Reloc. to Roanoke area, possibly Salem - tips and ideas? (Norfolk: apartment complexes, rent)

[Eyes_green]

Hello,

We are a family of 3 possibly relocation to Roanoke aread. I did search on this forum for schools and locations, but I think it is different in each individual case. Therefore, forgive me for another new thread. Here is what we are looking for:

1.Best in the area Middle School for 11 year old. Currently he is enrolled in public school, in Advanced Math class. We want comparable advanced/gifted program. Afterschool activities.

(I searched Salem public schools and they seem to be the best choice. Please correct me if I am wrong)

2. Upscale, safe neighborhood, preferrably close to the school, but not nec. We probably will rent a 2-bedroom house or apartment for at least 6 months to a year. Would prefer apartment compex with large, townhouse type apartments, pool, garage or parking space.

Currently I am considering Salem, having an impression that out of all Roanoke public middle schools those are the best. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also any tips/ideas are greatly appreciated!

[headnsouth]

We moved here two years ago when my kids were getting ready to start 8th and 9th grades. My 8th-grade AP son entered Woodrow Wilson Middle School and was truly challenged for the first time in his life. It was fantastic. At the end of 8th grade he applied to and was accepted into the Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology --- between his math/science courses there, and the English/history classes he's taking at Patrick Henry High School's Center for the Humanities, he's getting an excellent education. We live in a fantastic neighborhood that's safe and welcoming, and they walk to school (until recently when I changed jobs, I got to walk to work too!) The regular city schools curriculum does not have as much to offer as the advanced curriculum, to be sure, but the advanced curriculum is excellent.

I found Salem to be kind of sprawl-y when I was looking to move here, and my opinion hasn't changed in two years. Other options are Cave Spring and Hidden Valley school districts. Both are reportedly excellent as far as test scores and all that go (resulting from the suburban, high-income, homogeneous student body). A couple of nice apartment complexes we looked at in those two districts were Honeywood and Pebble Creek.

(All of the neighboring jurisdictions participate to varying degrees in the Governor's School too, so your son could eventually apply there if you choose to live outside the city.)

[Watchful]

Like headnsouth, my wife and I just LOVE the Raleigh Court/Grandin area (we are plotting retirement in Roanoke in a few years - but schools are not an issue for us).

Having said that - those who love Salem REALLY love it - and the schools do appear to be quite popular. Hopefully some others will post, but do a search because I have read some discussions on Salem before. Good luck!

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by headnsouth

We moved here two years agoPebble Creek.

Dear Headnsouth, - very many thanks for detailed information! How do you know which shcool has advanced curriculum? I saw nothing of that sort on the school's websites. Or should I inquire with each school what they have to offer? My son is currently in NYC public school, and is in advanced math class - they have the best technology and services available for students. I read a few reviews on greaschools about Roanoke schools you mentioned and they say that district is quite poor and schools are oudated. Do you agree with that?

Do you rent apartment or house? I googled apartment complexes in Grandin area and nothing came up. We don't mind renting a house, but I guess for that we'll need to do a site visit and just drive around.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by Eyes_green

Do you rent apartment or house? I googled apartment complexes in Grandin area and nothing came up. We don't mind renting a house, but I guess for that we'll need to do a site visit and just drive around.

The Raleigh Court/Grandin area has some very nice single-family homes - along with occasional homes that are duplexes as well. Some small apartment complexes as well. These are older homes.

This is either your "cup of tea" or it is not.

Maybe you can go to GOOGLE MAPS - do something like 1900 Belleville Rd SW, Roanoke VA 24015 - and then go to STREET VIEW and you can get a feel for the flavor of the area. This is one of our favorite streets in the area.

Salem has quite a variety of housing options - I am just not all that familiar with them.

[headnsouth]

We came to visit before we moved here. I scheduled tours with the middle schools and high schools in several districts, as well as apartment complexes in those districts. We also looked around the neighborhoods and got a feel for what was walkable, what felt too spread out, what felt like a place kids would go trick-or-treating (by far the best indicator of how friendly a neighborhood is!), etc.

I went back and forth about whether to live in a place where the schools were rated highly enough that I wouldn't even have to regularly talk to my kids to know they'd get a good education, but did not have the quality of life I was looking for (urban amenities, walkable neighborhoods, etc.) ... or to have them go to schools that deal with difficult socioeconomic issues in addition to (resulting in?) academic challenges for the students. I chose the latter, because the suburbs just can't compare to the quality of life in a city like Roanoke, and in my experience any child can get a good education if his parents are involved --- and much to my children's chagrin, I am involved! The regular curriculum in the city schools does not compare though --- whatever you have read online about city schools is talking about the regular curriculum. It's very sad, and the cuts just keep coming. Larger classes, fewer teachers, less art and music, etc. when what these kids need is more enrichment, not less.

