Looking for a nice town to call home near Roanoke (Richmond: apartment complex, rentals)

[NorthernSkysGuy]

I'm trying to convince my SO to apply at the hospitals in the area because we are trapped up in NY living with relatives since relocating from New England. We simply are priced out of NY and New England. We can't afford apartments in either area, let alone dream of a small house.

We're a family of three, one is a teacher but also has a lot of Customer Service experience/writing experience. I'm an inventory specialist (most recently in a hospital). Our son has slight autism but is above average in intelligence and we'd like to get him into college at least part time soon. We also have a lovely hound dog who is a definite part of the family so we need family friendly rentals.

Decent supermarkets and an nice library plus nature (parks or perhaps forests) would round out our "wants" with minimal snow. We have been looking outside Richmond but so far we haven't had a lot of luck (guess you need to be there to get hired, right?)

Think we'd like Salem or Roanoke?
Thanks for your input.

[Watchful]

Definitely check it out - economy has its ups and downs but medical is strong. I find it to be a nicely sized metro area (not too big but not too small).

Roanoke city plus county plus Salem all blends together with lots of urban, suburban and rural-ish housing options. Come check it out

[Watchful]

Good shopping options. No Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but in addition to lots of Kroger locations, there is a natural foods co-op plus a brand new Earth Fare supermarket (Asheville based) opening soon.

https://www.earthfare.com/

Enough snow to know it is winter but it will seem like not-so-much for you.

Good libraries - and you can get a card that enables you to use City, County or Salem libraries interchangeably.

And nature? Incredible hiking options and scenic drives in every direction.

The city + county + Salem equals about 220K and the total metro population is about 312K but that does not include Blacksburg which is less than an hour away.

[NorthernSkysGuy]

Thank you for replying!

[Roanoke Bound]

Hi NorthernSkyGuy,

We are moving to Roanoke from Sacramento, CA, at the end of September and we couldn't be more excited! We chose the mountains around Cave Spring primarily because of the schools but also because we wanted a lot of acreage. Did I mention that we're excited!?

Although I am not yet a resident, I just wanted to offer what I've found in my research. It sounds like the downtown area would be ideal for you guys with stores within walking distance and just a great overall community - particularly in Grandin.

The people there are absolutely fantastic! Watchful (who first answered your post) is a superstar on Roanoke threads and has a great deal of information. My husband visited Roanoke two weeks ago and he was so impressed with the kindness of everyone he came into contact with.

I hope this helps in some small way. :-) Check out the questions I asked on this forum. Residents were kind enough to answer a LOT of questions. :-D

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by NorthernSkysGuy

I'm trying to convince my SO to apply at the hospitals in the area because we are trapped up in NY living with relatives since relocating from New England. We simply are priced out of NY and New England. We can't afford apartments in either area, let alone dream of a small house.

We're a family of three, one is a teacher but also has a lot of Customer Service experience/writing experience. I'm an inventory specialist (most recently in a hospital). Our son has slight autism but is above average in intelligence and we'd like to get him into college at least part time soon. We also have a lovely hound dog who is a definite part of the family so we need family friendly rentals.

Decent supermarkets and an nice library plus nature (parks or perhaps forests) would round out our "wants" with minimal snow. We have been looking outside Richmond but so far we haven't had a lot of luck (guess you need to be there to get hired, right?)

Think we'd like Salem or Roanoke?
Thanks for your input.

I recommend that you also check out Christiansburg and Radford. Blacksburg too, but that is somewhat more expensive. Carillon New River Valley Medical Center is in the Christiansburg/Radford area. Both Blacksburg and Radford have Universities with local primary and secondary school outreach programs. Have a dog? Well, shucks, everyone has a dog - see https://blacksburg.craigslist.org/se...e=0&pets_dog=1. Snow is normally not too bad but there will be exceptional winters every now and then, though ice can be more of an issue than snow. Lots of mountains, rivers, and Smith Mountain Lake are close-by.

