Info about SW Virginia/Wytheville area (Roanoke, Lynchburg: for sale, motels, living in)
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As far as the other counties you mentioned, I can speak on a few of them. All except for Roanoke are very, very small. If you are looking for scenic beauty, then each would foot the bill. Craig County sits on the Va / W. Va line. That was probably one of my favorite Sunday drives, to go up rt 311 through Catawba, eat at Homeplace (Do go there), then just keep driving for a while. My other favorite Sunday drive was either rte 221 from Roanoke (Brambleton Avenue) into Carroll County, where I grew up... or the Blue Ridge Parkway, which everyone did on Sundays. Each offer wonderful views and a few hole in the wall type establishments along the way. I grew up in Carroll / Grayson county area. I'm afraid that either of those are more than 30 miles from Roanoke, if that is important to you. Neither have a good employment situation, to say the least. I would suggest looking at Eastern Montgomery County, Franklin County, Floyd County, and Craig county in an attempt to stay within a reasonable range. It would be very easy to feel like you are in the country in either of those areas. None of those places will see any action of fastest growing counties list... at least in the foreseeable future.
My favorite place so far in Carroll County has been that drive up I-77/I-81 through the gap where you can just see the whole valley and everything. I guess that's Fancy Gap(?)I do alot of photographing each time I go through there,which is only every few years.
As far as the other counties you mentioned, I can speak on a few of them. All except for Roanoke are very, very small. If you are looking for scenic beauty, then each would foot the bill. Craig County sits on the Va / W. Va line. That was probably one of my favorite Sunday drives, to go up rt 311 through Catawba, eat at Homeplace (Do go there), then just keep driving for a while. My other favorite Sunday drive was either rte 221 from Roanoke (Brambleton Avenue) into Carroll County, where I grew up... or the Blue Ridge Parkway, which everyone did on Sundays. Each offer wonderful views and a few hole in the wall type establishments along the way. I grew up in Carroll / Grayson county area. I'm afraid that either of those are more than 30 miles from Roanoke, if that is important to you. Neither have a good employment situation, to say the least. I would suggest looking at Eastern Montgomery County, Franklin County, Floyd County, and Craig county in an attempt to stay within a reasonable range. It would be very easy to feel like you are in the country in either of those areas. None of those places will see any action of fastest growing counties list... at least in the foreseeable future.
Thanks, Steven2149. I'm printing this out right away to add it to my summer itinerary for taking the drives and eating at Homeplace. I can't wait to see the beauty of these places.
30 miles or more from Roanoke is not a problem for me pertaining to Carroll/Grayson. I will be sure to visit all these counties next summer and should I be so lucky as to one day move there, I'll then have an idea of my favorite places.
My favorite place so far in Carroll County has been that drive up I-77/I-81 through the gap where you can just see the whole valley and everything. I guess that's Fancy Gap(?)I do alot of photographing each time I go through there,which is only every few years.
Thanks for your post.
I actually found the cutest house today on a real estate site that was on 2 acres near Galax, right on the border of Carroll/Grayson counties. I'll be sure to check out Fancy Gap while there as well as all these other ever so cool places.
I only wish I could go now and check everything out, but I'll try to be patient waiting for summer.
Thanks for your post. I actually found the cutest house today on a real estate site that was on 2 acres near Galax, right on the border of Carroll/Grayson counties. I'll be sure to check out Fancy Gap while there as well as all these other ever so cool places. I only wish I could go now and check everything out, but I'll try to be patient waiting for summer.
I drove through Galax about 2 years ago. It is just north of the NC-VA border not far from the interstate that runs from Wytheville down to Winston-Salem area. Galax looked economically depressed in town, tough times. Maybe the big box stores just outside of town wiped out the small businesses in town, but also looks like industrial plants around town might be shut down. Not much in the way of construction or activity there. For a big contrast, drive about 20 miles south to Mt Airy, NC (famous as hometown of Andy Griffith and "Mayberry"). Like almost everywhere in NC, signs of prosperity and economic health.
