ROANOKE, Virginia: Is It A DUMP What We Actually Saw
video description
Economically, Roanoke City has surged far ahead of the County and Salem combined having a municipality GDP (gross domestic product, of all goods and services produced within its borders in one year, of over a 3/4-to-1 billion dollars more that Roanoke County and Salem combined! That may not sound impressive until you account for the fact that the City sits at 100K, and Roanoke County and Salem are at over 120K! Downtown suffered with the loss of Norfolk and Western Railway merging with Southern, becoming Norfolk Southern and leaving behind the city that built it and it built.
As a key sign of gaining her footing the City won a coastal-wide contest to be the East Coast headquarters for Deschutes Brewery, an Oregon-based larger beer company. The list of contending regions was a whos who of cities that Roanoke City overcame. Finally recognizing its physical beauty, the lush green valley and the crowning surrounding mountains, and the social inner beauty of the loving, hospitable spirit of the people--at least towards outsiders, if not toward inner-city folk from the near-outside in, the City had to drag Roanoke County and Salem into investing in the Greenways. In retrospect, those two localities would argue against this, but if this werent so then why has the City completed the last mile last summer of its original Greenways Plan at a cost of over $6million and is now working on design plans to have them reach into every neighborhood, while the County and Salem are possibly half-way done with their portions.
With investments in bike trails, hiking trails along with improved sidewalks and on-street bikeways, the City has single-handed earned the International Mountain Biking Association Silver Designation, a distinction only placed on about dozen cities in the WORLD! and its the only city in the US East of not just the Mississippi, but the Rocky Mountains, if Im not mistaken. Now it has over 100 miles of these pathways.
In the end, the whites that chose to stick with the City, the Blacks that belovedly called it home and all others whove come there and chose it over the down-there-noses ones nearby have carved out a fiscally sound, upwardly mobile, resurgent entity that has only worked to serve its citizens well. The superintendent of City Schools just won the Commonwealth of Virginia Superintendent of the Year Award along with the City Schools now having the highest paid teachers in the region!
Quiet as kept the ineptitude and mismanagement of municipal responsibilities that is the Roanoke County Government had to be bailed out by the City in merging the City Water with the Spring Hollow disaster of cost overruns and extremely high water bills. Now this self-same denigrating bunch of the County is having to increase the water bills of City residents whose income in 25%-50% LESS than the Countys residents. The City had to bail out the trash collection of the County and essentially the County has nearly passed off every failed responsibility it has failed to accomplish for its residents off to have City residents bail them out--all the while they put them down--at least up until now.
I wish the producer had taken a drive to the Deyerle Road Section of the City that abuts right next to the Countys vaunted Cave Spring. He wouldve found a City neighborhood of manicured, landscaped beauties for homes versus the County homes with rotted roofs, cracked/faded paint, unkempt yards and grease-stained driveways. And these well-maintained or renovated homes now make up vast areas--dare I say a majority--of City neighborhoods! On top of that those Deyerle beauties are probably 20-30% less expensive and did I already say the schools are just as good or better than the Countys. Not to mention that the County expels all teen mothers, so it has the lowest rate of teen pregnancies in the state as they ship their girls off to Roanoke City, which with the Countys high rate, has a more than double the Commonwealths average of that woeful statistic.
Theres a lot to celebrate for Roanoke City. One thing though for me is overcoming time and time again the ongoing onslaught of attacks by the nearby surrounding communities. The excellent leadership for the City, from the Mayor and City Manager on down through the departments on to the City employees all over gives the City an edge that overcomes the nothing they (the County and Salem) have other than residential real estate agent-fueled attacks. All the while the Countys and Salems agent put the City down youve had Lichtenstein Group and other City agent companies that have literally made a mint off of AEP engineers, countless IT professionals for various mature and start companies relocating to the City. (That municipal GDP growth surge for Roanoke City came from some where.
On top of that, Virginia Tech has hitched its caboose to the City and with Fralin Biotechnology Research Institutes ongoing innovation and hopeful biotech company spin-offs the Citys and ultimately the regions future looks bright! Roanoke City is not just a come-back kid. Its really a stay on top kid that never faltered even in the midst of the ongoing attacks. Thanks for your video of the beautiful City I call my hometown. You did it a great service.
