Martinsville VA area info (Roanoke, Blue Ridge: buying a house, unemployment rate, buying)

[profesora]

Hello,

I'm looking for info on Martinsville (potential relocation) and details about the following: schools (especially the HS - I might work there), area in general, what's good/bad about the city/area, good places to consider living. If I relocate I would look at buying a house/TH with at least 1200 sf and 2 BR/BA - hopefully (ideally) some yard and a garage would be nice (price range up to low/mid 150). Any info anyone can provide would be helpful. Thanks for your replies.

[540_804]

The bad side would be the insane unemployment rate but if your relocation is job-related then I'll assume you have a job lined up?

[profesora]

If I move there I'd be teaching at the HS (Spanish). If you can provide more info about the area that would be helpful b/c if I get an offer I would have to decide fairly quickly (like in the next month basically).

[roanoker 4]

Martinsville gets beat up quite often by the press on its unemployment problems, etc. so the image of the area has suffered as of late. Its not much different than the adjacent county of Rockingham NC which also has lost jobs recently in textiles and factory jobs. Personally, I think that area has a lot of potential in landing a major manufacturer when the economy turns around.
The prices of homes there is low, its near a beautiful lake, Smith Mountain Lake, its an hour from Roanoke or Greensboro, 2 hrs to Raleigh. The Blue Ridge Parkway is closeby. If you have a job lined up, why not take it? I would also suggest you visit the region and decide for yourself. The people are very friendly there by the way!