Retirement to the NRV?

Hello all,
Retirement is still 3-4 years off - but been running around the NRV lookin' at possible landing spots.
Any ideas as to who to talk to, or where can I find info for areas that are not twitchy about hearing gunshots from a range?
thanks - John

You are smart for planning now.

Wythe County here,
Nearest neighbor is at least 1/4 mi. I cannot see any other houses from my house.
We have some acreage behind the house going up the mountain, that I use for a backstop.
I hung steel targets in the woods and shoot whenever I take a notion (day or night).
I told the nearest neighbors, if my shooting disturbs them to let me know and I will modify my schedule. Not a single complaint in 10 years. If I go more than a few days without burning ammo someone is sure to ask if I've been sick.

I-81 and I-77 cross here so its easy to set the cruise control and visit North, South, East or West.

Have you spent any time on
http://www.city-data.com/forum/virginia/ ?

PM me if you have questions or want to get together and go sight-seeing.

Thanks for your reply and website! This is exactly what I need to know. Will perhaps be down that way in the next month, pending on schedules.
My youngest kid is at Radford, and he loves it down there. when I started to look into the area, was very impressed with the amount of land available for decent prices. Just want to shoot without a lot of fussing from people.
I will be sending you pm's as I get more familiar with the area. Have only looked from Pulaski, Draper, Riner, Floyd, Willis, and Hillsville areas. Hillsville has interested me most. wife is nervous about the usual stuff (shopping, hospitals, etc....)

I grew up in Draper so I'm biased for Draper. Great place to live
Draper is in Pulaski County and I am biased against Pulaski County. Not a great place to live, Haha The story later....

I left the area in the military then spent most of my adult life and career in Alaska. We looked over several states before retiring here in Wythe County.

I earlier purchased 57 acres in Franklin County with plans to build a home after retirement but by the time came homes were cheaper to purchase than build.
An uncle gave me some great advice: "With all the homes on the market, do not settle for less than what you want."
Great advice that served me well.

I know the area fairly well, shopping, fishing, hunting, entertainment, public ranges, hospitals, etc. I also know where most of the gun shops and churches are located.

We have the New River Trail, Claytor Lake, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Jefferson National Forest, and The Appalachian Trail, to name a few places to Google in your spare time.
SW VA is very photogenic.

I look forward to meeting you.

Thanks BustedKnee. Riner is very pricey from what I have researched. Draper had possibilities, but am finding that the "money - horse" crowd has a strong presence there. Could be a deal breaker. Already dumped one land buy because of this.
The idea of buying a house can be tricky right now. I won't be retiring for awhile, so a house now would require renting, not very thrilled with that option.
You are correct about building a house though. It is quite expensive, kinda hoping that in 3-5 years, we would be able to pay for a new house without a mortgage.

I live and work in Lynchburg and have been having a hard time finding a decently priced house where I could shoot on the land. It seems that anything with more than five acres is much more expensive around this area. If anyone hears of anything going in Bedford, Amherst, Campbell, or Appomattox counties, please let me know! Thanks!