[new flame]

New poster/First post... My wife and I are considering moving to Lynchburg. Is the Diamond Hill historic district desirable? On the way up/down? It's near downtown, I guess, by the map I've seen. Does downtown have good restaurants, theaters? We'll be visiting soon, I just thought maybe someone could give us a heads-up. Thx.

[PAmedic]

Welcome aboard- you'll want to get the opinion of SCAR on that one- he lives with the rest of the upper crust in Stately Scarborough Manor.

Call ahead for an appointment- his time is valuable

[bigsmooth]

if you are looking for a big older home with a stately feel, it is a good place to be. the upcoming downtown development will make it very desirable. not that many restaraunts but the ones downtown fare very well. right now i guess you would need to be a visionary, b/c some of the surrounding areas are not the greatest, but again if you are willing to see the vision city leadership has for downtown, you could be in for something special. BTW, no movie theatres downtown, but i believe there is a performing arts theatre nearby.

[SeoulFlame]

I owned a home in Diamond Hill for 3 years. My wife and I loved it but there are some down sides like building regulations and the general snootiness of the place. That being said there are some great people there as well. If you want more details feel free to PM me. BTW we would move back there again, we loved the downtown atmosphere.

[A.G.]

http://www.diamondhill.org/main.html

[LUconn]

My wife lived on Washington St. her senior year at LU. It was a neat apartment becuase it was so old. I don't think I would have liked to have lived there for long. It's awfully close to the area of downtown that you should be avoiding. Live in Bedford/Forest. Or if you can afford it, Boonesboro.

[LUconn]

another option I just thought of. If you want the downtown feel but a nicer area, check out Wyndhurst. It's a brand new neighborhood that seems to be pretty well thought out. You'd have your choice of a house, townhouse, or condo. There's lots of shops around and there's more moving in all the time. The downside (or upside if you've got the money and like property value) is I'm sure there's an HOA and all of the fees that go along with that. We almost bought a townhouse a year ago, but at the time, the only one we could afford was a bit smaller than we needed. Since then it seems like they've gone up $40-$50k. While the one I did buy has only appreciated about $15k. I should have just downsized.

[TIMSCAR20]

These guys all have hit the big points but let me add my thoughts. You can't go wrong living in Forest. Very nice houses without the Lynchburg taxes. Taxes are lower in Bedford and Campbell but after moving from Northern VA I pay my taxes in Lynchburg with a huge smile on my face. There are a lot of hidden neighborhoods in Lynchburg that a good Realtor will be able to point out to you. I had never seen or heard of my neighborhood until we decided to move back to Lynchburg but it is a pretty nice place to live in terms of raising kids and property value. My wife's cousin is selling their house in diamond Hill which is a bummer for us because we really like to visit them there. It is a large 3 story house with a finished basement. 10 foot ceilings, and they live on a dead end street so no foot traffic or auto traffic to speak of. I know their house is over 3500 square feet (maybe closer to 4000) but it is very affordable if you are looking for something that large. PM me and I will give you the details. They would love to show you around (if it is a weekend you might see the Scarboroughs over there as well ). Lynchburg is a wonderful place to live if you can find employment. The city is growing in leaps and bounds and when they start to attract some white collar technology type jobs, it will be an ideal place to live for sure. We are thinking of moving to Richmond. If you wait a few months you may be able to buy Stately Scarborough Manor

[LUconn]

What neighborhood do you live in scar? There's a couple I want to make fun of and I want to make sure you don't live in one of them first.

[TIMSCAR20]

My Neighborhood is like the bat cave in the old batman TV show. A flap in the side of a mountain opens up and we drive in and then the flap closes behind us. Feel free to criticize any neighborhood you wish my friend. I would not take offense. However the location of my home shall remain undisclosed.

[LUconn]

Well you certainly threw your wife's cousin under the bus.

[Libertine]

If you're attached to downtown, I recommend finding a place just across the river in Amherst County. You're close to the downtown area w/o the hassle of Lynchburg city government. There are so many rules and regs in Lynchburg, particularly in the historic districts like Diamond Hill, and the never-ending Lynchburg tax situation was one of the main factors of picking my family up and moving out to Bedford.

[TIMSCAR20]

Well you certainly threw your wife's cousin under the bus.

how did I do that? By saying they live in Diamond Hill? Plus no one knows my wife's cousin or would even care to see him/her. However, (and I am not soopin myself up here) some would like to know where my house is to judge or to visit or whatever. I don't have the priviledge of being anoymous on this board like many of you do. That is why I won't tell you on this board where I live. I don't think I am being snobbish or anything like that but this is an internet board open to the entire world. I would rather not tell the world where I live. Call me crazy.

