Moving to Virginia

[riverdadd]

I live in central VA for the last 40 years, it's wonderful. a true 4 seasons. great climate, people ect.... Blue Ridge Parkway is a gem. lots of stuff to do locally. Smith Mountain Lake is beautiful, but gets very busy on summer weekends.lots of wine and beer and music festivals thru out the year.

You must go to VIR in danville VA for their vintage weekend in late september. it's phenomenal

roanoke weather is a piece of cake. yes it does snow, but it melts the next week.

central va is a outdoor hobbyist dream, Appalachian trail hike,bike, canoe,fish,hunt,boat,4X4......all within minutes

History galore, James river is where america started in Jamestown, Revolutionary war, civil war plenty to do

plus i live near by!!

[RRoller123]

Thanks, that has been my perception so far as well! Milder climate, 4 real seasons, lower costs than here in Eastern MA. My cousin lives in Danville, owns and is restoring the Oak Ridge Plantation, which is (or parts of it are) on the NRHP, I believe. He has mentioned a huge music festival in the area that is a lot of fun.

My next step is go down and visit, without my ailing wife, and do a scouting trip to visit relatives and poke around, probably I the next month or two. Then we will go back together and make a final decision on location. Probably wrap it up within a year.

Thanks everyone for the great inputs, it is all helpful!

[RRoller123]

Well, despite all the advantages of Southern living, we have come to the conclusion that we can't part with Jeannie's extensive support system of doctors here in the Boston area. It would require rebuilding a strong network all over again. She just underwent complex major cancer surgery earlier this month at Dana Farber/Brigham & Women's, with a team of two surgeons, one of whom is the acknowledged leader in the US, in her field.

All went well and we are recovering slowly at home here in Plymouth. Hopefully this will both extend and significantly improve the quality of my dear wife's life! Thus, it looks like another Winter of bitching and moaning about the New England Winter climate is in store for us.

[micbrody]

I think you made a wise decision. I visited Roanoke for week for a girls travel softball “World Series “ ( one of 12 going on throughout USA!....$$$$). The visit reminded me of the W.C. Fields quote about Philadelphia :
"I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday."

I guess I spent 7 yrs there during the week. Not a lot going on there (though we did have fun hunting for moonshine in Franklin County)