i'm sorry to hear you have arthritis. it's certainly a very common ailment. i guess i'm going to assume you're referring to osteoarthritis which is the wear-and-tear disease that makes the joints hurt. this type of arthritis frequently comes on as we get older. just to be clear there's another type of arthritis called rheumatoid arthritis that is an autoimmune disease. but based on your question i'm thinking you're referring to plain old arthritis that hurts worse when the weather gets colder. if that's the case moving from connecticut to virginia probably won't help. while it's true coldness can make the pain of osteoarthritis feel worse virginia probably isn't sufficiently warmer than connecticut in the winter to make much of a difference. now if you were talking about becoming a snowbird and flying down to florida to spend your winters then i'd probably say that's a fine idea. it's also important to take into consideration where your support system resides. when your arthritis symptoms become so severe you need help with daily or periodic tasks you need to be living where your family and friends are close enough to help you. if that's in new england then that's probably not a bad place for you to stay. i hope this helps! i've lived in va all my life and have osteo lupus and fibro. while it is warmer here in the winter than ct we do get some winters that are fairly cold - it does vary considerably and it varies a lot depending on where you live in va. another thing to weigh in is the heat and humidity - most of va especially the central and eastern half - is quite humid and is very hot in the summer. it's not unusual for it to start going into the 90's in late april and stay in that range until well into october. this summer we had long stretches of days in the high 90's - low 100's with humidity in the 80-90% range - and the combination of heat and humidity is particularly brutal especially if your arthritis causes compression of your c-spine nerves and you have a problem with sweating and body temp regulation because of it and/or if you are prone to migraines and sinus issues. the hot humid weather makes me far more miserable than the coldest days ever do and the older i get the less i seem able to tolerate it. so that's something to bear in mind when you consider moving here. (and please don't get me wrong i love my home state and am proud to be a virginian! )
i have arthritis. would it be better for me to move from ct to va. not willing to move west lots of family in the neast