In Roanoke, Va., newcomers find striking vistas, a vibrant arts scene and a tranquil lifestyle
Tranquility in traffic? If you daydream in Roanoke, Va., when a stop light turns green, the drivers behind you will probably wait politely, without honking.
"They're just very nice small-town people," says Jerry Schleifer, age 82, who settled in Roanoke in 2004. Mr. Schleifer retired in 1992, after selling the downtown Miami camera shop he owned for 42 years. He first retreated to Greenville, S.C., and later Denver.
Greenville proved too rustic for his tastes, and the high altitude of the Rocky Mountains he hiked near Denver left him breathing too hard for comfort.
Thus Mr. Schleifer typifies the many retirees in the Roanoke area who are well-traveled, have considered and sometimes tried other options, but settled on this leafy haven in southwest Virginia. The natural setting is the most obvious attraction. Nestled against the Blue Ridge Mountains (whose peaks generally rise to about one-quarter the height of Colorado's 14,000-footers), Roanoke offers striking vistas, lakes and rivers that stretch for dozens of miles. It also has a moderate climate. (Yes, winter temperatures can be disagreeably cold, but heavy snow and ice storms are rare.)
Although the population is about 92,000 within the city limits, the metropolitan area totals more than three times that number—enough to support ballet, opera and a symphony orchestra. Last November saw the opening of the 75,000-square-foot Taubman Museum of Art, designed by Los Angeles architect Randall Stout with a contemporary exterior of jagged lines that contrast dramatically with Roanoke's more traditional architecture. (That said, the city's theater group closed earlier this year amid mounting debt.)
'A Quality of Life'Artistic refinement wasn't all that attracted John and Kathy Merkwan, who retired in 2005 to a neighborhood in southwest Roanoke where five-bedroom colonial-style homes like theirs sell for about $380,000. Says Mrs. Merkwan, "I remember we walked around downtown, where the farmers market is right at the city center. It reminded us of Europe," where the couple had been stationed at times when John was a career Army officer. "There's a quality of life that's special. It's the kind of place where friends would want to come visit us, and we could show them lots to do."
For instance, Mr. Merkwan regularly treks the Appalachian Trail, where 113 miles close by are maintained by the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club. To kick back, the Merkwans are devotees of Star City Brewers Guild, a group of amateur beer makers who bottle their own concoctions and compete.
The beer club is named for Roanoke's sparkling symbol, an 88½ -foot-tall neon-illuminated star sitting atop Mill Mountain, which overlooks the city. Built in 1949 by merchants as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season, the red, white and blue star became so popular with residents that it now brightens the night year-round.
Though Roanoke's retiree population is growing, civic leaders aren't keen about being identified with the older demographic. In fact, they're focused on attracting "young professionals" and hoping to reverse a near decade-long slide in the area's population of 18- to 34-year-olds.
Not that Roanoke doesn't welcome older adults, says Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, supported by a four-county constituency. But she asserts that the area's reputation as a retirement spot sometimes gets in the way of local officials' efforts at economic-development outreach.
"Heck, sometimes it takes me three times to get people" focused on precisely which Roanoke she represents, says Mrs. Doughty. "They say, 'Isn't Roanoke the place where those people disappeared that time?' " (No, that was the lost colony of Roanoke on the North Carolina coast.) " 'Or Roanoke Rapids?' " (That didn't disappear, but it's also in North Carolina.)
Lots of NewcomersIf Roanoke could only stay a secret, that would please Andy and Frances Pratt, who retired to the edge of Smith Mountain Lake in 2005, after his 30-year Air Force career. "The only negative is the volume of newcomers headed this way," says Mrs. Pratt.
Although the lake, a 45-minute drive from downtown, has a 500-mile shoreline, the water is packed with pleasure boats in the summer. "On big weekends, the people who live here just sort of stay in the house because of the crowds," she says. The saving grace, according to Mr. Pratt: "On typical weekdays, the lake is relatively empty."
Roanoke residents point to several other shortcomings. Roanoke Regional Airport has 54 daily flights to nine major hub cities. But airport officials have been frustrated for years in trying to attract more carriers than the four affiliates of major airlines that now serve the area.
"We continually work with both our existing and potential carriers to attempt to get more cities, more frequencies and more seats," says Sherry Wallace, Roanoke Regional's manager of marketing and air-service development.
Getting AwayFor warm-weather getaways, Allegiant Air offers nonstop runs to Orlando/Sanford and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, both in Florida. But the prospect that the Las Vegas-based airline, a unit of Allegiant Travel Co., would add flights between its home city and Roanoke shows no sign of becoming reality.
Virginia, for its part, is hardly a tax haven. There's a state income tax (and military pensions aren't exempt, as they are in many states), as well as a state sales and "use" tax (which amounts to about 5%, when combined with local sales taxes).
Shopping in Roanoke, depending on your tastes, can be hit or miss. Richmond, about a 2½-hour drive to the northeast, is a popular destination for some people who enjoy a Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus.
That said, Roanoke is big enough to offer such popular chains as Macy's and two Barnes & Noble locations. More important to some are the area's plentiful independent boutiques, from clothiers to art galleries.
"You can find lots of little places that aren't cookie-cutter," says Lynne Hines, who retired near Roanoke in 2003 with her husband, Ed, a former executive at Lucent Technologies. For example, handbags designed at Claire v., an accessory shop downtown, have appeared on the hit television show "Desperate Housewives."
Mr. and Mrs. Hines are living in their 11th house, having been based in such cities as Atlanta, Chicago, and Columbus, Ohio. The comparative cost of living in Roanoke is a big plus, says Mr. Hines. "Our property taxes in Columbus were twice as high as here, on a house half the size of the one we have now."
Indeed, the Roanoke area's cost of living is nearly 10% below the national benchmark as calculated by Moody's Investors Service. For those who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs in retirement, the cost of operating a business in the Roanoke region is 86% of the national norm, according to Moody's.
Appealing AmenitiesMost transplants say the city's amenities far outweigh any drawbacks. The former include more than 20 miles of urban riverfront paths for easy biking and walking. The city's core also displays a vast collection of historic locomotives and train cars at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Train buffs can touch these treasures; the museum is often looking for volunteers to wash the huge antiques, from steam engine to caboose.
Attractions within an hour's drive or so include Jefferson National Forest, Dixie Caverns and the Natural Bridge, a majestic 215-foot-tall stone portal formed over millions of years and once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
The bridge, which draws about 200,000 tourists a year, was put up for sale in 2007 at an asking price of $32 million. The price included 1,400 wooded acres, which would have left plenty of distance between the buyer and the gift shop and 154-room hotel. The attraction has since been taken off the market.
But plenty of peace and quiet remain around Roanoke, even at stop lights.
By Robert Johnson Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page R7
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