Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi everyone! I have stumbled upon Floyd and it seems to have a lot of the qualities we're looking for in a town! I do have a few questions though, as it is more rural than we are used to.
What is there in the way of grocery stores? I see there is a health food store too. How about medical care? Pediatricians? What do people do for these things? We much prefer to shop local, but is there a Target or anything like that around?
We would initially like to rent, but I have not found many rentals online. Is it hard to find a nice, safe apartment to rent? Are there any tiny houses, or yurts to rent?
Are there lots of young families? Is there a park in town? Did they ever build the bike path I've read about?
How is the snow in winter? Is it a lot to drive in?
Groceries - Food Lizard, er... i mean Lion
Carilion has some sort of an outpost there for medical. I am sure there are pediatricians close.
I'm pretty sure Floyd is the type of place to that would revolt against any big box stores. Might need to go to Radford or Christiansburg for bigger box stores.
Probably need to contact a local realtor and/or visit and drive the area to find rentals.
Biking... http://www.traillink.com/city/floyd-va-trails.aspx
Definitely there is snow in winter. It will vary year to year, but yes...VA gets snow and cold weather.
Bears and mountain lions...yes. But if you were to actually see one of them it would likely be a black bear.
The closest Target is in Christiansburg. As j1n mentioned, there's a Food Lion in Floyd. Harvest Moon is probably the natural food store you noticed. There's a Carilion Family Medical Clinic in Floyd. My boyfriend had his flu shot there yesterday.
I'm not aware of apartments there. I don't know that much about Floyd, but my boyfriend grew up in Floyd County and works in Floyd now, so I can ask him your questions later on. He commutes daily from Christiansburg to Floyd. If you haven't visited, you could wander around town to talk with some locals who can answer your questions. Go hang out at the Country Store.
Thanks guys, this really helps! Yeah, j1n I saw the clinic thing. I'm hoping someone who lives in Floyd can chime in…If anyone is on here. I'm curious what people do if there is an emergency, which hopefully there never is! The clinic is mostly for regular appointments, right?
CapsChick, that'd be great if you could ask him and get his 2 cents on this stuff! I would think most people would be commuting the other way around, so that's a good sign, there must be some jobs there!
Hi everyone! I have stumbled upon Floyd and it seems to have a lot of the qualities we're looking for in a town! I do have a few questions though, as it is more rural than we are used to.
What is there in the way of grocery stores? I see there is a health food store too. How about medical care? Pediatricians? What do people do for these things? We much prefer to shop local, but is there a Target or anything like that around?
We would initially like to rent, but I have not found many rentals online. Is it hard to find a nice, safe apartment to rent? Are there any tiny houses, or yurts to rent?
Are there lots of young families? Is there a park in town? Did they ever build the bike path I've read about?
How is the snow in winter? Is it a lot to drive in?
Are there bears or mountain lions? Eek!
Thank you so much for the help!
There are 2 grocery stores, Food Lion and Slaughter's which is part of a small chain (Galaxy)
Harvest Moon is a good health food store. You can find almost all the big box stores (Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes', Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, Big Lots, Tractor Supply, Petsmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Ross, Michaels Craft store, in Christiansburg which is 22 miles north from the traffic light in Floyd.
Several medical practitioners for basic care, couple of dentists, two eye doctors, several veterinarians (I highly recommend Animal Care Clinic of Floyd). Hospitals - one in Blacksburg, one in Radford and many in Roanoke. Life-flight helicopter for critical emergencies but it will cost you more than a grand. One tiny humane society desperately in need of members/volunteers (hint, hint). The county pound has room for 12 dogs, does not take cats at all. Lots of back yard breeders.
One thrift store, one hardware store in town with another bigger one a few miles north of town (Wills Ridge Lumber) and a couple of farm supply stores - C.W. Harmons halfway between Floyd and Willis and Ingrams heading toward Check. One laundromat, now open 24/7. Citizens Co-op Phone company for phone, cell phone, high speed internet and cable. White pages of the phone book are 32 pages and the yellow pages run 92. Cell service can be fine or almost non-existent, depending on your location. Several banks, a few used car places, two gas stations in town and a few more along Rte 221.
