Roanoke is great for retirees!
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7/11/2008
Roanoke is probably the most overlooked area in the U.S. by the national media for quality of life. MONEY magazine named it the top place to retire a few years ago but since then this region is overhadowed by nearby cities of Charlottesville and Asheville. The area would like more young professionals to settle here but with the large elderly population it is better geared for people who would traditionally move to Florida after a successful career.
Downtown is quite vibrant with many diverse restaurants, entertainment and cultural offerings. There is an opera, symphony, perfoming arts center, civic center, transportation rail museum, zoo, $66m new art museum, two major shopping malls within 10 miles of each other, major lake with sandy beach and cabin, riverboat dining, whitewater rafting, tubing, Va Tech football games, mountain hiking and camping on the Blue Ridge Pkwy, romantic dining at the Peaks of Otter Lodge, hot water baths at Hot Springs' The Homestead which offers winter snow skiing/ice skating, etc etc. There is much to explore within a 50 mile radius of Roanoke. I believe the locals know what a "diamond in the rough" it is so therefore its still the best kept secret in the U.S.
Ed | Roanoke, VA