Front Royal, VA and other 'undiscovered' towns.

[likebikes]

i'm always interested in hearing about "undiscovered" towns that seems to check all the relevant boxes: close to varied outdoors activities, low/mid cost of living, and decently paying jobs nearby.

what is the work situation in front royal?

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by likebikes

i'm always interested in hearing about "undiscovered" towns that seems to check all the relevant boxes: close to varied outdoors activities, low/mid cost of living, and decently paying jobs nearby.

what is the work situation in front royal?

Not a lot of good jobs. It's a very poor town in a very poor county surrounded by 6 or 7 of the wealthiest 10 counties in the country.
If you have the money for a good start up that will appeal to locals and tourists, there are opportunities. But I bet median income is in the 30-40k's.
If you don't mind commuting 30 minutes to Winchester, there are probably good professional and regular day job opportunities there.

[novacyclist]

Originally Posted by likebikes

i'm always interested in hearing about "undiscovered" towns that seems to check all the relevant boxes: close to varied outdoors activities, low/mid cost of living, and decently paying jobs nearby.

what is the work situation in front royal?

You'd be surprised on how many commuters from that area (and beyond like WV) that would go, pre Covid, to the DC burbs like Fairfax County or into DC proper. With working from home more, a lot of people have ventured further out. So if you have a flexible job, you can do it.

[redir]

I remember people commuting all the way to DC from Front Royal in the 90's. I imagine that would be a lot worse today though as mentioned if you had a remote or remote hybrid it would be doable for many people.

[AngryScientist]

DC seems to be one of those metros that people are accepting really long commutes to either get some space or affordable housing.

Long commutes are really soul crushing wastes of life.

Telecommuting for those that are able is really a godsend for some people.

[FastCanon]

Here, short commute, extremely long time. If I wanted to go to Milpitas for dinner from West San Jose, it would take me more than 40 - 60 minutes for 10 miles. Luckily, I live 1.5 miles from work.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by glepore

BRP in Va reopened today.

I was up at Skyline just yesterday, saw the barrier at BRP and wondered that maybe it would be good to try to skip around and ride without cars. Was thinking about trying this weekend.

Anyway, couple of promotional pics of Skyline. Another couple of weeks probably before the colors get going. First one at Turk Mt overlook looking northwest across Shenandoah Valley, second one is looking east over Sugar Hollow Reservoir with Charlottesville way off in the distance.(notch just before horizon)

[makoti]

Originally Posted by likebikes

i'm always interested in hearing about "undiscovered" towns that seems to check all the relevant boxes: close to varied outdoors activities, low/mid cost of living, and decently paying jobs nearby.

what is the work situation in front royal?

Perfect for telework

[glepore]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

I was up at Skyline just yesterday, saw the barrier at BRP and wondered that maybe it would be good to try to skip around and ride without cars. Was thinking about trying this weekend.

The traffic is increasing for fall fwiw. I was at Big Meadows on Wed. with our horses to ride down to Dark Hollow, and all of the trailhead lots and overlooks were full. Oddly, not a lot of moving traffic, but still more than normal. At least no one is in a hurry.
Going to be an iffy leaf season due to the drought prior to Helene.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by glepore

The traffic is increasing for fall fwiw. I was at Big Meadows on Wed. with our horses to ride down to Dark Hollow, and all of the trailhead lots and overlooks were full. Oddly, not a lot of moving traffic, but still more than normal. At least no one is in a hurry.
Going to be an iffy leaf season due to the drought prior to Helene.

Dark Hollow Falls, the scene of my infamous "rescue me" moment. But I saved the camera, LOL!

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by likebikes

what is the work situation in front royal?

Not great, as mentioned. Either take the highway up to Winchester (NFCU, Shenandoah U, and a few other large-ish employers). Or, highway into Loudoun/Fairfax/DC.

If you can work remote, or hybrid a few days closer in, it’s not a bad place to be. It’s a little too far out for me, though I could see retiring out in the Shenandoah somewhere.

[dcama5]

Originally Posted by Alistair

Not great, as mentioned. Either take the highway up to Winchester (NFCU, Shenandoah U, and a few other large-ish employers). Or, highway into Loudoun/Fairfax/DC.

If you can work remote, or hybrid a few days closer in, it’s not a bad place to be. It’s a little too far out for me, though I could see retiring out in the Shenandoah somewhere.

I have been following this thread. Thanks Michael - it's a great thread. We have lived in Winchester for the past 32 years. My wife taught in VA for 30 years, mostly Loudoun County Schools in Leesburg (a commute from Winchester). I was at Winchester Med Ctr (WMC) for a little over 30 years, retiring as clinical manager of Respiratory Care and Pulmonary Diagnostics at 70 years old in Sept. 2022. I may have retired earlier, but... COVID, and my office was dead center of a 48-bed ICU. That's another story.

30 years ago, Front Royal had a pretty bad reputation in the area, but I think it has come a long way since then. As others have said, for work, it will probably be out of Front Royal. WMC is great if you are medical. It's a large community hospital that, in some ways, mimics teaching centers. There is also a fair amount of industry in Winchester, and Shenandoah University if you are an educator. Otherwise, Leesburg and Fairfax, but that involves a commute, and, as Nick posted above: "Long commutes are really soul crushing wastes of life."

Anyway, thanks again Michael - great thread.

Dave