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My wife and I (and 2 kids ) are considering semi-retiring to Floyd,VA (we've considered a lot of different places, but this seems to be the best fit *for us* of anything we've researched). Climate, locals, scenery, affordability, art/music scene - all seem to be a pretty good fit for us.
And we haven't even been there yet! We are originally from nova and the DC area, but have always been partial to rural MD/VA/NC. We now live near Seattle (which is nice, but ain't "home"). We both have family in western NC and southern VA (but not SW VA).
So, if we still want to do this after a few visits to Floyd, then we intend to purchase some acreage fairly near the town of Floyd and then build our own house (leaving most of the land wild except for a mini farm and some horse grazing areas).
I've read a lot on these boards and most folks say Floyd is great - only drawback is it's a bit far from any decent sized cities (which is okay for us).
So, I have a bit of a laundry list of questions below. Thoughts?
1 - Mineral rights seem to be something that (in general) you just don't get when you buy land in most of WV. That is, the oil or coal or gas company can come onto your land and drill since they own the minerals under your land (incredibly sad, but true). Is this likely to be an issue in Floyd county, VA? Common? Rare? Unheard of?
2 - As I mentioned, we're looking to buy acreage and then build. On a scale of 1-10, what are the building restrictions like (1 - they don't care what you do - it's your land, to, 10 - good luck getting anything built at all).
3 - What if our kids decide to build their house on our land in 10-20 years? Is this likely to be a problem (we will not be buying in a subdivision, but are there any county/state regulations to watch out for otherwise)?
4 - Related to #2 and #3 - any issues with having a well dug (i.e. water conservancy/quality issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
5 - Also related to #2 and #3 - any issues with septic tank/field? (i.e. perk issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
6 - Our kids are homeschooled. I have found that VA is pretty open to homeschooling and there are lots of regional support groups in SW VA. This is a long-shot, but anybody know of any homeschoolers or homeschool groups in or near Floyd itself?
7 - I love Bluegrass. Oh, nevermind, that's not a question.
8 - How walking/hiking/biking friendly is the area? If I lived 2-5 miles outside of Floyd, how easy/safe would it be to walk or ride to town?
So, I have a bit of a laundry list of questions below. Thoughts?
1 - Mineral rights seem to be something that (in general) you just don't get when you buy land in most of WV. That is, the oil or coal or gas company can come onto your land and drill since they own the minerals under your land (incredibly sad, but true). Is this likely to be an issue in Floyd county, VA? Common? Rare? Unheard of?
Although I could be wrong, I'm thinking that might not be an issue over there. Somehow, I don't see many folks in Floyd accepting that kind of intrusion without really making a big stink about it. And I haven't smelled (heard) such a stink. But I might be wrong.
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2 - As I mentioned, we're looking to buy acreage and then build. On a scale of 1-10, what are the building restrictions like (1 - they don't care what you do - it's your land, to, 10 - good luck getting anything built at all).
If you have the private acreage and aren't planning on building a still or growing the weed, I'd say you'll be fine. If you plan to have a little farm and keep some animals, of course be sure you are zoned Agri.
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3 - What if our kids decide to build their house on our land in 10-20 years? Is this likely to be a problem (we will not be buying in a subdivision, but are there any county/state regulations to watch out for otherwise)?
A lot of that goes on around this region.
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4 - Related to #2 and #3 - any issues with having a well dug (i.e. water conservancy/quality issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
5 - Also related to #2 and #3 - any issues with septic tank/field? (i.e. perk issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
6 - Our kids are homeschooled. I have found that VA is pretty open to homeschooling and there are lots of regional support groups in SW VA. This is a long-shot, but anybody know of any homeschoolers or homeschool groups in or near Floyd itself?
I'm skipping these. Sean?
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7 - I love Bluegrass. Oh, nevermind, that's not a question.
You're looking in the right place.
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8 - How walking/hiking/biking friendly is the area? If I lived 2-5 miles outside of Floyd, how easy/safe would it be to walk or ride to town?
Depends on where you live out of town. There are some main roads into town and, well...folks drive badly all over.
You aren't far from "town" when you are in Floyd. It would be a fairly straight shot into Roanoke for shopping, whatever. No big deal for a Saturday or something.
Although I feel I may not have helped you at all, I hope I did.
Thank you j1n! Actually, that was extremely helpful. Yeah, I've read these boards long enough to hope that seanpecor replies to my post too
>>or growing the weed
That brings up a good point (and no, I don't ). How accepting do people in Floyd tend to be of other (possibly diametrically opposed) ideas?
Disclaimer: I am neither an extreme liberal nor an extreme conservative. I value the right to privacy and the pursuit of happiness, and the acceptance of others' ideas, however whacky.
