Thinking about moing to Danville

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Danville. The reason being because we currently in Arizona, a very hot and busy place.

We are looking for a more relaxed atmosphere. I would continue to work, my husband would be retired.

Can anyone give me information regarding the living conditions there ie. food pricing, housing cost, employment conditions.

I have looked on websites, however, nothing paints a better picture than the residents that live there daily.

I've lived in Danville all of my life, and I'm probably one of the few that likes it there. But I will say this, depending on your area of expertise, it may be quite difficult to find a job. Being brutally honest, I've heard that Danville's unemployment rate is the highest in the state. But again, it depends on what you do for a living.
It's not the best place to move to, but it's not the worst either. Most of the people are nice, depending on which part of town you live in. We have good parts of town and bad parts of town as well.
The cost of living is about average, I'd say. If you want to rent a decent 3-4 bedroom home somewhere, you'll be looking at probably between 500-600 a month, inside the city limits. In the county, it varies.
As for food, there are restaurants everywhere, and most of them are reasonably priced (with the exception of Hardee's, they are way too proud of their black angus thickburgers, charging around 7 bucks for a combo) and for grocery shopping, we have places like Food Lion, Walmart, Piggly Wiggly, and I'm not sure if there are any Krogers left or not. There aren't on my side of town anyway.
Sam's club is also a great choice for shopping for food, because, if you're not familiar with Sam's Club (which you probably are, but still, just in case) it's like a wholesale store, where you can buy things in bulk for pretty darn cheap. The only drawback is that you have to be a member and it does cost money to be a member. I'm not sure how much, I've only been there a time or two as a guest of someone else's, but I enjoyed it tremendously. They have good prices on electronics and clothing too.
If you meet the right people in Danville, you will love it. But if you move to the wrong part of town, you will be miserable and looking over your shoulder constantly. But I guess it's like that everywhere.
I will say this though, Danville is getting better as far as places to go and things to do. When I was a teenager, we struggled for entertainment. Now there's plenty to do unless you're hard to please.
The most prominent things in Danville are churches and fast food restaurants haha. The Sutherlin Museum is really neat too, if you're into history. There are some neat places to visit. Decent libraries, decent movie theaters, and there's even a skating rink, but I can't vouch for the quality of that anymore.
The best advice I can give you, is to try to have a job lined up before you move. Or make sure you have enough saved that you can survive on until you find work. It may take a while. The economic slump hit Danville and the surrounding cities and counties pretty hard. Most of the bigger factories and companies are shut down now because of it.
But it's slowly getting better. I'd recommend it, if you're looking for something away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. It's not quite Mayberry, but it's no New York either.:)

Thank you for the honest feedback. It is very enlightening. Your feedback paints a picture of place that I will want to investigate when I vist it September.

Mrs_Smith wrote:

I've lived in Danville all of my life, and I'm probably one of the few that likes it there. But I will say this, depending on your area of expertise, it may be quite difficult to find a job. Being brutally honest, I've heard that Danville's unemployment rate is the highest in the state. But again, it depends on what you do for a living.
It's not the best place to move to, but it's not the worst either. Most of the people are nice, depending on which part of town you live in. We have good parts of town and bad parts of town as well.
The cost of living is about average, I'd say. If you want to rent a decent 3-4 bedroom home somewhere, you'll be looking at probably between 500-600 a month, inside the city limits. In the county, it varies.
As for food, there are restaurants everywhere, and most of them are reasonably priced (with the exception of Hardee's, they are way too proud of their black angus thickburgers, charging around 7 bucks for a combo) and for grocery shopping, we have places like Food Lion, Walmart, Piggly Wiggly, and I'm not sure if there are any Krogers left or not. There aren't on my side of town anyway.
Sam's club is also a great choice for shopping for food, because, if you're not familiar with Sam's Club (which you probably are, but still, just in case) it's like a wholesale store, where you can buy things in bulk for pretty darn cheap. The only drawback is that you have to be a member and it does cost money to be a member. I'm not sure how much, I've only been there a time or two as a guest of someone else's, but I enjoyed it tremendously. They have good prices on electronics and clothing too.
If you meet the right people in Danville, you will love it. But if you move to the wrong part of town, you will be miserable and looking over your shoulder constantly. But I guess it's like that everywhere.
I will say this though, Danville is getting better as far as places to go and things to do. When I was a teenager, we struggled for entertainment. Now there's plenty to do unless you're hard to please.
The most prominent things in Danville are churches and fast food restaurants haha. The Sutherlin Museum is really neat too, if you're into history. There are some neat places to visit. Decent libraries, decent movie theaters, and there's even a skating rink, but I can't vouch for the quality of that anymore.
The best advice I can give you, is to try to have a job lined up before you move. Or make sure you have enough saved that you can survive on until you find work. It may take a while. The economic slump hit Danville and the surrounding cities and counties pretty hard. Most of the bigger factories and companies are shut down now because of it.
But it's slowly getting better. I'd recommend it, if you're looking for something away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. It's not quite Mayberry, but it's no New York either.:)

dkl wrote:

Thank you for the honest feedback. It is very enlightening. Your feedback paints a picture of place that I will want to investigate when I vist it September.
<quoted text>

You're welcome. I know most people would probably either hype it up unrealistically or down it unnecessarily to you, but I tried to be as honest as I could. Just to let you know how a hometown girl sees it :) I hope you enjoy your visit, if nothing else!

