Moving to Roanoke, VA (Hampton, Charlottesville: environment, apartments, job)

[amys80424]

Thanks so much for the info Sean! We will be out in June to visit my family and are going to check out the area. Planning on moving in about a year or so and looking forward to it! Amy

[elvisabeth]

I moved here after receiving a generous offer from one of the area colleges. I'm a faculty professor who left my position at a prestigious 4 year military college in North Georgia to relocate to Roanoke. I am really happy with my decision to move. I consider East Tennessee my home, so I wanted to be close to that area, and it was imperative that I be near the Appy Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway. I ride a vintage motorcycle (as long as it's at least 75 degrees) and backpack extensively.

One of the nicest surprises was having my auto insurance premium drop 2/3rd's what I was paying in Georgia! I don't miss Atlanta a darn bit, especially the traffic. I love the way the roads run over and around Roanoke. It took me only one day to find a terrific apt. in an area known as South Roanoke. It's the entire upstairs of converted home with two screened in porches, hardwood floors through out, nice tile work in the kitchen and bath (claw foot tub, btw) and a wood fire place. Also, off street parking and a garage for my scooter.

Hard to believe I'm already looking for another place once my lease is up, but I love the Grandin Area. It's very snooty where I am....even if I could afford to buy a home in the neighborhood where I'm renting, I could never hold my nose up high enough to live here.

Haven't found my music scene yet (inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, Alternative Country)....but I believe that I will once I have a chance to socialize. My job is all consuming currenly, and I don't get much time to explore. I'm a harmony singing guitar player myself who played banjo in an all girl bluegrass band for a couple of years.

I really enjoy the Fresh Market experience, though I rarely purchase the merchandise (I'm very frugal), and I'm looking forward to the new Ukrops opening soon! I like that I rarely have to venture to Valley View Mall where the congestion is unbearable for me. I find plenty of stores in the Tanglewood area where I can do all my shopping. Let me mention, too, if anyone is reading this that there is a Food Co-Op on Grandin that is great! My heart is with that community.

If I can't find a more affordable apt. in the Grandin Area, maybe I can find a small farmhouse out in a nearby rural area. I want to get a dog as soon as I can.

I have grown very fond of the neon star on the mountain, and the city of Floyd is really cool, too.

[seanpecor]

Hey elvisabeth, there is a nice music scene in Floyd, just head into Cafe Del Sol at lunch and you're bound to bump into musicians. There is a guitar player in town there that toured with Emmylou Harris and alot of the folks who play at the FloydFest have about 1 degree of separation from Cafe Del Sol.

Have you checked out the Green Dolphin Grille on Campbell yet? I have some friends in my dungeons and dragons roleplaying group who also happen to be musicians that hang out there regularly. Some sort of open mic night er something. Another friend (Lex) from the same gaming group is married to a lady named Linda. They moved down from Michigan last year and are interested in finding more kindred spirits. From what I understand Linda has a beautiful singing voice. They live in Christiansburg. She's also a teacher, albeit for developmentally disabled children in Pulaski (?) County.

Oh god I think I just admitted publicly that I play dungeons and dragons. Oh well, I'm also a married father of three, a "dotcom" entrepreneur, a horse farmer and a mad scientist. So there!

Sean

[Stevedawg]

I agree Grandin area is my favorite of roanoke as well. Yeah I think you might won't to go to some jams and stuff in Floyd if you play banjo I kind of think there is more happening there for music than in Roanoke. Glad to hear you like it there.

[Stevedawg]

For people moving to roanoke I have two suggestions of things to do: First take route 11 to from roanoke to christiansburg its a beautiful drive and you may think that you're in the shire from Lord of the Rings, Second take a hike along the Appalachian Trail, there are plenty of stops along Route 11 where you can do this.

[rednblue]

Being middle-aged and not particularly adept at computer use, I'm not sure if I'm using this correctly. Hopefully, I'll get some responses.
Currently, I live in Northwest PA. Although there are things about it I love (family members, a great sate park with a beautiful lake), I find it increasingly hard to take the long (5-6 mos.), snowy (100+") winter, lack of sunshine and depressed economy. I'm thinking of relocating to the Roanoke/Blacksburg area next year after my son graduates from high school.
I know the area will offer the great outdoor opportunities I thrive on, but am wondering about several other things. First, I work for a Community Action Agency and think I'll be able to find something comparable. However, my husband is self-employed in the construction field-specifically, he is a hard surface flooring installer and also used to own his own small flooring retail business. Are there opportunities for someone like him? How are the construction trades doing in these areas? How are the wages? Second, my son is interested in the electrical field and is considering attending the New River Community College. Is this a good choice and is it commutable from an area west of Roanoke? Third, how is the weather? I know you get some snow, but hopefully it doesn't pile up and hang around for 5 months and hopefully it isn't gray most of the time. Fourth, I love live music-progressive rock, jazz, folk, celtic and some bluegrass (I love Bela Fleck) and wonder if there are many opportunities to hear it. Fifth, I'm fairly young minded, sort of middle of the road, but leaning left politically, somewhat spiritual, but not particularly religious and am wondering if I'll fit in somewhere. Any suggestions about a good location would be appreciated. My husband likes privacy and nature in his surroundings, but I don't want to feel isolated. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and respond to this!

