| From the windswept sands and haunting wetlands | | | | equestrians with open arms. Winter sports lovers, |
| of Chincoteague and Assateague Islands to the | | | | thanks to the ski resorts of the Shenandoah and |
| streams and forests of the Shenandoah's silent | | | | Blue Ridge, won't miss a thing. If you're a skier of |
| heights, Virginia is a land of stunning natural | | | | a different sort, wait for warm weather and head |
| beauty. Yet those who retired to Virginia will still | | | | for Virginia Beach, for water skiing, jet skiing, and |
| find themselves within a single day's drive from | | | | snorkeling. During the fall, the Virginia |
| cities which account for nearly sixty percent of | | | | mountainsides put on a show of color rivaling best |
| the entire U.S. population. | | | | New England has to offer, and the state which is |
| Virginia is as deeply rooted in American history as | | | | famous for its festivals outdoes itself celebrating |
| the tulip poplar which George Washington planted | | | | harvest time. |
| in 1785 is rooted in the soil of Mount Vernon. | | | | Virginia's ground is historic ground. The |
| Virginia, as one popular advertising campaign | | | | Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown triangle, |
| reminds us, is for lovers. But Virginia is also for | | | | countless Civil War battle sites, and Presidential |
| retirees. | | | | homes provide plenty of opportunity to delve into |
| Regardless of how you picture the ideal | | | | America's past. Virginia is wine country. By retiring |
| retirement setting, the Commonwealth of Virginia | | | | to Virginia you can spend many a happy day |
| can accommodate your every wish. The peace | | | | wandering country roads from winery to winery. |
| and quiet of Eastern Shore fishing villages and the | | | | Perhaps you'd like to buy your own plot of Virginia |
| white churches and clapboard-sided homes along | | | | ground and take up the art of winemaking! Your |
| the maple-lined streets of its country towns; the | | | | Virginia retirement, after all, is yours to do with as |
| cultural richness of its college and university towns | | | | you please! |
| like Charlottesville, Williamsburg, Blacksburg, and | | | | Golf? You could play a different Virginia course |
| Lexington; the blend of old-world appeal and | | | | each week for more than three hundred |
| 21st-century excitement that is Alexandria--all | | | | consecutive weeks! Then you could play the new |
| these await anyone who decides to retire to | | | | courses which were built to meet the demands of |
| Virginia! | | | | even more retirees who headed for Virginia during |
| Do you treasure the change of seasons? Virginia's | | | | that six-year span! |
| semi-tropical climate offers, for the most part, | | | | Any retirees concerned with health care will love |
| mild temperatures. Retiring to one of its mountain | | | | Virginia. The University of Virginia Medical Center |
| communities, however, will mean colder winters | | | | at Charlottesville is one of the top-rated medical |
| and cool summers free of the state's coastal | | | | facilities in the entire US, and it sets the standard |
| humidity. Even in the height of summer | | | | for medical care statewide. |
| temperatures across the state average from | | | | According to the 2000 census, the Virginia |
| 70° to 85°. During the winter the | | | | population aged 65 or older numbered around |
| statewide average is in the high 30s°, with | | | | 775,000. That number, by 2010, will be over |
| days in the 40s° and 50s° days | | | | 900,000 as more and more people weigh their |
| common on the shore. | | | | retirement options and realize that Virginia is the |
| Winter in Virginia is perfect for fox hunting and | | | | perfect place to spend their leisure years! |
| many Virginia retirement communities welcome | | | | |