Southwestern Virginia (Norfolk, Roanoke, Salem: fit in, real estate, movers)
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Me and my wife are leaving georgia in about 1 month she is goin back to west va and im starting work as a truck driver...i was wondering where in southwest va would be the best place to live? i am a truck driver the wife is a stay at home mom, we plan on homeschooling our kids so schools arent that important...we want a rural feel yet not extremely far from a town with everything you would need such as a walmart...the wife says to look around roanoke area i am more interested in the abingdon area....low crime would be nice, no area with gang problems or racial problems...as i am a truck driver i am away for weeks at a time...also! big thing here we want to be in the mountains..so does that do away with roanoke? any other areas in southwestern va you can suggest would be nice thanks!
You can definitely see the mountains in Roanoke. So let me get this straight: you are looking for a place in SWVa but you are going to be in West Virginia? That didn't quite make sense to me. As far as housing goes, I'd try Christiansburg, Virginia. Low crime rate, got a nice shopping metro that includes Wal-Mart, Target, and a mall, and the housing there is cheap as heck.
I say, make the wife happy and stick closer to Roanoke. She's the one that will be living in the place the most given that you're a truck driver and will be on the road regularly.
Roanoke's urban area is in a valley bowl but the outlying area of the Roanoke metro are in the mountains and pretty rural. I often use this photo to illustrate this:
We live south of Roanoke in Boones Mill, which is also in the mountains. It's close to Route 220, a N/S corridor that gets you to I-81 in 30 minutes; I-77 I-40 in about 2 hours. You could look into Craig County which would be really close to I-81 and be < 25 minutes to downtown Roanoke also. It's cooler in Craig County and you get more winter than you would in Franklin County, which would be better or worse depending on your persuasion.
Here is a recent webcam image from my place in Boones Mill. We're at about 1,300' and the Cahas Mountain summit (pictured) is about 3,700'.
Another town to consider is Ferrum or Floyd, but you're a bit further away from major highways. Land would be cheaper in Ferrum than Floyd, and in both you'd be about 50 minutes from Roanoke.
Norfolk Southern will be building an intermodal rail facility in the Roanoke area, which is something to keep in mind. It's location is TBD, but it looks most likely at this point to be Salem.
It's in an "industrial" zone but the grapevine suggests that the 12 acres will need to expand to 45 or so, which would mean playing the imminent domain card and taking some commercial real estate adjoining the proposed location.
I seriously doubt additional noise pollution would be an issue because there is already the N/S line there and trains frequently travel the line already. It would mean increased truck traffic though, so that's a consideration, particularly from the I-81 exit all the way to Route 11 where the site is. I personally think it should be in Elliston just as they originally planned, but there are some movers and shakers who don't want to see their rural landscape smeared by industrial development. A Salem site would effect thousands of people, rather than the Elliston site, which would affect dozens. One of the dozens, however, is a very wealthy lady with enormous influence. I don't blame her, but one also has to consider the law of unintended consequences.
ok we discussed it some last night she is interested in bluefield,virginia anyone know anything about this town? good or bad? is it in the mountains? crime rate? etc etc etc
We fell in love with Abingdon VA and Bristol area.
My husband is also a truck driver, and we homeschool our kids.
Currently we live in NC and we have also visited Roanoke area.
The prices and taxes seem to be a little higher in the nicer suburbs around Roanoke for us unfortunately, but it is beautiful.
What we liked about the Abingdon area was that the demographics seemed good, crime low, and that it is close to the Tri-Cities.
I am by no means an expert . . . . and we have made mistakes before so I am really researching it.
Seems there is alot of trucking jobs in Marion, Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport. Abingdon has homeschool groups, Bristol does and Johnson City has a huge homeschooling co-op.
If we had more money would I go to the Roanoke area . . . I am not sure, just fell in love with Abingdon and Damascus, and we like the Washington County curfew for people 18 and under . . . need to be in the house, off the streets and not drive past 12:00 on weekends and I believe 10:00 on weekdays . . .
A few people have said that the residents there are not friendly, but we live in a small rural town in NC, and I am italian from New York, and I found the ladies here and people to be very welcoming of me . . . . so I feel that if you are respectful and friendly, we can fit in anywhere. I also like the Abingdon area because it's closer to Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, Seiverville, and a quick drive to Kentucky . . . and we like those areas for vacation and family fun.
Just my two cents worth . . . but we have searched all over Virginia, and there are gorgeous areas everywhere . . . we love the mountains and the beach, but we do have a budget that we have to comply with as well.
The Tri-Cities area is struggling with the drug problem that is just growing. Crystal Meth is a huge problem and the crime it brings. Cigarettes and chewing tobacco is another issue that is crying out for attention here – kids are starting using these earlier and earlier it seems. The Bristol Hospital sees more than its fair share of drug cases and alcohol related issues.
The mountains look beautiful and serene but the area is a bit depressed with few good jobs and the near future will not bring any relief. Prime conditions for crime and drug use related issues. Just my two cents.
The mountains look beautiful and serene but the area is a bit depressed with few good jobs and the near future will not bring any relief. Prime conditions for crime and drug use related issues. Just my two cents.
I really disagree with this. Jobs in the Roanoke Valley are actually just starting to rev up, as Roanoke has been trying to recruit people from Virginia Tech like crazy. I was offered some crazy incentives just to STAY in the area and work (though I chose Nova in the end :P ). As for crime and drug---not sure about the drug scene but the crime rates are inflated, anyone living in Roanoke will be able to tell you that other than a few select neighborhoods, they feel very safe where they are.
so noone has anything to say about bluefield? lol....i need to know something soon...the wife is goin back to west virginina in late june her dad is getting married again in july...so she is gonna spend some time up there...i like the abingdon area as well but we are trying to stay around right in between her family and mine hers lives in littleton,wv mine lives in tiger,ga so..its hard and sw va seems about right...we had looked at mountain city,tn but it just looks depressed and broke down there was nothing there! lol...other than that thats as far into tn we have gotten...dunno about the other tri cities...elizabethon,tn was nice....just need some where safe and homeschooler friendly...etc etc...and im hoping thats what bluefield is..guess we'll have to take a trip up there soon...
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