[Erin1264]

Judy-

I think you're on the right forum and posting on the correct thread. The Roanoke area will probably fit you well. We have several social service type agencies for you downtown - Council of Community Services (CCC), TAP (Total Action Against Poverty), the United Way and others. Those are just off the top of my head. There is a definite need here. We have refugee resettlement programs, homeless assistance programs and immigrant services programs.

I think you'll find the music scene that you seek - we have a couple Celtic festivals throughout the year, plus live music downtown at different restaurants. The Roanoke and Salem Civic Centers bring in some quality acts as well.

We have a wide range of churches so I think you'd find a place to fit in.

Your husband can definitely find homes with privacy and nature. I don't know about the wages in the construction industry but there is a lot of building going on around here!

Check more into Roanoke, and also the New River Valley. Good luck!

[rednblue]

Originally Posted by Erin1264

Judy-

I think you're on the right forum and posting on the correct thread. The Roanoke area will probably fit you well. We have several social service type agencies for you downtown - Council of Community Services (CCC), TAP (Total Action Against Poverty), the United Way and others. Those are just off the top of my head. There is a definite need here. We have refugee resettlement programs, homeless assistance programs and immigrant services programs.

I think you'll find the music scene that you seek - we have a couple Celtic festivals throughout the year, plus live music downtown at different restaurants. The Roanoke and Salem Civic Centers bring in some quality acts as well.

We have a wide range of churches so I think you'd find a place to fit in.

Your husband can definitely find homes with privacy and nature. I don't know about the wages in the construction industry but there is a lot of building going on around here!

Check more into Roanoke, and also the New River Valley. Good luck!

Thanks for the information, Erin. Do you have any input about the weather?
Also, do you know anything about New River Community College?

[seanpecor]

Hey Judy,

I know lots of folks from PA who live in Blacksburg and in Roanoke. A customer carpenter from PA who has lived in Blacksburg for about 20 years explains it like this. During the first winter he and his wife were in Blacksburg, and not 15 minutes after the first snowfall ended mid-morning, he got out his shovel and cleared out his driveway and walkways. He remembered wondering why nobody else was out there shoveling snow, but kept on until the shoveling was done. Then about three hours later the 4" of fluffy snow in everyone elses' driveway melted

I'll be honest with you. I lived nearly a year in Blacksburg and we've just passed our two year mark living just south of Roanoke. Roanoke and Blacksburg have different climates. If you're a gardener, I'll put it this way. I'm on the warm side of zone 7's transition zone in Boones Mill. Blacksburg is more like a zone 6. Spring will literally spring in Roanoke about 3 weeks earlier than it will in Blacksburg, and winter will arrive in Blacksburg about 3 weeks earlier than in Roanoke. Think Cape Cod type weather when you think of Blacksburg weather. On the other hand, it almost never rises about 89F in Blacksburg. Lots of people in Blacksburg would tell me that they loved the milder summer. I, on the other hand, didn't move south to experience milder summers

Your son might also consider Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. With 9,000+ students and a large campus, I believe they're renaming it to Virginia Western.

If you love music then I also can't strongly recommend Blacksburg. Blacksburg is a college town so the musicians rolling through seem to cater to college kids, which sometimes isn't a bad thing at all but mostly I found myself wanting a bit more variety. In that regard Roanoke shows off really well. Lots of everything, moreso than you'd expect with a metro population of only 300,000.

I've told this to other contractors on these forums before but I think the best area of the Roanoke MSA to concentrate in is Franklin County. As an FC resident I'm of course quite biased But the fact is, Franklin County is the fastest growing area of the Roanoke MSA. There is more flooring work down here than anywhere else in SW and Western Virginia. It's insane. It's largely due to Smith Mountain Lake but the reality is the Roanoke suburbs are currently growing into northern Franklin County so there is alot of contract work to go around. It took our flooring contractor four months to get to our mudroom project and that was during the slow winter season

If I've created more questions than provided answers, feel free to post more questions!

Sean

[rednblue]

Thanks Sean,

Your information was very helpful. I was glad to read the specifics on the weather, since it's a huge factor in my wanting to move. I like the sounds of Blacksburg's summer weather, but the longer winter is a definite turn-off for me.

The information on Virginia Western was also helpful. I spent quite a bit of time looking around their site. It looks like they have quite a bit to offer.

We plan to make a visit this summer. We'll definately check out the work scene in Franklin County-it sounds very promising. My husband has been working in the flooring field for 25+ years and struggles every day to keep something going. Several of our flooring retailers have gone out of business lately and the remainder don't have much going on. It would be great to see him booked weeks or months in advance again!

Thanks again for the information and the offer to respond to future requests. I'm sure I'll come up with many more questions. Judy