pete c Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 im thinking of moving there some time in the fall. my question is what areas to avoid? really need to get out of new england Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas63 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 im thinking of moving there some time in the fall. my question is what areas to avoid? really need to get out of new england Have you spent any time in that area? That's the best way to learn about an area and its people. I worked a little in SW Virginia many years ago, but I doubt that it has changed much. It's "Small Town Appalachia". The people are very friendly, but some of their ways and their thinking may be considerably different than what you would encounter in new england. What are your criteria for areas to "avoid"? If you are thinking of "high crime" areas, then don't worry. The entire region is very "LOW crime". Perhaps if you told us what you are looking for or what you are trying to get away from, someone could offer more specific advice. My advice would be to have a job lined up first before moving and also to spend some time (several weeks at a minimum) in various towns in the region. Get out and interact with the people and don't just spend your time in a motel room or driving around sightseeing in your car. Go shopping; attend local events; read the local newspapers; ask local people their views on local issues but avoid politics and religion discussions. I think that if you spend about a month doing these things, you'll get an idea whether you want to move to that area. It may be exactly what you're looking for....... or maybe not. You won't know until you spend a little time there. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Tari Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 My wife and I own 8 acres of property in Halifax County. It's going to be the place were going to retire at. It's beautiful country and the people are great. I went hunting on my property a few years ago and the Blazer we were in died on us the weekend we were going home. One of the locals was looking for their hunting dogs and came up the private road to my property. We told him our problem. He took us to his home, got the blazer pulled back to his barn. We were feed, given the liveing room floor to sleep on, and come Sunday morning he called a friend that ran the local Auto Parts store. His friend got the part we needed, and his crew came over and gave us a hand putting the parts in. For what they did for us I gave them permission to hunt on my property. I've lived all over the world and met a lot of people, But no one not even my own family has been so nice to total strangers. I think you would be very happy there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 my main reason to move is i feel its time for someplace new, nh isnt what it used to be, health issues make it so i cant tolerate the cold. the job part isnt really a big deal worked hard and saved, pretty much retired.the crime rate and schools are my main concern. and just some reason that area is calling me, if you know what i mean. nh native for 40 years and have never been else where.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenG76 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I live in Southwest Virginia. The winters can be pretty bad here but not quite as bad as what you are used to I am sure. I hope you are retiring/retired if you are planning on finding a job good luck. I live close to Galax VA that has the Fiddler's Convention every year. I hope you like Bluegrass music as it dominates the music scene here. It can take forever to get around some areas due to winding roads. I would suggest being somewhere close to the interstates. I am lucky and live close to I-77 so I can get to civilazation once in a while. My area is around and hour away from Roanoke, VA and about the same for Winston-Salem, NC. Charlotte NC is about 2 hours away. I love the area but it stinks to be so far away from things sometimes. No decent music stores unless you play Bluegrass. If you have some areas in mind shoot me a PM if you like. Most people around here are friendly once you get to know them although they can be a little backwards at times. Im not originally from the area myself. Im from near Winston-Salem NC. I have made a lot of friends here but it took some time. Plus my wife is related to everyone so that helps as well. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Say hi to Jesco White, the Dancin Outlaw for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I only visited south western Virginia on the way to eastern Virginia, where I spent a few months back in the 90's. Loved every part of Virginia, even Alexandria was a nice clean city by Southern California standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 my main reason to move is i feel its time for someplace new, nh isnt what it used to be, health issues make it so i cant tolerate the cold. the job part isnt really a big deal worked hard and saved, pretty much retired.the crime rate and schools are my main concern. and just some reason that area is calling me, if you know what i mean. nh native for 40 years and have never been else where.. Buy a bango................I spent years in Boston............West Virginia isn't that far from NH..................................Move to the South West or the West coast.......... Worked for me..........Dumb me though, I made more kids when I moved here.......Guess I'll make kids where ever I live....hmmmmmmmmmm........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 born and raised in nh, mainly lived on the seacoast until about 25 yrs ago, i thought it would be great to buy 36 acres on top of a mountain, and its in a snow belt. closest house to me is about 5miles. the wife and two kids have had enough also. when the weather calls for 6" we get 12"+ i can just start to see the rim of our swiming pool which is just over 5' tall i dont think the blue grass is for me, im more of a hard rock metal kinda person damian whats a bango? i really want to move west of the rockies somewhere, but its getting expensive to move anywhere now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Given that our U.S. population doubled roughly from when I was in New England as a kid, I don't know where I'd say to move if you don't want snow. Everybody else is doing the same. My great grandpa left your general area in the late 1850s 'cuz it was too crowded. I think sometimes that must be a family trait. