We are looking at possibly relocating to VA for retirement.

Abingdon keeps coming up on our lists of historic, artsy, smallish communities.

Can anyone give me the real scoop on this town? - Ambience, activities, housing, general flavor, nearest city (50K+), etc?

We lived there in the early 1990's but were then transferred to eastern Virginia. It took some getting used to at first because it's very far from any cities (approximately 2 hours to Roanoke, Va. and to Knoxville, Tn.). The area is absolutely gorgeous, especially in the fall when the trees are changing color. The town has a small-town feel, with a slower pace and an abundance of friendliness. The Barter Theatre is a real gem. We lived in a neighborhood where everyone knew each other. There are lots of doctors and lawyers in town. We loved living there (after that initial adjustment period) and I think it would be a great place to retire.

Where would we fly into to visit?

Abingdon is so far southwest that maybe Roanoke, and you would have a nearly two hour drive.

Tri-Cities Airport (code: TRI) in Blountville, Tennessee is the closest airport.

Tri-Cities Airport is about 30 miles away (approximately 35 minutes) and is much closer than Roanoke and Knoxville. It's a small airport but is fine to fly in and out of.

I haven't lived in Abingdon but I have family in nearby Bristol, Va so I have visited several times. It is a pretty quaint town, but I would suggest a visit to see if it meets your criteria. You may want to check out the real estate market as well, because I don't know how expensive it is and I wouldn't think theere are many new houses going up. You are probably 20 minutes or so from Bristol which does have a major hospital, restaurants like the Outback Steakhouse, Chili's etc and a shopping mall. Everyone told you correct, the closest airport would be Tri-City Airport.

We were actually amazed how INexpensive Abingdon is, and how many nice historic homes are for sale.

What I'm not sure about is being so "isolated". We're trying to avoid the "oasis" in the middle of nowhere.

Looks like a cute town, though, and at least worth a visit.

Abingdon is on Exits 14-19 of I-81, and there's a very large, fairly new shopping area in Bristol, Va., at exit 7. So Abingdon is 10-ish miles to Wal-Mart, Home Depot, chain restaurants, etc.

The Bristol Regional Medical Center is a very good hospital and it's at the last Tennessee exit of 81, so it's 20-ish miles from Abingdon. Abingdon also has a small hospital of its own.

Abingdon has a few really good independent restaurants. The best movie theater in the region is in Abingdon (www.cinemall.com), and of course the crown jewels of the town are the Barter Theater with two stages and year-round productions, and the Martha Washington Inn across the street. Since there is a Federal District Court in Abingdon, there are a lot of law offices in town. There seems to be a good business community in Abingdon. The local independent shops, galleries, etc., work together to lure shoppers to town.

You will be able to find both new homes under construction as well as historical properties for sale in Abingdon. If you don't want to be in town, there are some really beautiful homes south of town on the lake, or other more rural properties around the area.

Population-wise, Bristol has to be close to 50,000 now. It's part of Tennessee's Tri-Cities area, which also consists of Johnson City (pop. 57,000) and Kingsport (pop. 45,000). Those towns form a triangle and each is about 20 miles from the other.

As you go north on I-81 from Abingdon, the population thins out quite a bit.

As for colleges, there is a community college. Emory, Va., about ten miles away, is home to Emory & Henry college, a small liberal arts college (Methodist, I think). They do have a football program, if you're into that kind of thing. And then Bristol has King College and Virginia Intermont College, also small schools.

As mentioned earlier, the nearest airport is TRI (Tri-Cities regional) with service from Delta, US Air, and Northwest. www.triflight.com. The nearest BIG airport would be Charlotte, which is within three hours of Abingdon. Second to that would be Knoxville (TYS), over two hours away.