If you could live anywhere in Virginia...

[izzy]

Hmmm. If you don't really want to live in the mountain part of the state, I'd probably veto the entire I-81 corridor. (Winchester, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Lexington, Roanoke, Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford). Plus, I-81 is awful to drive with all the trucks on it. (I live near I-81, and I avoid it as much as possible, if that tells you anything!) You won't get traffic jams like you do in NOVA and in the Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Va Beach area, but you will have trucks barreling past you at 75 mph up and down hilly terrain. Not for the faint hearted.

I work in Charlottesville, and I love it there, but it's expensive to live in the surrounding area. (That's one reason I live about 40 minutes west of there.) Housing prices aren't as bad as NOVA, but it's still higher than many other areas of the state. The only bad traffic part of Charlottesville is Rt. 29N. They've been talking about bypassing it for god-knows-how-long, but nothing ever seems to happen. At lot of people retire in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County area for the reasons already stated.

You might want to consider Goochland County. Depending on the part of the county where you live, you'd be anywhere from about 10-30 minutes from the west end of Richmond, which has lots of shopping, restaurants, etc. From there, it would be about 1 hour to Charlottesville, 1.5 hours from the mountains, about 1-1.5 hours from Williamsburg, and about 2-2.5 hours from the beach. I'm don't 100% remember how far they are from NOVA, but probably about two hours. It's a good central location for accessing everything in the state. It's still rural enough that you feel like you have some elbow room, but you're not far from "civilization."

I would also recommend Lynchburg. My brother has lived in that area for almost 30 years and really likes it there.

Good luck, and I hope we can call you a Virginian soon!

 

[Green Tea]

Bedford County is a possibilty to consider. It borders Lynchburg and Roanoke the region) both, depending on where you are in the county. It is rural, with easy access to Roanoke and Lynchburg, that keep getting mentions. Moneta/Smith Mountain Lake, also mentioned, is in Bedford County. (as well as a couple of other counties for those going for full disclosure.)

 

[Va-bear]

Ok, now after reading your last post, I'm thinking you should look into the Powhatan area. It neighbors Midlothian but is quite rural. A lot of people have farms or keep horses - yet can get to Richmond in 10-15 minutes.

http://www.powhatanva.com/

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I think you would really like New Kent County. About 20 minutes from Richmond and 15-20 minutes from Williamsburg (depending on where you live). Then you're about an hour and half to two hours away from VA beach and an hour and a half or so from from the mountains. It's semi-country, reasonably priced, and still close to places. One of the attorney's I work with in Williamsburg lives in New Kent and he loves it. It's a growing County though so who knows what it'll be like in 10-15 years.