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My wife and I are seriously considering a wonderful business opportunity in the west end. Would be moving from Columbus Ohio and the prospect of moving to your beautiful city is exciting and scary at the same time...fear of the unknown and such.
Anyway, could some of you Winston Salem folks give us a feel for how welcoming the community is toward outsiders/newbies? What's it like to live and work in west end? Is there a good business environment? Are there family things to do? Are there tourists/lots of hotels?
And probably most important...we have a very bright son who will soon be entering 9th grade. Our question is...Are there any good high schools in the area? Sadly we have not seen much good information about Winston Salem schools... Can someone help us or set us straight about local schools/high school options?
No need to worry about any of your questions. West End is a very desirable downtown neighborhood, full of older homes with beautiful architecture, tree-lined streets, and parks. The business environment is good as well, as there are a number of shops and restaurants that draw people in, as well as the nearby baseball park.
Schools are very good, too. If you live in West End, you'd go to Reynolds High. Along with Mt. Tabor, Reagan, and West Forsyth high schools (all located on the west to northwest side of the county should you choose to live farther out), they are among the best schools in the state. The Career Center, a central high school facility available to all students, offers a wide range of AP and honors classes, including rare AP offerings like Chinese, computer science, art history, and music theory. We also have the UNC School of the Arts, a high school and college offering a world class, high intensity arts education in music, drama, film, visual arts, etc.
Don't forget about Summit School or Forsyth Country Day, if you want top rate private schooling. Curiously, what type of business are you contemplating?
Thanks for the response...actually looking at hospitality business. Summit School would not work with our son who will be entering 9th grade when we would move but we are looking at the day school. Any info on the catholic school that is nearby?
I can't add much to the previous comments about our schools. There are many solid choices and depending on your desire for public versus private institutions you may need to consider where you will be LIVING as opposed to the location of your business.
As for the welcoming attitude of our residents, I believe you will find us to be "typically southern". Most folks are as friendly as you are and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (but I am biased). As for the business environment in West End you will find a wide variety of establishments. Retail, professional services, restaurants, pubs are all represented in the immediate area. Within walking distance to the east are many more various businesses, but the downtown core still has a ways to go to reach critical mass.
You ask about tourists/lots of hotels. I am not sure how you define "lots" but IMO Winston-Salem definitely does not have lots of hotels, especially hotels other than of the limited service variety. Downtown has a Mariott property, but for the most part the lodging choices in Winston-Salem are mostly moderate to low budget, limited service franchise type properties.
I don't have first hand knowledge of the tourist numbers for Winston-Salem but I am sure the chamber of commerce, Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership or other local non-profits can get you more details about the specifics. Old Salem is a definite tourist draw and is relatively close to West End, but other tourist attractions do not readily come to my mind.
As for the West End Historic District, I think you would find no better place to call home. We offer many other attractive option as well and I wish you and your family the best of luck as you make your decision.
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