My daughter, a 2019 medical school grad, will be moving to Roanoke, Virginia, in June to start her residency at the Carilion Clinic, which is associated with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Since I’m a VT grad (did my masters there in engineering), this dad is doubly proud of her.

Since she’s going to be there for at least three years and since she has a giant GSD, she’s looking to purchase an entry-level home (2-3 bedrooms/1-2 baths) in the area. Unfortunately, it’s been a long time since I visited Roanoke and I don’t remember that much about the city since I didn’t spend much time there when I attended VT in Blacksburg. She has a realtor, we’ve done lots of reading online, and I’ve researched the FEMA flood maps to keep her out of flood zones.

So far, we understand that SW Roanoke, SW Roanoke County, and Cave Spring are the most desirable areas for schools and personal safety, but most of the entry-level homes we’ve seen for sale in those areas are on the upper end of her prequalified price range (she’s trying to stay at $150k or below, though she’s prequalified for a good bit more) or they leave a lot to be desired. Salem’s an option and Vinton is a possibility, and we’ve seen a few possibilities in both areas. We’ve seen a number of nice, reasonably priced houses in other areas of Roanoke proper but are concerned about the crime rate (overall, the city rates an F) and the schools (Great Schools rates many of the city elementary schools between 2 and 4). However, I suspect that there are good areas and bad areas like most places. Are there specific areas of the city that are to strictly avoided or any good pockets where we might focus our attentions?

Assuming the virus restrictions don’t force us to postpone, we’ll be visiting Roanoke next weekend to look at houses on our short list. Any comments or suggestions you might have in helping us develop that will be greatly appreciated.

Congrats to both Dad and your daughter.

My daughter graduated from Roanoke College last May so we have visited the Salem/Roanoke area many times.

While we don't have personal knowledge of having "lived there" I can tell you the area is beautiful and both Roanoke and Salem are "sister cities" in that you can leave one, be in the other, without even knowing it.

Roanoke is more "city like" and Salem is more "urban". Don't hesitate to look at homes in Salem and best of luck.

We had many fun times in both Salem and Roanoke and I am sure she will as well.

I lived there part time in the 80's and liked it a lot.
The size was perfect for me, had almost everything I needed but was small enough that you could live outside the most densely populated part with a few minutes drive. Has a regional airport and is not far off I-81 so car travel is easy too.
The Blue Ridge Parkway and lots of natural sites are close by.
Roanoke has pretty much everything but the ocean.

Congratulations to you and your daughter!
I have lived in the area (sml) for 37 years and the area you mentioned are good.

A couple of questions:

How long will she be there? If she’s only doing her residency maybe rent? There are some nice rental places within walking distance..

Is she required to stay within 20 minutes or so of the hospital? I built a home for one of the docs there who interacts with residence (let me know if you want his contact info) and he had to be within that time distance.

If you’d like a contractor to take a look at a perspective purchase I’d be happy to do it for free..

Good luck.

Cave Springs and that area are the place to be if she plans on being there long term. If you go 20 mins north of Roanoke there are also nice areas around there too.

But there aren't too many "bad" places. But I've been told to stay away from the area W of the bus station and the area W of Gainsboro and Orange (where my hotel is/was).

I would think her assigned mentor or other contacts would let her know where others stay.

The place is crazy right now with the whole response to Covid-19 so God bless her for walking into that.

She will enjoy Roanoke if she gets any free time. The area is beautiful.

Having been through the residency/fellowship routine, although now MANY years ago, proximity in time to the medical center(s) is crucial.
When I did locum tenens cardiology work at the Salem VA in 2007-08, we had residents from the Carillion system who rotated through our service. Assuming that’s still the case, there is at least one additional medical center to consider proximity to.
Now in residency usually—in my ancient experience—one has to spend the night in the hospital when on call, not take call from home. That may vary from one rotation to another. In that case proximity such as being <20 minutes from hospital is not as important.

Thanks for bringing back very pleasant memories for me, other than the massacre at VT that occurred on the first day of my job at the Salem VA.

It’s gonna be an expensive place to live if she wants to be right in Roanoke and Salem is getting to be the same way. If she doesn’t mind a longer drive, out in the county is the way to go. Not sure about the county but the city of Roanoke is run by commie bastards that never saw a tax they didn’t love. On the plus side, Big Lick Brewing makes incredible beer and there’s a taco shop across the street from it that’ll deliver your food right to the the taproom.

That is a great area to relocate too.
I interviewed at the Carillon Hospital for the Police Dept.

I have tried numerous times to relocate to the Roanoke area to no avail.

About the only negative I can think of about the area is they occasionally get some pretty good snowfall along with some nasty motor vehicle accidents along that corridor. (For six years I ran the route from Richmond to Columbus OH for my reserve training and to see my family)

Roanoke also has some great sports teams.
The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hockey team and the Salem Red Sox minor league baseball team.

For a nice greasy burger the Texas Tavern used to be a mandatory stop for me.

What Leemur has stated in spot on, over the years I have gradually seen the cost of living sky rocket, taxes that are ridiculous and overall people moving in has changed.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
It’s gonna be an expensive place to live if she wants to be right in Roanoke and Salem is getting to be the same way. If she doesn’t mind a longer drive, out in the county is the way to go. Not sure about the county but the city of Roanoke is run by commie bastards that never saw a tax they didn’t love. On the plus side, Big Lick Brewing makes incredible beer and there’s a taco shop across the street from it that’ll deliver your food right to the the taproom.

You’re probably referring to Tuco’s Taqueria Garaje for the taco place...great food!

Compared to other cities of similar size Roanoke is pretty reasonably priced.

