Anyone familiar with Lynchburg, Virginia and the surrounding areas?

[willowstreetguzziguy]

We have relatives in the Lynchburg, VA area and have thought of possibly moving there in the next few years. Was wondering if anyone here is familiar with Lynchburg and the 20 mile radius around it? Any thoughts positive or negative? First hand experience is always best.

[Ncdan]

We have relatives in the Lynchburg, VA area and have thought of possibly moving there in the next few years. Was wondering if anyone here is familiar with Lynchburg and the 20 mile radius around it? Any thoughts positive or negative? First hand experience is always best.

If you have the time to get on Skyline Drive you won’t regret the effort, especially on a bike. It’s actually part of the Blueridge Parkways path. to the north.

[willowstreetguzziguy]

If you have the time to get on Skyline Drive you won�t regret the effort, especially on a bike. It�s actually part of the Blueridge Parkways path. to the north.

YES! I'm very familiar with those beautiful roads. I know the riding around there is fantastic. Just wondering what life was like living around the Lynchburg area.

[swooshdave]

There's a Moto Guzzi Rally in Virginia in less than a month, what a perfect excuse to go visit the area again. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Contact Virginia MGNOC Rep. Ron Komoroski, he lives in Lynchburg.

Ron & Alice Komoroski
ph. (434) 993-3841
motresyklman@vaguzzi.com

[AL NH]

My wife and I moved to Lynchburg 6yrs  ago and We are very happy here.
Good people and a good location. We enjoy living here.

Allyn Chappell

[usedtobefast]

So you'd be moving there from Lancaster?  Other than riding, what kind of things do you like to do?

You will not find delicious PA Italian food!
You will not find awesome PA pizza.
You will not find a lot of places where people just go have a beer (small, local bar).
You will do a lot of shopping on the Internet.
You will find talkative friendly people.
If you like to hunt and fish you'll be happy.
You will get asked "So which church do you go to" when you meet people.
You will not find a good selection of $80K+ sports cars at dealers.
You will find a great selection of pickups and SUVs at dealers.
You will probably go to Richmond, VA for Moto Guzzi needs (great dealer there I hear).
You will use your rain gear on rides.
You will find beautiful fun moto rides.
You will not run over horse & buggies on the roads.
Trips to the Mall gets you JcPenney, Belk, and TJ Max.  No Macy's (it closed).  No Nordstrom's. 
Great Tractor Supply store.
Great selection of lawn mowing gear.
Huge yards that people seem to enjoy mowing. 

[willowstreetguzziguy]

So you'd be moving there from Lancaster?  Other than riding, what kind of things do you like to do?

You will not find delicious PA Italian food!
You will not find awesome PA pizza.
You will not find a lot of places where people just go have a beer (small, local bar).
You will do a lot of shopping on the Internet.
You will find talkative friendly people.
If you like to hunt and fish you'll be happy.
You will get asked "So which church do you go to" when you meet people.
You will not find a good selection of $80K+ sports cars at dealers.
You will find a great selection of pickups and SUVs at dealers.
You will probably go to Richmond, VA for Moto Guzzi needs (great dealer there I hear).
You will use your rain gear on rides.
You will find beautiful fun moto rides.
You will not run over horse & buggies on the roads.
Trips to the Mall gets you JcPenney, Belk, and TJ Max.  No Macy's (it closed).  No Nordstrom's. 
Great Tractor Supply store.
Great selection of lawn mowing gear.
Huge yards that people seem to enjoy mowing.

Sounds like my kind of place!

Think how much more free time I will have when I don�t have to spend time earning $10,000 to pay (like renting from the gov�t) property taxes. I like $1,000 per year better. More free time from work that I can spend riding The 12S on the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mts. Nice!

Hey, with that money saved, I can start collecting Guzzis each year.

[AJ Huff]

Lancaster PA to Lynchburg VA? And not for foundry work? (that'd Grinell to Intermet once upon a time).

-AJ

[AJ Huff]

I think Lynchburg is Lannis' stomping ground?

-AJ

[Ronkom]

WSGG,
Sorry it's taken so long to respond. Moved to 88 acres in Northern Amherst county (about 30 miles from Lynchburg) in 1975 to be ready for the collapse of the Amerikan economic house of cards......and here we are still staggering along 43 years later. Left first wife in 1986 & moved much closer to town, but still in Amherst county. Been living in Campbell County since 1988. W/in 10-15 miles of all the amenities of a small city, but the taxes are lower in the counties. City was once an indicator for the mid-Atlantic/South in the Kiplinger letter. Shoe factories/ textile mills were gone before I moved here,  but change has continued in my time. Foundrys are gone, B&W downsized, GE/Ericksson facility is now a mega-church. Becoming more of a college town w/all the schools in and close to town...but not so much a "party town" as Charlottesville. Mainly because the "9000 lb gorilla" in Lynchburg is Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. It Eminates a Christian conservative "vibe". Physically it is growing phenomenally. It's already gobbled up 1/3 of what used to be the big mall in town. Falwell proclaimed early on that his intent was to create "The Baptist Notre Dame".
Two good bike shops in town, a Honda/Suzuki/Piaggio/Aprilia (but not Guzzi), and a Kawasaki/Yamaha/watercraft.  Comments about differeces are pretty much on target. You won't find a "local bar" in Virginia because laws were passed years ago requiring any business selling booze to make a majority of their profits from food sales. So you may find a "bar", but always in a restaurant.
As Allyn said it's a nice town, friendly folks, good riding nearby, I must like it, I'm still here.
Ronkom     

