Family considering a move to Virginia, need some experienced advice! (Roanoke: apartments, rent)

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

Actually, Abingdon is about 2 hours West of Roanoke, but close enough

Come back soon!

Sean

I just saw my mistake....I meant "west" . I'm up there 3 to 4 times each year and bought 10 acres a few years ago over in Scott County near my brother's place. One of these days, I'm going to sell my home here in Charleston and make the big move. The older I get, the less I like this heat and humidity!

I should be coming back up your way in October for the Fall leaves....can't wait! SWVA is truly "God's Country" .

[j1n]

Originally Posted by CivilLibertarian

SC Beaches, thanks for the info! Sounds like there is plenty to do in Roanoke!

j1n,

My Wife really loves farmer's markets so you are really speaking her language! I've heard of Salem from someone else and I heard that it is a very nice, safe town. I'm curious as to it's true population (I don't always trust the stats I find on the web. Some are very outdated). Are there any good apartments available and also, how long of a cummute would there be from Salem to Roanoke? If we are up there for a Sunday I'd be honored to visit your church! I'll let you know as the time approaches and thanks!

Well, she'll be happy to know that there are farmer's markets everywhere here! Salem has it's own as well. Out in the country, where there may not be an "established" spot for a farmer's market, folks often sell from their property (roadside)...honey, produce, etc.
Salem has approx 25,000 residents. Apartments in this area can wind up being an interesting situation. There are complexes, and there are also houses that have been divided up...duplexes, fourplexes, etc. Many of the area apartment complexes can be found here. The split-up house kind are best found by driving neighborhoods and looking for "for rent" signs. Also, keep your eye on the classifieds of the Roanoke Times. The commute from the far (western) edge of Salem to the far (eastern) edge of Roanoke can run anywhere between 25-35 minutes if you drive through town (Orange Ave/Melrose route). Less if you are able to utilize I-81.

[seanpecor]

We're getting overrun with vegetables from our own 20x40' garden! Anyone who visits the horse farm is obligated to leave with produce because we can't keep up. We just tried watermelon this year and obviously over-planted because now we've got about 20 watermelons all coming ripe over the next week! We've had a huge yield this year, the best ever! Squash, green peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, etc.

Sean

[CivilLibertarian]

I having been doing some poking around and I thought I'd throw these out there...

1.) Does Roanoke have a problem with gangs or random violence? And how badly, if at all, has meth use hit the area?

2.) Is crime trending up or down in Roanoke? I see at a competing site (I won't name the competitor of a fine site like this one) they score it a 6 overall on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst) in crime. Salem scored a 2 and Blacksburg a 3 which is right at the national average.

3.) Unrelated, but are their any Junior Colleges in the Roanoke area (Salem & Blacksburg included), if so who are they?

4.) Is general employment hard to come by in Blacksburg and Salem?



THANKS AGAIN!

[j1n]

To answer your first question...
In a word? No. However, Roanoke is still a city, and does have some of the problems a city tends to generate. Absolutely nothing like Tampa, though! As far as crime in Roanoke, I would say that property crime is probably a worse problem than violent crime. And compared to other cities, I'd say even property crime is relatively low.

In Roanoke city, meth use is not really all that obvious. Meth tends to be a "country drug". I've heard there are problems out near Wytheville, but that's way out there. Also, Roanoke has a small homeless population...give or take 100 folks. I've worked serving some of them, and honestly, they seem to be a mostly good group of folks. Poor? Yes. Addicted? Sure. Violent or bad-hearted? No.
General employment may be tougher to come by in Blacksburg because of competition from all the college kids; and in Salem because Salem has the reputation for being sort of clique-ish.

[CivilLibertarian]

Originally Posted by j1n

To answer your first question...
In a word? No. However, Roanoke is still a city, and does have some of the problems a city tends to generate. Absolutely nothing like Tampa, though! As far as crime in Roanoke, I would say that property crime is probably a worse problem than violent crime. And compared to other cities, I'd say even property crime is relatively low.

In Roanoke city, meth use is not really all that obvious. Meth tends to be a "country drug". I've heard there are problems out near Wytheville, but that's way out there. Also, Roanoke has a small homeless population...give or take 100 folks. I've worked serving some of them, and honestly, they seem to be a mostly good group of folks. Poor? Yes. Addicted? Sure. Violent or bad-hearted? No.
General employment may be tougher to come by in Blacksburg because of competition from all the college kids; and in Salem because Salem has the reputation for being sort of clique-ish.

