Moving to Roanoke, VA (Hampton, Lynchburg: best neighborhood, lawyers, high school)

[slave2six]

Hi again. Just wondering what airport I need to fly into to get to Roanoke (coming from Los Angeles). Any recommended hotels where I can stay while looking for a house?

[seanpecor]

Roanoke has its own airport. If you're booking tickets online you can use the airports' 3 letter designation (ROA). If you want a very nice hotel I'd recommend Hotel Roanoke. Otherwise, I'm not sure. I know there are a variety of hotels (Hyatt, etc) near the Valley View Mall that are consistently rated well.

Sean

[slave2six]

Thanks Sean.

[happygal0000]

Originally Posted by slave2six

Hi again. Just wondering what airport I need to fly into to get to Roanoke (coming from Los Angeles). Any recommended hotels where I can stay while looking for a house?

Hi there,

Without knowing if you are bringing the family, I would say the best place to stay (moderately priced and good, central location) is the Tanglewood Holiday Inn on Electric Road in SW County. If I remember correctly, SW Co. is where you were going to look...? The Hotel Roanoke is really beautiful, but fancy, especially if you aren't planning to live in the downtown area. If you are just coming in (on your own dime) to look at housing, choose something more reasonable and go the Hotel Roanoke for dinner (they have a great "early bird" special Sun-Thurs, before 6pm, that is a "fixed price" meal....wonderful)!

If you are going to look in North Co, there are several hotel/motels by Valley View Mall (some even have indoor pools, if you are bringing the kids).

Yeah, I agree with Sean, fly into Roanoke. Don't bother trying to get a cheap flight into Greensboro or DC; you will spend too much time driving! It is worth the $$ to fly directly into Roanoke.

Hope you have luck finding a place!
happygal0000

[happygal0000]

Originally Posted by crandon

There is a possiblity I will be moving to Roanoke for a job that pays well. I have lived in Upstate new york most of my life. ( Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton).

Questions

1. Is it hard for someone with a northern accent to blend in. Does the majority of the people in RoanoKe have strong southern accents. Will my kids get teased for their northern accent
2. Is there a good mix of northerners?
3.I have three teenage boys (19,17, 14) What is the best high school for my 14 year old? How do the high schools compare to upstate new york.
4. How much does the sun shine? We only get 60 days of sun shine a year in Binghamton. We are tired of cloudy weather.
5. Binghamton is in a valley and my families allergies are bad here, I cannot see them being much worse in Roanoke. Am I wrong?
6. I am looking for a good nondenominational church, any suggestions?
7. I am looking to purchase a house in a nice suburb. Looking for good schools, quick access to stores and restaurants, any suggestions?
8. What are the most common prejudices you encounter in Roanoke?
How are different ethnic groups treated?

Hi there,

Wow! So, here are a few things you need to know about Roanoke that makes it different from Upstate NY: when it snows, we hibernate. We do not BBQ (with or without shorts) if the weather is lower than about 60 degrees, we don't plan our Halloween costumes to fit over a winter coat, and we have no idea what "lake effect" means!

Seriously, though, it's going to be tough, moving with teenagers. I hope your sons play sports, because that will be the easiest way for them to meet and make friends. Even if they just play rec sports, it's REALLY important here. Particularly for boys. As for schools, I am a big believer in SW Co schools. We moved here from the west coast, and I visited every elementary, middle, and high school before we moved. Whew! What a job! You can read some of my other posts for more details, if you'd like. Cave Spring HS and Hidden Valley HS are both great schools, and you should have an okay time settling into either one. The upshot is that I would choose SW Co schools over all the other schools (Salem, Vinton, Roanoke City, Botetourt, etc).

You asked about Northern accents. You will be pleased to know that lots of Upstaters live here in Roanoke! For several years, Advance Auto was recruiting many people from Buffalo and Syracuse. Also, the hospitals hired a bunch of Northern doctors so there is a pretty good mix of North and South. It's still a Southern town, though, and not having a Southern accent will make you sound different, but there isn't any North/South discrimination (or calling you "Yank") that I've experienced. You don't have to worry about your kids or anything like that.

