Martha Goodwin & Terry Apple

Perhaps it was fate, or a bad year for hurricanes, that brought us to Roanoke. Having initially wanted to retire close to the ocean, in a city such as Charleston or Savannah, the steadfast weather and easy-going pace of life quickly made Roanoke an appealing option for us to settle in.

Equally intrigued by the local top-notch health care facilities and plans for expansion, both with the new medical school and Art Museum of Western Virginia, the area seemed to have a good mix of young professionals, as well as an established reputation for being “one of the ten best cities to retire in.” In addition, compared to the high cost of living that we faced in D.C., we were thrilled to purchase a home for much less than we had anticipated. Though we are still hours away from the beach, we are happy to call Roanoke home, and to substitute our once-envisioned ocean view with that of the mountainous Virginia landscape.