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Thank you for your post and the video! We have been to Charlottesville once and really like the downtown pedestrian mall area. We like the size and it seems to have a fair amount of amenities. As you said, medical care is very good there. We also have the sense that we would enjoy VA more. It just seems like there's more there to see and do. And the proximity to DC is a big draw. Surprisingly the airport in Richmond seems to offer fewer flights than RDU, but I guess we could venture to IAD or DCA if that offers better flights/prices/direct international flights.
We are planning another trip once we are able to travel to dig in a little more. It will depend on housing stock and prices.
Interesting your take on Williamsbug. I hadn't thought about that. We live in a tourist area now, and are not crazy about what that brings. So that is a consideration. Our draw to Williamsburg is that it is relatively quaint, safe, near to the water, and very reasonable as far as housing costs.
As to Richmond, we have no desire to live in the city itself. We would be interested in the burbs, but have never been so don't have a sense on what that area is like. I like the closer proximity to DC which is one of my favorite cities. I have read that Short Pump and Glen Allen are nice, but again I have nothing to base that on.
You are correct that we are looking for a "smallish" town/city. Where we lived in MA was the smalles "city" in the state at 17K but it didn't feel small because there was so much to do, plus the train to Boston was right there, so we could be in the city in 45 minutes. The only thing we had to drive for (30 min) was clothes shopping and big box stores. We had everything else we needed in town. Where we live is almost 90K people and it's too large for us. I'd say 15K - 50K is our sweet spot. We wouldn't be happy with smaller due to lack of amenities.
Thanks again for taking the time to write! If you had any info on the Richmond burbs, I'd love to hear it.
Given some further information you provided you might consider Culpeper VA which is a very nice historic town of 17K in north central VA. https://visitculpeperva.com/ For Richmond I would recommend Short Pump although it's a different feel from the others mentioned and more typical Sunbelt upscale suburb. There's not much in the way of historic and has a look of "new build" over all which could be too sterile for some.
From your description, both states could easily work.
Politically, Virginia is more liberal than North Carolina. Virginia used to be pretty darn conservative, even more so than North Carolina, but the expansion of northern Virginia has clearly made the state more progressive over the past 20 years or so. Virginia's cities are quite historic and interesting, IMO. I visit Richmond a few times every year, it's small compared to D.C. or cities further north but I do think there's a lot to do in that area. Charlottesville is a little isolated but it's only an hour away from Richmond, and it's a beautiful area. Williamsburg can be touristy at times but it's nice, as well.
Politically, North Carolina is very moderate. It has an old reputation of being the South's most progressive state, but that's a little misleading given the recent history of the state's General Assembly and the fact that North Carolina typically votes Republican in presidential elections. However, Durham and Chapel Hill are extremely progressive and have a lot of character, IMO. RTP certainly gives Durham/Chapel Hill an edge over other cities, too. As a North Carolina native and resident, the only bad part about the state is that it's a little too suburban. Most cities in the Piedmont are full of dull suburban sprawl, but that's a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.
Richmond is not close to D.C. via driving -- best case is 2 hours. More likely 2 & 1/2 to 3 hour drive and some times even 4+ hours on I-95. You will do it once and never want to do it again unless you start driving at 5am in the morning.
If you want proximity to D.C., why not Fredericksburg or points further west like Culpeper or even Charlottesville? Maryland is an even better option for you, if you want to be near D.C. The Baltimore suburbs to D.C. are just a 1/2 to 1 hour away.
Still plenty of conservatives around Richmond. Way more so than the Triangle or Maryland or Northern VA.
Fredericksburg may be too large for their tastes, if <50K is their sweet spot. Maybe a bit further west, trading your current coast for mountains? Staunton and Roanoke are both smaller but lively, and very scenic.
Another advantage to Virginia is that the intra-state Amtrak service is much better; 12 daily trains from Virginia into DC and onward to the Northeast Corridor, a 13th launching soon, and five more planned this decade.
Richmond is not close to D.C. via driving -- best case is 2 hours. More likely 2 & 1/2 to 3 hour drive and some times even 4+ hours on I-95. You will do it once and never want to do it again unless you start driving at 5am in the morning.
If you want proximity to D.C., why not Fredericksburg or points further west like Culpeper or even Charlottesville? Maryland is an even better option for you, if you want to be near D.C. The Baltimore suburbs to D.C. are just a 1/2 to 1 hour away.
Still plenty of conservatives around Richmond. Way more so than the Triangle or Maryland or Northern VA.
