gone ahead and bought both pieces in 2006 I would have saved $100,000. Live and learn.
The community amenities you seek are all provided for in the Rocky Mount area. We live in Boones Mill, about 15 minutes from Rocky Mount and 25 minutes to downtown Roanoke. It's a good balance for us.
Hope this helps.
Sean
Hi Sean:
Your post are very informative.
What is your opinion of the area near Wytheville? I'll be on limited retirement income. I want to buy a small house, on at least an acre+. But I want a view! The view I look at, is as important as the house I live in. I'd prefer being on the lower part of a mountain with a view of the town below. I'd like to have a couple good snows every winter, to run my dogs ( Siberian Huskies). Yet be within 15 to 20 miles of shopping, etc.
I also want the beauty, like you have near Boones Mill. That's a beautiful area. I love it there. It's been many years since I was in the area of Wytheville and my memory of that area is very faint, but I think it's a little higher and maybe a little more snow than the Roa area. But other than that I know nothing about it.
By the way, how's the snowfall in recient years in your area? I know years ago you could count on a few good snows every winter. I remember in the late 60's, I lived on 5th St, SW in Roa, and my red '64 Ford convertable was so covered with snow that it was just a lump in the snow. But I've heard in recient years sometimes there is no snow at all.
My plans to move back are probably about a year away, depending on the real estate market here. I hope to sell this property in the spring '08.
I look forward to reading your info, and I'd be gald to hear from anyone who can shine light on the subject, including your friends over the hump in Floyd. I'm a little, ~ no make that a lot homesick, and it would be nice to communicate with someone in the area.
Hi! My family and I will be moving over the summer. We are from New York currently living in Las Vegas. We love the feel of VA, but just don't know enough. Please help. I answered all the questions that were suggested. Thank you thank you thank you in advance.
-Where I am working: I will be working from a home office. Yippee. I will be traveling quite a bit, so I would like easy/quick access to an airport. My husband is a plumer and he is working on getting into the union or the Plumber Contractor Mechanical Association (which he is already a part of here in Vegas)
Ladysmith Village has digital cable, so you are able to get great highspeed internet to help you work from home. The Richmond airport is about 45 minutes away, but you could also fly from Dulles or National in northern VA (about a 2 hour drive) Ladysmith Village is only 1 mile off of the highway (I-95), so if you do any car traveling, it's a short trip to the highway, and away you go. There are a lot of plumbing oportunities here. This community will be around 3200 homes when finished (140 built now), and the community not even 1 mile south of here will be around 3500 homes when finished (They're just building models now).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ycastro
-How much you are willing to spend on housing: We would like to rent for a year before we buy, so we can become more familiar with the area. For reference, 2e are selling our home in Vegas for about $320K
There are a lot of great models to choose from in our development in the mid-300's. There are 5-7 builders who all have several models to choose from. On top of that, I have seen a few slightly used homes on the market for that price range.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ycastro
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate: my husband could commute up to 45 minutes MAX
In 20 minutes, your husband could be in Fredericksburg, in 30 minutes he can be in Richmond... but like I said, it would be very likely that he'd be kept busy in this area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ycastro
-If you have kids: Private school or public school? My kids go to a charter school now. Public is fine as long as it has a good reputation. My kids are 10 and 11 years old.
The county is building a new $20 million elementary school within our community. It will house almost 1,000 students. A new middle school can't be far behind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ycastro
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? We want small town. My husband would love county feeling. But with easy access to big city feeling - museums, shows, great restaurants, etc.
Ladysmith Village is being developed to be like a small town. There will be small shops, where people can live above their shop, there is already a county library within the development. They will be breaking ground on a 25 acre YMCA complex this fall, as well as the community center. 15 minutes away is the South Point shopping area, with bowling, movies, and lots of restaurants. 20 minutes north (1 more exit) is the Spotsylvania Mall, and Celebrate Virginia, which as of now contains Central Park (a very large shopping area) and is having the national slavery museum built there, as well as a large tourism complex for the area. South of Ladysmith Village is the Virginia Center Commons (mall), and other shopping, and then Richmond is only 30 minutes away, with all of it's museums and entertainment. DC is about an hour and a half away and there's of course a lot to do there. In Caroline County (where Ladysmith is) is the VA Bazzar which is a building with local shops, a farmers market, and tables people can rent to sell their own items. The VA State fair is moving to Caroline next year (Next September) and there is the VA Sports Complex 4 miles south of Ladysmith (Large sports complex with a focus on baseball). Kings Dominion is a large ammusement park around 15 minutes south of Ladysmith. They have a large water park, and LOTS of roller coasters. (Big kiddie areas)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ycastro
-Community amenities important to you parks, community centers, kids riding bikes outside, safe, no house keys needed (is that possible anymore) that's how I grew up.
