Radford-Blacksburg (Roanoke, Christiansburg, Appalachia: crime rate, buying a house, safe area)

[punnycoffee]

Hello everyone. My husband and I have lived in many parts of the country and recently he talked about Virginia. I did a little bit of homework and Radford/Blackburg caught my attention. They say the best way to know a town is talk to the locals, so here I am. What can you guys tell me about these 2 places? I am in my late 30s and he's in his early 40s, we don't have any kids. So far, from what I've read is that Blacksburg will have more opportunities for work compared to Radford, so I'm going to assume it's because Blacksburg has a larger population and is more 'happening' compared to Radford? We are also considering buying a house if we like the place in the future. We're not rich but we're doing ok-ish (doing electrical and handyman services), so I'm not looking into buying anything expensive. What's the living cost and expenses like, being that they're university towns? What about the crime rates? (any personal experiences would be great). Where I live now, in a small town in New Mexico, every now and then I will hear shootings and we have a lot of thefts going on. It's not a place I will want to bring my family for a visit, plus... it's a very poor town, in my opinion, lots of potholes and bad neighborhood. Drugs and alcohol is a huge problem here, almost every men we know has a history of drinking and drug problem. Again, not a place I will invite my family over for a visit.

[Bigfoot424]

Blacksburg has been, at least in the past, considered one of the safest cities in the state. I like both areas but would choose B'burg over Radford. Speaking from a LE perspective there is no town or city, anywhere in the US, that is crime free. Even gated communities see crime. Radford is by no means a high crime area but its rate of petty crime is higher than B'burg. Plus with B'burg you have Christiansburg right next door for more options. Considering all three areas mentioned here are so close to each other the travel time will be minimal to go anywhere. But in terms of the beauty of the surrounding areas then B'burg wins out in my opinion.

As a side note if you make it into B'burg head over to the veterinarian college and look at the German Shepherd statue out front. It honors all of the LE K9's killed in the line of duty going back to the earliest records. One of my K9's I trained is on there. It sits out front where the public can visit.

[Watchful]

Blacksburg is a pretty small town to have such a large college so VTech really dominates everything in ways good and bad (as compared to, say, Knoxville).

I think the biggest concern I would have…

Some areas close to the school have a really high amount of after dark foot traffic of students and this includes some really really attractive neighborhoods! (I have done a little late night Uber driving there.)

So if I were buying property there I would wanna be aware. But all told, I think Blacksburg/Christiansburg could be a fine choice!

[Bigfoot424]

But I do not believe this foot traffic means higher crime stats. I've not kept up with crime stats for the last few years for the most part but Blacksburg has always been statistically a very safe area. Has this changed that you know of?

[ersatz]

I also recommend the area. I don't live there, but the rest of my family does, and I travel there regularly. Blacksburg is considered to be a bit more expensive and upmarket than Radford. You may want to compromise by moving to Christiansburg. Christiansburg is pretty quiet but it has a concentration of Big Box Stores on the outskirts - like Target, Walmart, Petsmart, etc.

Cost of living is considered to be slightly less than the national average, according to a CD-rival site. The crime rate is considered to be well less than the national average. The only minus that I know of is that housing rates are considered to be expensive for a relatively rural area - because so many people want to live there. I particularly love all the great outdoor recreational options in the area. The surrounding countryside is beautiful. Politically, it's relatively laid back. The deep rural areas are pretty far to the right, but the towns (especially around the universities) are relatively liberal. People in the area are mostly live and let live types. If you are kind, neighborly and considerate, you should get along well with almost everybody.

[punnycoffee]

Hi guys! Thank you so much for the recommendations. I will look into Christiansburg too after this. They all look like very nice places and I can't wait to check it out. One thing we look forward to is to go for walks, either around the neighborhood or hiking in the parks. Have not been able to do that since we moved to NM 2 years ago with the heat being the #1 reason (109F in June). We used to live in Washington, loved everything about it but the cost of living got too expensive for us and we had no choice but to leave.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by punnycoffee

Hi guys! Thank you so much for the recommendations. I will look into Christiansburg too after this. They all look like very nice places and I can't wait to check it out. One thing we look forward to is to go for walks, either around the neighborhood or hiking in the parks. Have not been able to do that since we moved to NM 2 years ago with the heat being the #1 reason (109F in June). We used to live in Washington, loved everything about it but the cost of living got too expensive for us and we had no choice but to leave.

Christiansburg is a great place for trails. https://www.christiansburg.org/1117/Trails-and-Cycling

My family particularly loves the Huckleberry Trail that stretches for eight miles between Christiansburg and Blacksburg. https://huckleberrytrail.org/ There are lots of great opportunities nearby, like the Appalachian Trail and Smith Mountain Lake. There are many other local favorites that are not that well known outside the local area, like Fairystone. https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/fairy-stone This truly is a wonderful area if you love nature and the outdoors and beautiful views.

[16 Acres]

The worse thing about Blacksburg-Christiansburg and the surrounding areas is I-81. You can't go to many places without using it and it's becoming more and more problematic. On a positive note, they want to extend passenger rail service to the area.

[punnycoffee]

Wow thanks for the info about the parks. If I make it there, I will definitely check it out. And thank you for letting me know about their plans to extend the passenger rail. I think that's important to know, as I would prefer to take public transport whenever I can.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by 16 Acres

The worse thing about Blacksburg-Christiansburg and the surrounding areas is I-81. You can't go to many places without using it and it's becoming more and more problematic. On a positive note, they want to extend passenger rail service to the area.

You don't have to take I-81. I agree that route can get scary at times (heavy overloaded trucks and reckless motorists weaving in and out of traffic at speeds of 90+ mph). I often divert to Rt 11. It's safer and more scenic but it's slooowwww. In Roanoke, Rt 11 turns into a hot mess, even using Waze or Google Maps, so I usually divert to I-81 to go around the city and back onto Rt 11.

Originally Posted by punnycoffee

Wow thanks for the info about the parks. If I make it there, I will definitely check it out. And thank you for letting me know about their plans to extend the passenger rail. I think that's important to know, as I would prefer to take public transport whenever I can.

If passenger rail does extend to Christiansburg, it will take a several years before a station is open there. Right now, the service terminates in Roanoke. There's a shuttle bus that picks up passengers arriving by train and carries them and their luggage to Christiansburg and Blacksburg. www.smartwaybus.com