Thanks j1n,

I was pretty sure that Roanoke, regardless of the slightly high crime rating of 6, was still a much safer place than Tampa. Of that I have no doubt. Good to hear about meth being a relatively small issue and I'm aware that there will always be homeless people in every city. Tampa has a rather large homeless population and a simple drive through downtown at night will confirm that to anyone. It's very sad but there are a lot of great churches who try to help them if they'll accept help.

I understand about Blacksburg, makes sense. However, what exactly do you mean about Salem being "clique-ish"? In what ways are they a clique driven city? Do you mean they do not like people from outside Virginia?

You've been very helpful and I thank you greatly!

[j1n]

Originally Posted by CivilLibertarian

I understand about Blacksburg, makes sense. However, what exactly do you mean about Salem being "clique-ish"? In what ways are they a clique driven city? Do you mean they do not like people from outside Virginia?

You've been very helpful and I thank you greatly!

Salem has a reputation for being clique-ish. I've heard (from various folks of various ages and various viewpoints) that unless you are a Salem native, folks just aren't too friendly. I have an acquaintance who attempted to open another of his retail sporting goods stores in Salem. The locals would not patronize the store as he wasn't from town. My best friend in VA lives in Salem. He's a great guy, a professor at Roanoke College...nice family, kids, really open and caring, etc. The neighbors are standoff-ish. It just seems to be a trend there. There's apparently a fierce rivalry between Roanoke and Salem high schools...mostly sports, I suppose. It's just a wierd quirk of the area. Everyone seems to know about it or have some background with it.

[T_Que]

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[T_Que]

Wytheville is the place for your family! It is absolutely great! I moved here in January from Texas and haven’t regretted a minute! The seasons are gorgeous, it’s the first summer in my lifetime I have spent without experiencing 100 degree weather. A “hot” day is mid 90’s. I worked as a Dental Assistant back home and had many offers here; always see something in the paper looking for Dental Receptionist, Insurance Claims and assistants. I went to work for the Town of Wytheville because I enjoy the perks!

I would be happy to send you some brochures on the area and town if you would like. The best thing about Wytheville is its small community feel. There is low crime, small intimate schools that pay close individual attention to the students, including Christian Academies. My 17 year old son is a Senior at Fort Chiswell High School and loves it. I love the staff. There is also George Wythe High School and I have heard nothing but glowing remarks from parents of their students. We also have two little boys, 6 and 11. They never want for anything to do on the weekends! There are various parks and hiking trails, lots of rivers and creeks in the area, Jefferson National Forest, Big Walker Mountain and Lookout (where they have mountain man storytelling and blacksmith demonstrations as well as old fashion candle making and lotion classes, art exhibits right there on the mountain crest! Beautiful! Last week we took the boys to Virginia City’s Gem Mine Cowboy Days.. with western shootout show, everyone dressed in period costumes, authentic jailhouse and great little shops, they also have a sluice mine for the little kids! That’s only about 10-15 minutes from Wytheville and on the way to Big Walker Mountain Lookout, makes for a great CHEAP weekend! There is the fish hatchery, both state owned and Brackens private ponds that are in a backdrop of historical house and building and beautiful rolling hills and ancient trees where even the smallest tyke is guaranteed to catch a trophy fish! There is also a Dinner Theater (Wohlfahrt Haus) which will be showing 7 Brides for 7 Brothers soon.. I am very excited! They have a matinee which is very affordable. There is also a Safari Park which is small, privately owned and truly a gem with the little bus tours, kids LOVE it because they can hand feed Humphrey the Camel, ostriches, Humphrey’s Best Friend the Zebra, goats, monkeys, wallabees, llamas… and everyone is so nice and personable. The fish hatchery is great, the one that is state owned AND the privately owned Brackens where even the littlest guy is guaranteed to catch a fish. They have one festival after another and I cant wait until next year to start all over again! Chautauqua is GREAT fun for the whole family.. a week long festival with food, entertainment (great for families) contests and shows. Then the carnival comes to town.. not like the carnivals we had in Texas.. this one is an entire weekend with some really great rides for both adults and kids. The Heritage Festival is coming up (YAY) and that is a whole week of apple butter making, blacksmithin, weaving.. if they did it back in the “old days” they are going to teach us how to do it today. Everyone dresses in period costumes and are so sweet and considerate. In fact, they had the whole “may-pole” at the festival in May. There is an Indian Village and Museum that has the All Nations Gathering and Pow-Wow.. yep, full head dress dancing contests, rituals, great authentic food.. lots of fun!

