Relocating: Richmond vs Roanoke vs Lynchburg (Bristol, Franklin: apartment, rent, low crime)

[Camille05]

Hello All,

My family is hoping to relocate to Virginia this year and we are trying to gather as much information as possible to figure out the best area for us. Right now we live in a small town outside of Syracuse, NY. It will be myself, husband and two year old son moving. We were thinking about moving to just outside of Richmond, Roanoke or to Lynchburg. I'll tell you a little about what we are looking for. We'd like to to live in a country setting but not too far from city amenities (shopping centers, restaurants, movies type entertainment). We are willing to make a 30 to 45 minute commute. Some givens are a good community with low crime, good schools and reasonable cost of living (500-600 monthly rent). We'd like to move somewhere that will have plenty of job opportunities to grow a career and make a decent living instead of just getting by. Right now my husband works water treatment but would be willing to do something similar if not in that exact field. We would also be looking to buy a house after we've moved and assessed everything and we would be looking in the 90k price range. We are really looking forward to a more reasonable cost of living, better job opportunities and better weather! We already know that Virginia will be able to provide these things for us much better than NY we just need help figuring out the best area for us and we're flying blind. Any help will be greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

(I also posted this in the Richmond forum in error but was unable to remove the post, sorry in advance!)

[sregorat3]

More job opportunities in Richmond. You could look at Bedford, Va, which is right between Rke and Lyn... in the country with both cities close by. As a city, Richmond simply has more to offer, but the areas surrounding Rke and Lyn have some great scenery.

[Watchful]

Just guessing that it might be a little easier to find reasonably priced property in that 30-45 commute range outside of Roanoke or Lynchburg (as opposed to Richmond...just due to the size of the metro area). Even still, a 500-600 rent may be tough??

Fellow posters feel free to over-ride me with more info on Richmond!

[cam4vt]

Good schools within 30 to 45 min drive of shopping and entertainment are all doable with all 3 places, but 500 to 600 is going to be rough. How many bedrooms do you need and so on?

[RVAbornandbred]

Good points watchful and cam4vt....I can tell you this, your options in Richmond would be extremely limited at 500 to 600 a month.

[Camille05]

I thought 500-600 would be aiming low but figured I would throw it out there anyway. We were renting a small two bedroom house for a few years for 700 and just recently moved to a two bedroom apartment where we are paying 550 of month however, its very small. (We moved because we felt a little ridiculous basically paying someones mortgage) Since New York is so expensive I figured it might be a little cheaper there. We are looking to stay in a two bedroom and already planned that living closer to the city will be more expensive. We really don't have a desire to live too close to the city anyway, we're country folks. From what I've read so far it seems there is more country and cheaper housing near Roanoke but less job opportunities so I'm pretty torn. Thank you all for the info, any little bit helps as I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment.

[gomason]

Cost of living in Virginia is evidently higher than what you realize. Even $700 is going to be pushing it for a 2BR.

Richmond area is going to have the most economic opportunity and entertainment. However, the Richmond area is also going to have the highest cost-of-living. Economic opportunity and entertainment will be much more limited in Roanoke and Lynchburg but it will be cheaper.

[cam4vt]

Originally Posted by Camille05

I thought 500-600 would be aiming low but figured I would throw it out there anyway. We were renting a small two bedroom house for a few years for 700 and just recently moved to a two bedroom apartment where we are paying 550 of month however, its very small. (We moved because we felt a little ridiculous basically paying someones mortgage) Since New York is so expensive I figured it might be a little cheaper there. We are looking to stay in a two bedroom and already planned that living closer to the city will be more expensive. We really don't have a desire to live too close to the city anyway, we're country folks. From what I've read so far it seems there is more country and cheaper housing near Roanoke but less job opportunities so I'm pretty torn. Thank you all for the info, any little bit helps as I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment.

Roanoke and Lynchburg are going to be more similar than say Richmond. However you can get the country living in near any of these metros. I'm living in the far SW tip of Roanoke city (left out of the complex I'm in Roanoke county, right takes me north towards the downtown, malls etc.) and my 2 bdrm is 800 a month of course nothing included. Maybe check out bedford county if you are willing to drive.. Bedford is in the middle between Roanoke and Lynchburg. Franklin county to the south of Roanoke and botetout to the north are possible places to look as well.