Date: 2024-01-28
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Comments and reviews: 34
DisturbedVibez
I’ve lived in Roanoke my entire life and I can say that it is kind of a dump but we have a lot of cool stuff too. To me Roanoke is all about it’s hidden gems and it’s community especially. If you ever come back I recommend checking out the grandin theater, scratch biscuit, and the mill mountain zoo. All great times. (Edit: also visit the Wasena area which is the best place to take a walk in Roanoke and check out black dog salvage while you’re there.
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I’ve lived in Roanoke my entire life and I can say that it is kind of a dump but we have a lot of cool stuff too. To me Roanoke is all about it’s hidden gems and it’s community especially. If you ever come back I recommend checking out the grandin theater, scratch biscuit, and the mill mountain zoo. All great times. (Edit: also visit the Wasena area which is the best place to take a walk in Roanoke and check out black dog salvage while you’re there.
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davidgardner8489
Thank you for your tour of Roanoke! I am a Roanoke native and moved away for a short time (southern CA) but was eager to return. So much to do in the valley and surrounding areas. The Roanoke River is a good floatable Kayak 'blueway' and the greenways offer lots of miles of biking, running, walking. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail both go through the area and there are a couple nice lakes nearby!
Happy travels!
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Thank you for your tour of Roanoke! I am a Roanoke native and moved away for a short time (southern CA) but was eager to return. So much to do in the valley and surrounding areas. The Roanoke River is a good floatable Kayak 'blueway' and the greenways offer lots of miles of biking, running, walking. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail both go through the area and there are a couple nice lakes nearby!
Happy travels!
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rickrudd
Two points regarding poverty rate/median household income.
Roanoke County is a bigger part of the Roanoke Metro area than the city itself; and the numbers appear much more positive when you look at the metro area stats.
Also, the cost of living is a fraction of most comparatively nice places you'll find around the country.
Excellent job of capturing my beloved hometown!
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Two points regarding poverty rate/median household income.
Roanoke County is a bigger part of the Roanoke Metro area than the city itself; and the numbers appear much more positive when you look at the metro area stats.
Also, the cost of living is a fraction of most comparatively nice places you'll find around the country.
Excellent job of capturing my beloved hometown!
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maggie742
lots of sweet people describing roanoke. i moved out of roanoke after living there for 16 years. i now live in a slow paced town an hour away and think it was the best decision of my life. i guess it’s all perception. i think roanoke has some good parts and others not so much. it was beautifully captured but there’s lots unscene.
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lots of sweet people describing roanoke. i moved out of roanoke after living there for 16 years. i now live in a slow paced town an hour away and think it was the best decision of my life. i guess it’s all perception. i think roanoke has some good parts and others not so much. it was beautifully captured but there’s lots unscene.
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marcomcdowell8861
Love to read reviews by people that live in cookie-cutter suburbs or NYC brownstones, that visit cities such as these and call certain areas with older homes, bad areas. Sometimes the charm of the neighborhood is that the houses look lived in yet the yards are clean and people are enjoying where they live.
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Love to read reviews by people that live in cookie-cutter suburbs or NYC brownstones, that visit cities such as these and call certain areas with older homes, bad areas. Sometimes the charm of the neighborhood is that the houses look lived in yet the yards are clean and people are enjoying where they live.
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andytn6507
My family has been in the Roanoke area since the early 1900's or earlier to the present and I love Roanoke very under rated city. My Grand dad used to take us grandkids to Mill Mountain Zoo every year until he passed in 1992. My best childhood memories are in Roanoke. Dr Pepper has always been big in Roanoke.
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My family has been in the Roanoke area since the early 1900's or earlier to the present and I love Roanoke very under rated city. My Grand dad used to take us grandkids to Mill Mountain Zoo every year until he passed in 1992. My best childhood memories are in Roanoke. Dr Pepper has always been big in Roanoke.
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tangodrizzle
Ive lived around Roanoke all my life. I always thought it was a pretty lame run down city but now after doing a little traveling around the country and watching your videos, I have to appreciate the beauty here. Still sad a bunch of the old beautiful buildings just sit vacant.
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Ive lived around Roanoke all my life. I always thought it was a pretty lame run down city but now after doing a little traveling around the country and watching your videos, I have to appreciate the beauty here. Still sad a bunch of the old beautiful buildings just sit vacant.
