I moved to Cville from Boston several years ago after living my whole life in NE. I like it here, for a number of reasons, but it IS hot and humid for up to 6 months of the year. The heat starts anywhere from March (unusual) to May, and we've only gotten our first coolish days this week. My kids have yet to wear long pants to school this fall. I find that it does restrict one's activities somewhat. On the other hand, winter is way less of a hassle. In the ideal world I'd live here 9 months and go to Maine the other 3 (this isn't as unusual around here as it may sound). Is summer travel a possibility?
Best of luck!

Hi girlonthego, I didn't post the median home prices as an indication of what someone would expect to pay for a home, but as a relative price comparison among cities.

obxgirl: You live in Williamsburg? Not too far from me. I know the median is a rough idea, but everyone assumes it is so cheap here. I know that in the last 8 years we have lived here, things have more than doubled, and in some cases tripled in resales. It is not as cheap as it used to be. I have family in NJ and I can not fathom paying what they are for homes (tiny ones too) and what they are paying in property taxes. Our friends live in a large and luxurious home in NJ and pay 20,000 a year in property taxes and their kids go to private schools. Crazy!!! Anyway, I am happy where I am even if it does get hot!

Well, we definitely will need to visit in the Summer. It could be a deal-breaker - hope not. My husband has very bad asthma, and the humidity bothers him alot.

We currently have an 1,100 sq. foot what they call a "half-house" here - similar to a townhouse, but it is an actual old 1700s house cut in half - so looks just like a real old house - and is - only smaller. No yard - just a small "Beacon Hill style courtyard", right in town, which is worth @ 400K right now. We were hoping to get a smallish - 1,200 - 1,400 sq ft. home for something similar, perhaps a little more - in price. (400-500). We don't want alot of land.

Does anyone know anything about the Cedar Spring Inn in C'Ville? Their web site is gorgeous. Also wanted to know about Crozet and the vineyards. Are there vineyards in C'ville or is it the surrounding area, and what part?

The ideal solution would be to travel for a few months (Maine would be great) to escape the heat. The hard part is our pet, who will be @10 by the time we retire. Guess we could drive with her, we'll have to see...

Right now just anxious to see the area -heard and read so much about it, can't wait to see it! We'll most likely do a long weekend next year to start.

We got to know the Charlottesville area over the last seven years or so because of frequent trips to Virginia "wine country". That was a particular draw when we were looking at retirement locations. It is also close enough to a major airport (Dulles) if you like to travel internationally.

For us, though, we eventually decided we needed just a slightly bigger place (population wise) and chose Durham, NC. So far it's been a fantastic success. My husband is a UNC grad, so it's been fun for him to settle down here, and we're finding a lot in common with our neighbors!

Moving from the Northeast, you will find the hunt for a new house to actually be FUN and not nearly as stressful. We downsized but upgraded and still had a nice cushion to supplement the old retirement fund. It made the difference for us in that we really COULD retire much earlier than we had expected to.

Good luck, and enjoy your search! We spent about two years before we made our choice, and it was an awful lot of fun.

our posts crossed -- so to answer your questions about wine country, my favorite wineries are Barboursville, which is not far at all from C'ville, Jefferson Wineries (just a hop and a jump from Monticello) and Sharp Rocks, which is further away near "Old Rag" (a mountain that is easy to climb).

We enjoy staying in B&Bs in the vicinity of Orange, VA, although there's also a nice newish Holiday Inn Express that is located in a lovely valley there. Do a google on Barboursville and Virginia Wine and you will find many links, maps, etc that will make your trip planning fun. (You might even enjoy Orange, VA or another small town toward the Blue Ridge parkway, Flint Hill.)