Rocky Mount/Martinsville area

[seanpecor]

I hope your friends in Roanoke are speaking of Martinsville specifically and not Rocky Mount. If they think that people want to get out of Rocky Mount and Franklin County then they're really out of touch. The town of Rocky Mount and Franklin County (of which Rocky Mount is the county seat) is the fastest growing county in the entire Roanoke metro area. Franklin County is a gorgeous area. There is some affordable housing but the reality is that any new construction in Franklin County tends to be $300K or higher, except for patio homes or townhomes that sell in the $180K and higher range. Even a mobile home on a few acres will sell for $100K or higher. That still might be affordable depending on what you're used to, but it is not as affordable as the Martinsville area, which is undergoing a population implosion due to the dearth of jobs.

Sean

[vafiddler]

Eden might be nice for you. Its a small town, but close to Martinsville, Reidsville, and Greensboro. Crime in martinsville is bad, but patchy. I don't know the crime statistics websites but they should be easy to find. If you're leaning towards the Martinsville area, I'd suggest looking in the Chatmoss, Stanleytown, or Figsboro areas. To me, those are the nicest areas. If you want to know the worst crime areas, next time you are in town, pick up one of those free real estate booklets at the grocery store. Look up the addresses of homes under $40,000. That's probably where you want to avoid. Also, I'd highly recommend looking in the Martinsville Bulletin on (I think) Fridays. They have a large back page of one of the sections with advertisements for all the local events of churches and civic groups. Plenty of dances, breakfasts, and small festivals. THat would give you a feel for which areas are healthy enough to have community events.