Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This year, those attributes vaulted Roanoke to its highest ranking since 1990 in Money magazine's ninth annual assessment of the country's 300 best places to live.
The magazine rated the Roanoke area - Roanoke, Salem, Roanoke County and Botetourt County - No. 77 out of the 300 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.
That's a dramatic improvement over last year's showing of No. 201. But it doesn't necessarily mean things have changed all that much in the valley.
In fact, Roanoke's ranking has fluctuated wildly in years gone by.
"What changes is what our readers say is important," Money staff reporter Sheryl Nance-Nash said. "That means that the results can shift around, depending on what people are concerned about from year to year. This year, environmental concerns topped the list." Money also adds new categories year to year.
The magazine, she said, ranks the cities based on what Money subscribers say they value most in a place to live. This year, subscribers rated the importance of 41 factors, such as clean air, quality of schools, crime rates, number of doctors and tax rates.
Money staff members, with the assistance of a demographic consulting company, collected data in each of the categories for each of the country's 300 metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Finally, she said, points were awarded and the areas ranked based on how well they delivered in nine broad categories: economy, health, crime, housing, education, weather, transportation, leisure, and arts and culture.
Roanoke, according to the survey, did well in all aspects, but ranked particularly high in education. The valley placed just behind St. Louis, Mo., and Charlottesville in the amount of money spent per pupil on education, allocating $5,972 per child in the 1993-94 school year, the latest for which figures were available.
Century 21, a nationwide real estate sales company, compiled real estate data for the poll. Jessie Brown, who owns Roanoke's Century 21 office, said he fields at least a dozen calls every week from people who want to relocate to the valley for just the reasons listed in the Money survey.
"I don't think there's been any significant change here," Brown said. "I think things have changed on the other side where everybody else lives. Our schools are good, the crime rate is low and so are taxes."
People also value the conservative growth taking place in the valley, he said, rather than runaway expansion with no thought to the future.
Roanoke Economic Development Specialist Doug Chittum agreed with Brown.
"If you look at the demographics of our area," Chittum said, "you can see we have controlled, methodical growth. I don't think you'll see too many dramatic changes."
Roanoke County Administrator Elmer Hodge said the county has made a concerted effort to increase the quality of the schools.
"We've really done a lot of work in that area," he said, "and we've also paid a lot of attention to civic projects like the sewage treatment plant and the effort to protect the Blue Ridge Parkway."
The Roanoke Valley has always been a great place to live, Hodge said, and the rest of the country is just now picking up on that.
In 1993, Frank Neubauer decided to move his business form manufacturing operation here from New York's Westchester County. More than 40 percent of his New York employees made the move with him, he said.
"Roanoke is a happy combination of quality of life and a low cost of living," said Neubauer, chairman and chief executive officer of Transkrit Corp. "And most of the time, you've got pleasant weather."
by CNB