One aspect that I forgot to mention in a previous post about the weather here in Roanoke is: Generally speaking it’s great, but it sure can be wacky!

Within just a week or so we have seen near 0 temperatures and bitter cold, and today the forecast has projected the temperatures to reach the upper 60s and maybe even 70.

Then, in a couple more days we are supposed to be back down to normal February temperatures of around the 30s and 40s.

I’m not complaining about the mild temps lately, or about the ups and downs that my thermostat has undergone due to the changes. This seems to be common for the area. I think it was around Christmas 2007 or early January last year when we reached the 60s for multiple days.

It doesn’t seem to work the other way around, though. I don’t recall a frost warning ever being issued for a day in July or August in Roanoke.

Having said that, it’s looking like we may get through the 2008-09 Winter without any real measurable amounts of snow or icy precipitation. There hasn’t been much to fall at my house in the City so far, probably not even an inch total for the whole season.

Of course, I’m reminded of a time in the 1990s when in March I believe it was that we received about 2 feet of snow. I missed school for at least a week if I remember correctly.

So, winter weather is far from out of the equation. In the meantime, enjoy the springtime temperatures!

A few weeks ago I received a comment from a reader who lives up North and is considering moving to Roanoke. They asked me to write about Roanoke and what I think about living here. What are some of the pluses and minuses of Roanoke? What to expect and what not to expect? And, overall talk a little about the quality of life here.

With the next few posts I’ll do my best to answer these questions from my perspective, and generally so that they can apply to all ages. These posts hardly aim to cover everything about Roanoke, and I encourage you to leave comments below and add your own perspective. 

I work and probably earn somewhere in the neighborhood of the median or average income for a US household. Ocassionally, I pick up another 1-2 part-time jobs when I want (not including this blog).

I’m not rich and I don’t live my life in such a way to encourage people to falsely believe I’m rich. I dislike debt and live within my means. I say this not to brag or anything of that sort, but to say that, relatively speaking, money seems to go a pretty far distance in Roanoke. Especially for those that are conscious of their budget, save appropriately, and don’t live outside of their salary range.

The beauty of it is that Roanoke is fairly laid back to the point where one doesn’t have to live extravagantly just to fit in with the rest of society.

Now, there is poor and homeless in Roanoke. In fact, there seems to be more homeless downtown recently than I have ever seen before. I mean maybe a half-dozen instead of 1 or 2 that I used to see. There is probably more than that but it doesn’t seem like Chicago or DC where on nearly every corner there was a homeless person.

But as for me, I can make all of my payments and still eat out infrequently or go to the mall every few weeks and splurge on some new clothes. At the end of the day I’m not struggling to pay bills, and I have plenty to save for retirement (or to pay for child expenses if/when that occurs). Money seems to go farther is my point.

In short, I live OK on an income that would probably be considered the low end of the spectrum if I did the same work in a bigger city. So, in Roanoke, I realize I make less, but it’s just a cheaper place to live overall I think so it evens out.

In closing, I can only speak for myself. I went to college, learned a desirable skill, work hard, and live on a modest income. Roanoke helps to provide me this life and hopefully will continue to do so for years to come.

I see Roanoke helping to provide the same or better life for others, and see no reason why it can’t to do the same for anyone else willing to take advantage of the relatively low cost of living here.

A few weeks ago I received a comment from a reader who lives up North and is considering moving to Roanoke. They asked me to write about Roanoke and what I think about living here. What are some of the pluses and minuses of Roanoke? What to expect and what not to expect? And, overall talk a little about the quality of life here.

With the next few posts I’ll do my best to answer these questions from my perspective, and generally so that they can apply to all ages. These posts hardly aim to cover everything about Roanoke, and I encourage you to leave comments below and add your own perspective.

With this post I’m going to write a little about the weather in Roanoke.

Weather

Overall, the temperatures in Roanoke are rather mild and pleasant for each season respectively. Aside from a few days out of the year, we usually don’t freeze too much, or suffer from the heat too much either.

This is not to say Roanokers are immune from some a few unbearably hot August afternoons, nor some icy filled mornings in late January or February. But, by and large things are rather calm around here in the weather department.

If you have children they will be happy to know that when we get any (and I mean any, even a bit over a dusting) of snow on the roads then schools promptly close for the day.

Hardly measurable snow Roanoke received back in November, which quickly melted by mid morning.

After the cold months, and for several weeks starting in late Winter and through early Spring, I shut off the thermostat and open the windows for some natural (and much cheaper) temperature regulation.

During the warm months it’s a daily scene to view the green mountains in the distance as you drive around town.

Mill Mountain (home of the Mill Mountain Star) as seen from the Jefferson Street Bridge.

In upcoming posts, more on the basics of living in Roanoke including crime and cost of living.

A few weeks ago I received a comment from a reader who lives up North and is considering moving to Roanoke, I believe as a place to retire. They asked me to write about Roanoke and what I think about living here. What are some of the pluses and minuses of Roanoke? What to expect and what not to expect? And, overall talk a little about the quality of life here.

