READ if you are asking about where to live in VA (Virginia Beach: credit, selling a house)

[Ashley Wilis]

Hi everyone,
It not only depends on the above mentioned factors , but it also depends on the ones nature, I mean if he is a peace loving person then he should prefer county side, or if person like crowd and fast runing life then he should prefer city side.

[ADOPTIONISLOVE]

Hubby may be getting a job in the Martinsville, VA area. We have 4 children adopted from China and Korea and in the process of adopting another daughter from China. They are 11, 8, 7 and 5 years old. I am worried about lack of diversity in that area. Also want good schools. Would love to know about any international adoption groups and good cultural areas not too far away. We are willing to spend up to $500k for a home because we need a large home. Not interested in suburbia delight Had enough of that in the USMC moving around. I guess a neighborhood with large acreage would be ok. We have 4 ponies and would like to move them with us. We currently have 8 acres in GA. I saw what looked like some really nice homes with a little land in Martinsville on realtor.com. My husband would be willing to commute a few miles (maybe 30 or less) if that would make a huge difference in our children's and our quality of life. I saw a nice farm in Ruffin, NC which is 30 miles away but don't know anything about schools there or that that town is like. I see that Martinsville schools are ranked very high which is good. Tell me about the people there. Husband is retired USMC but don't think there are any commissarys near that area. Thank you in advance for your honest feedback. This is scary because I thought we would NEVER move again. Been back in my hometown for 5 years now. I meant to add that we do enjoy being social and want to find a good church as well so don't want to be out in the boonies if you know what I mean. We currently live on a small farm but 10 miles from town.

[NikkiLebron76]

My husband, three sons and I are relocating to Virginia from New York in a couple of months and have been looking at some townhomes for rent in Ashland or Richmond. His job will be in Rockville and we were told that some areas of Richmond may be high in crime and such, which is what we're trying to avoid since we already live in a high crime area of Brooklyn, NY and are looking to live in a more suburban like area. Then we've been hearing things like hicks, rednecks and racism whenever we mention the town of Ashland but I also hear that it's a nice place to raise a family, which is what we're looking for but since we are an interracial couple, African American & Puerto Rican, we want to avoid places that will be undesirable to live in for minorities.(too much racism, excessive unfriendliness, etc.) Any info, suggestions or input on this matter would be appreciated.

[CMP72]

I live outside of Rochester New York and I'm strongly considering moving to Virginia... I visited Roanoke and Salem about 6 years ago. I loved both places, but it was just for vacation so I never really did any research about living there. I wanna know if anyone could tell me about..

-The safety, I have a little girl that will be going to preschool in a year and I want to make sure it's a really safe place for her to live.
-The Job market.. Specifically I am wondering about small businesses, I am looking to open a Pastry Shoppe, I don't know if that is something that will fly down there...
-The schools (They don't need to be top of the line schools because as much as I beleive in academics, I strongly believe in letting kids be kids and enjoying that). And i'm strongly considering a Catholic school.
-I Have also heard that there are a lot of dry towns out there. I don't want to live where they don't sell or don't condone alcohol. I mean it doesn't have to be a place full of bars and open til 4am, but someplace that does sell alcohol.
-Also, what things there are to do. Things for kids as well as things for adults. Like what the nightlife is like for adults, and if there is fun for kids.
-Also, when I visited years ago, we went to this mall in Roanoke I believe, while we were there my mothers system was stolen from her car, she has this whole theory that it's because the license plate was a new york one, although I never believed that, I have to ask if we would fit in.
-And really any other information would be great as well. I know I am leaving things out... And it doesn't have to be specifically Roanoke, I am very open to suggestions. Thank you!!

[pythonfan96]

I personally have lived in King George County for a while. It's a small, rural county on the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Land values here are very high, but housing is much cheaper here than in NoVA. For example, you can buy a decent-sized single-family home on at least 1/2 acre for less than $400k. The crime rate here is very low. However, you might run the risk of being completely bored out of your mind here. Fredericksburg is about a 15-30 minute drive and Richmond and Washington, D.C., are more or less the same distance away. The population's around 23,000; up from 16,000 in 2000. Currently grocery shopping is limited to two Food Lions, but a Wally-World is on the way, along with a bunch of new restaurants. There's a lot of history; James Madison was born here. On the most part, people are ok, as long as you're not too revolutionary in your thinkings. The school system isn't horrible, it has its ups and downs, but at some point you'll be feeling very frustrated at the school board for some reason. King George is a very nice place to raise a family, but your kids might get bored. There's plenty of woods, but not if you're living in one of the maybe 3 or 4 suburban housing developments.

[pythonfan96]

CMP72-
While it is true that some Virginians are very conservative about liquor, Virginia does produce an increasing amount of wine. The Blue Ridge (the Roanoke area and beyond) and the Northern Neck are the leading producers.

[onconurse]

We live in Bridgewater, Va-a great family friendly safe "front porch" community. I work in the health care field (easy to find a job in the valley). I commute about 30 minutes ( a very scenic, beautiful commute with mountains all around). We paid 220K for a large brick home, but housing prices have fallen considerable and I think it is a great time to buy in Bridgewater right now. We are close to several parks, schools, restaurants, Bridgewater College, the North River, fair grounds. Bridgewater is a very "walker/biker" friendly community.

[rogerfire19]

[SIZE=3]Hey all, hope everyone is doing well. I’m looking for information and or opinions on which town would be a better place to relocate to. I am looking at the south central part of Virginia. I will be retiring from a fire department up in Maine and intend to move to the area within the next year. I plan visiting southern Va. later in the spring for a couple of weeks (May) to look around some of the areas that are mentioned here. I spent four years in Norfolk, Va. while I was in the service and loved the weather and the both the states of Va. and NC but Norfolk was too crowded a place for me. I my take on a part time job, but that is not a major issue with me. Looking for a place with a low crime rate in a town that has some things to offer, such as restaurants, bike trails, fishing, and maybe some place for night time entertainment. I have been looking at the Altavista, and Lynchburg area on the internet and they both seem nice. Any thoughts, suggestions or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Roger[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]PS Pecan Pie [/SIZE]

[nikkayx333]

Originally Posted by SmerkyGrl

There's been many threads recently from people requesting information on which cities to live in in Virginia. If you are about to post one of these information request threads, please include the following:

-Where you are working
-How much you are willing to spend on housing
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate
-If you have kids: Private school or public school?
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight?
-Community amenities important to you
-Pie or cake?

We on the Virginia forum would appreciate it if you included the above information in your initial post so you can get the information you want as quickly as possible and we would not have to repost the same questions for every thread. Thank you.


PS: WTB Sticky.

They should include where they're coming from. Somebody from the North could have a hard time adjusting to down here in the South, so we should be able to inform them what to expect.

[chemdenise]

Hello,
I am moving to Richmond,VA from Michigan. I will be attending VCU. I am looking for a 2 bedroom home/apartment/town home, my budget is $600-$750. I would like something close to campus, within 5-10 miles. Oh, also I will be looking for a job in a hospital, so anywhere in between VCU and a hospital would be great. I am an adult in my 30's so I'm not trying to find the latest party or anything like that. I am single and no children.

I need somewhere kind of close, so I can get some great coffee and cookies . I would also like to have shopping and grocery retailers close by. I intend to drive to Richmond, I wont have a lot of stuff and really its not that long of a drive.

I wanted to know if anyone can suggest some nice places to look at, I dont want to be in a bad area. I will be going to find a place in June and moving at the begining of August of this year.
So any information given would be fantastic, I have been looking for places but I don't know the areas. I feel lost. So some guidance will help.
Thanks so much in advance.