Hardee's and Subway are the two big fast food places but there is also a Pizza Inn which is part of a small chain. Several other restaurants, El Charro - Mexican, Michaels - Italian, Blue ridge Restaurant - down home cookin', Oddfella's Cantina - high end but very good, also has a tapas bar upstairs, DJ's Drive-In. There are 2 dollar stores, a few places to by clothing including Green Label Organics, a coffee roaster, open air farmers market from May to October, one pharmacy, Blackwater Loft for lattes, a restaurant upstairs from the Harvest Moon and it's changed hands several times so I can't recall the current name, Dogtown Road House (pizza), beer, wine. The Pine Tavern on the outskirts of town, rather limited menu but good now and again. Rays' Tavern and restaurant. Several good bakeries. NO Chinese or Indian or Thai food. One hand made ice cream store. One very tiny book store with some new, some used stuff.
Blue Ridge Manor Apartments on Christainsburg Pike - 1 Bedroom - $398, 2 Bedroom $430. Other than that I don't know, probably best to contact a local agent and I think that a lot of places just get advertised by signs posted at a few locations around town that have bulletin boards. If you live in town you've got town water and garbage but in the rest of the county you haul your own to the dumpsters called "green bins". Well or spring box and septic outside of town limits. Limited recycling of paper, cardboard, No 1 and 2 plastics only, clear glass only. About half the roads are not paved, just graded and graveled but they are usually kept in good shape.
One post office in Floyd, one in Willis and I think one in Check. Several banks and a couple of good auto repair shops. Four elementary schools K-8 and one high school. There is also an alternative pre-school, school and now a high school too that just opened this year. I'm told the schools are all very good. Several other child care places. Once a month the DMV sends a mobile unit to town so you don't have to go to C-burg if you remember the one day a month. Town Council and a County Board of Supervisors. A few attorneys and tax prep places, one is a CPA. All volunteer fire department and rescue squad with several stations around the county. There is a small park right in town and they hold concerts there but it does not have any play equipment for kids but several of the larger churches do and as far as I can tell anyone can use them. There is also a sports field but I've never been to it. I think the FFA or 4-H holds some functions there. The hiking/biking trail project is still a work in progress. The weekly newspaper, published each Thursday has two sections and runs a total of 24 pages. The school lunch menu for the week can be found in it. The library is part of a regional system and so you can get books from 3 other places as well as ebooks.
A big fabric store and a quilting quild which hosts and annual quilt show in conjunction with the Annual Arts and Crafts Fair held each October. Lots of local, hand made stuff. Churches, more churches, more churches but the community is not one where you have to be an active member to have any friends or social life. Lots and lots of free range cattle, sheep, chickens and several certified organic places that sell meat in bulk as well as retail. A garden center/nursery that's pretty good. Contractors of various trades - yes, handy man/honey do services - no. Several wholesale nurseries that specialize in Christmas trees and logging is still a fair sized industry here so you'll see plenty of logging trucks.
Lots and lots of live music, some of it free, much of it very cheap. Mostly bluegrass, old time, gospel and Americana stuff. Every other summer the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra director runs a week long program of classical with young musicians coming from around the country to study and play concerts. And of course, each July - Floydfest, (also affectionately known as Mudfest since they always get at least one good day of heavy rain) 5 days of music and camping with about 10,000 people coming from around the country.
Winter and snow - well I retired here 8 years ago after living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 32 years so it was a change for me even though I'd grown up in NY and dealt with snow there as a kid and young adult. Main and secondary roads are well plowed but some of the far back roads may have a bit of a wait, especially if a storm has taken down trees. Last year we got one hellacious blizzard that dumped over two feet in most locations but that's not typical. Most of the time it's just a couple of inches and there are rarely back to back to back storms. On some snow days school may be on a two hour delay in the morning or an early release if the snow is coming later in the day. Overnight low temps drop below freezing for about 180 days each year but temps do rise during the day. A house with a heat pump and no alternative back up system (propane) can be costly to keep warm. Many homes have wood burning fireplaces and/or pellet stoves. There is no natural gas available here (and the plan to put a 42" pipeline through Floyd County has been defeated), so most appliances are electric, a few folks do have propane ones. Kevin Myatt writes a weather blog for the Roanoke Times and you can find it here:
Wildlife - the main big critters are deer and there are plenty of them as well as lots of folks who hunt them. Around here people don't talk about IF you hit a deer, they talk about WHEN you hit one. The roads are often littered with squished little critters but the hawks and crows clean that up quickly. Several friends who live further back in the woods so see bear on their properties. I've seen foxes out in my pasture and very rarely a bobcat but never a mountain lion. Now and again you'll be driving down the road and a bunch of cows have decided that the grass really is greener on the other side and have busted down the fence. When that happens most everyone just stops and helps the farmer (and often his dogs) to get them herded back into the pasture and then everyone gets in their vehicles and goes on about their business.
