Danville, Martinsville, Marion?? (Roanoke, Bristol, South Boston: real estate, houses, employment)

[Jelleigh]

I wasn't sure where to place this so I am posting it on the general VA and the Roanoke one...
Three jobs I'm looking at in the above mentioned areas. We wouldn't like in town since we would be looking for acreage for horses. But we need to seriously consider schools and are concerned about safety issues in general.
Can anyone offer any advice or thoughts on these areas-we've never been to any. Thanks alot.

[540_804]

I don't know much about the three locations (tho I have spent a considerable amount of time in Martinsville and Danville) so I couldn't really help you.

If it matters, the median household income is higher in Danville than the other 3. But that doesn't take into factor any differences in the cost of living.
Danville has a larger population with over 44,000.
Martinsville has about 15,500 and Marion has about 6300.

Martinsville is home to the Martinsville Speedway, if you're into NASCAR

Marion is designated as an official Virginia Main Street Community and National Main Street Community (so those are both signs that its obviously a desirable place to live).

From both Danville and Martinsville one could easily go to Roanoke or Greensboro, NC as a day trip for shopping or just to get into a more urban area for an outing.

I will say, the economy of Martinsville is not doing so well. And I would imagine Danville is in the same boat. Not sure about Marion. If you have a job offer that can almost guarantee job security then that shouldn't be a concern (it may even be a benefit; you can buy houses for an all-time low and the cost of living is decreasing).

[whynot?]

I was born, raised, and graduated from HS in Marion. My mother still lives there. It's a typical small town, if that's what you're looking for, kind of Mayberry but without Andy and Aunt Bea. It's tucked up in the Blue Ridge near some of Virginia's highest elevations, but I-81 runs right beside it, and I-77 is only about 30 miles north, so there's good access for travel.

There seems to be plenty of land/acreage around, but I haven't lived there for decades, so I don't know much about real estate. The schools are safe and IMHO "good." I graduated from the public (only) high school and went on to graduate from a well-respected/ranked university. Many in my class are quite successful, I'd say about half still live in the area, although jobs are ever harder to find.

I've lived in major metropolitan areas pretty much since college, so by those standards, Marion seems quaintly "safe." It was an unlocked door kind of place when I lived there, a little less so now, but people know each other and watch out for each other in a small town way.

I used to have clients in Martinsville, which is also in the mountains, but has a very different "feel" from Marion. Oddly, they had a lot of the same manufacturers until the late 90s (furniture manufacturing and textiles), so both have been challenged by the loss of not just a few jobs, but whole industries.

I'm only marginally familiar with Danville. It's definitely not part of the mountain culture that Marion and Martinsville share, even though it was formerly a major textile hub. It's more flatland, like South Boston -- sort of a portal to Virginia's Southside region. I did rather enjoy this pithy quote from Danville's Wikipedia page, though: "According to everyone who knows anything, Danville is located in the middle of nowhere, although some local residents would like people to think otherwise." (Danville, Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

If you have specific questions about Marion, I'll be glad to try to answer either here or by DM.

[540_804]

Originally Posted by whynot?

I was born, raised, and graduated from HS in Marion. My mother still lives there. It's a typical small town, if that's what you're looking for, kind of Mayberry but without Andy and Aunt Bea. It's tucked up in the Blue Ridge near some of Virginia's highest elevations, but I-81 runs right beside it, and I-77 is only about 30 miles north, so there's good access for travel.

There seems to be plenty of land/acreage around, but I haven't lived there for decades, so I don't know much about real estate. The schools are safe and IMHO "good." I graduated from the public (only) high school and went on to graduate from a well-respected/ranked university. Many in my class are quite successful, I'd say about half still live in the area, although jobs are ever harder to find.

I've lived in major metropolitan areas pretty much since college, so by those standards, Marion seems quaintly "safe." It was an unlocked door kind of place when I lived there, a little less so now, but people know each other and watch out for each other in a small town way.

I used to have clients in Martinsville, which is also in the mountains, but has a very different "feel" from Marion. Oddly, they had a lot of the same manufacturers until the late 90s (furniture manufacturing and textiles), so both have been challenged by the loss of not just a few jobs, but whole industries.

I'm only marginally familiar with Danville. It's definitely not part of the mountain culture that Marion and Martinsville share, even though it was formerly a major textile hub. It's more flatland, like South Boston -- sort of a portal to Virginia's Southside region. I did rather enjoy this pithy quote from Danville's Wikipedia page, though: "According to everyone who knows anything, Danville is located in the middle of nowhere, although some local residents would like people to think otherwise." (Danville, Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

If you have specific questions about Marion, I'll be glad to try to answer either here or by DM.

Yeah that quote on the Danville Wiki page was funny.
Im surprised no one of authority at wikipedia has corrected it.

But as you mentioned..the loss of industry in Martinsville and Danville have been incredible and that would probably be my greatest concern with either location.

[Jelleigh]

Thanks for the info! Looks like another position came up in Norton as well. So we're considering that as well. Any thoughts???

[whynot?]

I have friends who live in Norton, but I've only been there a few times. It's definitely more mountain in terms of culture, not to mention the coal industry which heavily influences business in the region. Even though it's a city (the smallest in Virginia), it's actually even smaller than Marion. And more remote. A 47-mile drive to the nearest larger city, Kingsport, TN, takes over an hour, so you're not looking at any 55- or 65-MPH roads out there. Pretty land, but mountainous and craggy. Don't know anything about the schools, but having coal nearby tends to keep the industrial base fairly stable.

Good luck.

[SRose59]

As a resident of SW Virginia (born and raised) I can tell you that you will find Norton to be a quaint area and very beautiful as far as scenery and nature. We are "coming of age" as the area has a bit more to offer in shopping and other new business related to finding things you need. The area remains "depressed" in employment although the coal mining industry is picking back up to some degree. The areas of Bristol and Abingdon seem to be the best places to move as everyone did a mass exodus out of here and into that area over the past 20 years (I just "retired" back to Big Stone Gap myself recently for the peace and quite). As for Marion, I lived there for two years in the late 90's and other than being rural and the type of place for a nice horse farm I was not impressed. It is pretty far from everything else (Wytheville is a bit bigger and growing and it is 30+ miles to Abingdon and Bristol). The employment status has dropped in Marion in the past few years due to the economy and factories shutting down. I also found the people to be a bit stand-offish and not "warm" to outsiders. (I say this due to the fact that I am a very outgoing person and was employed in the medical field yet made few friends as everyone seemed to know everyone else from the area and only"hang out" with the ones they knew). There is not much I don't know about SW Va. areas as I have lived and worked all around here....so, if I can help you in anyway just give me a "holler".