Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia

For the size of town that we are ( approx 70,000 + if you include Upper York County, City of Williamsburg, James City County) we do seem to have a varied cultural scene.

There are ample and quality medical facilities although for more specialized medical assistance you would need to go to Newport News, Norfolk or Richmond. ( between 30 – 60 minutes away )  Our weather will be more moderate than Leesburg in the Winter but as you indicated hotter and more humid in Summer. If Leesburg get’s snow we typically won’t. It has been many years since schools closed for snow. Our Spring come about two weeks earlier than Leesburg, VA

Question: I’d guess Richmond is your major hub, but you may consider other larger towns preferable to Richmond. Can anyone provide more info?  Newport News, Norfolk and Va Beach all offer other cultural events.

Flooding has been an issue in a few places around Jamestown and further west in James City County. It is not really an issue when getting around for most who lived here . Fords Colony has one road that floods but four exit roads so it’ s not an issue.Jamestown 1607 had flooding issues. ( it’s a sub$170k town home community )A bigger problem was fallen trees. We have had numerable storms Trees were toppled. I would think that the weaker ones have now been removed by nature. But that would be my only concern in a storm.  Quite a few generators we installed by homeowners after Isabel in 2003.
The topography varies throughout the county. My neighborhood varies in elevation about 60 feet. There are other communities that are flat. It just depends on where you are in the county or city.

As far as political views, All I can say is that in previous elections you would see predominantly republican signs in yards. This time it was the other way around.

Yes Williamsburg is impacted greatly by tourism. We are starting to see the closings of various businesses and budget cutbacks by Colonial Williamsburg. Only time will tell. Suprisingly there are new hotels being built. But older ones are closing.  There is too much commercial space empty or being built to in our current scenario. I’m sure we will see more closings in the future.

Mortgage loans are still readily available if you have good credit. I have yet to have anyone I work with be declined for a mortgage. The inventory of homes is up drastically. ( makes for a great buyers market) I am astounded at the prices that some of the sellers are accepting..

Question: Finally, please tell me about general costs of living: taxes, both RE and personal property, property insurance costs, and utilities since like most folks we’ve taken a beating as retirees.

Try this link http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=50000&city1=55144984&city2=55186160

For a cost of living comparison. Or go to www.BestPlaces.net and enter in Leesburg and Williamsburg. It indicates that we are 18% less expensive to live in as compared to Leesburg Va. Although the major difference is housing.

I can say from personal experience when we moved here years ago from Annapolis , MD. everything seemed to be at least 15-20% less expensive in Williamsburg. Health insurance, car insurance, gas, ( I paid $1.31 a gallon yesterday), groceries, Our heating bills are less due to it being warmer, and of course homes. OUr property tax is .77 per $100 or $3850 annual real estate taxes on a $500,000 home in James City County. In the city of Williamsburg it is .54 per $100 or $2700 on a $500k home..

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