Best/Worst Neighborhoods? (Roanoke, Salem, Vinton: living, zip code, safest)

[profesora]

Asking further questions about area housing: need info on apartments/rentals in the area that are safe, decent, and allow pets (have a cocker spaniel). May be teaching at Byrd HS (coming later this week to interview), so more school info would also be helpful. Ideally looking for a 2BR place, and within 1/2 hour to work, and not a long distance to shopping. Have been online and looked at area housing - seems like almost all of it is older SF houses. Suggestions on which neighborhoods/areas to consider would be helpful also. Not opposed to being in the city (moving from a larger area there if I get the job), but don't want to be somewhere with lots of noisy/rowdy neighbors and other potential issues.

[ReformedNomad]

After having lived in a variety of places in the US, here are my thoughts...

Roanoke is a wonderful place. I wonder why some of the natives Ive talked to do not see it that way. Some do. I think that stems from the possibility that it is a very "have" and "have not" sort of place. It seems to me that a significantly higher proportion of the population here that are transplanted are also the higher income earners. When first moving here, I was amazed at the amount of hiking, biking, kayaking, etc there was to do.

There are some great restaurants too. If doing it right, Roanoke can be quite the place. There are also a lot of pubs that specialize in hot dogs and PBR to serve what is the average citizen's stretched financial situation. I think the city is awefully scared about some recent job losses from big companies. Im pretty sure other jurisdictions are luring them away with some fiscal sweeteners. I am glad to hear that there are plans to lure jobs back here. Either that or election season is coming and you just hear a lot of BS.

To answer the initial question, if you are looking for low crime, great neighborhoods and a social life for all ages, I think Grandin and Wasena are head and shoulders the best urban options. The old SW is not tremendously walkable but is quite nice too. Frankly, me and the wife would have moved to Charlottesville or Asheville had the Grandin-Wasena neighborhoods not been here. Roanoke would be nice without them, but wouldn't suit our tastes. For me, moving here was meant to be a stress-relief move from a much larger city and every city neighborhood in RKE (sans Grandin and to an extent Wasena) had a bit too much of a neglected feel. That isn't to say Grandin is perfect, though. It is the one neighborhood that I feel like could be extracted from the city's limits and be considered an attraction in any other city. If the downtown area drew a more mature nighttime crowd, I'd say the same about that. I think Roanoke is still growing their allure to the 30+ crowd as far as downtown goes.

Grandin-- How cool is it to have 2 grocery options, 8ish restaurants/bars, a cupcake shop, movie theater, ice cream shop and quick access to the greenway all in one place? For a transplant to see real estate in a neighborhood like this selling in the mid-high 100K to low 200k range was astounding to me. A great deal!!

For county options, North and South RKE are both pretty hilly and quite scenic. South RKE more expensive than North but would be my choice. North RKE is much more of a mottled feel as far as good and bad hoods to me. Ive had friends in town considering a move here and not one of them were impressed by anything within a few miles of the Williamson Rd area north of downtown. I dont mind it as much as they did, but Ive been here a few years and they had fresh eyes on the situation. Each of the few of them liked Cave Spring, etc. Personally, I think it's a bit overpriced for a place that is kinda chain restauranty but apparently the schools draw folks in. That and less pawn store/check cashing/used car sales type places to litter the area.

My thoughts on Vinton are that I wouldnt consider it a remote option to live. Not to say that I dont understand why living a few miles from RKE in a different setting wouldn't draw some people. I get it, but something about that many fast food options consolidated into one place with very little else makes it unattractive for my likes. Vinton city is walkable but has very little you'd want to walk to on a routine basis. Vinton county can be nice, but in my opinion you'd have similar settings that are much better --Bent mountain area and a bit north and the hilly edges of Salem to name a few.

Overall, Roanoke has something to offer just about anybody. Me and the wife make it work for us by sticking to the city's strengths of hiking, kayaking, biking (both road and mountain) and enjoying Grandin's cool vibe. Economic effects make some of the city a bit dilapidated but not many unsafe spots. Even the rundown areas can have some great mountain town charm.

My very strong advice for transplants from larger cities is that Grandin and Wasena stand out without having a close second as far as my opinion goes. The city can be a bit sprawly and the benefits of city living are few and far between if you cant walk or bike to stuff on the daily.

[Watchful]

Great post by ReformedNomad, and YEAH!

Important, when Nomad says GRANDIN that does not refer to the Grandin Court neighborhood (a great neighborhood itself) but to the Grandin Village shopping area AKA the Raleigh Court neighborhood.

This can be a source of confusion to us Roanoke newbies!

[Oregone]

ReformedNomad, thanks for the thoughtful info I’m fresh out from Oregon and skirting Roanoke central looking for a home. I’ve copied and filed your thoughts and will refer to them as I search closer inside Roanoke.

