Observations and Request for Help from an Outsider

[wsn1203]

Hi Dave...
Well wouldn't ya know... It's indeed a small world!
Born and raised in Greenville... but was carted all over "Down East" as a kid with a "Traveling Salesman" for a Dad....Left at 18 for Uncle Sam's Navy...
Still have my Dad there.. and friends...Were you a Pirate?

Finally settled in "Little" Washington back in '85.. stayed until '94.. Was a photojournalist for The Washington Daily News....3 years... Ran a few boatyards too...Divorced, then back to G'ville for 2 more years...
Since then... Triangle (Cary for 12 years) and now the Triad (Yikes!) for the past 2 or so. I still Sail a lot down near Oriental, New Bern and Bath.. Mostly racing.. some cruising..Still Love the water.. Especially "Bluewater" sailing.

Was in "Noke from last Wednesday 'till today...Taking it all in and still looking for work...I've really stepped up efforts to get myself there.. Very probably, Roanoke's going to be "The Last Stop".
Funny ....how a "Sand Lapper" can see his future in the Roanoke Valley isn't it?

[wsn1203]

Thanks New Guy...
Great information and encouragement for me!... Of course your opinion is relevant... and I "Thank You" for taking the time to put it out there.. I was telling Dave that I was in Roanoke for the past 5 days... and it was great...

I HAVE been doing quite a lot of interviewing too...(For the past 6 months..) Most of it positive.. but wasted in places I wasn't sure I wanted to be.. Atlanta, Columbia, SC, Raleigh etc..
But I've finally decided on Roanoke.. it has to be. Too much good there for me to ignore..It says a great deal to me that I can already claim some sort of "bond" with the area and feel that I have so much in common with a place and it's people.

I've had some great experiences of living in some great areas. The Coastal Plain of N.C.; The Triangle (Piedmont) of N.C.; and even The Mid-South (Memphis) for about 10 years.. Even though I still have a great deal of salt water in my veins.. I feel as if Roanoke is the place I need to finally stop.. and I am indeed excited about it.
I suppose J1N's post above says quite a bit about my desire for a life there...
Living Simply.. and enjoying the true joys of life is really what it is all about to me. I feel as if Roanoke is the place I can do that.

I share your view of Roanoke's collision course with a variety of opportunities...
Not a scientific view admittedly... but with my experiences and all I see and hear.. the "Gut Instinct" I have is something I have come to really pay attention to and depend on..

Good Luck to us and our search... It is meant to be...

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by wsn1203

Hi Dave...
Well wouldn't ya know... It's indeed a small world!
Born and raised in Greenville... but was carted all over "Down East" as a kid with a "Traveling Salesman" for a Dad....Left at 18 for Uncle Sam's Navy...
Still have my Dad there.. and friends...Were you a Pirate?

Finally settled in "Little" Washington back in '85.. stayed until '94.. Was a photojournalist for The Washington Daily News....3 years... Ran a few boatyards too...Divorced, then back to G'ville for 2 more years...
Since then... Triangle (Cary for 12 years) and now the Triad (Yikes!) for the past 2 or so. I still Sail a lot down near Oriental, New Bern and Bath.. Mostly racing.. some cruising..Still Love the water.. Especially "Bluewater" sailing.

Was in "Noke from last Wednesday 'till today...Taking it all in and still looking for work...I've really stepped up efforts to get myself there.. Very probably, Roanoke's going to be "The Last Stop".
Funny ....how a "Sand Lapper" can see his future in the Roanoke Valley isn't it?

Ha! Too funny. I knew Brownie Futrell well when I worked in Washington from 1996-97. Great little town. I remember the Dairy Palace, Bill's Hot Dogs...The hurricanes haven't been kind, though. We got flooded in 1996 from Bertha and Fran. I've been to Oriental, New Bern, and Bath many times. I was a Pirate briefly, in grad school, from 1994-96.

I'd say Roanoke is about as far as you can get from racing on the Pamlico Sound! We'll get back to the coast some day. Eastern NC is a great little backwater...so much history.