My wife has (twice) left our garage door wide open all day while we were at work. (accidently of course) Both times nothing was touched in our garage, and the door to the house was unlocked, but still no break-in. We could probably leave the front door open all day and still be fine.
Hi Sean:
What is your opinion of the area near Wytheville? I'll be on limited retirement income. I want to buy a small house, on at least an acre+. But I want a view! The view I look at, is as important as the house I live in. I'd prefer being on the lower part of a mountain with a view of the town below. I'd like to have a couple good snows every winter, to run my dogs ( Siberian Huskies). Yet be within 15 to 20 miles of shopping, etc.
Well, I still think you'd be better off in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont if you ran huskies ( Dog Sledding Vacations | Northeast Kingdom Vermont Dog Sled Packages and Information ). Even in the mountains of SW Virginia you'll have limited opportunities. The only mountain town in the south that I know of that has real snowfall (100+ ") is Linwood, NC but that place is one giant golf course community so you can imagine what property values are like. In NEK in Vermont, you'd be able to run from November through April
I know very little of Wytheville. I'm sure it would be cooler than the Boones Mill / Roanoke area. I'd be concerned about access to shopping though. Wyth County population is only 27,000 or so and as far as I know Wytheville (pop. 7,800) is the biggest thing going within 30 miles. Have you considered Giles County? Giles is north of Blacksburg and is colder than Blacksburg itself, which itself is colder than Roanoke. Giles County has some BEAUTIFUL mountain views and land 25 miles from Blacksburg is still pretty reasonable. But property within 15 miles of Blacksburg, not so much. Check out this link Giles County, Virginia. Plus you'd be an easy drive into WV also.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyasha
By the way, how's the snowfall in recient years in your area? I know years ago you could count on a few good snows every winter. I remember in the late 60's, I lived on 5th St, SW in Roa, and my red '64 Ford convertable was so covered with snow that it was just a lump in the snow. But I've heard in recient years sometimes there is no snow at all.
The winter of '04/'05 had some good snowfalls, including one that had 8' drifts up in the Bent Mountain area of Roanoke. Well, they don't call them drifts in the Roanoke area. They call them snow mounds. What the hell is a snow mound? The winter of '05/'06 had a couple snowfalls of about 5" each. This last winter we had about 3" of snow _total_. We had a couple ice storms though that made for some mighty awesome grass sledding
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyasha
I look forward to reading your info, and I'd be gald to hear from anyone who can shine light on the subject, including your friends over the hump in Floyd. I'm a little, ~ no make that a lot homesick, and it would be nice to communicate with someone in the area.
Floyd might be an area you consider. You can still find affordable homes w/ 1 acre in the Floyd area and you definitely have more winter there than you do even in Blacksburg (or Wytheville?). Plus you have a neat downtown and you're not terribly far (38 miles) from Roanoke, and you're only 20 miles from Christiansburg and big box stores. Here are some Floyd bloggers if you don't already have them bookmarked:
Greetings -- Your impending move must be exciting and stressful at the same time, but the good news is that my experience has been that Virginia is a great palce for kids and families. I have lievd here for 6 years now, moving from Manhattan and having lived in LA as well for about the last 20 years prior to that, so the chnage was huge for me. I have not locked my front door, back door, or car this whole time, and I dont use an alarm system in my home. I feel VERY safe here, but I did lots of research prior to moving here. I too am self employed working from home, with heavy travel involved in what I do. So for me the Fredericksburg regional area was exactly what I was looking for as far as:
1) Safe and decent school system, both public and private
2) Affordable home that would not make me go broke
3) Access to major airports and ground transportation, with options like train and carpool available if needed.
4) Land and space to feel like I could have the privacy I never had in the other larger cities I lived in.
Let me know if I cna be of help and lots of luck to you in your move. Juana Pacheco
Much thanks for the info. But it has to be the SW VA area, not too far from Roanoke. That's where my heart is. I love my dogs, but not enough to move to Vermont. Just looking for the most likely snow area there. Giles is one of the counties I've been looking at. Also New Castle. But I do think you're right about Wytheville. I think I'd still be homesick for the Roanoke area, it's too far away. I still favor the area south of Roanoke, guess that's because I lived in that area for a long time. About 5 or 6 miles outside of Callaway, Twelve O'clock Knob Rd on Bent Mt, Palmers Hallow S of Salem, etc.
I've seen several pieces of land listed in an area called Sandy Level. I think it's in the area of Boones Mill or Rocky Mount. I've never been in that area, but the pictures look good and the prices are very good. I'm wondering if it's a really bad area for some reason. Have you ever been in that area? Do you know how far that is from Roanoke?
Sorry I was so slow responding to your post. I forgot where I posted my 1st question to you. I think I can find it now. LOL!
Thanks
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