Decent supermarkets? Ummm ... define decent. Food Lion is the main marketer in the area with some Krogers. There are also decent family-owned markets. If you are looking for Whole Foods or Trader Joes, you need to be looking in Charlottesville (University of Virginia) (also a major medical center). That is a Northern Virginia market but definitely lower cost of living than New England. Charlottesville has everything that you asked for and may also push your buttons, if you ignore the whole recent news cycle Nazi (not locals) hysteria. Treat yourself, drive down and check out the whole I-81 corridor from Winchester to Harrisonburg, Staunton, Charlottesville, Roanoke, Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford and down to Bristol. There's lots to love.

[Watchful]

Just add one thing though....

Downtown rentals are very popular and so tend to be priced quite a bit higher per square foot - and it sounds like budget might be a primary concern for you!

So if school zones are NOT an issue you can probably pick up a decently sized house rental in a pleasant neighborhood that is still quite accessible to everything you want!

I think the primary market for downtown apartments continues to be single adults...but there are exceptions!

And of course....though it is a pain to move - the good thing about rentals is that you aren't locking yourself in - once you get here you will have a better feel for where you want to be!

Originally Posted by Roanoke Bound

It sounds like the downtown area would be ideal for you guys with stores within walking distance and just a great overall community - particularly in Grandin.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by ersatz

Decent supermarkets? Ummm ... define decent. Food Lion is the main marketer in the area with some Krogers. There are also decent family-owned markets.

Not to quibble but in Roanoke City/County/Vinton/Salem, it looks like there are 11 Krogers and 8 Food Lions, and the Krogers definitely are busier (and better supplied) than the Food Lions.

Aldi has one location and Lidl is coming with new locations, and as I mentioned, Earth Fare is just about to open.

Also note that the Kroger locations are not identical, and the one on Brambleton @ Colonial is particularly well stocked.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by Watchful

Not to quibble but in Roanoke City/County/Vinton/Salem, it looks like there are 11 Krogers and 8 Food Lions, and the Krogers definitely are busier (and better supplied) than the Food Lions.

Aldi has one location and Lidl is coming with new locations, and as I mentioned, Earth Fare is just about to open.

Also note that the Kroger locations are not identical, and the one on Brambleton @ Colonial is particularly well stocked.

I defer to your expertise as I didn't know there was a way to count them. I'm a bit prejudiced as my parents always made a beeline for Food Lion, though only because their beloved Sav-a-lot wasn't near by. Guess they didn't know about the one on Melrose Ave.

I'm more of a Wegman's fan myself though I have a soft spot in my heart for Piggly-Wiggly. Neither of which are nearby I know (tho there's a PW in Danville).

[NorthernSkysGuy]

Thanks for the help. You guys are great!!!

I'm just a little concerned about the job market, as this area looks kind of small-sort of like the place I left in New England.

Jobs were kind of scarce. I worked as I have hands on logistic experience but my wife (with a masters in ed. but mainly a stay home mom for years) was unable to get anything except waitress work which she hated and could not do long term (we are both over 50 yrs. old).

Is this the sort of place you better have a job nailed down before moving and never lose that job or you will be out of work for months? How's the ageism there?

The reason we left New England was we were price out of the apartment market. They wanted $1300 for an apt. which was a bit of a house cut up. Not even a nice apartment complex. Also the dog was an issue. Few people would rent with you if you had a dog and our town was dinky and didn't have a lot to offer as far as apt. complexes.

Glad to read they are dog friendly down there!

Supermarkets---we're not Whole Foods or hipsters people--our favorite store is Aldi or some other discount food store! We also like to thrift for fun.

As far as jobs, we were also considering the Richmond area but the high crime, even in the "suburbs" is a little worrying but there are far more jobs for me. It's going to be a choice between Salem and some suburb of Richmond so I'm just going to try and dig out the best info.