Moving to Roanoke ASAP!! Help! (Blacksburg, Appalachia: homes, gas, basement) - Virginia (VA) -Roanoke - Salem area - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

sarahrachel · 07-19-2008, 10:23 PM

Yeah, we realized that the Fallon Park house was ridiculously cheap and the neighborhood of course played into that. I was very uneasy about the neighborhood.
I think that we have decided on the Grandin/Raleigh Court area. There are 3-4 houses that we really like and after walking the neighborhood today I can definitely see myself enjoying the parks and being able to walk the neighborhood with my son in his stroller and feel safe.
Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of Wasena Elem, Grandin Court Elem, or Raleigh Court Elem?
Also, I heard there is an AWESOME new library being built with a coffee shop and fireplaces. Does anyone know where this will be? I love libraries!

seanpecor · 07-20-2008, 06:55 AM

My knee jerk reaction is you'll find more kindred souls in Grandin Court Elementary or Raleigh Court.

The library will be build next to or very near the Penn Forest Elementary School. The Penn Forest area in SW County is nice if you haven't already looked into it. Not sure about prices though; strong but humble ranches tend to start in the $170K range over there.

Sean

Diamond Dave · 07-20-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanpecor

My knee jerk reaction is you'll find more kindred souls in Grandin Court Elementary or Raleigh Court.

The library will be build next to or very near the Penn Forest Elementary School. The Penn Forest area in SW County is nice if you haven't already looked into it. Not sure about prices though; strong but humble ranches tend to start in the $170K range over there.

Sean

I agree with Sean. I live in Grandin Court, which is the neighborhood on the PH sides of Brandon and Grandin, extending to Brambleton (and beyond to Colonial, according to the City neighborhood plan...but not really). I think all the Raleigh Court area schools are fine. I vote at Grandin Court and the school is always very clean and quiet, and the teachers are smiling.

P.S. There is a nice tudor home on my street for sale
http://tinyurl.com/56x6z7 (broken link)

I think the owner is eager to sell and would consider any offer!

Penn Forest is sort of the older middle class area of SW County. Lots of nice split-levels that were really in fashion 30 years go

, nice elem. school, nice park behind the school, close to shopping on Brambleton, 419, and Tanglewood, and Cave Spring High School is there, too. You can't go wrong there either, but it doesn't have the same charm as SW Roanoke City.

seanpecor · 07-20-2008, 03:59 PM

Wow, 1,200 square feet. Better get a subscription for Small House Magazine and/or hire a professional organizer from Tokyo

Sean

whynot? · 07-20-2008, 05:33 PM

C'mon, Sean! How much house do people really need? "Less to clean!" my mother would say. And nowadays, "less to heat!"

I lived very comfortably in a 923 s.f. 2BR/1Bath bungalow in Arlington with my partner for years. I'd have to do something with that kitchen, though. I've become spoiled about that.

headnsouth · 07-20-2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Wow, 1,200 square feet. Better get a subscription for Small House Magazine and/or hire a professional organizer from Tokyo

Sean

"Nor need we power or splendor,
wide hall or lordly dome;
The good, the true, the tender--
these form the wealth of home."

~Sarah J. Hale

seanpecor · 07-20-2008, 07:21 PM

I was raised in a 2 bedroom 600 sq ft trailer, but times have changed. Nowadays, professional couples bring their home work with them (read: home office or den), and often someone with one child may have another (3 bedroom), and since we all tend to live far from family and want them to visit we look for an extra bedroom (or an office/den that could double as one). If you don't have kids, or aren't a professional couple, then a 1,200 sq ft house would be plenty, depending on the layout of course. And if you're very well organized and have intelligent storage systems then a family of 4 can live in a 1,200 sq ft house, hence the joke about Small Home Magazine and/or the Tokyo born organizer

The average house hasn't been 1,200 sq ft since 1950. At present it's pushing 2,400 sq ft, which I think is over-sized, much like the average American is lately

It all really depends on lifestyle of course. We run two businesses out of our house, we have two children, and my mother lives with us, and my in-laws visit for months every year, and friends and extended family also stay for months out of the year, and we use our kitchen 3 or 4 times a day. Perhaps that is coloring my perception of a 1,200 sq ft house.

Sean

whynot? · 07-20-2008, 07:26 PM

Oh, I know what you mean! We have piled on the square footage here and have a second home now -- with lots of guests -- and we are running a business from both houses. But the OP is a young family with a toddler. And I do -- occasionally -- wish for and remember a smaller, simpler existence.

sarahrachel · 07-21-2008, 01:51 AM

That's a cute house- definitely needs some updating, but most of them in that price range tend to. I think we might end out being neighbors(ish), Diamond Dave.
We're making an offer on a house tomorrow! I like some aspects of it but it we'd definitely be spending our first month upgrading the kitchen, putting in new carpet, remodeling the bathroom, etc. It's close to Patrick Henry and Towers and that area. Two cute parks nearby (Raleigh Court and I can't remember the other one). Oh- and it's a little under 1400 sq feet. Is that better than 1200, Sean?

Ha ha. The house we just sold was 1100 feet so we're slowly moving up.

Plus the house we're moving into has a very nice big walkout full basement which my husband is hoping to finish (he and his dad finished their basement and it looks great!) as we need more space. Right now we're trying to make ends meet on a H.S. teacher/stay-at-home mom salary so this will do for now. Once I go back to working full time, we'll be able to move up the housing (and square footage) ladder if we need to. That will be a few years down the road. In the mean time, I'm willing to take a smaller house in exchange for lots of quality time with my son. Well, I say that now. We'll see how I feel when baby #2 comes along.

Thanks for all the advice and information! This is such a great forum. I hope it's okay if I frequent it regularly.

seanpecor · 07-21-2008, 06:21 AM

1,400 sq ft is better than 1,200 sq ft because that's at least one more room

Our second to last house was 1,400 and it worked just fine! We didn't have any in-laws living with us back then. Hmmm. Come to think of it, a 1,400 sq ft house is starting to sound even better!

Sean