Floyd is such an unusual place. A large portion of my husband's family lives there so we are up there frequently for family events. His Grandma lives on one of the first streets off of "downtown Floyd". Most of his extended family that lives out there would probably be considered "rednecks" by a lot of people. They are very conservative, "Christian", like Nascar, hunting, speak with thick southern accents, and say they don't particularly care for "Yankees". They also are really friendly, hard-working, some of them smoke, some of them make their own moon-shine, etc. I think the town is a similar mix of contradictions. Farmers and hippies, liberal and conservative (and in between ). My husband and I went out for a couple of drinks in Floyd one night after a wedding and found the cafe (which serves coffee during the day) serving beer and hosting a really fun Reggae concert. It was attended by some young people and even more middle age people and older retirees. It need seeing the different age groups mingling together and having a good time. It's a small Southern town with a new-age, hippie twist. I like it very much.
Last edited by sarahrachel; 07-24-2008 at 05:00 PM..
Reason: typos
How accepting do people in Floyd tend to be of other (possibly diametrically opposed) ideas?
Disclaimer: I am neither an extreme liberal nor an extreme conservative. I value the right to privacy and the pursuit of happiness, and the acceptance of others' ideas, however whacky.
I would say that, of almost any place I can think of in VA, Floyd would probably be the most accepting place around. Founded by traditional, old-school southern farmers and country folk...and invaded by hippies in the 60's. They've managed to make it work. The more "progressive" folks are probably so progressive that they've come to the realization that the simplicity of the old-school farm life makes sense. There's a great art foundation there, music, etc.
I think Floyd is a great little town to visit. I've got a few friends and many acquaintances in that area and Sarah is right, their persuasions are all over the map. In reality, though, to live in the Floyd area, I think you have to make absolutely certain you're:
a) Independently wealthy, or your work is fully home-office based, or you're going to live off your retirement oriented investments.
OR
b) You're only looking for entry level work in the area of $9/hour, or you're totally okay with driving a minimum of an 80 minute daily commute.
Floyd is TINY. And by TINY, I mean TINY. This would be great for a family such as yours were it anchored closer to a modest metro area. So, due to the lack of any real population base to support much commerce, you've got a choice between two types of shopping. The first are old timey basic needs stores with not much inventory and folks working well past the typical retirement age. The other type are boutiques, where you can walk in and walk out with a $10,000 early american dining room table, worm holes and all, if thats your liking. This is predominantly why the traffic heading up Route 8 and Route 221 is so choked up during rush hours. It's nothing like D.C. or Seattle of course, but the irony is that those tree hugging Floyd hippies got themselves an awfully big carbon footprint Most locals do alot of their shopping up in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford area, or in the Roanoke area (Bent Mountain road on an empty stomach = ).
Now, if you want the country life where you're heading into town maybe once a week or every couple of weeks to get supplies, then all of the issues above I've touched on won't be an issue at all. The real test will come when you visit the area and hang out for a spell. Maybe Floyd will be the perfect match!
If you know me at all through this forum you'll know that this is the part where I tell you not to rule out Franklin County Franklin County is just to the East of Floyd County. They have about the same land area but Floyd County has only 14,000 residents while Franklin County has 51,000. That's enough of a population base not to get in your way but to afford you some choice gentleman farmer conveniences like a proper grain and farm store (Southern States in Boones Mill) and a Lowes and an 84 Lumber (Rocky Mount). Of course there are a good bunch of locally owned and chain restaurants too, with some cafes in downtown Rocky Mount and a fantastic public library, hardware store, spa, etc. And with respect to home schooling, there are significant support groups (three families - that I know of - within a 3 minute bike ride from my house are homeschooling their children). Plus you've got the mega YMCA campus in Rocky Mount which you have to see to believe. We've got a healthy arts community here, in fact a good bit of the art being sold in Floyd is from Franklin County artists. And as far as bluegrass goes, Rocky Mount is the gateway to the crooked road. A pretty substantial amphitheater is in the works, and let's run through some bluegrass notables that live or have lived in Franklin County:
- Dan Tyminski (O Brother Where Art Thou, multiple Grammy winner). Like me, Dan was raised in Vermont but he lived in Franklin County for a long while and recorded with Doobie Shea Records in Boones Mill.
- If you caught The Next Great American Band (produced by Simon Cowell) on FOX last season you might be aware that The Clark Brothers went home - to Rocky Mount - the winners. Ashley Clark was Carrie Underwood's fiddler before that competition, and Austin Clark was Dobro and Guitar player for SHeDAISY.
