PROS AND CONS of Living in Harrisonburg Virginia in 2023 | Moving to Harrisonburg Virginia

[@tommingzuo]

I grew up in Harrisonburg and a proud graduate of HHS Blue Streaks class of 2000. I now live in the Orange County of California managing a Medical Equipment company headquartered in Houston. To me personally, Harrisonburg has always been a very FRIENDLY city since I moved there in 1996. People are very nice, and I was blessed by being a part of a Mennonite Church family for many years. JMU is a becoming a great school where I got my MBA from. And JMU has really ascended as a major sports school in both football and Men's basketball as of late.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Thank you for your comment!! JMU sports are definitely something to watch!! We were hoping the game would be closer yesterday! 😊

[@LydiAtheistLady]

Lemme tell you I was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA. I’ve moved away and come back a few times. I now own a home outside of C,Ville. I plan to be here forever. The green, the mountains, the fall colors, variety of wildlife in my own back yard, the weather even. I love Virginia. This channel is too cute y’all are just a lovely pair. Thanks for a channel all about this beautiful state.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Thank you for sharing with everyone your love for the area and for watching our video! ❤️

[@triplesss7229]

Why the headline “Avoid Harrisonburg” when you end up saying “The pros outweigh the cons”?!

[@NicelowZ]

Been in the area all my life. Harrisonburg really has turned into a cesspool. I stay away as much as possible. Traffic is terrible, peoples lack of driving skills, then dealing with I81 on top of all of it. Not the best place to move to.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Are you looking to move away from Harrisonburg?

[@P4hs]

That's why I bike everywhere here, and am almost as fast as the cars.

[@thomasstevens9551]

Yup. Like all Democrat run cities, h-burg is spiraling into a dark place.

[@savageopress6273]

facts

[@serapheum]

and all the homeless on the South river greenway in town...they poop everywhere

[@elnuttero]

Used to be a great place to live when I was growing up. Huge influx of people over the last 20 years has ruined it. Now Massanutten wants to build a rollercoaster... ridiculous!

[@tempest2000]

Rosetta Stone hasn't been in Hburg for years. Whatever vestiges remain of the original company is either in Seattle or Arlington, depending on what website you read. On another note, why try to bring more people here? Of course, you guys are realtors. Hburg has its pros but bringing more people here is already causing real estate to go up and there's ugly and uncontrolled development outside the city limits. I don't want Hburg to become like Charlottesville where our kids can't afford to stay here once they're grown.

[@P4hs]

Nah, both Rosetta Stone, and many local factories badly tanked, 5-20 years ago, so there's really no more Middle Class, which moved away. Therefore people who work here are all either rich university-employees, or poor chicken plant laborers, who are mostly a gigantic (but wholesome) immigrant class.

[@nakho3550]

So that's what Hispanics out number Blacks in Harrisonburg. I thought that was odd at first glance but poultry plants are the reason.

[@nakho3550]

The stench of chicken plants can really ruin a nice breezy summer day.

[@Dryltd]

That was the most positive presentation of my City. You left out a few Cons but anyone paying attention would realize they were implied in your Pros of College town and near real small regional airport. We are trying to give developers opportunity to increase inventory but it takes time to fix that problem while population is outpacing construction.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Thank you for your comments and developing the area.

[@wardjohnson6589]

One negative of living here is when it rains it smells like dog food outside, also the poultry plant 10 mins out of town is rancid smelling when a breeze picks it up

[@P4hs]

Yup. Ariake.

[@jordanroberts9669]

hey

[@tempest2000]

Yeah, my stepdaughter used to live downtown near the dog food plant. It was pretty bad, but cheap.

[@lunarmadness1483]

I’m pretty poor but I still think Hburg is nice to be in. I like the music scene.

[@theangryostrich219]

I live in Rockingham Co, and I have to disagree with travel. Contour offers like $60 flights to CLT with free parking & free luggage under 50 pounds. You can leave your car at SHD for free. It's a 20 minute flight to CLT. and connecting is very easy at CLT. will cost a little bit more money, but will cost far more to drive to IAD or DCA & then pay so much money a day to leave your car.

