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Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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athornbury - this is true almost everywhere - you are not going to find many professional jobs in the newspaper. You don't mention your field, but try targeting specific places. Rather than scan the newspaper, go directly to website for major employers. Try the VT Corporate Research Center. Try a temp agency - they might be able to place you in a temp-to-perm professional job, or perhaps point you in the correct directions. There are headhunters in the area too. I got a software job in Lynchburg through a headhunter, and I only had 2 years of expierence at the time - so not just for super expierenced folks. I don't know... maybe you are doing this too.
If you have any professional contacts in the area, I would very much appreciate any information you can lend. I am willing to try every avenue to find work in this area! I understand that you probably don't want to publish such information publicly, so if you willing/able to help, you can send such information to athornbury@adelphia.net. I greatly appreciate the help! Congrats on the upcoming wedding!
Cheers,
Alex
Alex -- I emailed you at this account. I did, however, get a message saying a different account of yours will become obsolete. A bit confusing, so I just wanted to make sure you got my message. Let me know if you didn't.
I'm posting a link below to an article written by the editor of The Roanoke Times. Granted, most of what the article talks about is industry specific to newspapers, but I thought that the overarching idea of it was pretty cool -- and served as a perfect example that not all of Roanoke is stuck in a Stone-Age mentality.
Roanoke has more enterprising people than the casual observer might notice. For years, many smart people fled Roanoke at their first opportunities. But from people I've talked to there now, more interesting folks are looking to plant themselves in the city. Interesting people are drawn to other interesting people, and the article below, I think, is a great example of what kind of people are making inroads in the community.
GradVT06 -- I'm PaperTrail's fiancee, and I've gotta tell you, he's waaay nicer than I am. I grew up south of Roanoke, so when you slam the city -- unfairly, from a local's point of view -- you may as well be insulting me and all of my family. Let me just address a few of your points.
Winters/wind -- You're kidding me, right? Wind that rips doors from your hand? I topped out at 115 pounds when I lived there, and that never happened to me. We'll see what happens when we move back there, now that I'm a burly 125. Plus, the average temperature in January, the coldest month, is 37 degrees. I truly hope you never decide to move north.
Rednecks/respect -- First of all, I'd never work in a shoe store anywhere, as I think feet are just gross no matter what. And there are people who don't respect themselves in any city, just maybe in different forms. I don't recall seeing a disproportionate number of those people in Roanoke, and I certainly don't recall seeing people who don't respect others. In many cases, the people in that area bend over backwards for others. Having lived in Hampton Roads for the past six years, it's always such a breath of fresh air whenever I go back to that area. And I've gotta say, I will take a redneck with his annoying country music ANY day over a thug thumping bass so loud that my entire car rattles and I get a migraine. That's happened more times than I could possibly keep track of here in HR. Rednecks are not nearly as offensive to me as thugs are.
I-81 -- Once again, you've got to be joking. Your quote: "I-81 is never flat. It's either uphill or downhill." Um... Roanoke is a mountain town. Hence, the uphill and downhill. I agree that I-81 sucks -- I can't stand driving it. But you do have to consider that it is a main thoroughfare through the state. Plus, you never actually have to get on it if you live in the city, as it crosses north of the city. As for trucks, Hampton Roads has Roanoke beat by far.
A word of advice -- Don't tell people how they'll feel about a city, especially not a stranger. You don't know us or our reasons for loving the area, and you're not going to change our minds. Notice that's plural -- PaperTrail fell in love with the area on his own, luckily for me! We love the mountains, we love the more laid-back lifestyle, we love that we can afford a nice house on 14 acres of rolling hills. I'm particularly happy that I'll be close to all my family, who still live in and around the area -- rednecks and all!
Questions for you -- Do you recall watching the beauty of the trees changing color in the fall, or were you irritated at the leaves swirling across the road? Did you ever let yourself become entranced by the winter's first snowfall or the treacherous beauty of an ice storm, or were you enraged by that "redneck" skidding down the road in front of you, trying to get to work so that he could feed his family? Did you ever take a minute to listen to the birds singing outside your window, or did you keep your house locked up tight so the "noise" couldn't penetrate? It's all in your perception.
I'm not ashamed of my love for Roanoke and the entire beautiful surrounding area, and I'm not ashamed of my affection for people who live simply and love with their whole hearts, not their wallets.