Danville is not a good place. There is a lot of crime and the police are corrupt (e.g., epps, harris, dalton). The judicial system does not take crime seriously, and the police are involved in the drug trade and other criminal activity (supporting it, not stopping it). Career criminals are allowed to commit crime after crime with impunity.

Thank you for the feedback. I have read some items on google about the crime. Yes, the crime stats are high.

Leslie wrote:

DONT MOVE TO DANVILLE. IT IS HORRIBLE. WEATHER IS AWFUL. CRIME IS BAD. COPS ARE BAD. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN ARIZONA AND I WOULD TRADE YOU PLACES IN HEARTBEAT TO GET OUT OF HERE.

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, the crime stats are high for Danville. Has the conditions always been this bad.

Or has the situation with economy made them worse?

Mac M wrote:

Danville is not a good place. There is a lot of crime and the police are corrupt (e.g., epps, harris, dalton). The judicial system does not take crime seriously, and the police are involved in the drug trade and other criminal activity (supporting it, not stopping it). Career criminals are allowed to commit crime after crime with impunity.

I thank everyone for the advice. I will be visiting in September. But let ask a question. How is Pulaski,VA?

Your input is appreciated.

The crime rate does leave a lot to be desired, but the vast majority of it only happens in certain places. Don't let it scare you away though, I've lived there (with the exception of the last month) for 26 years and have yet to have a problem.

The key is knowing what parts of town to avoid and how to not get yourself into what could potentially be a bad situation.

I don't agree that all cops are bad, but there are some, yes.

But the truth is, crime is bad everywhere anymore, because of the state of the economy, and most cities have cops that will abuse their power. It's commonplace everywhere you go.

I'm not telling you to move there or not move there, all I can do is ask that you are able to see it from all sides without letting people influence you either way. It's not all bad, and it's not all good. Just like anyplace else :)

Only you can decide what's right for you and your family. God bless and may you guys be happy wherever you settle!

I love to visit the Danville area. If I were going to move to another area I would definitely consider this one.

If you are tired of living move to Memphis and the crime coons will kill you. Nashville, is as bad. Detroit ranks #1 in the hell hole to live in.

i don't live here and ummm i'm going to have to say i wouldn't recommend it.

I wouldn't move to Danville. My wife and I move there two years ago and i find a majority of the people are racist there. I'm getting my finances together so we can get the heck outta there ASAP

don't move to this terrible place.
everyday you will hear gun shot, everyday somebody was raped.....
just now, a pizza hut on west main st. was robbed.

The crime rate in Danville will make you become a racist. You better stay away from certain areas, the negros are wild and will kill you! I left there 3 years ago due to black crime.

Danville has never been the same since the Wonderful Cofederacy departed. President Jefferson Davis last command post was in Danville. He is burried in Richmond, Va. in the Hollywood Cemetary. Oh Jesus what a wonderful leader. We need these kind of people to lead us away from big damn crooked yankee government!!Governor Perry in Texas is all for seccession from this socialist country that America is soon to be. Southern people are armed and ready to defend our European hertiage!!!!!!

Heavy Duty Devotion!

Tuff Tommy wrote:

Danville has never been the same since the Wonderful Cofederacy departed. President Jefferson Davis last command post was in Danville. He is burried in Richmond, Va. in the Hollywood Cemetary. Oh Jesus what a wonderful leader. We need these kind of people to lead us away from big damn crooked yankee government!!Governor Perry in Texas is all for seccession from this socialist country that America is soon to be. Southern people are armed and ready to defend our European hertiage!!!!!!

So how did the september visit go? Living in the county can be very pleasant and there are a lot of nise quiet places but I wonldn't suggest living in the city. If you wanted to live in a city I would suggest something like Lynchburg or maybe one of the smaller towns in the Blue Ridge.

We did not get to Danville. Out visit in Pulaski took up most of our time. We found some houses, still looking. We will need to get finances squared away. Anyway, we will be living in Pulaski.

We love the country. Thank you for asking.

dont do it wrote:

So how did the september visit go? Living in the county can be very pleasant and there are a lot of nise quiet places but I wonldn't suggest living in the city. If you wanted to live in a city I would suggest something like Lynchburg or maybe one of the smaller towns in the Blue Ridge.