Saraho

We are also looking for a small Virginia town/city to retire in. We just got home from a week trip looking at different towns. We had a wonderful time. My husband who has been luke-warm about the whole idea is now pretty enthusiastic about moving there.

We spent three days in Winchester. It is definitely at the top of our list. It is a charming town- especially the old down town with its walking mall. There is lots to do there. We felt like we were "on vacation" there and that it would take a long time to see everything, plus it would be a great place for our grandchildren to visit us. The people that we met there, including one on this forum, were delightful and very helpful.

We also went to Woodstock and liked it. It is a small town full of old houses and churches- very attractive in a setting beside the Blue Ridge. We will probably prefer a place that is larger with more choice of activities to retire in, although we met many retirees there who seemed to like it very much.

We went to Culpeper, too. It is a nice town considerably larger than Woodstock. It is definitely a possibility although not as charming as Winchester. It has an attractive downtown,choice of restaurants and shops and lots of older houses and very nice new developments outside of town.

We also like Warrenton which is more comparable to Winchester in size.

We are thinking about renting a place in Winchester for several weeks to see how we would like living there. We have two children in the DC area so it might feel a little far for easy visiting.

Saraho

I just went back and reread your description of what you are looking for in a town, and it sounds just like what we just experienced in Winchester! I suggest that you go there for a visit and stay in a B&B in the historic district to see for yourself. Look at the Winchester website for visitors for a good overview of the town.

You said that what you were looking for in a town included the following:
"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,"

We found that Winchester fits that description very well, plus it has Shenadoah University, a 700 acre Arboretum and a great medical center.

wanderer

Thanks for the info!

How large is Winchester, and what is the nearest "city" (50K+)?

Carla

Winchester isn't super big, but it is on the edge of the Washington DC suburbs. The sprawl begins within a 30 minute drive

Saraho

Look at www.city-data.com for Winchester statistics. It is actually quite a drive from DC- about 80 miles, and it is 53 miles from Dulles airport. I wouldn't call it on the edge of DC suburbs.

Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Frederick, MD (54.1 miles , pop. 52,767).

Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Washington, DC (81.3 miles , pop. 572,059).



Nearest cities: Stephens City, VA (7.3 miles ), Boyce, VA (9.5 miles ), Berryville, VA (12.8 miles ), Middletown, VA (13.0 miles ), Inwood, WV (14.6 miles ), Front Royal, VA (17.6 miles ), Strasburg, VA (18.5 miles ), Capon Bridge, WV (20.3 miles) .

schlegal1

Staunton is cute but doesn't have nearly the things you listed in your downtown. There are plenty of restaurants and boutique style shops. There is also a Shakespeare theater and a refurbsiehd vaudeville theater that plays movies. It's up and coming and there is a lot of art and music in the summer

Waynesboro (where I live) is cheap to live in and close to Staunton and Charlottesville (which has more of the things you want in a downtown). Fishersville and Stuarts Draft are also close to Staunton. None of these have a real downtown. w-boro comes closest in that there is a historic area in the downtown w/ a "Main Street" but there isn't anything in it. There's a movement afoot to revitlize but it isn't even on its way.

greenfieldhunter

Winchester has sprawl and traffic issues of it's own- the newer parts of the area are a fine example of awful urban planning and the downtown still needs some love.

All in all Winchester has very little in common with places like Nantucket or Charleston- Winchester does have a very nice hospital

Again- there are climatic differences between Winchester and Williamsburg similar to the differences between Charlottesville and Williamsburg- apparently the average temperatures are similar (??!!) according to some weather sites leading me to believe the average temperatures don’t begin to tell the full story.

I live in rural NVA, my father lives on the Northern Neck (which does have some of what you seem to be looking for). The weather contrast is significant

wanderer

I'm assuming the Northern Neck is much more humid?

Weespxx

The Northern Neck, like most of that area of the Virginia coast, is HOT and HUMID in the summers. Summers, by the way, are lasting longer and longer and you can be uncomfortably warm well into September and even October these days.

Saraho

Wanderer, if you would like more information about Winchester from people who actually live there, email me at reidybobbyATyahoo.com

It is true that there is some traffic in the newer part of town, but we really like the very charming old downtown and the feeling that there are so many things to do in Winchester.

shaya

Hi wanderer-

First -
Have you considered Blacksburg? about an hour from Roanoke. It is close to nothing, but is a great lcollege town. They do have a nice little downtown area, the whole town is very accessible.

I don't know if this is still true but it used to come up on the "Top 10 place to retire" lists a lot. Virginia Tech provides lots of activites and a more cosmopolitan feel than the surrounding area. It is not a posh area - but is truly beautiful. If you love the outdoors take a look at Blacksburg. The weather is better than C'ville or Tidewater too!

Second-
My in-laws are in Williamsburg and love it. They are both retired but are super active. They find the community resources to be outstanding. My FIL plays tennis several times a week at W&M and teaches classes on subjects that interest him through the Christopher Wren program for retirees. My MIl has served as a docent (is that the right word?) at several of the museums in CW, did storytelling for kids, and takes lots of interesting classes as well. We lived in Williamsburg between 2000 and 2003 and found it to be a charming, quiet town.

Third-
Was in Lexington a couple of weeks ago - what a BEAUTIFUL little town! It looks expensive but gorgeous and I have no further knowledge of it.

Good luck in your search!

shaya

wanderer

Thanks everyone.

I read about Blacksburg somewhere recently. It sounded interesting, although we want to avoid a nice place in the middle of nowhere. We'd like to be surrounded by other great towns.

Lexington is on the list, although it's rather small. We live in a town of 20K now, which is just right, although we like Sonoma, CA which is only 10K. I think part of why Sonoma makes the list for us though (aside from the weather) is that even though it is small, there are so many great towns around it. Same as where we live now.

So far we'd like to see:

Staunton
Winchester
Charlottesville
Lexington
Abington
Williamsburg
Fredericksburg

What is Smithfield like? That appears on alot of lists.

wanderer

Sorry - Abingdon.

blueslipper

I've enjoyed reading this thread. Wanderer has much of the same criteria as I do when looking for a great place to live. Of the various places that have been mentioned, which of these areas have the best school districts?

blueslipper

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