Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Roanoke area
 [Register]
Roanoke area Roanoke - Salem area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 11-08-2021, 07:30 AM
 
13 posts, read 15,939 times
Reputation: 26

Advertisements

Hi All,

My family and i are exploring a move to the smith mountain lake area to be closer to family. Grew up in NH on lake winnipesaukee. Looking for that lake life back but without the extreme winters. Anyone living in that area or familiar with it that can give us some feed back. Is it a good area for families? The research so far i have done it seems like a beautiful place. Just wondering work wise what industries are in that area. I see housing is within our price range. We are currently in PA and have been for 22 yrs now and i personally wanted to leve from day one. Taxes, politics, traffic, building, fast pace of life is not in my makeup. Being from NH an now living in PA i know what life i want for my family. Any feedback on the area greatly appreciated. Specifics towns and info would be great too. TIA
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-08-2021, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Daleville, VA
2,282 posts, read 4,056,817 times
Reputation: 2423
Quote:
Originally Posted by IRA82 View Post
Hi All,

My family and i are exploring a move to the smith mountain lake area to be closer to family. Grew up in NH on lake winnipesaukee. Looking for that lake life back but without the extreme winters. Anyone living in that area or familiar with it that can give us some feed back. Is it a good area for families? The research so far i have done it seems like a beautiful place. Just wondering work wise what industries are in that area. I see housing is within our price range. We are currently in PA and have been for 22 yrs now and i personally wanted to leve from day one. Taxes, politics, traffic, building, fast pace of life is not in my makeup. Being from NH an now living in PA i know what life i want for my family. Any feedback on the area greatly appreciated. Specifics towns and info would be great too. TIA
It's a big lake! There are certainly folks who know more about it than me...but if you were wanting access to amenities and retail you might start by looking at real estate within a reasonable distance of Westlake Towne Center. If you want something more rural and isolated, there should be quite a few options!

Job opps? As long as you are willing to drive a bit there should be quite a bit to choose from. Smith Mountain Lake is a beautiful area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-08-2021, 08:21 AM
 
13 posts, read 15,939 times
Reputation: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by Watchful View Post
It's a big lake! There are certainly folks who know more about it than me...but if you were wanting access to amenities and retail you might start by looking at real estate within a reasonable distance of Westlake Towne Center. If you want something more rural and isolated, there should be quite a few options!

Job opps? As long as you are willing to drive a bit there should be quite a bit to choose from. Smith Mountain Lake is a beautiful area.


Yea the lake i grew up on is double the size in square miles. I just want my lake life back and to have a slower pace. Any idea how crime rates in that area?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-08-2021, 12:45 PM
 
Location: Daleville, VA
2,282 posts, read 4,056,817 times
Reputation: 2423
Quote:
Originally Posted by IRA82 View Post
Yea the lake i grew up on is double the size in square miles. I just want my lake life back and to have a slower pace. Any idea how crime rates in that area?
I would think it would be very safe! Haven't heard otherwise!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-07-2021, 03:35 AM
 
120 posts, read 139,771 times
Reputation: 209
I don't want to say there's no crime but ... it's very little. We've moved all around the country and I've never felt safer. It seems so safe that you don't really think about crime when you're here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-07-2021, 03:53 PM
 
1,539 posts, read 1,471,522 times
Reputation: 2288
For the OP: SML is not a natural lake like that lake in NH. The waters are not clear like a lot of New England lakes. But that does not mean you won't like it.... just be aware that the waters are quite different. Settling near the head of the lake will mean muddy waters flowing from the Roanoke River when there are heavy rains.

As said, you can find work in Lynchburg and Roanoke with driving. Light to medium industries in both cities. Not sure what you specialize in for work..... sharing that might be helpful.

Lake life in summer and on many weekends can be very, very busy, but I suspect you saw all of that in NH. Water seems to attract booze..... both salt and fresh.

Taxes are going to be lower in that area vs most or all of PA.

One tidbit: The Roanoke River (that feeds SML) is also known as the Stanton River along part of its length below SML! So don't be confused....

Last edited by nm9stheham; 12-07-2021 at 04:05 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-13-2021, 09:32 AM
 
120 posts, read 139,771 times
Reputation: 209
Agree that Winnipesaukee is extremely clear, but ... SML is pretty darn deep and clear in most of the lake, excepting the very upper areas that are more river-like in appearance, depth, and muddiness. You can see your feet when you're treading water in most of the lake, for example. The soil is red here everywhere, however, and that can be slightly reflected in the water appearance near the banks during busy boat times. But described as muddy? No. Muddy would be like Lakes Norman or Wylie in the Charlotte area.

And did I mention how much warmer the water is in SML compared to Winnipesaukee? So much easier to get in, and warmer for more months, as well! I was floating in SML in mid-October this fall and it was WARM.

Last edited by periwinkle06; 12-13-2021 at 10:33 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-22-2021, 01:21 PM
 
13 posts, read 15,939 times
Reputation: 26
All great feed back thank you Periwinkle and nm9. Yes winnipesaukee is very clear and nautral. But SML from what i have seen so far without being in person seems a lot like home and as periwinkle said warmer longer. PA has been a drag in many aspects of life. Time for a change. Planning on making a visit in April with the family. As far as work i have 14 years in mortgage finance, 6 years in construction management for a civil engineering firm serving municipalities, school districts, water and sewer authorities. I also have background in municipal govt as i served on my town board and also on the board of my local chamber of commerce for 6 yrs 2 as president. So many fields i could go into and succeed. I just want that slower paced life, warmer climate and beautiful scenery as i like to spend free time outdoors. I have read the fishing on SML is very good. I look forward to getting back to doing a lot of that. Spent most of my childhood on lake winni fishing and swimming.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-26-2021, 10:31 AM
 
Location: SW Virginia
2,189 posts, read 1,402,459 times
Reputation: 2016
Also if you like Conservative politics, all 3 counties that surround the lake are a solid 75% Red.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-28-2021, 12:41 PM
 
13 posts, read 15,939 times
Reputation: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by 16 Acres View Post
Also if you like Conservative politics, all 3 counties that surround the lake are a solid 75% Red.
That is even better yet! Can’t wait to take a trip down this spring to look around.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Roanoke area

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:40 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top