Possibly relocating to Roanoke area

Hope4better

Hi everyone! I'm a middle school language arts teacher possibly relocating to the Roanoke area from central PA. What can you tell me about the area? What are the schools like (which are the best to teach/send my children?) How is the community? FI is a civil engineering student who will soon be looking for a job. Any ideas about the job market for civil/structural/environmental engineers? What are the better parts of town to live in? We'll be renting until we get settled, but would eventually like to build. Any other info would be really appreciated! I'm searching online, but a real person's insight is always much more relevant! TIA!

abHokie

I PMed you about this.

sporky

i'm a little late, but thought i'd throw out some answers anyway...

Hope4better:

Hi everyone! I'm a middle school language arts teacher possibly relocating to the Roanoke area from central PA. What can you tell me about the area? it's family friendly and great for outdoorsy people. What are the schools like (which are the best to teach/send my children?) the roanoke county schools are pretty good. salem city schools are probably academically the best.  roanoke city schools are not great. -- this is all for the kids. as far as jobs, the teaching jobs are few and far between right now. roanoke city is really the best bet for openings but many teachers i know who work in the city do not stay there for very many years. the economy has been pretty tough on the areas's education programs and there are some big hiring freezes on.How is the community? people are friendly, and we have a lot of amenities that someone might want in a mid-sized town.  bonus- the crime rate is fairly low. FI is a civil engineering student who will soon be looking for a job. Any ideas about the job market for civil/structural/environmental engineers? DH is a mechanical engineer. i'll have to ask him what he knows about the civil job market. What are the better parts of town to live in? salem, north roanoke county, botetourt, and southwest roanoke county are all great areas to live. We'll be renting until we get settled, but would eventually like to build. Any other info would be really appreciated! I'm searching online, but a real person's insight is always much more relevant! TIA!

hth!

MrsRogers1031

I am actually in the Roanoke area, and a middle school teacher as well!  As the person above me stated - the schools in Roanoke County, Salem & Botetourt are great.  My daughter attends school in Salem and she loves it!  I teach in a nearby county (not in the city) about 30 min. away.  Roanoke City is usually the only system really hiring.  We really like the area, we moved from upstate NY a little over a yr. ago.  People are extremely friendly and there are a lot of cute small town events going on year round.  I am not sure about the market for engineers.  I would live outside of Roanoke City until you know where to go and where you want to stay away from.   HTH!  If you have any questions, PM me