- Franklin County has two large bluegrass festivals each year. Floyd County has Floydfest, which is an awesome music festival but it's _technically_ in Patrick County But who cares, all I know is we'll be there all day Saturday, wherever it is
The two homeschooling groups out there serve both Franklin and Floyd areas:
One thing to consider is that if you're into gardening (flower/vegetable) then Franklin County has about 4 more weeks of growing season. It's about 6F colder in Floyd most days, winter or summer than over here, and it gets a bit windier up there in the winter. If you're expecting Southern Virginia weather up in Floyd you might be unpleasantly surprised. Someone I met at a party in Floyd compared Floyd weather to Cape Cod weather. I suppose how you translate that depends on how you like your winters and your summers
If you'd like to bike into a cute town then Floyd should be definitely on your short list. But you should also visit downtown Rocky Mount and take a driving tour around both counties. Visiting Franklin County will either confirm for you that Floyd is the place to be, or it may allow you to open your mind to other areas in this region.
My wife and I (and 2 kids ) are considering semi-retiring to Floyd,VA (we've considered a lot of different places, but this seems to be the best fit *for us* of anything we've researched). Climate, locals, scenery, affordability, art/music scene - all seem to be a pretty good fit for us.
And we haven't even been there yet! We are originally from nova and the DC area, but have always been partial to rural MD/VA/NC. We now live near Seattle (which is nice, but ain't "home"). We both have family in western NC and southern VA (but not SW VA).
So, if we still want to do this after a few visits to Floyd, then we intend to purchase some acreage fairly near the town of Floyd and then build our own house (leaving most of the land wild except for a mini farm and some horse grazing areas).
I've read a lot on these boards and most folks say Floyd is great - only drawback is it's a bit far from any decent sized cities (which is okay for us).
So, I have a bit of a laundry list of questions below. Thoughts?
1 - Mineral rights seem to be something that (in general) you just don't get when you buy land in most of WV. That is, the oil or coal or gas company can come onto your land and drill since they own the minerals under your land (incredibly sad, but true). Is this likely to be an issue in Floyd county, VA? Common? Rare? Unheard of?
I work with deeds every day. Almost all minerals right are in tact in Floyd in my experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
2 - As I mentioned, we're looking to buy acreage and then build. On a scale of 1-10, what are the building restrictions like (1 - they don't care what you do - it's your land, to, 10 - good luck getting anything built at all).
There is a minimum lot size depending on your road access. Thus, there are a lot of 25-acre farmettes in Floyd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
3 - What if our kids decide to build their house on our land in 10-20 years? Is this likely to be a problem (we will not be buying in a subdivision, but are there any county/state regulations to watch out for otherwise)?
As far as I know, there is no requirement in Floyd that requires one parcel for each house, like in Roanoke County.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
4 - Related to #2 and #3 - any issues with having a well dug (i.e. water conservancy/quality issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
None that I know of. The health dept. will have to inspect it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
5 - Also related to #2 and #3 - any issues with septic tank/field? (i.e. perk issues or regulations)? What if we end up with 2-3 houses on, say, our 40 acre tract in the future?.
See #4.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
6 - Our kids are homeschooled. I have found that VA is pretty open to homeschooling and there are lots of regional support groups in SW VA. This is a long-shot, but anybody know of any homeschoolers or homeschool groups in or near Floyd itself?
Check with John Paul Houston at the Sweet Providence Farm Store on Rt. 221 in Check. He has homeschooled a bunch of kids. Sweet Providence Farm Market & Bakery
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
7 - I love Bluegrass. Oh, nevermind, that's not a question.
Floyd Country Store on Friday nights, Floyd Fest, anybody's front porch...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lopeses
8 - How walking/hiking/biking friendly is the area? If I lived 2-5 miles outside of Floyd, how easy/safe would it be to walk or ride to town?
Not very, but that doesn't seem to stop cyclists. People won't think you're crazy for walking or biking on the roads, but they won't necessarily give you ample room, either.
But in general, Floyd is near lots of good hiking, with reasonable proximity to state and national forests and parks, and of course, the Parkway.
Thanks so much for the responses - we owe y'all some pies!
Culturally (and population-wise), Floyd actually sounds a lot like Vashon Island way out here in WA state.
Sean, I promise we'll check out Franklin county too (I also like the sound of Ferrum). The longer growing season at those lower elevations could really make a difference on the (partial) self-sufficiency front.
Is Franklin co. also pretty hands-off as far as building restrictions go (like Floyd co.)?
Are land prices between Franklin co. and Floyd co. pretty comparable?
Anyway, we need to spend some serious time around Floyd/Franklin/Patrick/Carrol countes (probably not until next year though ).
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) are considering semi-retiring to Floyd,VA (we've considered a lot of different places, but this seems to be the best fit *for us* of anything we've researched). Climate, locals, scenery, affordability, art/music scene - all seem to be a pretty good fit for us.
). How accepting do people in Floyd tend to be of other (possibly diametrically opposed) ideas?
).