[Daleroso]

After Butler maps announced their So Appalachian map a few years ago they announced the area has the best riding in the US. That & southern food, music & cordial attitude make it a great atea.
Of course, yankees, humidity, bugs, tornadoes, peripheral hurricane affect & some residual affect from both cultures (there's only 1 race; human) of Souther heritage have to be dealt with but aaah, the roads & food!😃🤙👌

[redrider90]

After Butler maps announced their So Appalachian map a few years ago they announced the area has the best riding in the US. That & southern food, music & cordial attitude make it a great atea.
Of course, yankees, humidity, bugs, tornadoes, peripheral hurricane affect & some residual affect from both cultures (there's only 1 race; human) of Souther heritage have to be dealt with but aaah, the roads & food!😃🤙👌

You have to go north and or west to take advantage of the good roads and scenery. East to Richmond and South to Danville is a total boredom.

[Lannis]

Lancaster PA to Lynchburg VA? And not for foundry work? (that'd Grinell to Intermet once upon a time).

-AJ

No more foundries here ... Lynchburg Foundry and Intermet went away some years back, foreign competition.

Check the local ad services for job opportunities - there seems to be a awful lot of them at the moment.   I don't know anyone here who wants a job and doesn't have a good one.  My son coming out of Engineering school had 4 job offers here last year.

Check the tax rates for the kind of place you want, and the county you want.   MeadWestvaco (the big timber and pulpwood company) was in the process of selling all 11,000 acres of their timberland in Appomattox County (where I live, about 20 miles east of Lynchburg city center), because Appomattox County taxes on "unimproved" land were the highest in 3 states.    Varies a lot by county and "usage", so check first.   I pay $2814 a year in real estate taxes, and $802 a year in personal property (cars, etc) tax.   

No cell coverage, cable, or DSL capability where I live, but that varies much by location, so check that too.

Raised here, lived here most of my life - there are beautiful roads in every direction, north, east, south and west.   It's much of the reason I chose to make my life here!

Good luck!

Lannis

[Lannis]

So you'd be moving there from Lancaster?  Other than riding, what kind of things do you like to do?

You will not find delicious PA Italian food!
You will not find awesome PA pizza.
You will not find a lot of places where people just go have a beer (small, local bar).
You will do a lot of shopping on the Internet.
You will find talkative friendly people.
If you like to hunt and fish you'll be happy.
You will get asked "So which church do you go to" when you meet people.
You will not find a good selection of $80K+ sports cars at dealers.
You will find a great selection of pickups and SUVs at dealers.
You will probably go to Richmond, VA for Moto Guzzi needs (great dealer there I hear).
You will use your rain gear on rides.
You will find beautiful fun moto rides.
You will not run over horse & buggies on the roads.
Trips to the Mall gets you JcPenney, Belk, and TJ Max.  No Macy's (it closed).  No Nordstrom's. 
Great Tractor Supply store.
Great selection of lawn mowing gear.
Huge yards that people seem to enjoy mowing.

I'll go along with all of those, except Waterstone Pizza downtown has the best pizza I've ever had; whether it's "PA" pizza or not I can't say.  In Charlotte County (30 miles out) there are lots of horses and buggies.    Moto Richmond is a great MG dealer, but about 3 hours considering that the last 5 miles through old Manchester and South Richmond takes half an hour.

Lannis

[mojohand]

You have to go north and or west to take advantage of the good roads and scenery. East to Richmond and South to Danville is a total boredom.

Ehhhh...I would strongly disagree. For example, this route is plenty nice on both counts.

[roadventure]

We have relatives in the Lynchburg, VA area

Have you asked your relatives who live there?

[Lannis]

Have you asked your relatives who live there?

Can't always go by that!   Sometimes, your relatives can have pretty strange ideas - at least, the guys who frequent a Guzzi list have at least ONE thing in common; relatives, maybe not ....

Lannis

[Lannis]

You have to go north and or west to take advantage of the good roads and scenery. East to Richmond and South to Danville is a total boredom.

Nay me lad, you're out there; as someone who grew up southeast of Lynchburg and been riding there since 1971, I can assure you that there's no room for boredom on a motorcycle.

The old song says "It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville, In a line on a three-mile grade .... ".    That's along US29, but that's not the road you want; there's a plenty more that go the same way.

And in traveling from Lynchburg to Danville, or Lynchburg to Richmond, you're in southside Virginia.   You won't be seeing the Sydney Opera House, nor The Hanging Gardens of Babylon nor majestic herds of wildebeest sweeping across the fields.   Tobacco farms, pine plantations, little towns, jacked-up pickups, abandoned country stores .... one needs to manage one's expectations!

Lannis

[mojohand]

And in traveling from Lynchburg to Danville, or Lynchburg to Richmond, you're in southside Virginia.   You won't be seeing the Sydney Opera House, nor The Hanging Gardens of Babylon nor majestic herds of wildebeest sweeping across the fields.   Tobacco farms, pine plantations, little towns, jacked-up pickups, abandoned country stores .... one needs to manage one's expectations!

Lannis

but you will see the Moton Museum in Farmville, the McLean House in Appomattox, and the National D-Day Museum in Bedford. ;)