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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.
Loudoun County is where I'm thinking of decamping to (from Alexandria). It's far more affordable than the rest of NOVA (though still pricey by Virginia standards).
But it's also:
(A) Very well run (60% Democratic with a booming economy - tech, healthcare)
(B) Close to DC (the Silver Line on the DC metro will open a new station in southern Loudoun this year)
(C) Has 420,000+ people (making it far bigger than Charlottesville)
(D) Still has quaint towns like Leesburg's center, Purcellville, Bluemont, Middleburg (Horse Country)
(E) Has excellent hiking nearby (Harpers Ferry in West Virginia is a 30 minute drive and is fabulous. It's known as the heart of the Appalachian Trail)
(F) You are an hour from Shenandoah National Park and the Shenandoah Valley (it's very conservative, but lots of small towns and antique shops to explore. Staunton is one of my faves)
(G) Very diverse with good schools. County Executive is a Black women even.
(H) You are close to the prettiest parts of Maryland. Frederick is a gorgeous colonial town. If you enjoyed that aspect of Charleston, all of Frederick County is full of colonial towns.
(I) Politically, you are still in Virginia (even if the tippy top) so are governed by a technocratic and competent Democratic majority.
Loudoun County is where I'm thinking of decamping to (from Alexandria). It's far more affordable than the rest of NOVA (though still pricey by Virginia standards).
But it's also:
(A) Very well run (60% Democratic with a booming economy - tech, healthcare)
(B) Close to DC (the Silver Line on the DC metro will open a new station in southern Loudoun this year)
(C) Has 420,000+ people (making it far bigger than Charlottesville)
(D) Still has quaint towns like Leesburg's center, Purcellville, Bluemont, Middleburg (Horse Country)
(E) Has excellent hiking nearby (Harpers Ferry in West Virginia is a 30 minute drive and is fabulous. It's known as the heart of the Appalachian Trail)
(F) You are an hour from Shenandoah National Park and the Shenandoah Valley (it's very conservative, but lots of small towns and antique shops to explore. Staunton is one of my faves)
(G) Very diverse with good schools. County Executive is a Black women even.
(H) You are close to the prettiest parts of Maryland. Frederick is a gorgeous colonial town. If you enjoyed that aspect of Charleston, all of Frederick County is full of colonial towns.
(I) Politically, you are still in Virginia (even if the tippy top) so are governed by a technocratic and competent Democratic majority.
Any specific recommendations there? How is the city of Dulles?
Like one poster said the grass is not always greener on the other side. Nc and sc have fairly the same views as far as mask but it goes down to city ordnance. I was in the charleston area and most people had on mask but went up to Greenville and didn't see that.
Same can be said about Charlotte for example. Many people had them on but non main stream bars and clubs are still open so you know they are not wearing mask there.
Then you have people from ct and nj that want to get out the state cause they feel it is too strict because their government.
Everywhere has issues right now so I would say move with caution.
Like one poster said the grass is not always greener on the other side. Nc and sc have fairly the same views as far as mask but it goes down to city ordnance. I was in the charleston area and most people had on mask but went up to Greenville and didn't see that.
Same can be said about Charlotte for example. Many people had them on but non main stream bars and clubs are still open so you know they are not wearing mask there.
Then you have people from ct and nj that want to get out the state cause they feel it is too strict because their government.
Everywhere has issues right now so I would say move with caution.
Thx. We do realize that (about the grass not being greener) which is why we're asking a lot of questions.
It isn't just the attitude about the virus. We have hurricane fatigue and as we are getting older (and our dog getting older as well), evacuating is incredibly disruptive, difficult and costly for us.
Additionally we have grown weary of the violent gun crime (shootings and murders), which has now spilled into downtown Charleston's historic district and includes innocent people, not just gang disputes.
We know every place has it's downsides. Just trying to weigh the pros and cons of each area so that we can make an informed decision.
