Moving to Roanoke, VA (Lynchburg, Cave Spring: houses, rental, lease)

[Eerinthevalley]

I moved here in 2004. I have lived in Cincinnati and Baltimore, but grew up in WV.

Roanoke has 'enough'. Some great eateries that aren't par for the course for other cities this size can be found in Frankie Rowland's, Carlos', Metro!, and Coach and Four.

Shopping is varied...from high end to bargain stores. Wal*Marts, Kroger, and Hardees are on nearly every corner it seems. Most of my business goes to the local guys.

The City Market- you can get great local produce and beautiful flowers.

BBQ is nearly infinite in choices here, my favorite being Wildwood on 419.

Roanoke City and County have AWESOME recreational programs, from sushi classes to bluegrass jams, to caving and adult flag football. Reasonably priced too.

Roanoke City can boast an emergency response time of 7-9 minutes. I lived in Raliegh Court for my first 3 years here, and loved the convenience of it all, and always felt safe.

Traffic- Don't be fooled by long timers who will complain about the 20 minute drive in on 460 in the "rush" hours...30 cars at the same stoplight isn't bad, especailly after driving in NoVa, DC, Bitmo, Atlanta, Cincinnati.

Roanoke City has fairly high property taxes when compaired to Franklin, Botetourt, and Bedford counties, but those three don't have close to the level of services that Rke City does, but that's not everyone's thing, so to each their own.

The weather is indeed 'tolerable'. The wind can be downright ridiculous at times, but this is one of the few places I've ever seen that it can snow 8 inches over night, and it'll be gone by noon the next day.

I enjoy Roanoke. while it will NEVER replace my WV hills as 'home', its a great places to make a home.

I hope to make my place here in 'SloVa'. Its just a nice place to live.

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by Eerinthevalley

Roanoke City has fairly high property taxes when compaired to Franklin, Botetourt, and Bedford counties, but those three don't have close to the level of services that Rke City does, but that's not everyone's thing, so to each their own.

Services? Franklin County has a better funded school system than Roanoke City, along with a substantially equipped volunteer and salaried fire/rescue departments. Municipal services, parks & recreation and such are off the charts in Franklin County. I don't have curbside trash and recycling services in my rural area of FC, but I save about $7,500/year by having my property in Franklin County and not Roanoke City/County. Pound for pound I suspect that FC residents have _more_ services than Roanoke City, with the caveat that you're in a rural area and will be driving 10-15 minutes to services.

Sean

[rednblue]

CoolBill,

I can't respond to your question about the crime rate in Roanoke, but I can give some comparisons to one of the other cities you're considering. I'm a life-long resident of Erie County, PA looking to move to Roanoke in the near future.

Erie is a nice sized city-similar in size to Roanoke. It is very easy to get around in and has a low cost of living. Along with that low cost of living comes a struggling economy, which may or may not be of concern to you. The health care system is decent and The Cleveland Clinic is not too far away, if that's the quality of care you're looking for. It's top notch in many areas. Presque Isle State Park, on the shores of Lake Erie, is a gold mine! I'll miss it a lot when I move away. The down side is that you can only enjoy it's beauty for about 4 months out of the year. Winters are long and hard here and I find myself wishing time away just to get out of them. That's one of my main reasons for wanting to move out of here.

I found Roanoke to be every bit as beautiful as Erie and then some. There are tons of things to do outdoors. There's lots of music and cultural events happening all year long. The downtown appears to be thriving (unlike Erie's). The economy appears to be growing (unlike Erie's). I also found Roanoke and the surrounding areas to be very clean and well cared for. The weather in Roanoke, although not perfect, seems to be much more suitable to year round outdoor activities. I'm tired of being cooped up inside for 5 to 6 months a year, paying someone to push my snow around.

Hope this helps,
Judy

[Eerinthevalley]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Services? Franklin County has a better funded school system than Roanoke City, along with a substantially equipped volunteer and salaried fire/rescue departments. Municipal services, parks & recreation and such are off the charts in Franklin County. I don't have curbside trash and recycling services in my rural area of FC, but I save about $7,500/year by having my property in Franklin County and not Roanoke City/County. Pound for pound I suspect that FC residents have _more_ services than Roanoke City, with the caveat that you're in a rural area and will be driving 10-15 minutes to services.

Sean

Sean- thanks for the input, but perhaps I should have been more clear. I was referring to the parks and rec services that the City and County have, not fire and police- although I suspect Rke City's response times obliterate those of Franklin County.

When I lived in Rke City, I was within walking distance to 8 parks, and a 5 minute drive to probably 16-20. I have since moved to Bot. Cty...more house, more land, lots less taxes. Love it, but miss the parks and rec/ programs the city and county offered...disc golf, dog park, fishing the Rke River in Wasena park. I actually took advantage of and USED what my tax dollars paid for, unlike the majority of Rke residents who complain about high taxes, but can't peel themselves from in front of American Idol to get out and enjoy.

As for Rke City schools? I'd take a rabid wombat to the groin before I'd let my children attend one of those schools...of course, I'd need children first.

[Eerinthevalley]

Originally Posted by CoolBill

I am a 67 year old single guy looking again for a place to retire retire. Roanoke has been second on my list for a year or more.

I have lived in Prescott, AZ (Heaven for some) for years but family-and-friends picture has changed drastically, so I am looking east again.

Priorities are affordability, health and health care environment, transportation, crime rates, and overall quality of life. Roanoke has been looking pretty good until a few minutes ago.

