Why do so many people on here choose Roanoke? (Lynchburg: home, unemployment rate)

[badger74]

I see the same thing happening in the Lynchburg area. People from away moving in with $$$ and new attitudes blending with the old. And I like the old things. JW sees and old brick warehouse and sees and eyesore. I see an exciting redevelopment project. Boutique Hotel | Craddock Terry | Lynchburg Virginia Hotels The old homes of Lynchburg cannot be duplicated today at any reasonable cost. Solid brick with slate roofs, wet plaster walls, hardwoods throughout would cost at least $300 psf to reproduce but you can buy them for around $100-$150 psf. in good areas. You have the four seasons, the nearby mountains, great healthcare, multiple colleges and reasonable access to the big city.
And one of L's big industries may be poised for even bigger things soon bringing more money into a town that could still use it.

NewsAdvance.com | Nuclear agency to review Areva reactor design (http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354755111&pat h= - broken link)

[ikuout]

We moved to the Chicagoland area.We are finding the locals to very opened minded and welcoming. The Roanoke area we had experience with was Botetourt Co. We lived there close to 10 years and we also experienced the judgemental attitudes you referred to.Our children were discriminated against with regards to sports,because we were not locals. Many of locals protected/ showed favor to their own, even to the detriment of the team.Rules were both broken or manufactured to suit the locals.We lived it firsthand and got fed up. We came to understand phrases, like da-n Yankees, and bless your heart, although spoken with laughter,are NOT terms of endearment. We knew many families that came from other parts of the country who felt as we did. Most moved on as we did, when they were able.We have been welcomed with open hearts as well as open minds here in Illinois.It is like night and day in comparison.

[flwrs314]

You're right, ikuout. Roanokers are very klicish. I have lived in Rocky Mt (Franklin Co) for all of my life before moving to Roanoke. PEople there were just as bad. People will say they will call you and "let's get together", etc., but you never hear from them. The organizations you try to join just don't like newcombers. The pay scale IS NOT comparable to the cost of living. When you consider your mortgate payment to be over 1/3 your takehome pay, then that's sad!! As I said, IF THERE ARE TWO INCOME FAMILIES (not like myself, I am single female, no alimony, child support, welfare, nothing), you can make it, otherwise zilch.

[Teebyrd86]

Its funny because in my experience here so far I have met very nice people. I am amazed at the comments regarding rude locals here. I have met some close friend and they are some of the best friends I have ever had. All of my neighbors (for the most part) wave,smile, and chat with me daily. I even got christmas cards and gifts from them (after only 4 months of living here before christmas). I work in retail, and I have been offered numerous times to come to various church functions or other events (and these are complete strangers!). I was telling one lady (who was a stranger at the time) that I was moving here and currently living in a hotel. She came to me the next day with a list of phone numbers to rentals she had looked up in the paper for me! She even invited me to dinner several times since I was living a hotel and forced to eat fast food(though my co. paid for it!!) My experience with the locals has been a very positive one! The folks here are much friendlier than where I grew up (Richmond). Even fellow co-workers who relocated here from Richmond at the same time, rave about how friendly their neighbors and customers are. Did we just get lucky??

[j1n]

Originally Posted by flwrs314

Roanokers are very klicish. I have lived in Rocky Mt (Franklin Co) for all of my life before moving to Roanoke. PEople there were just as bad.

hey flwrs314...
you mentioned living most of your life in Franklin County, and more recently in Roanoke. You are making statements about folks in the same basic area (Roanoke & Franklin Counties). I guess I'm waiting to hear a comparison. Something like..."I've found the folks in the Roanoke/Franklin area to be way more clique-ish than ________." So where is that place? Where is better?

[seanpecor]

I think the whole friendly/inviting/grouchy/unfriendly labels that people bandy about may just be personality conflicts brought about by chance. Where your house is, and who your neighbors are, and who your colleagues are.... those are all determined by chance. So it's quite possible for someone to have a negative experience in an otherwise great town, no? This universal truth seems to be reflected in virtually every state forum on city-data; in other words, you'll find people making similar complaints about every single state! Every single one! They can't be all bad

The great thing about our country is if we find ourselves in a place that doesn't meet with all of our ideals then we can always move and try again. Eventually we can all find the place that allows us to thrive in ways that truly make us content. Some never uproot and thereby choose the devil that they do know over the devil that they don't. Some uproot and find that the place they thought was relatively bad - was actually relatively good and have regrets. Some uproot and thrive in a new location. Life is messy. No place is perfect. There is no most friendly place. Your most friendly place is not going to be my most friendly place. But I'm not sure it's fair to make blanket statements about an entire region, even though I understand the motivation.

