hi and a question about Greensboro living vs Danville (Charlotte: real estate, rental)

[Élan vital]

my daughter is a new doctor and is being courted by a very established practice in Danville. Is it too far to commute from Greensboro to Danville? Also can someone tell me other cities in Va. and NC which would have nice rental houses? Very nice ones. And how to find them via internet? That's all for now. Thanks

[friendnc]

I wouldn't recommend living in Danville. My cousin's daughter goes to college there and says it's pretty run down and not safe in many areas. Have heard others say the same over the years. Might want to live in Greensboro's northern suburbs and commute in to Danville.

[fern33]

I agree with friendnc. I have inlaws in Danville and it is one depressing city. I strongly suggest she steer clear of southern VA altogether. Greensboro isn't that far of a drive, from what I hear, and I think that would be her best bet. Maybe one of the realtors here can help you there.

Good luck!

[Élan vital]

thanks fern33, but do you mean steer clear of even working there?

Originally Posted by fern33

I agree with friendnc. I have inlaws in Danville and it is one depressing city. I strongly suggest she steer clear of southern VA altogether. Greensboro isn't that far of a drive, from what I hear, and I think that would be her best bet. Maybe one of the realtors here can help you there.

Good luck!

[fern33]

Originally Posted by northernexposure

thanks fern33, but do you mean steer clear of even working there?

Northernexposure, I wouldn't go that far. And your daughter may even like it enough to want to live there.

I had a friend who moved there because of her husband's job transfer and she actually threatened to divorce him if they didn't leave. And she was dead serious. My friend is an army brat with a yankee accent and they didn't receive a very warm welcome in Danville, but I'm not *certain* if that was a big part of the problem or not, I don't recall. However, I do know that some of the folks there are kind of clannish and don't take to outsiders very easily.

Everyone has different experiences, though, so I hope your daughter enjoys it there if she does decide on it.

[emanon]

Our only experience with Danville was that our truck broke down there last year while at a racing event at VIR. The local dealer had our truck towed to the very large dealership and after five days they told us they did not know what was wrong with it or how to fix it. Luckily (I guess) they lent me a new car so we could get around and I drove that car back to NJ. I borrowed a truck and trailer and brought my still unfixed truck back to NJ where my local dealer fixed it in three days.

So my only experience with Danville VA is that the largest car and truck dealer in town was unable to diagnose and repair the same brand of truck that they sell.


Other than the fact that the largest employer in Danville (Dan River) closed up it seems like a nice "out of business" Southern town.

[Mestena]

I live in Greensboro and had a friend that commuted every day from Greensboro to Danville. It's about a 45 minute drive - depending on where you work and live.

I'd suggest living in Greensboro. There isn't much in Danville and if your daughter loses her job for any reason, there isn't much of a job market in there. She'd have MUCH better luck finding a new job in Greensboro, plus a much nicer place to live.

Just my $.02,
Mestena

[Élan vital]

gee, this Danville sounds like an awful place. My daughter has spent so much time working to be a doctor that I hope she finds the place that makes it worthwhile. Perhaps Greensboro to live would be the Best option. Aside from that I keep thinking-what can be done to improve Danville? Because obviously it has a bad reputation which should be changeable.

[jmadz]

My wife and her family are from Martinsville which is the next town over.

That entire region is horribly depressed. The area from Danville to Martinsville has the highest unemployment rates in the state. It was once a nice place to be, but since the textiles and furniture plants left town, they have struggled to bounce back and attract new businesses.

It’s really sad. My wife grew up in the area and she still has family and friends there. We visit about once a month. Every time we drive away and go home to the Charlotte area, she starts talking about how she can convince her mom to move. She would not consider living there, even to be close to family whom she is close with. No jobs, nothing to do (night life absent), no culture, poor schools, high crime for an area that is so small, not diverse and a poor racial climate.

On the plus you can get cheap real estate.

I'm not trying to start anything b/c the people there are hard working and want it to get better, but they’ve run into a lot of bad luck. It would be difficult for any region to bounce back from such a devastating blow to their economy. If Charlotte's banking centers decided they all needed to re-locate to NYC, it would have similar effects here.

The hospital may not be a bad start for your daughter's career. I would definitely look to the northern suburbs of Greensboro if she's dead set on working at that hospital.

[JJM]

I lived in Danville for 17+ years and raised a son there. We moved from Danville to Greensboro a year ago because of a job loss. Anyway, the hospital is in tremendous turmoil because it was purchased two years ago and most doctors and nurses are upset with the new administration. Many jobs have been cut in the hospital and patient care is lacking. A good number of local residents won't go to that hospital anymore and are forced to commute to NC hospitals for decent medical care. I would not recommend anyone going to work at Danville Regional Medical Center until things get straightened out. Currently, there is an independant review board in place that is evaluating the situation. Good luck to your daughter and suggest to her that she keep on looking for a better opportunity!