I saw another poster was asking the same thing about moving to Front Royal. I actually just moved a few days ago and I can honestly say I' am so blown away by the scenery and land here that I am almost a little shell shocked.

Without making this post a book, for years I have wanted land and I have wanted a view, well, I got it. I am on right under 10 acres and you can literally see 100+ miles from my front door, being almost even with the top of the trees. My girlfriend and I just love it.....but......while everyone around us (not too many people) have been nothing but polite, we hear nothing but the snow the snow the snow.

Now, I am not an idiot, I looked for this place specifically for a year and a half and have been in and out of the country my whole life. Due to work, I was brought back in the suburbs for years on end and besides driving out to this area to hunt, I never dealt with a hardcore snow storm. Last year when it was real bad, I drove out with my jeep (I have a lifted grand cherokee with pro comps on it) and while most of the roads were cleared, I would just drop it in 4 low and I was driving all over the place.I realize you cannot always do that, but for how tucked back this place is, I "felt" it was pretty well maintained, because a lot of people do live around here.

Off Blue Mountain road is the area I live and my one buddy who is probably a quarter mile away from me, has lived here for ten years. He doesnt seem to care about the snow, has a 4x4 and just does what he has to do to get out. If he cant one day, well he just calls out and stays home. That was my mindset moving out here, considering so many people do live out here (traffic on 66 west) there must be ways to deal with the snow.

The point of this rant is that there seems to be two camps since I have been here. 1) OMG you are so F'd and will not be able to go anywhere when it snows, you made a bad move coming here. 2) We love it here, we deal with the weather and there is no way I could live in the burbs.

Funny thing is, even the people that say the snow is impossible to deal with, still say they love living here and have been here for years. I have a steep, long driveway, and yes, you are not getting up that thing in ice or deep snow, I knew that signing on. But I will park at the bottom, put on the boots and walk up.

So for all the people out there that have been living in the country for years, let me know how you deal with it, tips, anything. I was thinking of calling around to some snow removal companies just to have them on back up if needed. I have had one neighbor say they plow all the time, and a guy 50 yards from him say they never come. My brain feels like its playing ping pong, when in reality, I am probably just the new guy who needs to live through a winter.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Simple answer.

You need a shiny new four wheeler with a snow plow.


Cheaper answer?  You just deal with it.  Park at the bottom, drive back and forth while it's snowing, whatever.  

It's not that big of a deal.

I had someone else tell me about the 4 wheeler idea. Damn good idea too. I feel like that would only take me 30 minutes to clear this area with one of those. Yeah I hate to sound like a pouge but there seems to be no middle ground here, its either bad move you came out here or its awesome. In turn that makes me feel like I am missing something.

Wife and I are getting tired of Fairfax. The traffic is just unbearable. Though, with a child the schools are hard to beat.

We've been pondering a move but to where is the problem. Gotta agree on the views and such.

Edit

Thats essentially what happened to us. We were so sick of feeling like we were in a concrete box full of so many different people that no one interacted anyway. At least out here I see my neighbor and he waves. I am not social person that needs the night life etc, but being around good people is a good thing.

In saying that, it is a lot different. This place has a feel that you are in the middle of nowhere, when in reality, there are actually a lot of people around, but everyone just wants to live the way they want to live. We love the outdoors and every thing that comes with it, but we were in the burbs for a long time, so we have been a bit shell shocked. Most of that, though, is from the constant winter talk. Once we deal with one we should be good.

That ATV snow plow idea is growing on me. Dont really have the money to get one right now but to be able to wake up and just plow the driveway in 30 mins sounds good to me.

Anyone have any intel on driveway snow removal companies around the area?

You have 10 acres, from the photo looks like a lot of grass.

How do you mow it?  Should be able to put a plow or blower on a lawn tractor much cheaper than buying a quad.

And another thing, unless the snow is really deep you shouldn't need 4 low,  the extra torque in 4 low can actually make you spin more on slippery surfaces.

My diesel truck has a snow mode that skips first gear and starts off in second.

Are you closer to Freezeland or Howellsville road?

BTW....Freezeland Road is more than a hint of what's to come.

You lucky bastard.

I'd just deal with the snow.

The previous owner had a lawn service do it all, I am still up in the air, I may use them for year while I am getting situated but I dont know yet. That is really all the grass I have is up front. The rest is wooded.

I was thinking of a tractor with a plow, its another option.

What do you mean?

I would be closer to Howellsville...

LOL...They don't call it Freezeland for nothing come wintertime.

Meh, it could be worse, you could live on High Knob.

Well, as someone who lives probably less than a mile from you, your options are have a job with a lot of leave, or clear a way to the pavement yourself.  I chose the first option, as I live at the bottom of a badass hill like you do.  450hp and 35's still won't beat gravity.

And yes, the snow is that bad.  They are calling for 6-8 inches, I know at my house you calculate the snow by just adding both numbers together.

First off, congratulations on your escape from the concrete jungle!

As for dealing with the snow, I deliver mail for a living so I HAVE to show up, or there will be hell to pay!
I live on a farm, and from the house to the end of state maintenance sign on our gravel road is 4/10 of a mile. Generally speaking, our road won't get plowed the first day in any kind of serious snow. That makes it about 1 1/4 miles to the paved road which will probably be plowed. Fortunately, this is relatively level ground, and I have an older "small" Toyota Tacoma 4WD with fairly aggressive 31.5 tires.

0-10"- no problem, kick it in high range, and basically do what I want.
11-16"- not much of a problem, high range and try to keep moving. Back up and get another run as needed. Don't stop in a low spot!
17-24"- low range second gear, go as far as I can, back up 3-4 truck lengths and hit it again. If I get hung up, go grab the farm tractor with chains on the rear tires and drag the truck to the road.
25"- I have a landscaping guy who does snow removal with a road grader on speed dial. Typically a $3-400 job!

In 20 years, I have never NOT made it out and back in, although I caught a break, and the one time we had to get it plowed it hit on a Friday night, so I had the whole weekend to get dug out!

It is amazing how much snow a standard 4wd truck with decent tires will push through, IF you use you head and take it easy!  Momentum is your friend, just don't push your way into anything you can't back out of!

In your case, with that much yard, I'd seriously look at a 20-30 HP utility tractor with a front end bucket.

I live in the Front Royal area on a farm. I have a 1/3rd mile gravel driveway with hills up and down. Even with 2ft of snow I'm like like "FU! I HAVE A RAPTOR!" and plow through it

Seems theres a few of us real close. Maybe we should meet up some time!

Not gonna lie, it feels good to here from you guys on here. I essentially went from being outside my whole life, whether it was military or when I was young, to getting a job in NOVA and living the easy life for 5 years. I spent every waking moment wanting to get out of there, and the minute I get this what is to me a dream house, i have been doing nothing but worry about crap like the weather. Too much of a planner i guess and too new to a mountain side.

I am gonna send you an IM Foxx.

Which is great until you hit a steep and long enough hill.

I'm out of the area at the moment, but I grew up near Apple Mountain/Skyland Estates and have a house off Happy Creek Road. I'll be back sometime in the next couple of years. I never had any problems getting in or out in the winter but I also wasn't one of those guys with a 30 degree slope on my driveway. As mentioned above I think a 4 wheeler with a plow would help quite a bit. And you can always just ride the ATV up to the house and down to your truck.

Yeah, I mean minus my driveway I think my jeep will handle most of it, minus an obvious huge storm. ATV sounds more and more like a good idea.

Snow is falling for the first time for me here. Woke up and it was coming down!