We live in NC (where I was raised, Charlotte area) and lived a year in MA (where my wife was raised, Boston area). We both GREATLY prefer NC to MA. Buying Power (average income vs. cost of living) is light years better in NC than MA. You can live much better on less. The cost-to-benefit ratio taxwise on services is also much better, trust me. MA has more than its share of strip malls. Even on the Cape. Hyannis has some of the most of any town its size I've ever been to. NC to VA? We love both, but prefer NC. "Progressiveness" (in the literal definition, not political) destroys cost of living and the social fabric due to intolerance towards views not liberal. One only needs to see what's happening now on the West Coast and other very Liberal areas to see the effects. As Independents, my wife and I have found that "Progressives" are much more resistant to new ideas and refuse to accept that much of the platform that they blindly cling to has failed miserably in the real World. The cities and metros with the highest costs of living, worst buying power, highest rates of homelessness, worst social unrest, tent cities, open drug use, highest crime rates, etc. have been governed by the Left for decades, with things only getting worse. These are unarguable facts. So, if you do believe that this political platform creates a high quality of life even though statistical evidence and observation prove otherwise, not meaning to be unkind, it'd probably be a better idea to go to VA where that platform is well accepted. It just isn't fair or logical to flee a screwed up area, go to a new area with the same mindset that messed your previous area, screw up the new area, then complain that natives are "backward" and "hate newcomers" when you ruin their QOL. Please don't think I'm being mean, even though it may come across that way. I just don't want NC to loss its incredible QOL over failed political narratives that have been proven to be destructive for decades. Nevertheless, good luck wherever you go.
We live in NC (where I was raised, Charlotte area) and lived a year in MA (where my wife was raised, Boston area). We both GREATLY prefer NC to MA. Buying Power (average income vs. cost of living) is light years better in NC than MA. You can live much better on less. The cost-to-benefit ratio taxwise on services is also much better, trust me. MA has more than its share of strip malls. Even on the Cape. Hyannis has some of the most of any town its size I've ever been to. NC to VA? We love both, but prefer NC. "Progressiveness" (in the literal definition, not political) destroys cost of living and the social fabric due to intolerance towards views not liberal. One only needs to see what's happening now on the West Coast and other very Liberal areas to see the effects. As Independents, my wife and I have found that "Progressives" are much more resistant to new ideas and refuse to accept that much of the platform that they blindly cling to has failed miserably in the real World. The cities and metros with the highest costs of living, worst buying power, highest rates of homelessness, worst social unrest, tent cities, open drug use, highest crime rates, etc. have been governed by the Left for decades, with things only getting worse. These are unarguable facts. So, if you do believe that this political platform creates a high quality of life even though statistical evidence and observation prove otherwise, not meaning to be unkind, it'd probably be a better idea to go to VA where that platform is well accepted. It just isn't fair or logical to flee a screwed up area, go to a new area with the same mindset that messed your previous area, screw up the new area, then complain that natives are "backward" and "hate newcomers" when you ruin their QOL. Please don't think I'm being mean, even though it may come across that way. I just don't want NC to loss its incredible QOL over failed political narratives that have been proven to be destructive for decades. Nevertheless, good luck wherever you go.
Just wait, North Carolina will become bluer than Virginia soon.
Don't invite intolerant and authoritarian leftists to my state, please.
As Independents, my wife and I have found that "Progressives" are much more resistant to new ideas and refuse to accept that much of the platform that they blindly cling to has failed miserably in the real World.
The same real world where the nation's centers of innovation and wealth-generation are located in these progressive places? Boston is an example of a miserably failed place in the real world? And NC has been successfully modeling itself after and chasing investment from these miserably failed places over the past 75 years in an effort to become the same?
