I am in the process of moving to VA. We really like Christiansburg but I just saw a house in Giles that I love.

Can anyone give me some info on the area. Schools, Recreation Etc.

Thanks

AMy

My wife and I moved here in 1992 from Virginia Beach. The folks here are a mixture of country folk and university educated professionals (because of Virginia Tech). The county population is about 17,000. There are three small towns -- Pearisburg (county seat), Narrows and Pembroke. There are other towns, too, but they are really small! The county has four or five stoplights. There is a lot of national forest land in the county and much of the remainder is taken up by farming -- almost all hay and cattle farming. Taxes are very low compared to most of the United States.

Recreation -- nice golf course in Pembroke. Fitness club near Pearisburg. Two swimming pools. Appalachian Trail goes through Pearisburg. Great hiking with the Trail and a nice little two mile uphill hike to a 45 foot waterfall in Pembroke. Fishing in the New River for muskies (state record fish from that river), bass, crappy, sunfish. Trout fishing in two streams. Hunting is a huge sport for county residents -- deer, turkey, black bear. The start of deer season is a big event here. Country-western and mountain music is very popular. Anna's Restaurant, in Narrows, has a mountain music jam every Thursday evening.

Main employers -- Virginia Tech (the biggest employer), Celanese plant in Narrows (factory), Radford Army Ammunition Plant.

Schools seem to be fine. Don't know much about them. The Giles High School -- in Pearisburg -- football team is a perennial powerhouse in single A competition. The other high school is in Narrows.

We live on the eastern side of the county and are only 17 minutes from Blacksburg and Virginia Tech so we feel like we have our feet in both communities. Hope this helps.

cwalter@pemtel.net

Hello! I also live in Giles and it is...ok. Depends on where you are moving from and which part of Giles you are moving to. If you want to be close to Blacksburg, I would recommend Newport. It is a beautiful little town in the county and is only about 7 minutes to Blacksburg. If you want to live close to anything other than Wal-Mart, I would stick as close to Blacksburg as possible. There is a lot of outdoor stuff to do in Giles, but no shopping, restaurants, etc. You have to travel into Blacksburg and Christiansburg if that's your cup of tea.

There are a number of really good people in Giles as well. I would echo what the man above said...Giles is a mix of extreme country folk (rednecks), country folk (just good, down to earth people), and professionals...Again, it totally depends on which area you would move to within Giles. There is limited cultural diversity in this area.

Finally, I know quite a bit about the schools in the area...If education is your top priority, the high schools are lacking in this area. The elementary schools are great and have good reputations (Eastern Elementary especially), but the high schools do not. It seems as if drugs have really infiltrated the high schools...it's a shame, but the kids say "there's nothing better to do"...it is for this reason that our children do not go to Giles schools. Montgomery county schools and the private schools in the area are MUCH more reputable...Check the rankings on the VA state website. Last time I checked, Giles High School was 254 out of 262...not great, whereas Blacksburg High School was 18 out of 262...right under schools in Northern VA.

Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck with the move!