Several writers at this site have expressed concern about crime rate. Most of the best secondary sources, like "Cities Rated and Ranked" and "Places Rated Alamanac" report for the MSA and not the central city. But, if you want to live in that central city as I do, you need different stats. Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed and City-Data.com do that very well. All use standard FBI stats. All the MSA suburbs do is dilute the crime statistics.

Lately, Roanoke has looked awful. Another source summed it up pretty well by stating that the City of Roanoke (pop. 92,000) in 2006 had the second worst crime rate in Virginia after Petersburg.

Most of my working life was in DC. I lived in northwest DC which was very decent in a city with an "awful" crime image. So, do neighborhoods matter that much in Roanoke? Probably.

The cities in competition with Roanoke are (1) Madison, WI, (2) Erie and (3)Pittsburgh, PA, (4) Charlottesville, VA, and (5) Asheville, NC. I am a native Californian, but the Middle Atlantic states are VERY attractive.

And I'm willing to listen.

Well, first off, like you said it will take some clarification as to what you mean by 'Roanoke'.

Roanoke City has had 2 homicides this year...the maojority of the crimes are, I believe, property crimes. As for County and Metro data, I'm not sure, but the second murder happened last week or two on Brandon Avenue, and I remember reading that it was the 2nd homicide this year.

[roanoker 4]

The homicide rate in Roanoke is almost neglible as compared to cities to our south in North Carolina, such as Greensboro. North Carolina cities have a huge gang problem which contributes to the high murder rate there. I feel very safe living here. Of course there is crime in any city but the percentage is quite small in Roanoke related to population. Our police do a good job and are actively trying to prevent gangs from taking over the city. Actually, we hear of lots of brutal murders in the rural areas outside Roanoke where guns are used almost routinely. Unfortunately, Va is a state where getting a gun is quite simple. I would feel less safe living outside Roanoke in the sticks than living in the City.

[Steven2149]

Roanokes crime rate (City, County, Surrounding area, whatever you want), is so low that in very many places you don't need to worry about getting out of bed if you forget to lock your house door or car door. I was a police officer there for a while before moving to Atlanta to do the same thing, so I do have plenty of experience in the matter. You will have people look at all sort of stats and things to tell you that Roanoke has a high crime rate, which just isn't true. Most of the crime is concentrated in certain areas as in most cities. Now there are places (NW Roanoke) that you might not want to walk at night, but these are only smaller or isolated areas.

I also saw a post that someone ask about parks in the area. Well, you have a strong network of city and county parks, but remember you are within a few minutes of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There it is very easy to find all the outdoor recreation you want. There is hiking, nature watching, beautiful sunday driving, and you will even see some hang gliding. I would guaruntee that if you are into outdoorsy stuff, you will not be disappointed.

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

The homicide rate in Roanoke is almost neglible as compared to cities to our south in North Carolina, such as Greensboro.

Er, everyone knows that I'm as big a fan of the Roanoke area as the next person. But your claim is not necessarily true, at least when looking at the FBI's murder and non-negligent crime statistics. In Greensboro City, 1 out of 7,846 people were killed in 2005. In Roanoke City, 1 out of 5,855 people were killed. If we were looking at _just_ city statistics then you're much less likely to be killed in Greensboro City than in Roanoke City. But of course since most people in the Roanoke area do not live inside the Roanoke City limits, but rather live in surrounding counties inside the metro statistical area, it's not necessarily fair to look at the city statistics alone.

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

Actually, we hear of lots of brutal murders in the rural areas outside Roanoke where guns are used almost routinely. Unfortunately, Va is a state where getting a gun is quite simple. I would feel less safe living outside Roanoke in the sticks than living in the City.

Hrm, this is even less accurate than your earlier statement. When looking at 2005 statistics for the Roanoke Metro area, 16 out of the 20 murders/non-negligent manslaughters occurred in _Roanoke City_ and only 4 such crimes ocurred in Botetourt County, Roanoke County, Franklin County and Craig County combined! One might think, well, only 4 murders, it's because the population is so much lower out in the "sticks". But the reality is that over 200,000 of the 300,000 people in the Roanoke metro area live _outside_ Roanoke City. So, if one were to then break that down, for folks living out in the "sticks", only 1 out of 50,000 were killed during 2005. Therefore, you're about 9 times more likely to be killed if you live in the Roanoke City limits, compared to those living out in the 'burbs or rural areas around the city.

Yes, there are indeed more gun owners per capita outside of Roanoke City, out in the country. But we're talking hunting rifles, not Glocks. And they're used legally during hunting season. Not during robberies or to settle an argument.

Sean

[Stevedawg]

I've lived in Roanoke and Greensboro and I found the two cities to be fairly similar. Sort of like Greensboro is a big Roanoke with no mountains.

[flu189]

For the most part murder rates are not a good indicator of the overall crime and safety situation in a town or city. The vast majority of murders involve victims and assailants having msome sort of bond or link, hence it is not a random crime which threatens the average person out minding their own business. I am a retired from law enforcement and the best way to find out what is going on is to actually visit and spend time in a locale. Your observations and instincts will give you a pretty good idea as to the quality and safety of any particular region or neighborhood, unless of course you have lived cloistered in a bubble for the past several decades. Another good source, but harder to come by in today's PC and fear of litigation society, is actually talking to beat cops in the precinct/neighborhood who might be willing to give you the truth. Before working in the field myself I remember many years ago getting the real skinny on what goes on in any given area from such sources as they are the actual eyes and ears 24/7 in the area and can give you the unsanitized version of the area. Hope to make it down into the Roanoke area for at least two weeks this coming year to start getting a feel for the area.