We live in NC (where I was raised, Charlotte area) and lived a year in MA (where my wife was raised, Boston area). We both GREATLY prefer NC to MA. Buying Power (average income vs. cost of living) is light years better in NC than MA. You can live much better on less. The cost-to-benefit ratio taxwise on services is also much better, trust me. MA has more than its share of strip malls. Even on the Cape. Hyannis has some of the most of any town its size I've ever been to. NC to VA? We love both, but prefer NC. "Progressiveness" (in the literal definition, not political) destroys cost of living and the social fabric due to intolerance towards views not liberal. One only needs to see what's happening now on the West Coast and other very Liberal areas to see the effects. As Independents, my wife and I have found that "Progressives" are much more resistant to new ideas and refuse to accept that much of the platform that they blindly cling to has failed miserably in the real World. The cities and metros with the highest costs of living, worst buying power, highest rates of homelessness, worst social unrest, tent cities, open drug use, highest crime rates, etc. have been governed by the Left for decades, with things only getting worse. These are unarguable facts. So, if you do believe that this political platform creates a high quality of life even though statistical evidence and observation prove otherwise, not meaning to be unkind, it'd probably be a better idea to go to VA where that platform is well accepted. It just isn't fair or logical to flee a screwed up area, go to a new area with the same mindset that messed your previous area, screw up the new area, then complain that natives are "backward" and "hate newcomers" when you ruin their QOL. Please don't think I'm being mean, even though it may come across that way. I just don't want NC to loss its incredible QOL over failed political narratives that have been proven to be destructive for decades. Nevertheless, good luck wherever you go.
Conservatives don't seem to grasp that most democrats are, when it comes to economic issues, conservative just like they are. Democrats embraced Reagan in the 80s and drank from his supply side punchbowl. There are differences on social issues, and occasionally you get a real progressive like Sanders or AOC, but those types are such a small minority in their own party they have had zero influence on federal policy that has shaped the cities for the past 40 years. The only difference between Bill Clinton, Bush Jr's, Obama's, and Trump's treasury secretary has been what floor of Goldman Sachs they worked on.
The truth hurts, and I don't expect someone that gets most of their news from FOX or Infowars where 2+2=5 to care much, but it's our unsound housing market combined with extreme inequality that is killing cities. That is capitalism. That affects all cities, but more established ones with higher property values felt the pinch of cost of living sooner. It'll come here though, inevitably. City governments are mostly powerless to address the macroeconomic forces causing this that originate beyond their borders.
Conservatives don't seem to grasp that most democrats are, when it comes to economic issues, conservative just like they are. Democrats embraced Reagan in the 80s and drank from his supply side punchbowl. There are differences on social issues, and occasionally you get a real progressive like Sanders or AOC, but those types are such a small minority in their own party they have had zero influence on federal policy that has shaped the cities for the past 40 years. The only difference between Bill Clinton, Bush Jr's, Obama's, and Trump's treasury secretary has been what floor of Goldman Sachs they worked on.
The truth hurts, and I don't expect someone that gets most of their news from FOX or Infowars where 2+2=5 to care much, but it's our unsound housing market combined with extreme inequality that is killing cities. That is capitalism. That affects all cities, but more established ones with higher property values felt the pinch of cost of living sooner. It'll come here though, inevitably. City governments are mostly powerless to affect the federal policy that is creating this.
Ditto. And this is why NCs cities are far more impoverished, violent and inequitable than VAs. Very big noticeable difference.
Conservatives don't seem to grasp that most democrats are, when it comes to economic issues, conservative just like they are. Democrats embraced Reagan in the 80s and drank from his supply side punchbowl. There are differences on social issues, and occasionally you get a real progressive like Sanders or AOC, but those types are such a small minority in their own party they have had zero influence on federal policy that has shaped the cities for the past 40 years. The only difference between Bill Clinton, Bush Jr's, Obama's, and Trump's treasury secretary has been what floor of Goldman Sachs they worked on.
The truth hurts, and I don't expect someone that gets most of their news from FOX or Infowars where 2+2=5 to care much, but it's our unsound housing market combined with extreme inequality that is killing cities. That is capitalism. That affects all cities, but more established ones with higher property values felt the pinch of cost of living sooner. It'll come here though, inevitably. City governments are mostly powerless to address the macroeconomic forces causing this that originate beyond their borders.
Yep. Those cities have become so "unlivable" because they've been extremely successful when it comes to job creation and innovation, but federal policy in the U.S. revolves around and caters to single-family residential which has created a real housing crunch in places that are already geographically constrained. That's why that standard conservative talking point is mainly restricted to West Coast cities. Boston is doing much better by comparison without those same issues (at least to the same extent) and is every bit as progressive.
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