Chapel Hill, NC vs Roanoke, VA (Blacksburg, Blue Ridge: rent, loft, coop)

[CHRSB]

Can anyone here provide a comparison between Chapel Hill, NC and Roanoke, VA?

I am on disability so I work when I can and I choose not to drive. Spiritually I am a Buddhist/Daoist and functionally I am an Anarchist.

Some points:
How does rent compare? I can get some low rent here but I pay in living standards.
I do not mind walking a lot as part of my therapy so how is walking in town (sidewalks/horn honking) and how are the public buses?
Are there a decent amount of "contemplative" hiking trails in or near the edge of town?
Is the University a big presence in town? Like students all over wlaking down the street holding plastic red cups?
Does the food coop have a lot of good organic produce?

I have lived in Chapel Hill/Carrboro on and off for the last 10 years and it has changed to the worse for me. More money has come to town and it has made my simple life more complicated. Also, the university students has invaded into Carrboro and the culture changed to a busier lifestyle.

I really do not care liberal vs conservative, just nice people who will make you feel you are not always interrupting something more important when you try to start a conversation with them in a coffee shop.

Thanks!

[headnsouth]

Originally Posted by CHRSB

How does rent compare? I can get some low rent here but I pay in living standards.

Can't compare unless we know Chapel Hill rents. Rents are all over the map depending on where you live: very inexpensive if you rent an apt. in a house in some neighborhoods, very expensive if you rent a converted loft downtown. Reasonable overall.

Originally Posted by CHRSB

I do not mind walking a lot as part of my therapy so how is walking in town (sidewalks/horn honking) and how are the public buses?

The city has decent bus service but it doesn't go into the surrounding county.

Originally Posted by CHRSB

Are there a decent amount of "contemplative" hiking trails in or near the edge of town?

Tons. Lots of green space, a mountain right smack in the middle of town, and accessible mountains all around.

Originally Posted by CHRSB

Is the University a big presence in town? Like students all over wlaking down the street holding plastic red cups

Roanoke is not a university town. There are several colleges here but the locals populate downtown, not college kids.

Originally Posted by CHRSB

Does the food coop have a lot of good organic produce?

Great downtown farmer's market, great co-op, and other markets all around town & in surrounding towns throughout the week. It's a great place for fresh local produce.

[CHRSB]

Originally Posted by headnsouth

Roanoke is not a university town. There are several colleges here but the locals populate downtown, not college kids.

That part makes me feel all tingly good inside!

Thanks!

Also, I am probably going to take a little trip up there next month. Any leads on a $50/night hotel or a hostel or even a campground close to town?

[headnsouth]

Originally Posted by CHRSB

Also, I am probably going to take a little trip up there next month. Any leads on a $50/night hotel or a hostel or even a campground close to town?

Roanoke Mountain Campground is on Mill Mountain just off the Blue Ridge Parkway at MP 120. If it isn't within city limits it's just outside, a great location. Most of the regular chain hotels are adjacent to Roanoke airport and they're pretty cheap.

[theluckygal]

You can find very few sidewalks here, outside the residential areas. You will need a car to get around town. I dont think bus service is frequent & it usually takes very long routes.

Roanoke has a small town feel & its easy to get around without getting stuck in traffic. Cost of living, housing, gas is also affordable. People are friendly, area is very scenic & there are plenty of hiking trails. For organic foods, we have a very good co-op store called Natural Foods on Grandin rd (Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op)
You can find plenty of fresh, organic local produce here as well as at the farmer's market in salem/roanoke downtown on wknds.

You would hardly see any college students in town, other than few near roanoke college or VA western community college. So you can avoid those areas. The closest big unversity is virginia tech in blacksburg, 50 min from here, so you have nothing to worry about.

[j1n]

Originally Posted by asma410

You can find very few sidewalks here, outside the residential areas. You will need a car to get around town. I dont think bus service is frequent & it usually takes very long routes.

Outside of the residential areas of Roanoke is essentially downtown, and downtown has sidewalks all over. Also there are greenways that are easily accessible that cut through town.
Buses seem to run constantly, and there is also the little trolley thing which runs frequently.

[j1n]

By way of comparison:
Roanoke is the larger town by approx 1/3.
Cost of living in Chapel Hill is higher than the national average, while Roanoke is lower than the national average.
Housing in Chapel Hill is more than double Roanoke.
The climate comfort index in Roanoke is better than the US average and waaaaay better than Chapel Hill.
Average temperatures are almost the same in both places. We get about 4 times the snow that Chapel Hill gets. (But what's 4 times nuthin'? )
We are at an elevation 0f 1100-1200', while Chapel Hill is approx 500'.

[LCL111]

I lived in Cary NC for a while - Roanoke hills seem steeper and there were more of them! Not sure if that has a bearing on you getting around - not sure what your disability is. I havent lived in NC for quite a while and my memory may not be correct. But one of my main impressions of Roanoke were the hills (mind you I am currently in pancake flat Tampa, so it was def a switch!).

[roanoker 4]

Chapel Hill reminded me of a larger version of Blacksburg. Its advantages is that
it is part of the Raleigh-Durham metro area which is where everyone wants to live if they are young, highly educated or with a PHD. There are definately more advantages to live there for this group of people.
Roanoke on the other hand is friendlier, has a more small town feel, slower pace,
nicer scenery, better place for retirees due to the big healthcare industry here.
In many ways, I don't see many similarites between the two areas.

[RVAtoCNC]

Originally Posted by CHRSB

That part makes me feel all tingly good inside!

Thanks!

Also, I am probably going to take a little trip up there next month. Any leads on a $50/night hotel or a hostel or even a campground close to town?

Actually - there is a campground very close to downtown - its on the blue ridge parkway within about a mile of the Roanoke Star which overlooks downtown. However if you don't drive, I don't know if this will work - but it is within 2 or 3 miles of the center of downtown.