Question:
I visited Roanoke last weekend and had a generally favorable impression of the area. Visited the Art Museum in the Center in the Square, ate dinner at Billy's Ritz, visited the Zoo, saw downtown Salem and Roanoke College area, etc.
Roanoke seems to be a real nice city. Is that a correct impression? Or are there a bunch of "not so nice" things about Roanoke that a weekend visitor wouldn't notice. What's it like to live/work/study there? Information and opinions ???
Answer:
Roanoke is not a big tourist town, besides the Star, museum and a few other things, there's not a whole lot of tourist attractions, which doesn't bother me a bit.
Roanoke is the kind of place where you run into people you know at the malls or at the park. People are basically friendly and we've found that a lot of the people we know are not originally from Roanoke. Whenever I visit a big city like Charlotte or the DC area, I'm glad to get back to Roanoke. Bumper to bumper traffic is essentially non-existent in Roanoke.
Schools are good here, we send our kids to a private Christian school which we're pleased with.
Overall, the Roanoke Valley is a nice place to live. The Roanoke City Market area where you were is the center of culture and nightlife and it is safe to be there after dark. There is a symphony and a good share of local bands of various persuasions. Shopping isn't too bad if you like malls and chain stores, but you can find small specialty shops that offer good things, too. Salem is gaining a good reputation as an antiques market, with several large stores and a handful of cooperatives strung out along Main Street. The major crime rate is pretty low
The Roanoke Valley has Roanoke College in Salem, Hollins College in Roanoke County, Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, and several business and trade schools. It also has a graduate center downtown, which offers graduate school programs from Virginia Tech, Radford University, and the University of Virginia. It is also about a 45-60 minute trip to Blacksburg (depending on where you leave from), where Virginia Tech, the largest university in Virginia, is located.