Reasonable versus Charlottesville, yes. Reasonable versus most of the western side of the state, not so much.

Congrats!

I've got 2 guys who work for me that live and work in Roanoke, and one of the guy's wife is doing her Emergency Medicine residency at Carilion right now. In fact, she is going to be the chief resident in the ER next year. The CEO of Carilion is also on the board of directors of the bank I work for. I've met her a couple of times, very bright lady.

Shoot me a message offline if you would like for me to connect you with my co-workers wife. I'm sure she can provide plenty of insight into the area and the different departments at Carilion. Email in profile.

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. A few of the neighborhood areas where we’ve found homes in her preferred price range in Roanoke are the Roundhill area, Melrose/Rugby, Preston Park, and Edgewood-Summit Hills. There are a few more expensive homes in the Grandin Court and Raleigh Court areas. If you are familiar with any of them, pros or cons, please let me know. Thanks!

h2oys, we definitely have Salem on our list, though it’s a little further out than she originally wanted. She has a couple houses on her list in Vinton, too, which is much closer, though I’m concerned about traffic considering the routes available.

220-9er, I was in Blacksburg at VT from Fall ’85 through Winter Quarter ’87. I think they changed to semesters the next year or so. I really loved the area but the job prospects weren’t very good when I finished my masters and my family was further south so I didn’t stay.

smlsig, she looked at renting first but wasn’t able to find anyone willing to take a German Shepherd, especially a really big one (he’s about 130 pounds and not fat). She’ll be there for at least three years through her residency and possibly a year or two beyond if she’s involved in research, so I’m figuring 3 to 4 years. There’s no requirement that she stay within 20 minutes of the hospital, but that is her desire, if possible.

Shaql, she’s spoken with some of the senior residents and has received some good information, but they live all over the area. Her realtor has worked with a few residents and at least one of their families, so she’s being helpful but is pushing toward the higher price range.

sjtill, she’s intern doing broad-based work this year where she went to med school and is doing a number of night shifts, but her specialty during her residency is one of the daintier ones that doesn’t usually require too much night work (you can probably guess). Regarding the VT massacre, I remember that day well; a friend’s dad was a professor sheltering in the building and came through safely. I think he’s retired now. The annual 3.2 mile memorial run (for the 32 victims) is going to be a virtual run this year due to the virus. I just ordered a new VT t-shirt for that.

Leemur, I’m seeing the tax issue up close as we look at houses. Their tax rates are as high as or higher than ours are in the Atlanta suburbs.

mrapteam666, I remember the snow! We had a monster snow storm when I was at Tech that closed campus and shut down the bus system. 18-inches the first day and 12 more the next. I’ve mentioned that to her and noted that she might have to get snow tires and chains for her car since it doesn’t have AWD.

EDIT: BamaJeepster, thanks for the offer and I'll definitely keep it in mind if she has more specific questions than I'm asking. Thanks!

I grew up in the Cave Spring area, specifically the Back Creek area. My family has been there 150 years. You’ve already identified SW county as the place to be, so my only advice would be to stay out of the Roanoke City boundaries. They are commie bastards.

I always thought if I went home permanently, I’d want to live a ways down US220 (Franklin Rd), just after it passes under the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Old timers call the area Clearbrook. If that area has gotten too expensive, you might find something more reasonable in Penn Forest, or perhaps even Starkey. If you don’t mind a longer commute, anything out towards Boons Mill will give you the country life. If you prefer the north side of the city, check out Mason Cove/Catawba. Quite rural without being too far from ROA.

I went to kindergarten in Boone’s Mill when my parents briefly owned a farm out there. Great memories, lots of kudzu.

quote:

Originally posted by StarTraveler:
We had a monster snow storm when I was at Tech that closed campus and shut down the bus system. 18-inches the first day and 12 more the next. I’ve mentioned that to her and noted that she might have to get snow tires and chains for her car since it doesn’t have AWD.

I was there for a similar storm in the early 90s. Great fun! Well, until I needed to get out of the apartment.

If this past winter is any indication of future winters, I don't think she'll need to be in any rush to acquire snows and chains.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you prefer the north side of the city, check out Mason Cove/Catawba. Quite rural without being too far from ROA.

I've got a friend over in Catawba. Beautiful area, and "far away enough" without being "too far away" from the city.

Congratulations to your daughter on her residency!

Oh, and Go Hokies!

It also might be worth looking into physician specific loans. Huntington Bank has a great program that helps to speed closing along, and also has a fast track for pre-qualification.

They do offer $0 down options (not recommended for really any buying plan).

My cousin lived there for quiet a while. In the 1980s or possibly the very early 1990s he described it as "Hell on wheels".

Update!

Thanks again to all who offered advice. My daughter and I visited Roanoke in April and visited my favorite house on her list first. If it had been me, I’d have bought it then but it wasn’t in her preferred area and she didn’t need quite so much room or some of the issues in an older home (1920s).

Our second stop was brand-spanking fresh on the market (premiered on the realtor list that day, though it was from the 1950s) in SW Roanoke near Grandin Village. It was just what she wanted so she jumped on it and her offer was accepted, allowing us to skip the rest of our list.

After something of a rollercoaster ride setting up her mortgage in the COVID-19 world, she closed recently and we helped her move in and start setting up house before she had to quarantine in order to start her new position. She’s done a lot on her own (Facetime, we’ve discovered, is great for allowing one to see the issue and give advice when problems arise) but my wife and I are planning to visit again soon to help her tackle some of the more complicated projects she wants to accomplish. The good news is that, with her engineering background, our daughter’s always trying to learn how to do such work and, like dad, is always interested in adding cool new tools in her toolbox.

Success!

Congrats to both you and your daughter on her new adventure.