I do believe that Roanoke is better off without the negativity of people like you. If a city's population does nothing but complain, how can it possibly have positive energy? I sincerely hope that you don't find things to complain about in Williamsburg, which is a beautiful town with lots of history, but does have its cons -- as does every single area in the U.S. No place is perfect.
Yes, I am serious. As I said, I have a bias because I don't like Roanoke, so I said take from it what you will. I don't like the city. Please, take a drive down Orange avenue next time you're there and post back how many sections of the road has had to be repaved because of cave-ins. The example with my wife and her second job was just an example of how a higher percentage of people were dirty than anywhere else I've been. I'm now in Williamsburg, where I grew up (and couldn't get wait to leave when I first went to Virginia Tech), and I'm so much happier. We made the initial move this week, and will be back during of the Tech football games to get a moving truck with the bulk of the stuff we don't need right away.
I'm sorry if you feel insulted. As I said, it's a combination of things. I don't know if you've been there in the winter recently, more maybe you've never been to the 2 areas where I've lived- but the wind there is always blowing and is very strong. The wind will rip the door out of your hand and pull it out. It's pulled baseball caps (comfortably fit, not too tight or too loose) right off my head, etc. The temperature isn't bad but the wind makes it feel much colder. Whenever I'd come to visit my family in the winter it would barely seem cold because the wind doesn't blow all the time in Williamsburg. It makes the coldest temperatures feel very bearable. I've lived in New Jersey in some cold winters. Not Wisconsin or Mass, but still cold.
Yes, I will miss the rolling hills and the greater snowfall. I think I mentioned that. Not sure about the hills, but I'm sure I did say I will miss the greater snowfall.
Again, I'm sorry if you feel insulted. There are 'upper class' nicer areas in Roanoke, but generally it's not as nice of an area that I'm comfortable with. There are just as much thugs as drunken/dumb rednecks (the best class class association that I can think of). If you prefer 'rednecks' to 'thugs', that's great. I prefer neither. It's that in Williamsburg, there's less of both. Personally, I like the fall in Roanoke/Blacksburg, but would rather see the color changing leaves walking through Colonial Williamsburg. The mountains are nice though.
You've got to be kidding if you think anyone doesn't know that living in the mountains/valleys will be hilly. Yes, I know that. But I lived there for a few years, and now that I've graduated, want to leave. I don't care about driving up and down, it's driving up and down with the 18wheelers. They go slow uphills, cut in front of you, go slower, then speed down the hills so they don't go as slow up the next hill, though they still end up creeping up the hills next to each, backing up traffic. I'd rather drive on flat terrain with less trucks. I'd assume most people would.
There's a reason the housing market is so cheap in Roanoke. Not meant to insult anyone, but it's just a fact. The mean income is less there, there are less professional and more manufacturing jobs, and the people, in general, don't have as high of standards. Take is as being a snob if you want. A lot of people think people in Williamsburg are snobs.
You can't go wrong if you like the outdoors, as I said. It's good to have the malls there. The city has a personality. I clearly stated my bias that I didn't like it and stated the reasons. Having lived in both Williamsburg and Roanoke, I'm stating the reasons why I choose Williamsburg hands down.
As for the people there..... Honestly I really don't know. My wife was a teacher and worked a second job, I was finishing college full-time and working full-time and we never really had any time to do much else. The teachers at my wife's school were all young and very friendly, all of them were women. The people my age I met were all pretty friendly, though most of them were going to school somewhere or another and wanted to leave area as well. I don't think you'll have a problem at all meeting people you're age if you have the time.
If you have any other questions let me know, I'll be glad to give you opinion or experiences, and be totally honest. I stated all biases and said what I liked and what was good. I did find people very friendly there though. Something else to consider.
My problem with your posts began long before you answered the questions. Your username just kept popping up over and over, with no constructive criticism about the area, just essentially, "I hate it." In order to get real reasons for why you didn't like it -- and thus, were scaring good people away from it -- PaperTrail had to specifically ask you, and even then, your reasons were sketchy at best.
You're even contradicting yourself -- now you're admitting that the people are friendly! Big switch from a city filled with people who don't respect themselves or others. Since you say that there are just as many thugs as rednecks, I'll draw my own conclusion, since I have very rarely seen (or more importantly, heard) thugs in Roanoke. To me, that validates my perception that there are very few thugs and very few disrespectful people. I make a distinction between rednecks and people who don't respect themselves/others: Sure, Roanoke and the surrounding area has its rednecks, and I have no problem with them. But disrespectful people are few and far between.