I live in southern calif now, but have visited southwest VA several times. In the late 1990s I lived AL, and went to up to sw VA to find some nice scenery and places for camping, hiking + mtn biking. The area around the village of Damascus is a gem, especially Mt. Rogers Nat'l recreation area. The App. trail passes right through town, and also a beautiful 30+ mile bike path called the "virginia creeper trail" named after the old rail line the bike path was built on. Nearby Abingdon provides lots of places to stay and eat along I-81. Mt. Rogers has all sorts of hiking, horse and bike trails. Summer weather seemed cooler than most cities in the southeast due to the elevation above 2000', and the evenings often cool off enough so that people don't run the AC at night.
Steven2149 knows a million more things about sw VA that me, but the area is pretty much overlooked by most. Very little population growth, not much new business, coal business pretty much gone, no big Fortune 500 corporate payroll. Look at the city data info on places in sw VA and it shows how low the average income is and also the low real estate values. It's a bit surprising because NC is so near and has booming growth in most areas. Bristol VA+TN looks pretty depressed economically, and so do many towns that are back away from the interstate.
One thing I don't know about is the amount of airborne coal power plant pollution that drifts over the mountains from West VA, Ohio, + KY. Those 3 states have lots and lots of coal burning power plants, many of which don't have the newer "scrubbers" that cut down on the amount of pollution emitted. Don't know how much of that junk blows east and lands in the valleys of sw VA. For more on this go to www.cleartheair.org (broken link) and look up the power plant pollution map. Pretty scary.
One thing I don't know about is the amount of airborne coal power plant pollution that drifts over the mountains from West VA, Ohio, + KY. Those 3 states have lots and lots of coal burning power plants, many of which don't have the newer "scrubbers" that cut down on the amount of pollution emitted. Don't know how much of that junk blows east and lands in the valleys of sw VA. For more on this go to www.cleartheair.org (broken link) and look up the power plant pollution map. Pretty scary.
Wow! That is wonderful information but so disheartening.
There are two coal burning power plants in SW VA, one in Giles County (Glen Lyn) and one in Russell County (Clinch River) with 13 others in the state from the center to the east. It lists power plant deaths, heart attacks, lung cancer deaths, and asthma attacks. It mentions over a million children in VA live within 30 miles of a power plant and they are the most at risk for adverse affects, very scary indeed.
Straight up the center of the country to the east is the worst area. As one goes west, it gets better. Shenandoah National Park is one park in peril, but there are many more in the country. That is just so sad.
I had checked out an air quality site (airnow) and found the counties in SW VA that have had air pollution problems but that of which you write is a different story altogether.
I also learned that Texas (where I live) is the nation's hotspot for mercury emissions. How lovely ~ NOT!! It said that California's power plants are the cleanest in the nation but CA feels the effects of dirty plants in other states every day cutting short the lifes of nearly 250 Californians each year.
I do appreciate your post; it is definitely something to which one needs to give much thought.
I'm very familiar with NW NC, just over the line from the area you're speaking of. Here's a beautiful drive for you, take I-77 south to Galax and then get on 21 going west, heading towards Sparta, NC. You go up and down a mountain (name escapes me now) and have some spectacular views. Sparta is also a nice little town.
I'm very familiar with NW NC, just over the line from the area you're speaking of. Here's a beautiful drive for you, take I-77 south to Galax and then get on 21 going west, heading towards Sparta, NC. You go up and down a mountain (name escapes me now) and have some spectacular views. Sparta is also a nice little town.
Thank you. I will definitely add that drive and checking out Sparta to my itinerary. It sounds lovely.
I was raised in Wytheville and recently moved back here from Northern Virginia. I can honestly say that it is a great place to be and be from! The people are generally very warm, and friendly and you will get to know your neighbors (what a novel idea!). With the location, you can be almost anywhere on the East Coast in a reasonable amount of time, due to our location at the crossroads of Interstates 81 and 77, both of which are major north/south interstates. Most of the industry in the immediate area center around the travel/hospitality industries, and also manufacturing and farmland, but there are several bigger opportunities within an easy hours drive. There are numerous 4 year schools nearby (Radford Univ., Virginia Tech, King's Coll., Virginia Intermont Coll., and Hollins Univ.) also several 2 year Community Colleges.