With the next few posts I’ll do my best to answer these questions from my perspective, and generally so that they can apply to all ages. These posts hardly aim to cover everything about Roanoke, and I encourage you to leave comments below and add your own perspective.

Before I can even begin talking about Roanoke I feel inclined to give a brief background on how I came to call it home. And why I still live and work within minutes from the hospital where I was born.

My dad was born and raised in Roanoke. My mom moved here from the mid-west when she was young as a result of my grandfather being transferred while working for Norfolk-Southern.

Both of my parents (now divorced) still live in or in the vicinity of Roanoke. Well, my mom actually still lives in the same house where I grew up.

And those of my grandparents still alive also live in Roanoke, with several other relatives scattered throughout Virginia from here to Richmond.

I was born at Lewis-Gale Hospital and grew up in Roanoke County.

I went to college at Virginia Western and Radford University and then came back to Roanoke looking for work and my place in the world. Sometime later I purchased my first home in Roanoke City, found a rewarding career, and never had a chance or consideration to look back.

I suppose I could be called a “young professional” that Roanoke is looking to attract, or keep. And I plan on hanging around here for the long-term.

I don’t think it’s entirely accurate to say that we choose the city where we live.

Sometimes the city chooses us.

Next up, Living in Roanoke - The Basics.

I’m optimistic at the start of a new presidential term, but I also realize that these are tough times. And they may get tougher before they get better.

Even Roanoke has felt some of the effects of the weakened ecomony:

Circuit City Going Out of Business

I was genuinely saddened by this news. I’ve always liked Circuit City and shopped there many times going back to when it used to be over at Crossroads. I’m in the market to finally upgrade from my old tube TV to a new HDTV set so I may have to make a stop there and see what they have left. I drove by on Sunday and it looked very busy. Nothing like a store closing down to drum up business I guess.

Mill Mountain Theatre to Shutdown

I was frustrated by this news, mostly at myself. For years I kept telling myself I was going to take in a performance at the theatre, and it just never happened. Now, the time has run out.

Ukrop’s Picking up Some Business?

Since I read a Roanoke Times article about Ukrop’s not having enough business, it seems that they have had at least a little increase in business the times I have been there. I hope so. I’m doing about 99% of my shopping there now.

Many Deals at Some Stores Still Around

I was in need of some new shoes and clothes so I went to Tanglewood Mall this past Sunday. Belk had sale signs splattered all over the place. After several minutes I had picked out a pair of jeans, pants, and a few shirts. Based on what I could gather from markdowns and sales I estimated the total price to be about $115 for everything. Good deal I thought. When I got to the register it turned out being only $85, so I just smiled.

Then, it was off to JC Penney for a couple pair of shoes and they were quite busy in particular. I even ended up driving out to the Valley View store to get the shoes because they didn’t have my size at Tanglewood.

I plan on going back and buying more when I get my tax refund.

Final Thoughts

The state of the economy of course concerns me, but it doesn’t control me. I still work as hard as I ever have. I’m spending less than I used to, but I believe before now I was in fact over-spending. If I go out to eat or get a haircut I still tip well over 10%. I’m more conscious about paying down debt and saving for the future in my 401k. Most importantly, I live within my means.

I hadn’t checked some of the visitor stats for this blog in a while, but I had a chance to over the weekend. What I found a little interesting were some of the phrases people typed in a search engine which led them to Noke News.

Common search terms may be for various points of interest that I’ve written about such as the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Bridge.

But, some of the following I consider a bit more uncommon:

(From December 2008)

“cold football game”
“people at cold football game pictures”
“va tech football va game scoreboard picture”

I hope my trip to a bitter cold Virginia Tech football game back in November was a little helpful to these visitors.

“greenway from best buy to hotel roanoke”

They must be referring to Lick Run Greenway.

“i went to vwcc”

So did I! I wrote a post about the school here.

“is it going to snow in roanoke va this winter”

Well, it did snow a dusting here in Roanoke back in December. Not much has fallen since then aside from some flurries. There is actually a chance of some today.

“is k&w open on christmas in roanoke,va”

I’m not sure, I went there on Thanksgiving, but that probably wasn’t much help.

“noke city va”

I just thought it was cool that somebody searched using the “Noke” slang.

“pictures of fried wingettes”

I have no clue about this one….but I hope they found this site interesting.

These photos were taken on 12/27/08 as I traveled from Roanoke out along US 460 (and eventually on secondary roads) to the Bedford area over the holiday.

Most of these photos will need no introduction, other than being just a fraction of some of the beautiful and unique countryside scenes that we are fortunate to view here in Southwest VA.

I hope you enjoy them.

These photos were taken on 12/27/08 as I traveled from Roanoke out along US 460 (and eventually on secondary roads) to the Bedford area over the holiday.

Most of these photos will need no introduction, other than being just a fraction of some of the beautiful and unique countryside scenes that we are fortunate to view here in Southwest VA.

I hope you enjoy them. If you missed Part 1, it is here. I’ll post Part 3 on Wednesday. (Link to Part 3 is also at the bottom of the post.)

Part 3