Wow! Lots of suggestions, thanks.

My husband told me there would be temp differences between Cville and Wmsburg, and I thought not! Now I know better.

We would prefer a little cooler than the heat and humidity!

Yes, we are from New England. Newburyport, MA to be exact. Were it not for the length of winter, the amount of snow and the cold, on top of the high cost of living here, we would snow.

Ideally, we'd like NO snow or cold, but CA seems out of our price range. We really want to stay near a coast though, as we both love the ocean.

Our town is 1700/1800s and very "quaint". We also don't just want some cute town that is out in the middle of nowhere. It has to have surrounding towns that also offer something. We are also looking at Sonoma, CA, as there is so much to do in that area - yes, though, I know the cost of living.

My husband has said unless we can find something as special as where we are, we are not moving!! So thanks for all the suggestions - lots to check out!

If anyone would like to see my town, here's the link.
http://www.newburyport01950.com/downtown/pres0000.html
Please come visit!

http://www.newburyport01950.com/waterfront/gallery.html

http://www.newburyport01950.com/Jopp...t/gallery.html

Sorry, couldn't resist showing more. Now you know why my husband said where we move has to be special!

Anything in VA like this????

Sorry to contradict your husband and a previous poster but the climate in these two places is more similar than not.

The average monthly high and low temps for Charlottesville and Wmburg track within a couple of degrees of one another despite the fact that C'ville is in central VA and at a higher elevation.
Springs and falls are gorgeous and temperate. Summer is hot and humid. Winters are generally mild.

How long does the heat and humidity last (the worst of it)?

Typically starts sometime in June and ends in September. July and August are the worst.

I went to college in Lynchburg and can tell you it is a gorgeous little town of about 50,000. It is halfway between Roanoke and Charlottesville.

Humidity will be high in the summer. Agree with obxgirl that the climates are very similiar.

GT, did you go to Liberty? How did you like it? I went to Longwood.

Good gawd no! I would have been kicked out of Liberty in about five minutes. Did you know they can't even hold hands in public?

I went to Lynchburg College which is a small private liberal arts school. Or should I say a flunked out

I ended up graduating from the University of South Carolina.

GT, I was wondering about that! Growing up in Roanoke and going to Longwood, we would hear (and laugh) about all of the restrictions. They also had to have chaperones on their "dates".

I loved Roanoke! We would road trip to Va Tech and Radford all the time!

Virginia was a great state to go to school in! We would also spend weekends at UVA and JMU. My favorite was a 200 keg party UVA had every year at Easter. I think it was called Easters or something of the sort.

Randolf Macon had great outdoor parties in their dell.

Can you see why I flunked out of college? LOL!

Just done some reading, and Staunton sounds really nice, as well as Lexington, but think that might be a little small for us. Winchester also sounded nice. And Abingdon. Wow... so much to see! Can't wait to come out.

Given our "wish list" I think we will rule out Wmsburg - we really want a town with a real "downtown".

Between Staunton, C'ville, Abingdon, Lexington and Winchester, ?Fredericksburg - which seem to be closest to what we want??? - in a nutshell - Historic, vibrant, attractive, good boutiquey shops and restaurants (hate chains, malls and strip malls), farmers markets, arts, festivals (i.e.,lots going on), a great "walking" town, good health care (especially cardiac)with a hospital in town, and nice surrounding area/towns. We love antiques and wine, and would love to be in an area with both, but not stuck in the "boonies" (i.e. cute town with nothing around it)and a big wish - may not be possible in VA - the lowest possible heat and humidity!

Hi Wanderer,

Just got back from Newburyport! I have ancestry/connections there, and visit a few times a year. The flurries made the town very festive! It's funny, in this one weekend we've hit: Concord (NH) Midnight Merriment, Exeter (NH) Christmas Parade (had a child marching), Kennebunkport (ME) Xmas Prelude (had a child working), and Newburyport (MA to visit the cemetary) ! Had some good meals, but only bought three gifts...

At any rate, please post back after your trip to Virginia. I would also love to eventually move to a small town like yours - but warmer!

C'ville....C'ville....C'ville....

Roanoke is way too far from anything.

C'ville and you can be close to many things plus be around farmers' markets, great food, etc.

b-(

I think C'ville sounds the most like what we want - Cosmopolitan flavor, but still sort of a small town feel... not far from a bigger city, although have not heard good things about Richmond. What's the real scoop there?

Dreamer2 - where do you live???

Here's the poop on Crozet. Our friends left Tampa, sold their off-bayshore house and bought half of a small farm in Crozet. The area then was all farms and Crozet had a little tiny "downtown", it was very quaint. Well within a couple of years, those farms were bought by developers and now our friends, who wanted to live in the country, are in the suburbs, slowly being swallowed by the burbs, surrounded by acres and acres of houses. They are not happy although they can sell their land to a developer who could put about 20 houses on it. When I visited last they took me to a little area that still had vestiges of age and gentility but I don't recall what it was. Personally, I think I'd buy at Woodstock, Mount Jackson, or thereabouts.

Most small towns that have anything interesting going on also have strip malls and lots of real setate development. The only way to insulate yourself is to buy in an established, older neighborhood or a farm. Staunton and Charlottesville probably both offer a lot of what you want but have a mix of things you don't, like strip malls and development. I live near Crozet and it is becoming more developed. It is a bedroom community for C-ville (since C-ville is too expensive for many to live in) and you can make a lot of money developing for the commuters.

As for Richmond, it has undergone a lot of revitalization and is a great place to live within an hour or two of. It has good shopping and dining and plenty to do. Like any city, there are places to avoid after dusk but overall it's great.

Although I am by no means as knowledgable about C'ville as the other folks here, one other amenity there that I especially appreciated is its large number or used and rare book dealers. Whenever I attend Rare Book School at UVA, I often make a trip into C'ville center and visit the book shops. So, if you and your husband are booklovers, that's something else you might enjoy. Of course, visiting UVA's lovely, historic campus is always a treat, too.

Can anyone comment more on Staunton/Waynesboro. From what I've read/seen on web site, Staunton looks like of cute, although I know looks can be deceiving.

I checked homes in Waynesboro and could not believe the prices! My hubby and I really like something older with character, and looks like there's alot of that around.

My husband is very afraid of living in "Pat Robertson country" though. We are conservative politically, but not extreme right wingers.

Any comments on either town, especially how they compare to C'ville??

p.s. We don't mind having a few strip malls - we have them here, and they contain some handy things like CVS and the dry cleaner and an ATM, grocery store, and Marshalls and KMart.

They are outside of town though on the outskirts, and there is a nice historic downtown a few blocks from where we live in a neighborhood of homes from the 1700 and 1800s.

We don't care if there are strip malls, we just don't want a place that that's ALL there is. Our one requirement we won't budge on is having a "real" downtown that is lively, attractive, and historic. Ours has a library, a couple bookstores, police station, old-fashioned newstand and soda fountain, clothing stores, pet gift boutique, kitchenware, etc. all in old historic buildings.

Of the two you originally asked about, I'd agree with an early poster and choose Fredericksburg!