[@dakota7146]

Sadly the cost of living has kind of gotten out of control from when this video came out. Paying for a 1 br apartment NOT including utilities is $1,000/month. It’s cheaper to buy a house but everything around even town homes are like 200k plus. The cheaper housing is in some really sketchy areas though and unfortunately there has been 2 shootings at college parties this past year, and a police officer just had to shoot someone at the local Walmart because they took an employee hostage at knife point, so crime has been increasing just like every other city. It’s a beautiful and fun area but the prices like everywhere else have started sky rocketing. The middle class is gone so your either rich or your poor living literally paycheck to paycheck

[@thomasstevens9551]

The truth.

[@idontlikecops1]

That's everywhere chief. Harrisonburg is still peaceful compared to anyone else. Have you been to staunton or cville? No thanks

[@nelsvela22]

What a great video. I came from Honduras when I was 17 years old in 1999. Since then I have been living here in this beautiful city and for me there's no other place like this. There's a lot of more of the things that you guys mentioned, but thanks for sharing this with whomever is interested in visiting or living in Harrisonburg.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Thank you for watching and for sharing your story!

[@nancyelgendy5845]

Would i be able to survive there without a car, at least for a few months? Are there available apartments for rent that are close enough to JMU but are NOT student apartments? I might be moving to Harrisonburg as a new faculty member

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Thank you for watching! There is public transport in downtown! There are condos/townhouses for rent near JMU. There are students renting everywhere, so not sure you will be able to avoid them. I encourage you to check what is available on and JMU online boards as well as Zillow. If you come across any on Realtor.com that you are interested in, we can help you with those.

[@vafornow]

I live in Staunton and the property tax is ridiculous. The taxes in the city of Staunton are just a little less than northern Virginia, and those taxes there are ridiculous. Our property taxes are double what they were in Frederick co where we moved from. Personal property tax went up a little. The car tax needs to be abolished.

[@bethywethy315]

Moving to Harrisonburg in 3 weeks! I can't wait!

[@lisadiconti]

How is medical? I currently see specialists at UCLA and want to be near a good medical university. Is my best option Univ. of Virginia? I think that is about an hour's drive?

[@JPFRANCHISE87]

You know what, there are pros and cons that apply to every town. I miss working in Harrisonburg!!

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Yes!!! 😊

[@FikerteAlamsrew]

I live in Harrisonburg i miss my childhood home moorefield WV

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Harrisonburg is a Cool Town - Lots of Reasons to Live Here! - Gotta Love It!

[@yoso585]

I lived right under the general landing approach at Virginia Beach for Damneck Naval for a couple of years. Now, that was loud and proud! Literally shut down a phone conversation no matter where located in the house. These piper cubs we get overhead here from Weyers Cave, on the other hand, are quite appropriate for the country side out here at Cross Keys where we have to contend with all the traffic madness at the lavender farm 😂

[@BedBugSurvival-lq4fu]

If I buy a house on acreage and spend hours outside on the trails what are my chances of seeing a bear? If I plant vegetables and fruit should I be ready to share them with the bears?

[@lunarmadness1483]

Aren’t many bears in the city. Might see some closer to the mountain but if you live in town you should be safe.

[@rexkeller7755]

I represent a pro wrestler from Singers Glen. He loves your video on the area. He would love for yall to dissect the area he’s from in the glen. We would be willing to do interviews. He wears a mask, and wants his identity secret but that isnt that hard to hide

[@savageopress6273]

😂😂😂

[@dixiedownunder1]

Lexington isn't the south end of the Shenandoah Valley. I'm pretty sure it goes all the way to Roanoke. I really like Luray. It's near Harrisonburg.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Fun fact! The SV does not include Roanoke. I can't post a pic here, but go to virginia.org and search "Shenandoah Valley Boundaries"! 😊 And yes. LURAY is beautiful! Let us know of you ever want to purchase real estate there! 😁

[@dixiedownunder1]

@@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving I just checked and Google told me Roanoke is in the Shenandoah Valley. Ask Google "is Roanoke in the Shenandoah Valley?"