I don't know if I would go that far. If anything, the Triangle and Richmond are roughly the same. The city of Richmond is about as liberal as Durham/Chapel Hill, maybe even more so. The surrounding suburbs (Henrico, etc.) are more moderate but lean Democrat, akin to Raleigh. Wake County isn't as liberal as Durham or Orange.
Otherwise, I would agree that the Richmond area is more conservative than D.C. or Maryland. As a whole, Virginia is bluer than North Carolina, though. The 2016 and 2020 elections prove it.
One thing that I didn't mention but certainly is a consideration is taxes. I ran a calculation through a tax software calcultor for both NC and VA and it came out as $6,376 for VA and $8,906 for NC.
That was including property tax on a 250K house only, but that's all the software allowed. I just wanted to see the differential really, which is pretty big. $2,500 would pay for a decent trip each year somewhere.
Also curious about health care in VA. I know for NC Duke and UNC Hospitals (Duke in particular) are highly regarded. I also know that UVA Medical in Charlottesville and possibly VCU in Richmond. Is there a good medical center (like Duke of UVA in other areas of VA, or if someone had something serious in VA would they head the Charlottesville?
Richmond is not close to D.C. via driving -- best case is 2 hours. More likely 2 & 1/2 to 3 hour drive and some times even 4+ hours on I-95. You will do it once and never want to do it again unless you start driving at 5am in the morning.
If you want proximity to D.C., why not Fredericksburg or points further west like Culpeper or even Charlottesville? Maryland is an even better option for you, if you want to be near D.C. The Baltimore suburbs to D.C. are just a 1/2 to 1 hour away.
Still plenty of conservatives around Richmond. Way more so than the Triangle or Maryland or Northern VA.
We would definitely consider MD, but it seemed housing prices where much higher than VA or NC. Tax-wise I was surprised when I looked at it. MD was less expensive than VA and way less expensive than NC.
Our other hesitation with MD is Baltimore itself. It has outstanding medical care, and I did some tech work at Johns Hopkins back in the day but it's not an area I'd feel comfortable driving by myself in if I had to go there for medical treatment or visit someone there.
Are there any towns/small cities (10K - 50K population) that are low crime that you would recommend?
We would definitely consider MD, but it seemed housing prices where much higher than VA or NC. Tax-wise I was surprised when I looked at it. MD was less expensive than VA and way less expensive than NC.
Our other hesitation with MD is Baltimore itself. It has outstanding medical care, and I did some tech work at Johns Hopkins back in the day but it's not an area I'd feel comfortable driving by myself in if I had to go there for medical treatment or visit someone there.
Are there any towns/small cities (10K - 50K population) that are low crime that you would recommend?
Depending upon the design of your primary and/or secondary health care plan/s, you may be unable to access out-of-county health care services for routine/non-urgent medical care and treatment. This rule applies in most U.S. states, especially for Medicare and Medicaid HMO plans, unless local counties have reciprocity agreements for the provision of health care services or are consolidated under a regional/multi-county service area. The latter usually applies in rural, medically underserved areas. Also, if you are now retired, medically needy and presumably 65 years of age or older, then I suggest you research which state of the three referenced above provides the most comprehensive Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD) Medicaid coverage, in the event of a change of income or another major life event during retirement. My educated guess is Maryland, but I could be mistaken.
Last edited by Bert_from_back_East; 02-06-2021 at 10:03 AM..
Well, I made the mistake of looking at some of Northern Virginia pictures - Loudon County in particular. Talk about stunning landscapes. Seems like there's a ton to do in the NOVA area. I know it's very expensive though.
You are purposefully not replying to any of my replies, perhaps, because you do not like me. However, I will keep you honest more so than the other posters on this thread.
If you are concerned with county-based emergency medical services (EMS), among other services, then you should probably avoid Delaware, Maryland and Virginia altogether because, in those states, the provision of local services almost invariably occurs at the county level, instead of the municipal level (i.e., city or town), given the relative dearth of incorporated cities and towns in all three of those states.
You have incessantly complained about the lack of EMS and other services in your local South Carolina city, which I believe is Mt. Pleasant. If you move to another state that does not provide town or township services (i.e., most states in the South), then you are going to encounter many of the same issues that you have been whining and complaining about for years now.
The southern Mid-Atlantic states (i.e., Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) pride themselves on having few very incorporated municipalities and always have. Based on your earlier concerns, I find it counterintuitive and counterproductive for you to be mulling over these states.
That's my $0.02 - not that you seem to care.
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