Radford, VA - the real poop please (Roanoke, Blacksburg: houses, movie theater)

[DWKelley]

I am investigating a job opportunity in Radford, VA - approx 30 miles from Blacksburg. Briefly, we are a family of four, both parents are professionals, 2 young daughters & seek a small-ish sized metro-area that is safe to raise children, but embraces diversity & is tolerant of others. Typically, anecdotally, we have found this to be true in cities/towns with a significant university. Even though VaTech is a few miles away, our hope is that this more liberal posture has infused itself into the surrounding areas.

It would be sincerely appreciated if folks who live in this area or are familiar with this area would comment on "life" in Radford, esp in context of my description above.

Thanks in advance!


Dave

[richmondpics]

Radford University is a big party school.

[DWKelley]

Originally Posted by richmondpics

Radford University is a big party school.

Thank you...that's helpful. As a 42y/o dude, were I to attend a Radford U party, they'd think someone's Dad had come to pick them up! LOL!!!!

[seanpecor]

Hey Dave,

Radford is a safe town for kids. Under it's skin though, it's certainly more conservative than Blacksburg. Last year the gay and lesbian kids at RU staged a large protest to bring attention to their perceived lack of tolerance within the school community. However, I think it would be a great place to raise children provided you could tolerate being hours from major cultural venues, etc.

Unless you opted to live a bit west of Radford then Blacksburg isn't 30 miles away. The heart of both towns are a 23 mile drive from eachother. And furthermore the heart of the Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford metro statistical area is Christiansburg. It's about 12 miles away via I-81 and that's where the huge shopping centers are (all the box stores, Shelor Motor Mile etc).

Radford's beautiful natural setting on the New River is a big plus!

Sean

[sharpeyes]

Hi Dave,

The town is both blue and white collar, which appeals to me more than a town that is all one or the other. Waking and biking trails along the river, with parks in abundance make it easy to have family fun close to home. The public library is really friendly and the RU library is right there too. Our realtor estimated that half the people were very welcoming to newcomers, and the other half seemed to prefered to associate with people from the local area. I've lived in places with a lot worse odds than that!

I sent you a personal message with some other observations. Best wishes as you make your decision.

Sharpeyes

[EricD]

One nice thing in Radford is all the nice old turn-of-the -century houses. My wife went to Radford University. The area is nice, but it seemed like everything East of the downtown was all college kids, and west of downtown was the locals. If you can grab one of those old houses, and fix it up... man, that would be my dream right there,

But don't rule out living in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, or even Roanoke. Traffic isn't that bad down there. (Well, I'm used to northern VA traffic), you just have to think about the icey/snowey winter. (Which for being in the mountains, isn't that bad in my opinion)

Good luck

[roanoke_expert]

If you're looking for a more vibrant and progressive area to live in you might want to try Blacksburg. I really don't think you'd be happy living in Radford. It's pretty conservative and backwards as much of Southwest Virginia is. Blacksburg is much larger, but more expensive to live in. You could probably find a decent 3-4br home for $250,000 which is definitely not bad. And Radford's not 30 min to Blacksburg it's more like 15-20...very very driveable.

[spark240]

The best thing about Radford is the classy main street movie theater, which I believe is the very last old-fashioned, independent, downtown, single-screen theater showing first-release films in southwest Virginia. The owner is also the ticket seller and the popcorn popper. Decent ticket prices and real butter!

[kiwimike]

Hi Dave I am currently 44 years old. We moved to radford in 2001 with my wife and my three young children. We lived for a year in Roanoke and 5 years in Burlington, VT prior to that. The politics here is a lot different from VT, but Radford city is more democrat and the surrounding counties more republican. The climate is amazing with lots of sunshine hours, the New River is beautiful,the area has lots of outdoor recreation. If you are looking for a safe, friendly place with a low cost of living look no further. If you like to take your kids to restaurants with a lot of students discussing who they scored last night or how wasted they got, socialize in downtown Blacksburg. We like the option of cheaper housing and more family friendly living in Radford with a 20 min drive to Blacksburg and the Mall in Christiansburg. I am currently building a 27 mile mountain biking trail on City property (250acres), the kids happily play safely in our neighbourhood, the schools are good, no traffic, I can ride my bike to work and RU puts on plays, ballets and provides a large faculty of professional people. Yes there is a variety of types of people living here but also an increasing diversity of people from all over the world... Good luck!

[seanpecor]

Hey KiwiMike, I grew up in Burlington, spent 6 years in Orwell, VT before heading to Blacksburg for a year, and finally settling in 2005 in Boones Mill, just south of Roanoke.

I completely concur with your thoughts on downtown Blacksburg But I think I have to question the democratic leanings of Radford. Looking at voting results it seems Radford City is pretty 50/50 when you're looking at voting on clear Rep/Dem issues. Not that 50/50 is a bad thing, as long as most Reps and Dems are moderates.

Sean