Roanoke: What are your favorite and least favorite things? (Blacksburg: crime, homes)

[cumbriabeval]

I have found this site extremely helpful in gathering needed information about the Roanoke area. A special thank you to Watchful who has been an amazing resource.

We have now planned our initial trip to Roanoke for mid-October (hoping for some lovely fall color) to scope out neighborhoods and get a feel for the city. I have lived in Houston, Texas my entire life and only in a few different homes in pretty much the same area so it's all I know. Houston has a lot going for it but we are tired of the heat, crowds, traffic, lack of four seasons and high property taxes. We don't have any scenic areas nearby for weekend trips.

Roanoke and the surrounding areas are checking A LOT of boxes for us. It also appears to have a cost of living as good as Houston so looks like a great place to look ahead for retirement.

I would love to hear from those living in Roanoke (now or ever). What are your favorite and least favorite things about living there? We are in our mid-years and currently work from home so not looking for jobs or a party town, just a comfortable, pretty, safe place to live with good amenities.

I would also welcome any recommendations for where to look and what to do when we visit in October. We'll be there four days.

Open to all of your positives and negatives to help us know what to expect.

Thanks so much.

[breeze823]

hi! we live in botetourt county, moved here in 2008 and love it! it's gorgeous, nice people, safe...close to downtown roanoke which i love the little downtown! i can't really think of any negatives as we are very happy here...good luck!

[cumbriabeval]

Thank you breeze823! I'm looking up Botetourt County and noticed Daleville is in that county. Is Daleville an extension of Roanoke or more out of town? Looks like some new housing developments in that area but not very good amenities (yet?) but wouldn't matter if it's in close proximity to Roanoke.

I appreciate the information. Thanks so much!

[Gardner222]

If you are in your mid years this is the place for you. I think the major complaint about Roanoke I hear is from young people looking for good jobs. Many of our brightest leave for bigger towns in the region. I doubt if that trend changes. The word "comfortable" is a perfect description here. If you ever yearn for the big city, Roanoke will have daily Amtrak service to DC in 2017. It will be possible to go up/back the same day, no traffic hassles.
Daleville is a nice area in Botetourt Co. Property taxes are quite low there, beautiful views, homes, easy access to Roanoke.
Its only negative is that there is no town center, other than the new residential development called Daleville Town Center.
Check out city of Salem, walkable downtown, college town, lots of shops, restaurants, adjacent to Roanoke.
East of town, around the town of Vinton is the Blue Ridge Parkway, lots of nice subdivisions in that area.
More nice subdivisions in SW Roanoke County, mostly families and good schools, no sidewalks, lots of strip malls.
If you like diversity, the City of Roanoke is the spot with over 100 cultures, lots of older restored homes. Mostly safe but there
are certain bad areas to avoid.
There are many small towns outside of Roanoke which have their own character. The next valley to us is the New River Valley
home of growing Va Tech. Blacksburg is rated one of the best places to retire in U.S. Check it out while here!
As a resident of Roanoke City, I love it here! We are very fortunate to have the best of both worlds !
Good luck in your search!

[headnsouth]

If you are here in mid-October then you must attend GO Fest. Everything that's awesome about this region all in one place, and tons of people there to ask about it.

[cumbriabeval]

Gardner222 ~ Thank you for your post and all the excellent information! There seems to be a lot of choices. I'm hoping to find a neighborhood similar to what we have in Houston although the homes there look very different and I don't see many ranch style homes. I would prefer a more urban neighborhood where neighbors are fairly close. I keep hearing about snakes and other wildlife and hope that is not too much of a problem within Roanoke. We will also look at Salem. I did read that Blacksburg may not be a good place to retire as previously reported by Forbes. That is fine since I'm not quite at that stage in life yet but I'd prefer to live in a town where there are a lot of people my age and not a majority of college-aged students.

Did Forbes get the Blacksburg retirement story right? | New River Valley News - WDBJ7.com Central and Southwest VA

headnsouth ~ thanks for the heads up on the GO fest. We will definitely have to check that out. I love that Roanoke is an outdoorsy city. Very different from Houston.

Thanks very much!!

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by cumbriabeval

Thank you breeze823! I'm looking up Botetourt County and noticed Daleville is in that county. Is Daleville an extension of Roanoke or more out of town? Looks like some new housing developments in that area but not very good amenities (yet?) but wouldn't matter if it's in close proximity to Roanoke.

I appreciate the information. Thanks so much!

We lived in Daleville for a few years when we first moved here, now we are over in Blue Ridge (also Botetourt)...Daleville has the new town center with a couple of restaurants, coffee house, plus they have bands play on thursdays outside, which is a fun get together...there's a kroger, and some other restaurants like bbq, chinese, pizza plus super easy to jump on the freeway. pretty much everything you need is in daleville...i still find myself in daleville for lots of stuff i need (also i work pt at the high school)...roanoke is only like a 15 minute drive from daleville, jumping on the freeway. i think you would like it!

[cumbriabeval]

That's great! And it looks like some newer homes in Daleville. I was thinking of Roanoke because I am used to living in a very big city so it seems more in my comfort zone but I will keep an open mind. There are so many areas there to explore but the idea of a newer home and especially the possibility of finding a ranch-style home is very appealing. I do like to be close to amenities. Here in Houston, I rarely have to leave my neighborhood or venture out more than 5 miles to get anything I'd need or want and that is also what I'd prefer there if at all possible. We shop at Kroger here so that's also good to know.

I have heard Salem may be a close-knit community and perhaps not very welcoming to outsiders. Any truth to that?

The music scene sounds fantastic there! I can't wait. ))

[Gardner222]

cumbriabeval...I spent some time in Houston a few years ago. My first impression was how flat the area was compared to Roanoke. Here, we are in a valley or a bowl surrounded by mountains. It is a quite a contrast! I remembered the great steaks,
custom cowboy boots and the Galleria in Houston. Here, everything is compact. The downtown is a lively place with museums,
restaurants, music venues at the amphitheatre almost every weekend in the summer. The Market area always has a weekend
festival of something from an art festival, cultural show of the 100 nationalities here or even a country show. The Berglund
Center has shows from Broadway, Va Tech Hockey, Bill Maher and top national acts. The Jefferson Center has opera, Roanoke
Symphony shows. Va Tech just opened an $80m performing arts center. We have lots of cultural venues for a city our size.
When people describe Roanoke they only look at the City. Of course the City has some bad areas, crime but it seems to be concentrated in a few areas. The downtown area is totally safe to walk day or night generally. On weekends, lots of people
like the nightlife. In a big city, downtowns can be sketchy. I visited Times Sq in NYC recently at night and I was genuinely concerned, similar in DC. The area around Roanoke is probably the most unspoiled natural beauty on the East coast, thanks
to the Federal protected Washington & Jefferson National Forest and the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Living in the City and you are only
25 minutes or less out in the country. There is no sprawl of endless strip malls like in NC(so far at least!). Tourism is growing
here, we are compared to Asheville NC. On homes, a realtor can be of best value. Be sure to get a home with a view and be
careful not to move to one which is deep on the side of a mountain, we do get snow! A 4 whl drive is not a bad idea. Anyway,
good luck!

[loveautumn]

IMO, going from Houston to Roanoke area would be quite a shock. Houston, being a huge metro area with all the amenities close by, and Roanoke is limited and isolated. But that might be OK with you!