[NomadStephanie]

Usually when you move somewhere, there's a trade-off between cost of living and economic opportunity; Virginia is no different than anywhere else in this regard. I just moved out of Roanoke, VA, because the lower cost of living relative to where I lived before (NJ, actually, though I'm originally from Southwest VA) didn't make up for the extremely limited job opportunities and low, low pay. I highly recommend that you spend some time looking at job listings in each of these locations to get an idea of what's available. Like many cities in the nation, cities like Roanoke are adding more and more minimum / low wage service positions, many of which are only part-time, while adding fewer and fewer professional, middle class type jobs.

Richmond will certainly have the most opportunity, but also a higher cost of living; it's also well-known as a hotspot for crime. If you want to be a 30-45 minute commute away from Richmond, you will likely not find lower rents, as many well-to-do folks who work in Richmond don't want to live in the city proper, either. And I don't know where you're going to find anything in that price range that doesn't come with huge trade-offs, outside of any of those three cities. It will likely involve some mixture of cramped, run-down, in an undesirable area, or not close to amenities. You'll do better with $700.

You might get something decent in the $500-$600 range in the Tri Cities (Bristol, VA/TN, Johnson City, TN, Kingsport, TN). Honestly, if I had to move back to Southwest VA right now, I'd probably move back to Bristol, where I'm originally from. Its downtown is in the midst of a revival, the music scene there is better than anywhere else in Virginia west of Richmond, and more and more retail is moving into the region, which may eventually raise rents, but for now, it remains less expensive rent-wise than the other cities you mentioned. That said, the job market there sucks too. I also continue to fault Bristol for not being able to keep an independent bookstore open. That's almost the case in Roanoke now, too, which only has one independent (used) bookstore still open. Better bookstores in Johnson City, TN, than either of those cities, actually.

[cam4vt]

Originally Posted by NomadStephanie

Usually when you move somewhere, there's a trade-off between cost of living and economic opportunity; Virginia is no different than anywhere else in this regard. I just moved out of Roanoke, VA, because the lower cost of living relative to where I lived before (NJ, actually, though I'm originally from Southwest VA) didn't make up for the extremely limited job opportunities and low, low pay. I highly recommend that you spend some time looking at job listings in each of these locations to get an idea of what's available. Like many cities in the nation, cities like Roanoke are adding more and more minimum / low wage service positions, many of which are only part-time, while adding fewer and fewer professional, middle class type jobs.

Richmond will certainly have the most opportunity, but also a higher cost of living; it's also well-known as a hotspot for crime. If you want to be a 30-45 minute commute away from Richmond, you will likely not find lower rents, as many well-to-do folks who work in Richmond don't want to live in the city proper, either. And I don't know where you're going to find anything in that price range that doesn't come with huge trade-offs, outside of any of those three cities. It will likely involve some mixture of cramped, run-down, in an undesirable area, or not close to amenities. You'll do better with $700.

You might get something decent in the $500-$600 range in the Tri Cities (Bristol, VA/TN, Johnson City, TN, Kingsport, TN). Honestly, if I had to move back to Southwest VA right now, I'd probably move back to Bristol, where I'm originally from. Its downtown is in the midst of a revival, the music scene there is better than anywhere else in Virginia west of Richmond, and more and more retail is moving into the region, which may eventually raise rents, but for now, it remains less expensive rent-wise than the other cities you mentioned. That said, the job market there sucks too. I also continue to fault Bristol for not being able to keep an independent bookstore open. That's almost the case in Roanoke now, too, which only has one independent (used) bookstore still open. Better bookstores in Johnson City, TN, than either of those cities, actually.

Retail is better in Roanoke and continues to grow as well. Downtown is better in roanoke too that keeps growing. Music scene probably better in Bristol. The job market is specific in Roanoke. Medical and technology is rising while others fall. Low wages are usually the result of low COL. You may make less here hut you pay less to live as well.