Old Southwest Roanoke (crime, houses, neighborhood)

[TryinToSeeTheWorld]

I am considering a relocation to Roanoke for quality of life. I love the proximity to nature and all the greenways in the city. I have school aged children. I would like to live near the downtown because we like what downtowns offer. Can someone share with me the real feeling of Old SW? Highland Park looks nice and my children could walk to school (Highland Park). That sounds idyllic. The houses are also of ample size. My question, is this area safe? Are there lots of school aged children in the area? Do you see kids on the street and in the park playing? Is this a family area or is it becoming gentrified with older people who like to fix up houses? In general, is the topic of conversation among neighbors positive or is crime a regular conversation.

[roanoker 4]

It is a very nice residential area in Roanoke City. The park is kid friendly and the school is in the center of the community. It is an easy walk to a small market and downtown is adjacent. The area is a mixture of people with many young singles, retired people, Gay couples, etc. Because its close to downtown its not your typical middle class homogeneous cookie cutter suburb. Beautiful architecture BTW.

[Watchful]

I get the impression that in the past, the elementary school zones were quite a hodgepodge, and that several Old Southwest folks were not zoned to the neighborhood school - Highland Park.

Roanoke went through a major rezoning last year, and I seem to recall that tweaking the Highland Park zone to unify the neighborhood was done.

Someone closer to the issue may want to verify that.

[TryinToSeeTheWorld]

Thank you for the replies. The description of "young singles, retired people and gays" sounds like a perfectly lovely area but doesn't sound like an area that would be wall to wall children.

I phoned Highland Park School and it sounds as if the zone wasn't drawn in an ideal manner to keep that neighborhood intact for schools. Families just west of the school in the 500 block attend Wasena. Some streets are separated by even/odd addresses for high schools. The kids on the odd side of the street go to one high school and the kids on the even side go to another. I really don't understand that. Can anyone explain?

I understand the line had to be drawn somewhere, but that cuts that school zone in a very strange place and might hurt that neighborhood in terms of families moving in. I know it is making me hesitant.

Now for the nitty gritty. Is crime a problem in that neighborhood? If so, what kind?

[roanoker 4]

If you are concerned about crime you might need additional accurate information from the City of Roanoke. Try their community portals. www.roanokeva.gov. I hope this helps!