Relocating to the Roanoke area, soon! (Blacksburg, Salem: 2009, best school, tax)

[breeze823]

Hi, just found out this afternoon that my husband is getting relocated to the Roanoke area, probably by the end of June. We live in Georgia and have 4 school aged children.
I want to live somewhere rural and have land. We have a horse and dogs and want to add!
But also need great schools. What towns should I look for? Thanks Bythe way, I have kids in elem school, middle and high school..thanks!

And also sports? Are there towns with good sports programs? My boys love football and play that here. Thanks again!

[j1n]

Do some reading back through the threads here in the Roanoke sub-forum, and likely most of your questions will be answered. Hope ya like it here!

[Erin1264]

We were also looking for some land when we moved 2 years ago. We settled for .9 acres because we just have 2 housecats and our lot is flat enough for a garden.

Personally, I'd advise looking in Botetourt County (North of the city). In some areas, you will still have a Roanoke address. We live just over the Roanoke County line, and fairly close to the airport which is essential for DH's job.

Don't go too far out if you will be commuting to Roanoke for work (you know how gas prices are!) Fincastle is lovely and rural and well worth some research.

We also liked the Catawba area of Roanoke County (also north of the city). Along Catawba Rd. and Blacksburg Rd are nice areas if you want land. Pretty views too.

Roanoke County schools are very good in general. Salem schools are excellent, though finding some land there may be more challenging. Botetourt schools are good too.

I would say it depends on the location of your husband's job. Make your commute as manageable as possible in terms of mileage. Traffic usually isn't a problem.

There are areas in Franklin County that are rural and nice, though I don't have a clue about the schools!

[breeze823]

Thank you Erin and J1n! I appreciate your help! I've heard nothing but great things about the area so I'm getting excited. My husband is flying up on Sunday to have a look around I'll put these locations on his list to see!

[seanpecor]

Franklin County schools, judging by county-wide SOL results, perform as well as the best school systems in the entire metro area. In fact, the elementary school SOL results are arguably the best in the entire metro. I'm not a huge fan of SOL statistics, but it has its uses in this context. I suspect that their performance is an improvement over the past decade or so, as the county itself grows, the tax base balloons, and more money is available to invest in education. For example, if you look at the tentative 2008-2009 school budgets, Franklin County invests as much as does Botetourt County, both of which significantly outspend Roanoke County.

Erin is on the money; I think it depends on where your husband will be working. I think if you were going to tell me that your husband will be working in SW City (Carilion, etc) then I would recommend concentrating in Franklin County or even in the southern section of Roanoke County. The reason is commute distance and time. From Carilion you can be into the country in 8 miles heading south. But up to Botetourt you're looking at a minimum of 16 miles. On the other hand, if he's working in the Cloverdale area then rural Botetourt County gets alot closer. Or, if he's working at GE in/near Salem then the Catawba area in northern Roanoke County starts looking pretty good. You'll find horse people everywhere in the rural outskirts of the metro. We live in the Boones Mill zip code, in Franklin County, and own a horse farm here.

Insofar as rural school sports programs go, Franklin County does pretty well. In the '06/'07 school year seniors walked away with over two million dollars in scholarships. The 2,300+ student high school participates in 21 varsity level sports. They have a 6,000 seat stadium, three gymnasiums and a 1,600m track.

Sean

[breeze823]

Thank you Sean for all the great info!

I just got the address where he'll be working, it's on Gander Way. Can anyone tell me how far of a commute that would be to Boteourt Co? What part of Roanoke is Gander located?
Thanks again

[j1n]

Gander's up off of Williamson and Plantation...right by I-81. Pretty easy to get anywhere from there.

[seanpecor]

Yeah, that's at or near the new Gander Mountain. You could throw a stone and it would lane in Botetourt County. Or Craig County for that matter. Explore both counties!

Sean

[breeze823]

Thanks again j1 and Sean! I'm obsessed with all this searching!

[Erin1264]

Yes, look North of Roanoke in Botetourt and Craig Counties, or Northern Roanoke County.

Franklin County would be in the wrong direction as your husband would have to travel all the way across Roanoke to get to work.