Roanoke or Blacksburg (2009, high school, living in)

[VAQuestions]

How church-oriented is Roanoke compared to Blacksburg? My S.O. and I don't attend church (not that we have a problem with people that do) and would like to move to a community where social contacts aren't primarily made through church. We used to live somewhere where most people had grown up together (it wasn't uncommon for people in their 30s to be hanging out with friends they made in high school) and it was extremely hard to meet people unless you attended church.

Thanks!!

[seanpecor]

Meeting kindred spirits in general will be somewhat easier in Roanoke on the basis that there are simply more people living in the Roanoke metro. There may be exceptions though depending on how you like to spend your free time.

My experience as a non-churchgoing person is that if you have school-age children then you may end up making most of your friends through the school's social network.

If you love the outdoors, both places are great options, but there is a huge and growing social network for outdoor activities you can tap into through the Roanoke Outdoors group on Facebook. Just search for "roanoke outdoors" on FB.

We have kids and just joined Kids in the Valley Adventuring, which is a great group. A bunch of parents and kids spent yesterday afternoon at Thrasher Park. We met some new folks, and the kids had fun!

KIVA Gallery! - Play Day - Thrasher Park - Jun. 14th, 2009/ D7X4651-2

Sean

[VAQuestions]

Thanks for the advice and great pics! We don't have kids (yet anyway) and enjoy hiking, running, cycling, etc. I noticed both places have running and cycling clubs too. We are really on the fence. Lots of pluses and minuses for both towns.