That said, every school district has advanced academic classes; the programs just differ from one school/district to another. For example, in the city, Patrick Henry has the AP track, and William Fleming has the IB track. All the schools in the area participate with the Governor's School.

Overall I've found that Virginia meets gifted children's needs. We lived in NY state before, and NY has no mandate for gifted education, so my son was bored stiff in math class (and his other classes!) It's no fun being a bored 7th-grader in a quiet little upstate village ... you would think it would be the other way around, but here in the public city schools, he's challenged and engaged.

[Eyes_green]

Dear Headnsouth,

thanks a lot for your insight. At first I wanted to live in the suburb area, but now I am thinking we want to be living in more of urban area, since this is what we are used to. I fond "The Cotton Mill Lofts"Moderator cut: link removed, please read our terms of service apartments and they seem very modern and exactly what we'd like. However, my hubby is concerned about the safety in the downtown area and also how the kid will get to school. Do you have any suggestions?

[540_804]

Downtown is safe. Use common sense and you'll be fine.

Cotton Mill Lofts are kinda on the fringe of "downtown"....that area is up-and-coming...
Not terribly bad but not exactly great.

Would I live there? In a heartbeat. But I guess that depends on your tolerance for urban/downtown living. I live and work in downtown Richmond and have seen just about everything..nothing could scare me away from living in downtown Roanoke.

The best thing about the Cotton Mill is that its walking distance (probably a 45 second walk out of your front door) to the (nice) YMCA and the Jefferson Center (performing arts)...not to mention across the street from the Fork in the City...

The only downside is that I don't know how many young families live in the area..
From what I've heard..most of the people in the complex are young professionals and young singles and I'm not sure how many similarly-aged children live in the complex..it might be a bit of a pain not having any other children to have fun with.

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by 540_804

Downtown is safe. Use common sense and you'll be fine.

Cotton Mill Lofts are kinda on the fringe of "downtown"....that area is up-and-coming...
Not terribly bad but not exactly great.

Would I live there? In a heartbeat. But I guess that depends on your tolerance for urban/downtown living. I live and work in downtown Richmond and have seen just about everything..nothing could scare me away from living in downtown Roanoke.

The best thing about the Cotton Mill is that its walking distance (probably a 45 second walk out of your front door) to the (nice) YMCA and the Jefferson Center (performing arts)...not to mention across the street from the Fork in the City...

The only downside is that I don't know how many young families live in the area..
From what I've heard..most of the people in the complex are young professionals and young singles and I'm not sure how many similarly-aged children live in the complex..it might be a bit of a pain not having any other children to have fun with.

Could you elaborate on it a bit? Are there "better" downtown areas? Are there other similar to Cottom Mill lofts complexes? The ones that have gym, garage, security, and new?

[540_804]

Originally Posted by Eyes_green

Could you elaborate on it a bit? Are there "better" downtown areas? Are there other similar to Cottom Mill lofts complexes? The ones that have gym, garage, security, and new?

That area is certainly an up-and-coming area...a lot of it is undergoing rehabilitation and regeneration...a lot of the homes are being renovated but not complete..some homes are in need of renovation. I wouldn't say its bad..its just hasn't really matured or established itself like the other parts of downtown.

The only way I would really differentiate between the areas of downtown as being particularly "better" than other areas would be in in how "walkable" the area is...

That section of downtown is not as "walkable" as other areas closer to the core of downtown...there's simply less "stuff" to walk to...

There are other similar properties downtown but, from what I have seen, they don't offer the variety in floor plans (and sizes) as Cotton Mill does...

Other developments/conversions include The Lawson Building. VERY nice building..but not the ideal location. Across the street from the Norfolk & Southern rail shops...separated from downtown by the 581 overpass....

I really like the Lofts on Church..its a smaller..less hyped conversion but still really nice, good quality. Its only an 8 unit building so it may be fully occupied.

All things considered, I think Cotton Mill is probably one of my favorite conversions downtown....



PS: I think you may be hard-pressed to find downtown housing with on-site garage parking. Last I checked, Cotton Mill had surface parking across the street. Unless theres been a change since I was last there (a few months back). Some of the places closer to the core of downtown offer discounted contract parking with near-by garages, though.