I lived in the area all my life until six years ago, though not Roanoke specifically. I've visited the area many times in the winter -- yes, recently -- and never came close to having a car door ripped from my hand, although I'll grant you that it's windy. I can't dispute your claim about Orange Ave. because I'm not familiar with that, and I know how the truckers drive, having driven next to and around them quite often myself. Personally, I find that an odd sort of fun/adrenaline rush.
I'd have loved to have lived in Williamsburg, but there were no jobs in my profession. More importantly, since I plan to switch careers, it's too expensive for me, so I wouldn't have been able to afford a nice place to live. Certainly not several acres of land. I've found that the people are a bit pretentious and standoffish as well -- not so much that I'm insulted by them, I think it's just a general lack of warmth from person to person. You called it snobbery; that could be true. However, it's a beautiful place year-round with a nice overall atmosphere. ( <-- that's called constructive criticism)
I wish you well in your life in Williamsburg. I'm glad you're now living somewhere that is more your style.
Maybe I should have been a little clearer. Professionals in Roanoke are nice people to deal with. The general publilc is something completely different, having worked retail while in college. Dealing as a consumer with professionals/businesses was pleasant, but dealing with most everyone else was difficult.
It can be very different living ouside of the city and living in the city. I lived in Blacksburg for 3 years and made a lot of trips into and through Roanoke, and it was completely different living there. Can't say much about the wind except you'd just have to see how it is there now. The people that I refer to as having no respect for themselves are the people you deal with everyday-- whether it's going to the bank and the other people waiting there, in restaurants, etc. I lived in a neighborhood right off of Williamson Road, never felt remotely safe. Literally every night there were multiple police/ambulance sirens to wake us up, and about once a week we could see the lights from out windows, indicating something happened near us every week. Drive down Williamson and judge for yourself if you're scared there. I don't know how specific you want me to be.
I lived in a neighborhood right off of Williamson Road, never felt remotely safe. Literally every night there were multiple police/ambulance sirens to wake us up, and about once a week we could see the lights from out windows, indicating something happened near us every week. Drive down Williamson and judge for yourself if you're scared there. I don't know how specific you want me to be.
GradVT --
Before Ryleigh even gets a chance, I'm going to jump in here to ask you to, yes, be a bit more specific. Williamson Road is the road Hollins University is on, and I've driven on that part of it. It most definitely is NOT scary.
Can narrow down the area you're talking about? Ryleigh and I are driving to Roanoke for a visit next month, and we're going to tool around and look at some parts of the city. Maybe Williamson Road will be one of those places we'll pass by. I'm interested in seeing the good and the bad -- and the part of Williamson I know certainly isn't bad.
Now, it might be a ghetto two miles down the road from Hollins, but there's going to be crummy neighborhoods in most any city in America. A rough neighborhood here and there, I can handle. I wouldn't mind seeing it for myself.
Sure. That area is definitely fine. Go to Brusters Ice Cream, it's pretty good and made fresh each day. The area I'm talking about is the stretch in between the intersections of Williamson/Hershberger and Williamson/Orange. Especially right in the middle of that stretch. Especially at night. People hang out at the gas stations/fast food places and other places on the road. At night, especially on weekends, people who modify their car park them in parking lots, put the hoods up and then drive up and down Williamson. Almost as if they are racing. Even more specific, there's a GoMart gas station and 7-11 right across the steet from each other. A few miles each direction, we'd refuse to drive there. A handful of businesses are all written in spanish and you have no idea what kind of stores they are. We lived, for a short time, in a neighborhood area on a road directly off of Williamson right in that middle stetch between Hershberger/Orange.
It's not like a ghetto, I would never feel comfortable with my wife on that road, and would never take kids or live near there. Several roads that are closer to downtown, like stretches of Campbell are worse off. If you're looking somewhere to possibly live, I'd strongly advise Salem or Roanoke County (as opposed to Roanoke City limits). The areas in Salem and Roanoke Country in the Cave Spring areas are nicer.
I was offered a job in Roanoke and am going down next week to see the area for the first time. Can someone tell me what areas are nice to see to kind of get a flavor of the area? I know some have positive and negative feedback. So I guess I'll take just take whatever I can get, good and bad and keep an open mind. Also, I am a northerner and my wife is Brazilian. Is that area open to non-native Virginians?
Thank you
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Plus, the average temperature in January, the coldest month, is 37 degrees. I truly hope you never decide to move north.
Williamson Road is the road Hollins University is on, and I've driven on that part of it. It most definitely is NOT scary.