Plenty of sunshine, but your allergies will really bother you, I'm afraid. We're in a valley, too, and my kids never had allergies before we moved here. Sorry to give you bad news about that. Also, be sure you test your new house for mold here. We have a lot of humidity, so most basements will have some mold. Just thought I'd mention it, in case that was a problem you needed to be aware of.

Okay, as for churches ... non-denominational may be a bit tricky. You are moving to the South, where there's a church on every corner. The Unitarian Church is pretty good, but you probably should define what you mean by "non-denominational" (how evangelical, how traditional, how much interaction you want in the services) before you choose a church down here. I agree with Upstate Dave that you should probably shop around once you are here... it really is a personal issue, and the dynamics change with every congregation, which you will understand better once you have a chance to see for yourself.

As for housing, I totally recommend SW Roanoke Co. You can read my other posts, I have outlined many things, in detail, how I came to that conclusion.

Hope this helps, and ask if you have any other questions!
happygal0000

[spunkyscorpio72]

SW County townhouse, condo or something for rent/lease to purchase.
I am a single mom gainfully employed social worker with a special needs teenager and one typical teenager if there is such a thing. I own a house in NW but want my kids out of this school into the Hidden Valley district for several reasons..putting my house on the market and it won't take long because I just want to clear even on it.. so does anyone have any links or insight on where to look for a rental... I am a clean, law abiding citizen who is a strong advocate for inclusion for spec needs and geriatric population.... prefer a somewhat quiet area as I will be starting law school in addition to working in August.... needs to be three bedrooms at least....... thanks... spunkyscorpio72@yahoo.com

[happygal0000]

Originally Posted by spunkyscorpio72

SW County townhouse, condo or something for rent/lease to purchase.
I am a single mom gainfully employed social worker with a special needs teenager and one typical teenager if there is such a thing. I own a house in NW but want my kids out of this school into the Hidden Valley district for several reasons..putting my house on the market and it won't take long because I just want to clear even on it.. so does anyone have any links or insight on where to look for a rental... I am a clean, law abiding citizen who is a strong advocate for inclusion for spec needs and geriatric population.... prefer a somewhat quiet area as I will be starting law school in addition to working in August.... needs to be three bedrooms at least....... thanks... spunkyscorpio72@yahoo.com

You might try Craigslist.com online or the Cave Spring Connection (our little local paper). There aren't too many rentals here, but you can find them if you're patient! Do you need wheel-chair accessible? Would you be okay with living up Bent Mountain? If you would consider Bent Mountain (it would mean Cave Spring HS), you should be able to find a rental easier.

happygal

[slave2six]

Hi,

I'm researching a property in Roanoke. The schools are Fairview Elementary School, Addison Middle School, and Fleming High School.

Can any of you locals tell me something about the area? Again, we are a multi-racial family looking to get out of California. I have three daughters still in school (9th, 7th, and 5th grades).

Thanks for your input!

-Slave

[j1n]

Originally Posted by slave2six

Hi,

I'm researching a property in Roanoke. The schools are Fairview Elementary School, Addison Middle School, and Fleming High School.

Can any of you locals tell me something about the area?

In the title of your post, you mentioned Caldwell St. Caldwell St NW is in the 24017 zip code. That is the "Melrose" section of Roanoke. Melrose is one of the very run down areas of Roanoke. I know...the realtor ads can look very nice...with some careful picture cropping and imaginative wording. I would seriously advise a trip to R-noke to drive the city carefully and familiarize yourself with the various neighborhoods.

[Twootees]

The Melrose Rugby neighborhood is very strong- It has an active membership and the people who live in this neighborhood are amazing! They continue to work hard on making their neighborhood a vital part of the city- I agree, make a trip here and check it out- Good luck- p.s. we'd love to have you in Old Southwest- The more diversity, the better!