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 i dont mind a little snow, its the cold i cant take anymore. i do snow plowing for u.s. cellular at the towers in the area.i totaled up the amounts we get sometimes they ask how much snow is out there if they need to work on the tower. at the site in my back yard we got 14' yes 14 feet from early December to march 21st. we are 2,500' above sea level so we dont get nice snow that just falls down. we get the horizontal snow our average wind chill temp for January was -20 degrees. just watched the weather more snow coming at the end of the week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Consider Nashville, All kinds of music, 4 seasons, you can be in the city or 20 minutes away you can be in the country. No state income tax, low real state taxes, good economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Actually Stiffhand has a good idea... Anywhere from Nashville - above the recent flood elevation however - to Chattanooga. I'd stay away from the lower elevations on the Memphis side, myself. I was there eight years; long enough for me. Unfortunately almost anyplace east of the Missouri and west of Denver is pretty much too crowded regardless of weather, IMHO. Survivable for sure, but still awfully crowded any time you get more than a person per square mile population density. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 hmmm Nashville now thats a thought milod i think people might be nice i live very secluded for too long. i would love to have a pizza delivered, its over an hour round trip to get one. what kind of winter does that area get? and whats out of the flood plane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 The area known as middle Tennessee (Nashville and east I24 and south I65) you can find choice of cities and towns depending on what you want. Weather is nice around here, we do have hot summers though, In the 14 years I have lived here I would say we get in average 3 snowfalls a year, never more than 10" in that time and that was only once. East of Nashville and getting to the Smokies it does snow more regularly. Nashville is not of a flood area in general, last year it just rained that much on that dreadful weekend, like it never had, they call it a 100 year flood. If you look for real state in this area right now and did not flood last year it never will unless the lay of the land is changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oh yea and I like the fact that the sunny beautiful beaches of Florida are 7 hours away, we go twice a year and talk about a battery re-charging. I am heading down in like 3 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I did some work north of Nashville a cupla times. For kinda hilly low country it's pretty nice. There are a lotta advantages to the area. Mostly nice folks, too, IMHO. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 On the way out to Virginia I was pulled over in Memphis for touching the white line, and he said I was going a little fast. Truth of the matter, I was going 55mph with cars passing me on both sides, all he saw was long hair and California plates on a Uhaul. They just wanted to make sure This Hippie wasn't stopping in Memphis (yes, he said "As long as you're not stopping here" when he let me go). For me, Tennessee is not for stopping, it's for going around. And being treated like a lesser citizen gives you a pretty liberal out look on social issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 thats one of my concerns is the north vs south bullcrap. the west coast is my first choice but cant afford to move across the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 What struck me funny about living in Memphis a while is the resistance to me calling it "back east." m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 thats one of my concerns is the north vs south bullcrap. the west coast is my first choice but cant afford to move across the country. You won't get as much of that around Blacksburg where VA Tech is, but that wouldn't be a real concern to me if I was you. Most of that is just good natured ribbing. The 'war of Northern aggression on the South' ended for most of us, just a little more recently for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 You won't get as much of that around Blacksburg where VA Tech is, but that wouldn't be a real concern to me if I was you. Most of that is just good natured ribbing. The 'war of Northern aggression on the South' ended for most of us, just a little more recently for some. Same here and well put. To me the thing with Virginia is that a lot of people consider themselves Southern based on the Civil War facts, but there is a difference between that and the actual Culture of the Deep South as experienced here. Things have changed significantly in the last 15 years. There are just so many people from over the world and other states around here that Northerners or Foreigners are not news. 14 years ago when I moved here I must have been asked 500 times where I am from, no exaggeration, nowadays when people hear my accent they don't take a second look or even care to ask me. Frankly I would not move to a backwoods kind of town but there are definitely some charming small towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I live near the NC/SC line. When we moved here from a small town in SC, my wife joined the Southern Women's club to meet new people. She was the only member born in the south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 i dont get into the north vs south i could care less. when i drove truck all i had to do was say something and then the yankee comments started. i dont know what backwards towns to avoid, we have quite a few in nh also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 ... when i drove truck all i had to do was say something and then the yankee comments started... Same happens to me when I go north, and my accent isn't THAT bad. Fact is that many Southern women are intrigued by a New England accent, if you can handle that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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