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MDK_Neon
It's sad that he thinks it bad in Roanoke it's not he only went to the bad place he did not bother to ether there is a lot of place to go have fun and for kids people that make videos about a place but don't know or understand what there saying it sad and people need to stop
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It's sad that he thinks it bad in Roanoke it's not he only went to the bad place he did not bother to ether there is a lot of place to go have fun and for kids people that make videos about a place but don't know or understand what there saying it sad and people need to stop
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willbliss349
We live in VA for 6 years and are moving in a few days. Virginia was a red state and has turned into a blue state dumb and many people are moving away, high tax rates, woke laws, and crime are why people are moving way! Roanoke city is not the place to be after dark.
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We live in VA for 6 years and are moving in a few days. Virginia was a red state and has turned into a blue state dumb and many people are moving away, high tax rates, woke laws, and crime are why people are moving way! Roanoke city is not the place to be after dark.
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usa-by-car
It's a dump, you only visited wealthy areas, show the real roanoke which is covered in ghettos. We have almost the highest murder rate per capita, 1 in 24 chance of being a victim of a violate crime. In 2020 we was 145 percent of crime than any other city in the country.
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It's a dump, you only visited wealthy areas, show the real roanoke which is covered in ghettos. We have almost the highest murder rate per capita, 1 in 24 chance of being a victim of a violate crime. In 2020 we was 145 percent of crime than any other city in the country.
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daphnehughes919
It is not a low crime rate here! There are a lot of shootings here! Down on the market too. I wish you would have checked before you made that statement. They even had to remove the beautiful seating outside of the main library because of the homeless.
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It is not a low crime rate here! There are a lot of shootings here! Down on the market too. I wish you would have checked before you made that statement. They even had to remove the beautiful seating outside of the main library because of the homeless.
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daphnehughes919
Very nice! Reporting from the underbelly here, if you live in Roanoke you can not stay at that hotel. We have a bad homeless problem that is why there is nowhere to sit and drink a soda. They removed all the beautiful seating to combat homelessness.
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Very nice! Reporting from the underbelly here, if you live in Roanoke you can not stay at that hotel. We have a bad homeless problem that is why there is nowhere to sit and drink a soda. They removed all the beautiful seating to combat homelessness.
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teresasilerlee6524
I live in Roanoke yes it has changed alot in the past years recently have learned they bus homeless in because we have the best programs for the homeless. We have an all Democrat city council that says alot
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I live in Roanoke yes it has changed alot in the past years recently have learned they bus homeless in because we have the best programs for the homeless. We have an all Democrat city council that says alot
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catfishhunter9642
Also look into the old lakeside amusement park! Alot of history their! Many famous singers played their. And the shooting star roller coaster ! It's gone now but interesting history to look up!
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Also look into the old lakeside amusement park! Alot of history their! Many famous singers played their. And the shooting star roller coaster ! It's gone now but interesting history to look up!
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2olvets443
Gainsborough neighborhood is far from nothing there. What you were looking at was the commercial section. NS offices were there along with education buildings and condos. The residential home were a bit further.
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Gainsborough neighborhood is far from nothing there. What you were looking at was the commercial section. NS offices were there along with education buildings and condos. The residential home were a bit further.
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evabradford3713
My daughter in law lived in Roanoke most of her life. Her and my son just moved here to northern mn. She said someone was killed just about every night. She said it is a very dangerous town to live in.
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My daughter in law lived in Roanoke most of her life. Her and my son just moved here to northern mn. She said someone was killed just about every night. She said it is a very dangerous town to live in.
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daphnehughes919
A friend of mine had a thriving restaurant downtown and they would not let him open a food cart anywhere downtown. Notice they don’t have vendors. They don’t want certain demographics downtown.
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A friend of mine had a thriving restaurant downtown and they would not let him open a food cart anywhere downtown. Notice they don’t have vendors. They don’t want certain demographics downtown.
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russeuro7944
Thank you so much for these videos once again. I can see the beauty of the USA through you! I hope that I can see this one day in person. It's nice to see parts of the country that remain truly great.
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Thank you so much for these videos once again. I can see the beauty of the USA through you! I hope that I can see this one day in person. It's nice to see parts of the country that remain truly great.
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usa-by-car
In the UK we used to have Woolworths in nearly every town and city and I think the public liked them cus of the amount of different stuff they had. I imagine they stopped trading around 2010 or so.
