Towns north of Charlottesville...looking to retire (Harrisonburg, Staunton: ski resorts, crime)

[rk04]

My wife and I are looking to relocate/retire in approx 2 yrs or so. We have taken an initial trip to Virginia and feel we want to explore some more. Can anyone offer recommendations for areas north of C'ville?

We want to a semi-rural area, would like to live on 1-2 acres, and will probably look to build a house. I realize this is a pretty vague description, so if it helps, we are looking at working with a budget in the 250-275k range, total. We are also thinking about exploring the areas around Elkton, but, can not find too much info about the area (used the search function). We want to be an easy drive over to Culpepper, as there is a retriever hunting club there, and that is something we like to do, train and hunt with labs. thanks in advance, Emilio

[ShadowBat]

Hi there, the main area in between Cville and Culpeper is Ruckersville. Has all the necessities such as grocery store, lowes, wal-mart(soon), fast food, some local restaurants. No character though, more of a strip. Standardsville offers more of a town/village feel and is off of rt 29 by about 5-10 miles. Both are in Greene county and fall under Cville's area. The next town up is Madison. It's a nice very little town out in the country. Has some things too like a grocery store and a McD's. It's only 20 miles or so to Culpeper and is tied in more to the Culpeper area, at least north of the town. Hope this helps and good luck!

[rk04]

Thank you. I still am trying to find out more about Elkton, other than what I can find out on the web, but, I will also research the towns you mentioned.

[TN Lily]

It's Stanardsville, not Standardsville. I use to make that mistake too.

Elkton, VA is on the other side of the mountains in Rockingham County. It is one of the rougher parts of that county.

You also have Madison which is north on rt. 29. and farther north is Culpeper.

[ShadowBat]

Originally Posted by TN Lily

It's Stanardsville, not Standardsville. I use to make that mistake too.

Wow, I've only been calling it the wrong name my entire life. And no one ever corected me! I even have friends that live around there, including my fiance. Thanks for finally setting me straight.

Anyways, Elkton is in the Harrisonburg area on rt 33 at the base of the mountains. it too has all the necessary needs of daily life such as food stores. It's very isolated, at least I think so, and doesn't have any character other than it's setting against the mountains. Harrisonburg is 15 miles away, though it feels longer to me. And Cville is about an hour over a VERY windy(curvy) mountain. The town of Orange might work for you. it's about 20-25 minutes to Culpeper and maybe 30 to Cville. Either way, good luck with your search!

[emsman]

Elkton is a small town with all the basic necessities in town. It has a small but cute downtown, it's own police dept. of the town it's self, the fire/rescue is all volunteer, and the new hospital for the area is actually closer to town instead of in downtown Harrisonburg, VA. any more. It is mainly a crossroad town that hasn't grown much. There are camping and ski resorts within 10 miles, a river near town (check cleanliness first) and tons of hiking just up the mountain. Now for the bad, the county areas near by wait for sheriff's coverage but crime is not bad, there were two murders recently, one killed his ex-boss the other was a gang body dump from Harrisonburg. If you go to Culpeper alot you will hate the mountain in the fog and snow. Hopes this helps for a start, for a smaller, quiter area check Madison,VA. It has all the basics and is easier to get to Culpeper, only bad thing is it's a 40 minute ride to closest hospital.

[rk04]

Thank to everyone for the replies and insight. Yes, I considered the drive from Elkton to Culpepper, and how it goes through mountainous terrain, a real concern for me. However, this morning I may have stumbled upon a hunting retriever club in Port Republic; this location of the club's, would allow my wife and I to stick with our original plans to look in the Staunton and Harrisonburg areas. But, we will probably check out the Elkton and east toward Harrisonburg areas, as well.