Sean

[aschenputtel]

Teebyrd86, you must live in S. Roanoke, which is the only place in Roanoke that you are going to have that kind of response. Everything that you are saying is indicative of that area and that area alone. You asked about color...when I come back into Roanoke, the first thing that I notice is the drab color. Everything is gray and simply an eyesore. I would love to see some variances in the colors of buildings. We do have Panera, but it certainly stands out because of its color and is not the ordinary.
I am in the medical field and find that the job market is not too bad, but it is the overall area and mentality that bothers me. I disagree with the clique-ish mentality and behavior that is apparent through out the valley and previously mentioned. It is not that I want a bunch of hustle and bustle like one would find in a metropolitan area. I would never live in Richmond. What I am trying to convey is the overall atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, I love the scenery and the proximity to places. Roanoke, itself, is not horrible. I completely agree that the downtown area (along with the rest of Roanoke) looks like it has been developed without a plan! The wastefulness in this valley is outrageous. There are constantly new buildings going up rather than trying to renew old, unused buildings. Look at Slate Hill; it was a beautiful tree covered mountain that has been cleared for what??? No one is going to invest in a company up there because of the traffic flow issues, yet a lot of money has been spent in the process.
I am not trying to move to VA Beach either. I just used it as a comparison because it has a much better layout and atmosphere. It has a true downtown area with all sorts of amenities and has the less developed areas between the downtown and the shore. The people are not as uptight and seem to have a better overall outlook.
I guess it could be the "new money" that was previous addressed. I am more of an "old money" type of person even though I don't see any money coming into Roanoke. I see more of a break down of the middle class rather than "new money". I see more and more people who are trying to borrow everything that they can to try to convince others that they are "new money" when they really are just more in debt. It seems that Roanokers are just a little off the path of reality at times.
It is the overall being of Roanoke that I am unhappy with. I never have the feeling of happiness when I return, regardless of where I have come back. Even after leaving other countries without anywhere near the common amenities found in the rural areas of the US, I find myself dreading coming back to Roanoke to the point of often waiting a few extra days and taking off somewhere in the states for a while before returning (I realize it is postponing the inevitable). I plan on moving to a place that I can be glad to come back to after finishing this program, but still don't understand the draw to Roanoke for those who have a decent amount of exposure to other areas.

[seanpecor]

Dude, Roanoke is a city. It's concrete, steel, brick and asphalt. I've been in cities all over the U.S., in Canada, in the Caribbean, in Europe and so on. There is only so much you can do with building aggregates Much of what I find unattractive with Roanoke is what I find unattractive in every city in the U.S. It was all the strip mall junk built in the 50s and 60s. Take Route 11 for example (yuck). But in my mind most of what is going on south of Route 11 has been developed - in general - thoughtfully and in a sensible way.

If you find other cities more attractive then it would help if you provided those so we can understand what your own particular ideal place is. Not every metro is capable of pleasing everyone. I'm not saying you're wrong about Roanoke. Everyone is entitled to their own aesthetic preference. But if you find it drab, then show me what is _not_ drab in your opinion. Educate us.

As for Slate Hill, you must have not noticed the obscene amount of junk and debris littering Slate Hill prior to the commencement of construction. It's a construction zone right now. Big deal. When it's finished it will offer more shopping and work environment choices for the population growth on the south side of Roanoke. And the environmental argument against developing Slate Hill - in my mind - is outweighed by the environmental benefit of reduced automobile travel for folks on the south side of Roanoke to get their shopping done. And their site plan is quite sensible and will be attractive from an urban standpoint in my opinion:

http://www.yesroanoke.com/sitesbldgs/images/slate%20hill%20conceptual%20plan.jpg (broken link)

I have a different opinion of the city's beauty. Photos help highlight some things I find attractive:







http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/va/photo/cityofroanoke/roamarket.jpg (broken link)

Sean

[PaperTrail]

Re: what aschenputtel said. Just driving down Campbell Avenue on my way to work today, I passed the clean-looking red and white brick Smith Barney building, which has bright blue awnings; the Center in the Square Building with its orange and blue banners; the freshly painted blue and yellow buiding that houses the new bookstore; the new restaurant that has brilliant orange awnings; etc. The downtown is very colorful, and some of the buildings that don't add color, add character: the old National Bank Building is "boring" white, but it is also gorgeous marble with tall beautiful columns. That more than makes up for the lack of color.

And all of that makes the downtown appealing. Yes there are empty storefronts, and that leads to the sole point that aschenputtel made that I do buy into -- which is why the region invests in new construction instead of fixing up/modernizing the old buildings. Some of the old buildings have a lot of uniqueness to them, and I would like to see some businesses in those before more strip-mall sorts of areas are built.

I do think the comparison to the Va. Beach downtown is kind of funny, since that is the most fabricated, phoney downtown I've ever been to. Va. Beach in general is the definition of "sprawl," and I don't think I've met a since Beach resident who says that they're going "downtown" to refer to Town Center. That area seems to be "just another" region of Va. Beach (like Sandbridge or Chick's Beach) rather than an actual downtown. Maybe if the government buildings moved there, I'd see it differently...

[j1n]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

where's that hotdog joint?!