The churches are great. We have been attending a young church (under a year old) in Fort Chiswell. I am 35 and I was considered the “old” lady of the group! It is refreshing to see so many teens on fire for Christ! We really enjoy it, it is very inclusive, lots of sharing and fellowship. There are many churches of many denominations and all are welcoming to young families! They also have the Christian Teen Fellowship offered at the school (prior to class and not a school function for clarity, optional!)

The housing is very affordable, we recently purchased a home 12+ acres, 3 bedroom cedar sided cabin with acre pond, creek runs through the property, small guesthouse, rolling hills, covered in hard wood trees, orchard, artesian well, two story.. really great place for 175,000 and they came down from 225,000! Now Is the time to buy if you can. There are some great little houses for rent however and apartments, but very few are listed online. Your best bet is to take a weekend and come on up, get a feel and look around.

Another perk.. the recreation dept.. WOW! It’s the greatest place for families in Southwest Virginia. 6 lane Olympic swimming pool, waterpark with a slide and fountains for the kids, therapy pool, hot tub, basketball courts, racquet ball court, climbing wall, teen center with all the different video games, tvs, computers, air hokey, table tennis, teen fun nights, movie night, weight room, volley ball, team sports like soccer, swim team, softball, tball, baseball, indoor walking track, yoga, dance classes AND child care! All very reasonably priced for families (will send a brochure and price guide if you like as well as a relocation guide) WalMart is here, Lowe’s, Movie Theater, Library (awesome library), Goodys, Old Navy, StarBucks, GameStop, Food City, Food Lion, a golf course, every kind of eatery you can imagine including some AWESOME local flavors like The Log House, Snow House Café and Skeeter Dogs as well as nationwide franchises like Rudy Tuesday, Applebees, Cracker Barrel and Shoney’s. The Kimono Japanese Restaurant with Hibachi Grill and Sushi Bar is wonderful. 1500 Hotel Accommodations are available for visiting family members.

Wytheville is known as “The Crossroads of America” because of its intersection of I81 and I77. Fuel prices stay well below the national average, its down to 3.33 today and diesel is under $4! The key point to its locality is.. not only are you an hour away from the rich offerings of Roanoke, you are also an hour away from Bristol Tennessee in the other direction, an hour south puts you in North Carolina with all of its historical offerings and an hour north you are in West Virginia where bluegrass festivals RULE ! So Wytheville is a centralized locations to many cultures, opportunities and family fun!

Grahamfest is coming up Labor Day weekend.. lots of fun for the whole family, I will be giving the Ghost Mansion Tours in full period costume.. yay! Lots of great music, food and fun, including air jumps for the kids and their very own stage! (three music stages with Confederate RailRoad making an appearance as well as many others) Its a little pricey but is worth it!

http://www.grahamfestusa.com

http://www.visitwytheville.com has a list of events and a little more about the attractions and offerings of the town!

**out of breath but excited about Wytheville**

[eaduke]

[quote=CivilLibertarian;4742731]Oh, and I've got one more silly little sports question so if any of you Virginians know, PLEASE chime in...

I am a fan of the Washington Redskins living in Florida. Obviously, I don't get to see them play very much down here due to regional broadcasting of the Buccaneers, Dolphins, and every so often the Jaguars. One of the little perks of moving to Virginia is that I'll be closer to the Redskins regionally. My question is... Do the Redskins have regional priority for television in Virginia, or more specifically, in the Roanoke/Salem area or am I still going to have to look into aquiring Direct TV???


I think the Redskins are on TV most everywhere in Virginia.I'm not sure in extreme Southern Virginia if the Carolina Panthers are the first choice for football or not.When I lived in Virginia(central VA) it was Redskins country!

By the way I have an uncle that lives in Tampa and my grandma is in New Port Richey and she wishes she never moved from Virginia to Florida.Of course when I go down to visit in February I'm thinking I need to move down where it's warm all the time!