Smith Mountain Lake Area (Roanoke, Franklin: neighborhood, buy, best school)

[JRR7127]

Hello all,

My wife and I were just on vacation and were looking for areas to relocate to and visited the Smith Mountain Lake area and we really liked what we saw. Here's our situation: I'm a NYC firefighter who can retire in 3 1/2 years and my wife is an occupational therapist. Our children are 11 and 10, so if we were to move when I retire ( at least from the FDNY), my children would be starting high school. We presently live on the North Fork of Long Island which is somewhat rural. Our school district is good and we want to move to an area with good schools. What town/towns around the lake have the best school district. We spoke to a realtor and he indicated we should look in Franklin county. We've looked at the school report cards but they don't always give a true picture of how good a school really is. Any information would be much appreciated. Have a great day. John

[seanpecor]

Hey John, I live in Boones Mill, Franklin County. The Franklin County high school is a well regarded public school in Rocky Mount. Are you thinking of getting lakefront property? If so, for the sake of your kids I'd recommend trying to get something that would minimize your kids' commute into Rocky Mount. I know some kids on the far end of the lake can sit on the bus for close to an hour - one way! I've got many friends on the lake and they enjoy it, although most are older w/ children full grown.

In any case I think you'd love the lake and Franklin County is (in my mind) the best side to settle on. Lower taxes, better rural schools, more state and national parks, and the benefits of being closer to Roanoke. It's a great place to live and we're very happy to have found this area; I'm an internet business developer and we could have settled anywhere, and I've no regrets about settling here. So much to do - and to take part in - and so little of the metro hassles to deal with.

We've got two young girls and they attend North Cross, a private K12 school in Roanoke, about 25 minutes from us. If you wanted the best area education it's hard to beat North Cross ($9K/year for North Cross for a high school age child). I'm not sure how close you could get to North Cross and still on the lake though.

If you do opt for the lake I'd buy yesterday. Otherwise the lot you see for $400,000 today will be over $625,000 in 2.5 years. SML is one of the hottest pockets of growth in the entire state.

If you have any other questions just ask, if I don't know the answer I can ask around!

Sean

[Ryleigh]

Hi John!

Smith Mountain Lake is a great place, as long as you're ok with the development that's going on. It's pretty out of control!

As for the schools, I have heard from my father, who has lived there for the past 20+ years, that Franklin County schools are awesome. Keep in mind, though, that as of right now, there is only ONE high school for the entire county. That may change in the next few years, but just keep it in mind for the time being that if it's not built by the time your kids need it, they could be riding a bus forEVER. As in, a couple of hours every day.

The northern side of the lake is Bedford County. I do not know how good the schools are in that county, but the town of Bedford isn't far from the lake, so there would be less of a commute for the kids there.

Hope I helped somewhat!

[dtrowbridge]

We just relocated to Smith Mtn Lake, with a teenage son. I researched the area schools for many lake communities, and Franklin Co., VA was the best rated. The high school is in the top 10 for Virginia in SOL scores (our state test). Yes, there is only 1 high school for the county, but that provides a lot of extra services that smaller schools do not have. My son will be a 10th grader when school starts. He has already joined the football team, and was warmly welcomed by the coaches and the players this summer. The community offers a lot of activities for students, compared to the other lake towns we visited which were predominantly retirees. Our neighborhood (on the lake) has a lot of kids and permanent residents. We moved here from Northern Virginia, which has great public schools, so school choice was at the top of the list of considerations.
I too am an occupational therapist, and see a lot of job opportunities here on the Franklin side of the lake.

[murrayboxer]

DTROWBRIDGE - DO YOU MIND IF I ASK WHICH SUBDIVISION YOU LIVE IN. WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO POSSIBLY MOVE TO SML NEXT YEAR WHEN WE RETIRE FROM THE MILITARY. WE HAVE ONE 8-YEAR-OLD SON. WE WANT TO LIVE ON THE LAKE IN A SUBDIVISION WITH MOSTLY FULL-TIMERS AND KIDS IN THE BEST SCHOOL DISTRICT!! THANKS!!! PS. If you do not feel comfortable posting the name of your subdivision, let me know, and I will provide you with my email address.

[zugor]

murrayboxer - since the person your are asking questions of only posted once and that was 4 years ago you are not likely to get an answer.

Might want to checkout this blog post by Doug Thompson in Blue Ridge Muse:

Harsh, economic realities at Smith Mountain Lake | Blue Ridge Muse