Roanoke on Top-10 List of Valentine's Day Getaways

[Scott94]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

If we wait until a travel writer from New York or Washington comes here then I'm afraid Roanoke will continue its obsurity In the travel world. From past articles I have read about Roanoke from the New York Times we are still perceived as a "gritty railroad town". The Washington press has a similar distaste for this part of VA. Asheville, on the other hand is perceived as the upscale
Mountain town in the Blue Ridge. If the Biltmore mansion was not in Asheville, I wonder if that beautiful town would get any
Attention from the national press.

The NYTimes had a piece on Roanoke and Ed Walker a couple of years back:

Virginia Developer is on a Mission to Revive his Town

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

Asheville, on the other hand is perceived as the upscale

Trust me, this is not something that Roanoke should aspire to become. Years ago, Asheville used to be a fun, affordable, quirky town until it became the "in" place. The money and pseudo-hippies moved to the city and ruined it all. The same happened to Boone. I can't tell you what a cool place Boone was before the growth. A total 180 now.

[roanoker 4]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Trust me, this is not something that Roanoke should aspire to become. Years ago, Asheville used to be a fun, affordable, quirky town until it became the "in" place. The money and pseudo-hippies moved to the city and ruined it all. The same happened to Boone. I can't tell you what a cool place Boone was before the growth. A total 180 now.

The local paper did an article a few years ago and Asheville and Knoxville had more in common with Roanoke than Va or Nc cities. Tourism is definately on the move and I predict the new Amtrak service to DC will be a big economic boost. We already have hippies in nearby Floyd which has a commune and there is increasing emphasis on the Arts. The annual event of Floydfest is well known. There are over 90, 000 college students within an hour of downtown Roanoke, as many as Raleigh and Austin.
Blacksburg could become "Silicon Valley East" if Northern Va/Washington Dc weren't just 3 hours away. Lol.Oh well, as
Dysfunctional as our local governments are here, we wouldn't know what to do with all of that growth anyway. Its just as well
It all goes to Dc where Dysfunction has become an art form