Relocate from Montgomery County MD to Blacksburg, VA--Any jobs? (Roanoke: apartment, wages)

[bargainmom]

We are SICK SICK SICK of the traffic and stress of the DC area! If I had my way I'd move to Knoxville TN or Asheville, NC--but not sure if we could find jobs! My husband has only a Bachelor's degree in Computer Networking and about 2 years experience as a Help Desk Analyst. The pay where he is now is good, but his commute is about 1 hour each way. Also the housing here in insane. I am sick of being crowded and stressed and the road rage here. I'd like a bit slower pace living, cleaner air, less traffic and less illegal immigrants.

[ashbrn4]

You could try VA Tech. Have you ever been there or did you just pick it because of location? Remember, Blacksburg is a college town and with that comes the traffic of sporting events, graduation, moving day and weekend student activities (parties, etc). Just beware, the grass is not always greener.

[williamsburgfan]

why this particular town? it is nice - but if you don;t have a job I would not move anywhere until you do. Get the job first, then move. Plenty of nice areas - it will take work, time and effort and pay off in the long run

[seanpecor]

Bargainmom, does he have any job leads in the Blacksburg area? There is help desk work available at small and large companies in the Blacksburg area, a town which is flush with I.T. jobs despite it's small size. We lived in Blacksburg for almost a year before buying a horse farm south of Roanoke, which is another place I'd highly recommend. But since you asked about Blacksburg, it's definitely a gem of a town with regard to white collar jobs. When Montgomery County and Blacksburg are combined, the percentage of white collar jobs is something like 62%, about double the going average. In Tech's corporate research park alone there are something like 125 employers employing around 1,900 people in a variety of I.T. and biotech fields. ViTech is one company that comes to mind.

Sean

[SmerkyGrl]

If its a slower pace of life, less traffic, and friendly people you are looking for, Blacksburg is definitely the place to be. Like others have said, the looks of a small town may be deceiving because there are plenty of IT jobs around here. Try www.webmail.us. They hire many Tech grads and I'm sure if you've already had experience in the IT field, they'd want you even more. I'd also try the Roanoke Times (jobs.roanoke.com) for job leads. While it is true the wages here are a tad lower than in DC, the living expenses are immensely lower as well. My boyfriend has an apartment here that is about 450 a month!

If you're looking for a slightly less radical change, I'd try the Roanoke area. Its a city, yes, but its definitely green and clean and full of southern hospitality.

Best of luck!

[bargainmom]

WOW THANK YOU for the great information! Also un-PC, I would like to live in a place with less racial tensions. I find that the DC area really pits the races against each other, perhaps due to the constant stress and rat race survival instinct. People are just nasty to each other and as many have mentioned the illegal immigration is really putting a squeeze on all social services--taxes are sky high and ever higher. How are race relations in Roanoke? Are people friendlier?

[ashbrn4]

Originally Posted by bargainmom

WOW THANK YOU for the great information! Also un-PC, I would like to live in a place with less racial tensions. I find that the DC area really pits the races against each other, perhaps due to the constant stress and rat race survival instinct. People are just nasty to each other and as many have mentioned the illegal immigration is really putting a squeeze on all social services--taxes are sky high and ever higher. How are race relations in Roanoke? Are people friendlier?

Where exactly are you talking about? I think the media portrays racial tension in such a way to make it seem horrible. I see none of that here in Ashbun, if anything, there's such diversity that very few seem to pay any attention at all. I hate to tell you, but the farther out in the "country" you go,the more bigotry you will see. You seem to have a rather large chip on your shoulder. Running away will not fix that.

[SmerkyGrl]

Originally Posted by bargainmom

WOW THANK YOU for the great information! Also un-PC, I would like to live in a place with less racial tensions. I find that the DC area really pits the races against each other, perhaps due to the constant stress and rat race survival instinct. People are just nasty to each other and as many have mentioned the illegal immigration is really putting a squeeze on all social services--taxes are sky high and ever higher. How are race relations in Roanoke? Are people friendlier?

Compared to DC(and this is from personal experience and accounts of people who used to live in NoVA), people in Roanoke are about 10 times friendlier. Surprisingly, Roanoke and Blacksburg are two areas in SWVa that are pretty much free of "bigotry and racial tensions". Personally I believe it is because of the high level of education in its populations but there are plenty of theories about that. There is a nice mix of "culture" here (as in the town and city are not white as a lily) but illegal immigration is less of a problem. Naturally, there always will be a handful but quite honestly the only time I've seen them is occasionally at the laundromat *shrug*.

While I agree that the general rule is the south and country is less diverse, make no mistake that there are plenty of exceptions places like Roanoke that maintain a fantastic balance of cultural diversity, city and country life, and southern hospitality. Hope you get a chance to visit us soon Sunny days in particular make Blacksburg (and I'm sure Roanoke) look like a little piece of heaven.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by ashbrn4

Where exactly are you talking about?

Same question I had. This is some part of Montgomery County that I just don't recognize from the description of it. If the OP describes an actual situation rather than a mistaken impression of one, then my guess is that moving three miles might be as effective a remedy as moving three hundred.

Originally Posted by ashbrn4

I think the media portrays racial tension in such a way to make it seem horrible. I see none of that here in Ashbun, if anything, there's such diversity that very few seem to pay any attention at all.

Same here in Vienna/Oakton-ish. Between the blacks, the hispanics, the koreans, the vietnamese, the chinese, the filippinos, the arabs, the greeks, the persians, the indo-pakistanis, and so on, being some sort of bigot here would just plain be too much time and trouble. Nobody really seems to bother. The media of course all have an agenda -- either political or economic. They're plenty quick to sensationalize a mountain up out of a mole-hill if they think it will serve their own particular interests. Integrity and responsibility? Not in an era of propaganda and bottom-line corporatocracy...

[bargainmom]

Sorry if being honest gives some phonies and self-deluded folks the willies. I am married to a person of another race. However I have experienced a great deal of anger from blacks toward whites in the DC area. There is a real undercurrent of anger and intimidation and I am not comfortable with that. I want to live in a place where people respect one another.