30 year old single gal looking to relocate to Virginia. "Virginia is for Lovers," try my luck. Anyhow, I'd be coming from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I have lived in a small, remote town for the past 3 years. It's a great, cool town and I LOVE all the sunny day here, but the long winters, with -30 degree temps and short lived summers are less than desirable. Traveling is epic, conveniences are a drive and career opportunities non-existent. Why Virginia? I have some family in the area, I'd be closer to family in Massachusetts, the climate seems middle of the road and you have the best of both worlds with the mountains and ocean. With all this said, thanks for hanging in there, I'm researching fun, small, romantic, historical towns. Not looking for the big city, but a small town with conveniences, some nightlife, good places to eat and close by to a major medical center for work, interstate and airport for traveling. Ideally, it would be great to find a town/city within equal driving distance to the mountains for hiking and camping and the beach for catching rays and swimming. Please relay info! Thanks!

Charlottesville.

Beautiful, historical, romantic, everything you are looking for. It's expensive for a small-ish town, but it has a major medical center and a lot more nightlife and activities than most, as is typical for a college town. In the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains, but not too far from the beach.

I live in Arlington and unless you want to be close to all the opportunities in the greater Washington area I would agree very much so with Charlottesville.

Charlottesville is a great place to live! I've been here for 18 yrs. I lived in Denver in the 70's and loved the mountains there. It's not the Rockies, but it's really beautiful. Check out the Woolen Mills neighborhood that's near the Rivanna River and downtown. Best wishes with your decision.

Another vote for Charlottesville.

The Shenandoah Valley towns of Woodstock or Strasburg, or the city of Winchester. I-81 goes through all three. One to one and a half hours to Dulles Airport, about the same to D.C.

Valley Health covers hospitals in Winchester, Woodstock ,and Front Royal. Winchester Hospital is a major facility ranking up there with Nova in Fairfax.

History abounds in the area. The courthouse in Woodstock has been in use since 1795. The oldest west of the Blue Ridge.

GMU,(Final Four 2006) JMU and several smaller schools are driving distance for sports and cultural activities.

Check employment opportunities at Valley Health Systems www.valleyhealthlink.com/jobs to see what is available in the area hospitals.

Charlottesville.

Charlottesville.

Does it have to be Virginia or would North Carolina be an option???? If so, I would recommend Asheville, NC- it is in the middle of the blue ridge mountains, but it's truly beautiful, has a funky edge, small town feel, and it's own airport. A little something closer to the coast- try Carboro, NC (right outside of Chapel Hill)- artsy little music town, not as expensive as Chapel Hill, close to the Raleigh Airport- seems like it may be a good fit. But if it's Virginia you are set on, Charlottesville seems to fit the bill...

Ditto
Charlottesville or Winchester.

Both have historic feel. Winchester is close enought to No.Va for good career opportunities. Charlottesville is a big enough "small town" to have plenty of job opps--UVA and plenty of medical facilities.
Come for a visit and learn all there is to "love" in VA: history, beautiful outdoors, etc. Of course, if you come June-September be ready to battle some real humidity! But I love living in VA! Although, depending on where in Colorado you're from you'll probably find Va very conservative in many respects.

The main downside to Charlottsville is that the closest airport is Richmond, which will have inconvenient connections. If you are prepared to drive two hours to Dulles or National, then it could work.

Charlottesville has an airport. I've used it many times.

True, it doesn't offer a huge number of flights, but that's true of most smaller airports. And Dulles really isn't all that far if you want a bigger airport (and of course Richmond is even closer).

Charlottesville, but it is the second most expensive place to live in the state, behind Northern VA.

You can fly out of CHO airport to other hubs, but it might just be easier to drive to Richmond or Dulles.

C-ville is wonderful.