The Roanoker - January/February 2015 - 98

"I said I think
that's the
place for me."
Alice A. Anderson

Alice A. Anderson: "I
don't like to walk." But
the 82-year-old walks
"everywhere" from her
downtown Roanoke
apartment.

A LIST OF REASONS to retire in the Roanoke Valley
would certainly include its quality of life, its beautiful
setting between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains and the access to arts and cultural events and
abundant health care.
Alice A. Anderson, a northern Minnesota native,
would add Roanoke's appealing downtown. Alice and
her husband lived in a downtown Minneapolis condo
where they enjoyed walking to restaurants for dinner
until his death six years ago. She initially went back
to property she owns near the Canadian border, but
always went south for the winter. Next, she tried moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, where a son lives,
but found that city "too busy."
Since her daughter Katherin Elam, executive director of Junior Achievement of Roanoke Valley, lives in

ROANOKE AREA
RETIREMENT: THE NUTS AND BOLTS
Weather: Four seasons and a Heating Degree Days ranking of 111 against a national
average of 100 (higher is better).
Health Care: 147 health care employees per 100,000 population (more than average);
Cost of Living: 92 (lower than average)
Convenient for Travel: The Roanoke Valley is halfway between New York and Atlanta
on Interstate 81, has good connections through the airport and work is to begin in
2015 on an Amtrak station for the area. Currently, Amtrak is available in Lynchburg
about 45 miles away, but bus service runs from Roanoke there.
Quality of Life: According to the Roanoke Regional Partnership, the Roanoke Region
ranks second in quality of life among a group of six regions, with a score of 114.
The score is based on cost of living, temperate climate, commute times, air quality
and access to health care. -SBK

98 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Salem, Anderson had for years visited the Roanoke
Valley so she gave it another look. Her decision was
firmed up when she spotted an ad for The Patrick
Henry apartments.
"I said I think that's the place for me." She placed
a deposit on an apartment in April and moved into
the restored historic hotel building when work was
completed in August.
With that move, the Harrison Museum of African
American Art in Center in the Square downtown
gained a major supporter.
"I found a home here and created a place for myself at the museum. I'm the unofficial coordinator of
volunteers," Anderson says. She has enlisted others to
work on archives and oral history, and to help staff
the desk of the all-volunteer museum.
And, even though she proclaims: "I don't like to
walk," Anderson, 82, walks everywhere...from her
apartment to the museum, to downtown restaurants
and shops -"I've checked them all out."

BUT, AH!, THE MOUNTAINS
"It was the mountains; we love the mountains," says
Judy Akers, who with husband Jim in spring 2014 settled into an apartment at The Glebe retirement community in Botetourt County. The couple moved from
Fork Union where Jim, 75, a retired Air Force pilot,
had served as director of admissions for Fork Union
Military Academy. Upon deciding where to retire, they
knew they wanted to live in a Baptist-based community, but they were not sure where. Sharon, 74, and Jim
THE

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The Roanoker - January/February 2015

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