Should we move to Virginia?

CapeCodBride28

We are dying to get out this place! I have heard great things about Virginia in general. I have only looked into Charlottesville so far. Any advice or recommendations would be great. TIA!

KCDraughn

Depends specifically on what you're looking for!!  I personally love Virginia, all the history is amazing, the mountains and the ocean are within a reasonable driving distance, and you can't beat having Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, and Monticello calling this state home.  )  But that's just the tip of the iceburg.

What makes you antsy to escape Massachusetts?

sunflower1998

As someone born and raised in the Virginia Beach area, I'd say stay away from this particular part of VA.  I'm in the process of trying to move to North GA.  There are far nicer, more affordable places than Hampton Roads.  I've visited Charlottesville and NoVa many times and they are wonderful!  I cant speak on the living cost up there, but it sure is beautiful!

CapeCodBride28

I have lived in the same place for my whole life. It is small, a tourist trap, there is nothing to do, it is very hard to meet new people, and it is not an ideal place to raise children. VA seems like a great place. FI and I are into outdoor activities and I like that the location is within driving distance to so many other places. It seemed like a good place to try.

JD&CJ

I moved here three years ago and can't imagine living anywhere else!  We live in Richmond in the Museum District.  It is part of the downtown area without the tall buildings.  I love it - within a 6 block radius we have an assortment of restaurants and bars, movie theaters, and sporting events.  When we want to get out of the city, Charlottesville is an hour west, the beach is 2 hours east and DC is an hour and a half north.  Hope that helps.

luv2smile06uva

I grew up in the southern part of the state in the country.  I have lived in Charlottesville and my husband grew up there. Cville is great especially if you like the outdoors...so much to do there in terms of hiking and outdoor activities.  It is so beautiful there and is a great place to raise a family. It was actually voted on a few years ago as one of the top places to live in the country. However, keep in mind that it is still a "college" town and much revolves around The University and college students.  UVA is by far the largest employer.  (btw, I have worked and went to school there). The main reason we left Charlottesville was due to our careers...I needed to leave to develop my career and I couldn't do it there. I also had a hard time finding a young adult crowd...it seemed like everyone was either a college kid or were older and had families.

Charlottesville also has a pretty high cost of living...not as bad as the northern VA/ DC area, but still pretty high compared to the size of the city.

We now live in Richmond and enjoy it.  I miss things about Charlottesville (UVA, the mountains, small town feel), but Richmond has more to do overall, more shopping options, more affordable, more corporations, etc in my opinion. But it still doesn't have the traffic and congestion that NOVA has.

I'd love to return to Cville one day though...so it really depends on what you want/ what fits your lives better.

IncogNeato

I love Cville, too, but it's a b*tch to find a job around here these days, since the job market is relatively small. DH has been hunting for 8 months or so with no leads. It depends on your field of work, though, obviously.