OK past time to feed my dogs so I'll stop for now.
ps: I do not work for the chamber of commerce.
If you haven't already check out Fred First's blog about living here:
If you’re thinking I’m out in the sticks, here’s the flip side of that:
I’m 6 miles from downtown, but because there’s no traffic it only takes me 8 minutes to get there. I can sometimes ride to town without seeing another car but if I do see one, it’s customary to wave, even if you don’t know who it is.
Doug Thompson, who writes for the Floyd Press and also blogs about many things happening around the county, covers the school sports teams as a photographer:
I guess I should also mention that I've seen a few bumper stickers around that say:
Floyd, It was great while it lasted. I think that it's still a pretty good place to call home.
One bit of semi-interesting info - All the surface water in Floyd originates here, none of it flows in to the county from anywhere else. The county straddles the eastern continental divide so on the western side of the county water that flows out eventually ends up in the Gulf of Mexico while water from creeks and streams on the eastern side ultimately flows out to the Atlantic Ocean.
I have no idea how far you'd have to travel to find a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods but about once every three or four months I trek 90 miles down the mountain to the Costco in Winston-Salem and stock up on lots of basics like food for the dogs and cats, coffee, toilet paper, etc. Did that yesterday and brought back an Suburban loaded to the headliner.
I love springtime here when out in the pastures you can enjoy watching the young calves and lambs frolicking and gamboling about like a bunch of big puppies. Or when the horses take to running full out across the fields when winter is over and they appear to be so happy, racing back and forth just for the fun of it. Autumn color can also be wonderful here, with every possible color to be seen, all of it against a background of the various evergreens. Just looked at the the long range forecast from Accuweather and the first mention of snow they have is for Thursday, Nov 27, Thanksgiving day. According to the website Dave's Garden we can expect around 153 frost free days each year.
If you have dog(s) who are thunder phobic they will have a hard time of it, we get many an afternoon and evening thunderstorm in summer, some of them quite spectacular.
If you hunt the Willis Village Market has a meat processing facility and you can get your deer sliced and diced there. Not unusual during the season to pull up to their gas pumps and and see a big buck in the back of someone's pick-up with half a dozen folks standing around admiring it and chatting about hunting. I think it is a donation station for Hunters for the Hungry.
You don't have to pay for your gas first and then pump, something that was so surprising to me after I first got here from CA. Some places don't take credit/debit cards but they will take your local check. Not unusual to see someone in a restaurant pay that way.
You can enjoy many a pancake breakfast or spaghetti supper since there are lots of little fund raisers for all sorts of things, often times to help some family with an ailing child who has astronomical medical bills. Plenty! is a local organization that helps bring fresh produce to local families in need:
On Friday evenings in the summer it can take 3 or 4 cycles of the traffic light to get through the intersection since the music scene at the Country Store is just a short walk from the light and there are also plenty of street musicians set up outside around the sitting areas and the street is full of people enjoying the music.
WOW. I think that may be the most thorough post on this site! Thank you very much, Zugor! I mean,you really covered it!
Would you mind me asking why you chose Floyd to retire in? It's all the way across the country, so just curious.
Floyd seems pretty magical. Do you guys feel like it is a bit undiscovered still?
Last question...In my Internet searches about Floyd I stumbled upon a few posts about meth/drugs being an issue. Could I get you all's 2 cents on this? Crime seems pretty non-existent, but I have to ask.
zugor, have you tried Fat Spoon Cafe? I had lunch there last Friday.
I have not yet. Seems like I'm in the area half an hour before they open or they are open but I have a bunch of groceries that need to get home to the fridge/freezer or I have a dog with me coming from the vet or I just ate before I left home or I grabbed a burrito to go from Oddfellas for lunch or........
I'll have to see if some friends want to go and then we'll PLAN it.
What did you have? Was it good, would you recommend it?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
