After 4 Years, My Impression of Roanoke (Arlington, Cloverdale: apartment complexes, for rent, credit check)

[Rickcin]

Originally Posted by Watchful

ExAustin and PaulFromHouston...

I thought of you both when I got the birria tacos from the Mama Jean's food truck yesterday. Check out their Facebook page - they are only open certain days and the menu varies. The brisket is the best in Roanoke (yeah...I know...but still...) and these tacos were just amazing! I will be scoping them out again. Right now they are in a food truck on Brambleton but will soon move to a new location near Towers (saw that in yesterday's Times).

Speaking of tacos...I am hooked on the breakfast tacos at Scratch Biscuit. One of the few places that has really good homemade tortillas - makes all the difference. Of course their biscuits are good, but the tacos are stellar. Village Grill is run by the same people so I wonder if their tacos/quesadillas are good. And the lunchtime po-boys at Scratch aka PJ's Po-Boys have amazing bread and so many combinations.

Check those places out. My son heard from someone about an authentic Mexican place, and I will try to find out what it is and go scope it out. In the meantime, don't miss these two! It was so good to get back to H-town and load up on my favorites over Labor Day!

We certainly could use some ‘authentic” Mexican cuisine here in Roanoke and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Mama Jean’s food!

Please do share any good new restaurant/food discoveries that you might encounter, we would appreciate it

[SteelCityRising]

Enjoying this thread immensely. Thank you all for your contributions thus far!

[RunD1987]

Good read. We are a 90 minute drive South neighbor in GSO. Considering a move to Roanoke, as we love being near the mountains, after my Wife completes school in 2023. So awesome to hear good things about Roanoke!!!

[ExAustin]

Originally Posted by Watchful

ExAustin and PaulFromHouston...

I thought of you both when I got the birria tacos from the Mama Jean's food truck yesterday. Check out their Facebook page - they are only open certain days and the menu varies. The brisket is the best in Roanoke (yeah...I know...but still...) and these tacos were just amazing! I will be scoping them out again. Right now they are in a food truck on Brambleton but will soon move to a new location near Towers (saw that in yesterday's Times).

Speaking of tacos...I am hooked on the breakfast tacos at Scratch Biscuit. One of the few places that has really good homemade tortillas - makes all the difference. Of course their biscuits are good, but the tacos are stellar. Village Grill is run by the same people so I wonder if their tacos/quesadillas are good. And the lunchtime po-boys at Scratch aka PJ's Po-Boys have amazing bread and so many combinations.

Check those places out. My son heard from someone about an authentic Mexican place, and I will try to find out what it is and go scope it out. In the meantime, don't miss these two! It was so good to get back to H-town and load up on my favorites over Labor Day!

Ain't they great? Mama Jean's is singlehandedly raising the bar for BBQ around here. I find their tacos good but a bit on the heavy side. Would like to see some Baja-style west coast breakfast burritos and traditional Tex-Mex ones too.

Agree on Scratch tacos and po-boys (THE BAGUETTES ARE FROM BREAD CRAFT WHICH EXPLAINS EVERYTHING)... they beat the biscuits! I find the Scratch biscuit/ingredient ratio a bit off. Too much biscuit, not enough stuff. But overall not bad. Needs more tweaking to get to "awesome"... will they eventually push the limit?

Village Grill has "Taco Tuesday" from 5pm onward. Tacos are good, not awesome, but great for the price and a fun environment nonetheless.

[midnightbirdgirl]

We are in NOVA and will be relocating in spring. This is very helpful.
Thank you for your real honesty.

[BeckyILtoVA]

I just got back from a quick trip to Roanoke to check it out. I did NOT experience the driver issues listed in the OP. For my first 2 days I really wondered about the crossing the yellow line problem, since it seemed every road had a center median. Then I got to experience some of the twisty mountain roads where I wished there was a median or at least a decent lane width. I'm not sure I want to try those roads with a horse trailer, which is a problem since they lead to the Green Hill Park Equestrian Center.

I didn't see stopping on ramps, or at the traffic circle, or super slow acceleration. I did see some heavy traffic on Orange Ave east of Williamson. I was trying to see where some apartments Watchful told me about were, and there was enough traffic that I was worried about turning around to head for the airport. I only got as far as Dollar General. I loved being able to get to the airport in 10 min and not worrying about traffic a la O'hare.

I'm still hopeful that I'll get a job and be able to move to the area.

[mcanix]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Good read. We are a 90 minute drive South neighbor in GSO. Considering a move to Roanoke, as we love being near the mountains, after my Wife completes school in 2023. So awesome to hear good things about Roanoke!!!

I used to work for Piedmont Airlines in the late 80's in INT and GSO. I lived in Winston and Kernersville. I moved to Salem 2 months ago from the Atlanta metro area. I love it here. I was in Winston-Salem a week ago and in my opinion, it has gone downhill.

[dave9199]

Originally Posted by PaulFromHouston

In February, it will mark 4 years since my partner and I moved to Roanoke from Houston, Texas. I figure that is enough time living here to write a report on the experience, and to share it here. I’ll be issuing grades on all areas of the review. Call it a report card on Roanoke.