[@byondrepair]

This is a college town so it has a lot of diversity in its stores but we are COUNTRY and if you cant adapt to that then don't come. This town and surrounding areas has enough to make a average person happy. Harrisonburg is in a agriculture area of the state. Choosing the county life around Harrisonburg is a much better living than in the city.

[@thomasstevens9551]

Yup. Stay away from the city.

[@vafornow]

People should know, Virginia has the highest personal property tax rate in the nation. Also, depending on where you live, the property taxes are outrageous.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Yes, this is true overall; however, the personal property tax rate is county and city specific. (See link below) www.tax-rates.org/virginia/property-tax Additionally, when you look at the overall tax burden of a Virginia resident, Virginia is very average as it falls right in the middle of all states. (See link below) www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/states-with-the-lowest-taxes I talk a little bit about some of Virginia's taxes in this video; kzbin.info/www/bejne/ope4naiGiruLqbM as well as a comparison of Waynesboro and Staunton personal property taxes in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKCWanyLiM5rgrc

[@synesthetically]

Struggling to pick between Harrisonburg, somewhere just outside Harrisonburg, or Staunton if I'm starting a new job in Harrisonburg. Tough choices, they all look pretty good!

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Hello, Peaceful Nights! If you need real estate help, just let us know!

[@robs9324]

Taxes are too high in those cities

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

@@robs9324 You think so? Compared to other cities, they have some of the lowest taxes, actually. 😊

[@synesthetically]

@@robs9324 Lower than what I pay now 😃

[@byondrepair]

Try Augusta county. You could live near Harrisonburg or Charlottesville and still live in a rural setting and pay a lot less. Verona.

[@tuckthepuppy2517]

Harrisonburg is a nice city so I don’t see what’s the problem with living here

[@garygood6804]

I drive for uber and lyft in harrisonburg. I also first ammendment audit.

[@notme123]

Can't hear anything near the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, either. It's between Staunton and Harrisonburg. Only 3 or 4 flights a day. "You can't get there from here." : "

[@G01NGP0ZT4L]

i live by it and honestly it’s easy 2 ignore the plains after a while

[@abenigold6219]

Awesome ty for info

[@MrDancyPantsTV]

I presently live in Charlottesville, but recently bought some land in Shenandoah and hoping to build a house there soon-ish. I'm looking forward to the shift. Having Harrisonburg nearby will be pretty handy.

[@garygood6804]

Charlottesville airport is about an hour away from harrisonburg.

[@julie-elizabethmack9502]

If you don't like Hburg, Luray is worse.

[@savageopress6273]

All of page county is trash

[@Kalightrose777]

We have a Costco which is really nice 😊

[@mr.nightmare_4425]

thank you for representing people of Harrisburg 💪💪

[@serapheum]

Lots of homeless on the greenway by the South river park...

[@yoso585]

Aha! Thank goodness I can’t hear those jet liners up there at 30 some thousand feet!

[@Alex-QT]

Contour is not a subsidiary.. they have a baggage agreement, nothing more. 👎

[@idontlikecops1]

Living in Harrisonburg I'd have to agree that the airport distance is a huge con. I used to travel a lot and having to land completely jet lagged while still needing to drive two hours home is a DRAG. When you land all you want to do is rest. The drive is quite boring and filled with speed traps aswell. Especially in Woodstock

[@rebecaramirez5373]

Umm, why was this in my recommendation, I live in Harrisonburg lmao

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Let us know if we can ever help you with a real estate need! 😊

[@christinamerritt9669]

The worst thing about living in this otherwise beautiful town is it smells like poop majority of the time.

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Interesting. Where is Harrisonburg do you live?

[@Marly_Mell]

I just moved there

[@VirginiaMountainToValleyLiving]

Congratulations! How do you like it?