thinking of relocating to harrisonburg (real estate, rental, daycare)

[roanokemom]

Hello, I am a single mom of 1 looking to relocate to the harrisonburg area. I would like to get some info on rental property, schools(middle school), jobs and the area in general. Also I would like to know if the area is racially diverse, we are african-american I woldn't want to move my daughter to an area that she would feel shunned the move will be hard enough. I currently work in retail/management but would not be against changing jobs for a lot of reasons. Also what about after school programs,daycare for pre-teens.

[Moth]

I doubt IBM or Microsoft have facilities there, but there are two colleges, a Coors brewery and lots of poultry plants. Plus the usual array of restaurants and shops. And I suppose there is always real estate and the jobs that come from that.

As for being African-American, I would think with so many JMU students, the locals long ago grew used to seeing black folks. I was driving around the small towns outside of there last summer. As always, there are a good deal of Mennonites. But I saw several black families working in their yards and nobody seemed to be lining up to chase them out.

Its only ancedotal evidence, I know. Best thing to do is go hang out and feel the vibe. I spent time there as a child and the locals still rank as the most decent, good-hearted people I have ever met.

[roanokemom]

thank you for the onfo

[lammius]

There really aren't many African-Americans in the Harrisonburg area. I think maybe 5% in the city, and probably less in surrounding Rockingham County. Even JMU, a reasonably large university, has always had a surprisingly low African-American student population. I'm not saying you'd face any problems there, or that people wouldn't welcome you (most people seem at least a little friendly there), but be sure you'd be comfortable being in an area where there are not many other African-American people.