People. A+ Yep, in my experience the people in the Roanoke area get high marks on congeniality and friendliness. The merchants and retail people I’ve delt with have been mostly warm, helpful and professional. Drivers are usually courteous and thoughtful. More on drivers later, but for now suffice it to say that the people of the Roanoke area have helped make our transition from there to here a good one. Bravo for the people of Roanoke.

Food Scene C+ I have to admit from the start that where it concerns dining, Roanoke did not have much of a chance to impress a couple of Houstonians. We were literally spoiled for choices and used to a stunning variety of regional and ethnic fare at very good prices. Mind you, there are a small handful of very good spots to eat in Roanoke, if you’re willing to pay the arm and leg it takes to eat at them.

The very friendly people of Roanoke have been kind enough to make suggestions on places to eat, and we have learned to ignore them. We developed a “Don’t listen to the locals,” posture about restaurants after going to allegedly “fantastic” Mexican places, only to bite into tacos that tasted like they were filled with sawdust, complimented by bowls of seasoned tomato soup posing as salsa. We did manage to find a couple of mostly authentic taquerias that turned out to be pretty good, but we still miss the really good stuff of Houston.

Weather A+ The complete opposite of our experience with restaurants, it was really hard for Roanoke to fail at this one. In Houston, we had two seasons. January and HOT. Triple digit temperatures with 98+% humidity was the norm. Houston, if you will pardon the grossness, is like walking into someone’s mouth. The heat and the constant threat of hurricanes and flooding is relentless.

This area has actual, distinct seasons, none of them too extreme, with an abundance of days that can only be described as glorious. We still marvel at the days in summer that we can shut down the AC and open up the house, and that is reflected directly in our electricity bill, which is a fraction of what it used to be. All that nice weather with Southwest Virginia’s idyllic scenery is a fantastic combination.

Cost of Living B+ Roanoke gets high marks for real estate values (we bought a great home here), and equal approval for our experience shopping in food and department stores. If anything, our money goes a little further here (if we don’t eat out a lot). Gasoline and all other expenses are comparable to or less than what we had in Houston.

Drivers F- I know, in the real world there is no such thing as an F minus. Still, I could not bring myself to offer something as complimentary as a plain F to the drivers here. Do you know the quickest way to get a Roanoker to hit their brakes? Put them on an on ramp. On ramps seem to be a bit of a conundrum here, a kind of freaky quantum zone where the act of merging isn’t physically possible. In the quantum zone, you must come to a complete stop, turn on your turn indicator and then wait for a car to jump out in front of. It’s the Roanoke way.

Also, I’d really like to acquaint more Roanokers with the notion that yellow stripes are an actual boundary, separating cars going in opposite directions. Way too many people seem to think those lines are something you aim for, like part of your car is supposed to be in the opposite lane. You can see it on almost any road where there isn’t a physical barrier between traffic. People drift over the line into the oncoming lane as if by magnetic force. Or perhaps the voices from their phones tell them to. Either way, they scare the living daylights out of people who actually see yellow lines as a boundary.

Medical Care A What can I say? Roanoke is a great place for medical services. The facilities and the people who staff them are top notch. Carillion rocks, in our experience. There is even a very fine Veteran’s Administration Hospital that I go to in Salem. The care I get there and the quality of staff are far superior to what I experienced in Houston.

Entertainment B For a city of its size, Roanoke (and the surrounding area) have some good entertainment venues. We lucked out a little and bought a home less than 10 minutes from Berglund Center, where some decent over-the-hill acts show up from time to time.

Traffic A++ What can I say? I come from a city where a cross town trip during the average rush hour can take 2+ hours. A place with an abundance of road rage incidents. I have heard Roanokers complain about the traffic here, and I suppose we all acclimate to our own level of misery, but I’ve never experienced what I would call heavy traffic. Four years in and it is still a breeze to me.

Overall grade? I will give it a B+. Not perfect, but not bad by any means. Houston, at the time we left, was a C- or a D+, and only that good because of food and entertainment. So, hooray for us. Our move paid off and overall we are very happy to be here.

Thanks for the review Paul. My girlfriend and I will be relocating to Roanoke in spring 2023 and I'm looking for contacts there who can help point us in a good direction as far as the safer places to live there. I sent a friend request.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by dave9199

Thanks for the review Paul. My girlfriend and I will be relocating to Roanoke in spring 2023 and I'm looking for contacts there who can help point us in a good direction as far as the safer places to live there. I sent a friend request.

I do a lot of Uber driving in Roanoke...and I would be glad to respond to any direct messages if you have questions about any of the areas (and/or specific addresses) in Roanoke. There are definitely neighborhoods that are reasonably priced AND reasonably safe! Welcome to the area!

[dave9199]

Originally Posted by Watchful

I do a lot of Uber driving in Roanoke...and I would be glad to respond to any direct messages if you have questions about any of the areas (and/or specific addresses) in Roanoke. There are definitely neighborhoods that are reasonably priced AND reasonably safe! Welcome to the area!

Thanks for the reply Watchful. What areas are safe and where we could find an apartment for around $1200/mo?