-- Actually, thanks to everyone having added to this thread ...says something good about this community right there

[ReformedNomad]

Cool. We moved here from Seattle. It was a bit of an adjustment from the PNW but the benes outweigh the negatives in my view. Best part is that from RKE you are within 4 hours of a ton of other cities, beaches, more mountains, etc.

If you are concerned about taxes, Franklin county beats everywhere as far as I know. Boones Mill and Rocky Mount(Both Franklin county) are somewhat cool if you are considering some of the Bedford county options that were floated in previous posts.

Daleville has had a bit of growth and houses are nice up there. It is a quick trip into town from there. Salem on the west of I 81 is a great suburban type of place. If you are going to be working in RKE or hate traffic your 2 hotspots are the Elm St. Bridge (takes you toward Vinton) and 460 (takes you to Blue Ridge). When I say hotspot I mean that it may mean you wait at a traffic light 2 go arounds before turning left. Not terribly bad but it's the only traffic Ive seen besides a wreck on 81.

Living in Bent Mountain puts you pretty close to Floyd if you like a crunchy little town that has some Bluegrass and a few restaurants. Its a great county option if you want to live in the mountains versus see them from a distance. They get more snow there too because of the elevation gain but it only lasts until you head down the hill.

Salem is really clean and rumor has it they have a better run city govt than RKE. A pretty cool town center but nothing to blow your hair back. We considered it initially particularly because it puts you semi between RKE and Blacksburg and we like variety.

As for value and enjoyment, Grandin Village (thanks, Watchful, for clarifying that) offers the ability to live in the city but avoid traffic, hit the greenway for running, walking or biking. There will be no new home construction in Grandin village as the lots have been filled for 50+ yrs. There are festivals, a few street musicians, an area where kids play and skateboard (some people think they are the riff raff. Haha) People raise chickens in their yard here if you are worried about how urban it might be.

In other cities that Ive lived, that sort of access and variety in a neighborhood would cost you $300/sq foot in real estate. Here it's around $100 depending on renovations. You can score less. If you travel to the most troubled (and there arent any real ghettos) areas in this city you pay a nominal amount less for a whole lot less. I believe the value stems from the fact that culturally many of area's residents have not placed the same value on urban conveniences. Heck, when moving here we tried to buy close to downtown (before we knew of Grandin village) and there were only a handful of lofts/condos even in existence. They are adding some now, though. A radically low % of the population here puts a premium on city life conveniences. Im amazed when I hear the abundance of my coworkers say that they drive in from nearly an hour away just to get away from the city. We actually considered a big lot in the mountains, so I dont think they are crazy. I just think it is wild how widespread this thought is amongst the Gen X and older. As that perception changes and has changed in the 2.5 years we have been here, 2 breweries opened up in the city and restaurants are upping their game. We walked into Sam's club and asked for Quinoa and not 1 employee knew what it was. They now have a Quinoa goods section. Ok, silly example, but the city is on its way.

2 more cents for you on my sale of what I think is an unsold gem in Grandin Village. I wont belabor the point much further.

Truly good luck on the very long distance move!

[DaveinMtAiry]

As an out of towner about to take a trip to Roanoke can you specify the streets that are in the neighborhoods you are suggesting Reformed? I don't have any idea where those neighborhoods are.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry

As an out of towner about to take a trip to Roanoke can you specify the streets that are in the neighborhoods you are suggesting Reformed? I don't have any idea where those neighborhoods are.

A good "cross street" center point for Grandin Village/Raleigh Court would be Grandin Rd. @ Memorial Ave.

A good one for the Wasena neighborhood would be Main St. @ Wasena Ave.

Both neighborhoods are in the 24015 zip code.

This little map might also help you visualize!

http://packedsuitcase.com/wp-content...ghborhoods.jpg

You will also see "Old Southwest" directly east of Wasena. Its zip is 24016.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Perfect, thanks.

[BinVa]

If you are looking to buy a 'fixer-upper', be sure to clarify if your house is in an older Historic District (like Old Southwest). There are more rules to follow when fixing up a house in that neighborhood. We have a house in the West End (an area that has quickly improved but still has plenty of rough spots). One thing that attracts buyers there are all incentives designed to attract new owners:

West End Target Area Revitalization

It's kind of incredible how much growth the area has been sustaining over the past few years.

[headnsouth]

Originally Posted by ReformedNomad

After having lived in a variety of places in the US, here are my thoughts...

Fantastic post, reformednomad. I agree with you on all points, esp. Grandin/Raleigh Court being an absolute gem of a place. It's our adopted home sweet home and I hope to never move again.