Where to live - suggestions please

[ejb]

OK fellow TBN'ers...my wife has finally come close to consenting to a major life change...a move.

We currently live in the rural parts of New England and have 175 acres of land and a nice (but not fancy) house.

We have three small kids and none of us are enjoying these cold NE winters anymore (and this one has been mild).

My question to all of you...where are some of the places you might move?

Here are some requirements:

I still want a lot of land, the more the better but at least 75 acres or so.

Don't want it to be too hot, i.e. Florida may be too much.

I want to live in a rural area, with no immediate threat of development, but within 2 hours of a major airport would be nice for the occaisional traveling we do.

Work is not a concern, so industry/commerce near by is not important (I can telecommute from anywhere).

If you are familiar with New England, you know that the terrain is varied..we like that, so something similar would be nice.

Generally when I think of a move I think of places like Virginia, but not sure why...maybe cvause its warmer, but not too warm, and not too far to travel back to New England.

Waterfront would be ideal, but not sure there is any afforable waterfront left...

If not waterfront, a view of the mountains/hills might suffice...

Where I should we be looking, where the land prices are still afforable, etc.

Any suggestions?

 

[TerryinMD]

EJB,

Western Virginia, Western Maryland, Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and South Central Pennsylvania may be good choices.

These three areas generally fit into the parameters you've given. Still fairly rural, lots of history, reasonable housing/land prices, taxes reasonable (closer into DC, jack up the taxes), close to airports and Interstate highway systems, and a decent job market due to the proximaty of the DC area.

Take a look at the intersection of I70 and I81 (near Hagerstown, MD) and draw a circle with a 50 mile radius. From that intersection, 1 hr to Baltimore, 1 hr to DC, 3 to 4 hrs to Philadelphia, 4 hrs to the shore, 12 or so hours to Atlanta, 4.5 hours to Pittsburgh, 5 or so hours to NYC, 5 hrs to Norfolk, VA.

There's a lot more, but just a couple of highlights.

Terry

 

[HalseyGreen]

Back in 1977, my wife and I traveled the USA looking for a better place to live and raise kids (?). At the time we were living in No. Virginia (20 miles from DC), and just wanted a change. After 48K miles, and everyone asking why we wanted to leave VA, with the mountains and oceans only a hour or so away. Well, we ended back in No. VA. (thats another story). 2 1/2 years ago, ready for another change, moved to Central Virginia, between Richmond and Charlottesville, no traffic, plenty of open spaces. Land $2500 per acre or less in bulk, mountains 50 miles, ocean 100 miles, clean air, reasonable taxes, relative mild winters, yes we get snow, but not much usually. The schools are good, reasonable government intervention in everyday life. Really Virginia is a great place to live. Give us a try.

 

[TonyC]

Well I would be happy to extoll the virtues of living in Virginia. I moved here from Philadelphia 22 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I live in central Virginia, near Lynchburg. The county I live in is rural but only 10 miles from Lynchburg. Most of the farms are of the cattle variety. Horse farms are popular here too. Land is still plentiful and reasonably cheap. You can get a 75 acre piece for $1000 to $1500 an acre. Most of the land has what I call good character...some hills, some flat, some woods, some meadows. Taxes are cheap too. Area development is real slow which is just fine with me. Winters are mild with some snow but not a lot. Every 5 years or so we get some decent accumulation. Summers can get hot but not unbearable. Plenty of scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains to go around too. There is plenty I could say but given your criteria, Virginia should be on your short list. If there's any way I can help, don't hesitate to ask!

 

[RonL]

ejb

I've lived most of my life in Massachusetts and have recently purchased land in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I understand the lure of the rolling hills and varied landscape. I spent several years in the Washington D.C. area and explored the Maryland and Virginia countryside. Beautiful area and at that time you did not have to go far to be in the "country". Land is probably more expensive now as this area was booming when I was there (late 70's / early 80's. Pennsylvania also has beautiful countryside.
Proximity to a large City generally pushes up property values. I myself like Symphonic music. It's nice to be able to go to Symphonic Hall in Boston. Once I move up North this won't be as convenient. Will have to make it an overnight trip.

RonL

 

[GlueGuy]

Probably no one else will mention it, so I will. Although most people think of LA when they think of California, that is a pretty small portion of a really big state. That, and the weather here is second to none: not too hot, not too cold. The landscape is varied to the extreme; both the highest and lowest points in the lower 48 are in California. If you want snow, you're usually only a couple hours drive from it. If you want ocean, desert, you name it, you're still only a few hours from it.

If you settle in any of the 90% of California that is rural, the property is priced reasonably.

My wife will not leave it, and I love it too.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

ejb

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ci.enumclaw.wa.us/>Try Here</A>
Al

 

[MChalkley]

ejb - I live in eastern Virginia, near the Chesapeake Bay. It's beautiful here, but I wouldn't call the land prices low. They're pretty high, but not nearly as bad as a lot of other places, either. It depends on what your preferences are, too.

Terry's advice that you start in the Western part of the state is sound, if you're thinking about VA, and you like mountains better than the sea. If you want to look further east, let me know and I'll help in any way I can. Having once been in real estate development, I know a lot realtors and some folks with land, too.

 

[Hillbilly]

You want a low population base,not to far away from the major citys (4 to 5 hours) realestate taxes that are reasonable and some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere,West Virgina in the high mountains,Penndelton/Randolph/Tucker County.Then again they do have winter there./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Egon]

Ever think of southeast Alaska.
Egon