As Steven has said...in Wytheville itself there is not much of a nitelife, there are several nice resteraunts here with more coming in everyday, but no concerts or anything like that. There are a couple of new shopping complexes just built or being built as we speak, so any of you immediate needs should be taken care of. There is a Super Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Store, Old Navy and others, with a new Target store under construction and a big new shopping center with it (don't know yet what else is going there).
We have 4 distinct seasons here, with the summer and winter not being TOO extreme either way. You will see a few days in the mid 90's and some days in the single digits in the winter, but normally the temeratures are pleasant. Every year there is a festival (Chataqua) which usually runs about 10 days, and sometimes they have singers and performers you have even heard of! Also there is a huge festival in Abingdon each August called the Virginia Highlands Festival, there is much to do with crafts,, music, competitions, and a scottish/celtic background to it...this is about a 40 minute drive from Wythe. There are several malls within and hour of us in any direction, and Charlotte NC is about 1.45 hours away. Each year the largest fiddlers convention in the US is held in Galax which is about 35 minutes away.
And finally, the cost of living here is not bad at all compared to the rest of the state. Also, to AMJB...you asked about Giles, Carrol, Grayson, and Floyd counties...Giles has very little work or shopping...very rural. Floyd, Carroll, and Grayson all have some of the most beautiful mountains to offer, but again in Carroll and Grayson jobs are very scarce. Floyd county is near enough to Radford, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and Roanoke that jobs are plentiful if you dont mind a short commute each day. I hope this helps everybody some! Look forward to seeing you all (pronounced "Y'all.....might as well start learning the language here!) soon!
I was raised in Wytheville and recently moved back here from Northern Virginia. I can honestly say that it is a great place to be and be from! The people are generally very warm, and friendly and you will get to know your neighbors (what a novel idea!). With the location, you can be almost anywhere on the East Coast in a reasonable amount of time, due to our location at the crossroads of Interstates 81 and 77, both of which are major north/south interstates. Most of the industry in the immediate area center around the travel/hospitality industries, and also manufacturing and farmland, but there are several bigger opportunities within an easy hours drive. There are numerous 4 year schools nearby (Radford Univ., Virginia Tech, King's Coll., Virginia Intermont Coll., and Hollins Univ.) also several 2 year Community Colleges.
As Steven has said...in Wytheville itself there is not much of a nitelife, there are several nice resteraunts here with more coming in everyday, but no concerts or anything like that. There are a couple of new shopping complexes just built or being built as we speak, so any of you immediate needs should be taken care of. There is a Super Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Store, Old Navy and others, with a new Target store under construction and a big new shopping center with it (don't know yet what else is going there).
We have 4 distinct seasons here, with the summer and winter not being TOO extreme either way. You will see a few days in the mid 90's and some days in the single digits in the winter, but normally the temeratures are pleasant. Every year there is a festival (Chataqua) which usually runs about 10 days, and sometimes they have singers and performers you have even heard of! Also there is a huge festival in Abingdon each August called the Virginia Highlands Festival, there is much to do with crafts,, music, competitions, and a scottish/celtic background to it...this is about a 40 minute drive from Wythe. There are several malls within and hour of us in any direction, and Charlotte NC is about 1.45 hours away. Each year the largest fiddlers convention in the US is held in Galax which is about 35 minutes away.
And finally, the cost of living here is not bad at all compared to the rest of the state. Also, to AMJB...you asked about Giles, Carrol, Grayson, and Floyd counties...Giles has very little work or shopping...very rural. Floyd, Carroll, and Grayson all have some of the most beautiful mountains to offer, but again in Carroll and Grayson jobs are very scarce. Floyd county is near enough to Radford, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and Roanoke that jobs are plentiful if you dont mind a short commute each day. I hope this helps everybody some! Look forward to seeing you all (pronounced "Y'all.....might as well start learning the language here!) soon!
Thanks so much for your post. I will probably have to wait until I retire to move but if not, I will keep the areas better for jobs on my list. I have copies of posts a mile long so I can sort of know what I'm doing and where I'll be going when I visit next summer. It so sounds like where I want to spend "my sunset years."
As far as y'all goes, I've been using it for 28 years ever since I moved to Texas from California, so I should fit it wonderfully "over yonder." I don't use that one, but Texans surely do.
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