[bigsmooth]

i would like to bid on the manor if you do move but that would mean GMTM would be there all the time everyone brings up good points, but i would really pass on amherst not unless you are in the town of amherst or the elon area. im taking that since you are looking at diamond hill, you are looking for an older style home. keep in mind the rivermont area from bedford ave. to RMWC. some nice big old homes there.

[givemethemic]

Well your right about that Smoothie!!! SCAR owns the Mecca of all houses in the burg....Speaking of which are you going to Raleigh tomorrow night or are we watching Game 6 with SCAR again..

[LUconn]

So I take it Scar lives over off Coffee Rd. Has anybody seen that house? It's on top of Boone Hill. Like right where coffee meets hawkins mill. It's like 3 houses in one. I call it the tri-house.

[TIMSCAR20]

Yes Luconn I have seen that house and let me assure you that my house is nothing like that! Calling my house a mecca of all houses is like calling my playing career Jordanesque! It may be a mecca for "Give Me The Free Food and Tivo" (jk) but it is just a regular house. Now you see why I don't want to divulge the wearabouts of the bat cave? It will only subject me to a lot of unnecessary scrutiny. I know there are people on this board who live in nice neighborhoods besides me.

[givemethemic]

SCAR you know I always have to give you a hard time because you and Smoothie always dish it back!!!!

[TIMSCAR20]

No doubt about that GMTM. You want to roll with the big boys you have to be able to take a little squeezing every now and then

[givemethemic]

You coming back to the burg today for the weekend

[LUconn]

I know there are people on this board who live in nice neighborhoods besides me.

Oh, you must be referring to me. My property value keeps shooting up due to the fact that I'm right next to some apartments that used to go for $300/month. Let's just say I keep my car doors locked at night (there have acutally been numerous change-filled ashetrays stolen in my neighborhood. these theives must be rolling ocean's 11 style). It stinks too because it'd be such a great place to live if it weren't for that complex.

So anyway. Let's keep the ideas coming for our friend moving in. I'm currently on the market myself. Townhouse living just isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[TIMSCAR20]

(there have acutally been numerous change-filled ashetrays stolen in my neighborhood. these theives must be rolling ocean's 11 style).

That is really funny. I hear ya though. I grew up in a neighborhood like that and I have no desire to live like that again. I never really felt scared or anything growing up but there were elements of the hood I don't care to revisit....Townhouse living in Northern VA was luxurious. They don't make those kind down here but they are perfect for people like me and Mrs SCAR with no kids, pets or anything living to take care of. It was like living in a single family without the responsibility of a large yard to take care of (does anyone know someone that would be willing to do my mulch btw?). We wanted one here just like the one we had but they just don't exist in Lynchburg...Our friend's best bet is Boonsboro if he is looking for a large older home or somewhere out in Forest if they want a neighborhood that has a planned community type feel. Wyndhurst is nice for sure but there are not a lot of shops that I would use. There are tons of insurance agencies and old boutiques but nothing that keeps me coming back other than Universal T's. People that live in Wyndurst that I know seem to like it a lot. In Forest, Everett Rd has a ton of developments that are really nice.

[Purple Haize]

SCAR I thought I was your wife's cousin??
As for living I HIGHLY recommend the EAST side of the 'burg. 12 minutes from LU, 13 from the heartbeat of the city (Wards Road) It actually takes about as much time to get from my house to the mall as it does from Thomas Road !!!! SCAR Can attest to the prime location of Rancho Haizo. A few minutes from the 29 By Pass (Life saver for my job) Same house design and property was about 20 K more in Bedford county. Plus you avoid the Forest Snobbery!!!

[TIMSCAR20]

Very True B Heezy. I can attest to the fact that Rancho Hazo is in a prime spot. Very nice hood. Again, a good Realtor can show you neighborhoods that you just don't know or wouldn't know they were there. And Haize, you are on Mrs SCAR's fathers side. I am talking about her mother's side

[Rocketfan]

Funny thing is i looked all around for houses and town homes(in my price range) and was able to get a brand new townhouse cheaper in Forest than i could find anywhere else. I mean its not huge ( 1200 square feet, 2 bed 1.5 bath, cost 109,000 ) but there are larger ones availble. i mean the biggest units just sold for $148,000 and they had about 1500-1600 square feet finished with another 750 in the basement unfinished ( 3 bedrooms with 2.5 baths i think). I don't know what extra luxuries they have in Northern Va??, but i am more than happy to see the home i just bought in March is now selling one street over for 15k more......Prices have gone up a lot, but they are building the last street, here is a link to the last bigger houses left . Another crazy part is all the people in my community are really nice( most everyone has a dog as well), most lived no where near here before moving in, so its not snobby at all.

http://www.lynchburgmls.com/cust_mls/cu ... =(223147,H,,)