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In the UK we used to have Woolworths in nearly every town and city and I think the public liked them cus of the amount of different stuff they had. I imagine they stopped trading around 2010 or so.
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ramblingmaam2374
No it's not a dump! It's a best kept secret city in the US! Beautiful area to live, no traffic, decent comparative cost of living, plenty to do outdoors, good restaurants and people.
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No it's not a dump! It's a best kept secret city in the US! Beautiful area to live, no traffic, decent comparative cost of living, plenty to do outdoors, good restaurants and people.
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marningritaguy
So, I saw you in Columbia, SC which is where I live, now. I am from Roanoke, actually Vinton. I think Roanoke is so amazingly beautiful and undiscovered. Shhh lets keep it that way.
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So, I saw you in Columbia, SC which is where I live, now. I am from Roanoke, actually Vinton. I think Roanoke is so amazingly beautiful and undiscovered. Shhh lets keep it that way.
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chucklucas8747
Its a beautiful place to live its like other cities it has problems but they address them the area all around the city is beautiful i lived in salem outside of roanoke
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Its a beautiful place to live its like other cities it has problems but they address them the area all around the city is beautiful i lived in salem outside of roanoke
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animalingua6393
I am from Brazil. Could anyone explain why some American cities, like Roanoke looks desert on the streets We can hardly see people on the streets.
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I am from Brazil. Could anyone explain why some American cities, like Roanoke looks desert on the streets We can hardly see people on the streets.
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WhittyPics
Looks like a lot of cool looking things to see. Nicole is right. Fish are not pets. It sounds like you will need a HUGE man cave for all these signs.
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Looks like a lot of cool looking things to see. Nicole is right. Fish are not pets. It sounds like you will need a HUGE man cave for all these signs.
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usa-by-car
And your way off on cost of living. Those houses you showed are 400k or more. I live here, average trailer on 1/3 acre is min 170k if you can find 1.
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And your way off on cost of living. Those houses you showed are 400k or more. I live here, average trailer on 1/3 acre is min 170k if you can find 1.
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KeepNitReal1980
You didn’t show the worse parts of Roanoke. I live in Floyd Va and Roanoke is getting worse and worse every year. Shootings every day almost.
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You didn’t show the worse parts of Roanoke. I live in Floyd Va and Roanoke is getting worse and worse every year. Shootings every day almost.
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usa-by-car
I really enjoy your videos. I think I've almost seen them all. Very interesting and a really cool project. Thanks for doing it! Have a great day: )
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I really enjoy your videos. I think I've almost seen them all. Very interesting and a really cool project. Thanks for doing it! Have a great day: )
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renafielding945
Roanoke is the big city to me. I drive from Franklin County to Salem next door every Sunday and I hate how big and full of concrete it is.
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Roanoke is the big city to me. I drive from Franklin County to Salem next door every Sunday and I hate how big and full of concrete it is.
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mayan9458
Roanoke is totally beautiful. It has its not so nice areas just like any place but overall, I love living here. It’s a great place to live.
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Roanoke is totally beautiful. It has its not so nice areas just like any place but overall, I love living here. It’s a great place to live.
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georgebrill6549
I moved to Roanoke 4 years ago. I really like it, except that whoever is in charge of repairing the streets is unequal to their job.
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I moved to Roanoke 4 years ago. I really like it, except that whoever is in charge of repairing the streets is unequal to their job.
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stevenseymour4372
We love about 2 hours south of Roanoke but we drive up and stay a weekend at least 2 to 3 times a year I love the city of Roanoke.
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We love about 2 hours south of Roanoke but we drive up and stay a weekend at least 2 to 3 times a year I love the city of Roanoke.
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coreygraybill414
I live in roanoke a dump yeah, everything is bad. The government, the schools, the parks it has gotten worse since the flood of 85.
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I live in roanoke a dump yeah, everything is bad. The government, the schools, the parks it has gotten worse since the flood of 85.
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davemitchell6663
I just came across this video. If you wanted to see the crap part of the city you have to go Southeast or worse, Northwest.
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I just came across this video. If you wanted to see the crap part of the city you have to go Southeast or worse, Northwest.
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Gary-cs9dk
The reason we have a Dr Pepper sign is because at one point Roanoke drank more Dr Pepper per capita than anywhere else in the US
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The reason we have a Dr Pepper sign is because at one point Roanoke drank more Dr Pepper per capita than anywhere else in the US
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