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Are you thinking of moving or relocating to Warrenton, North Carolina? Would you like to know what the quality of life is like living in Warrenton?
Latieya Goode reports in this review:
| Weather | | How much crime? | | What are the neighborhoods like? | | What are the people like? | The weather in Warrenton is pretty stable. The summers are hot with temperatures that normally start in 90's and continue up. The high temperatures generally start in the mid- spring and hold at an average of 89 until the early to mid autumn. Sometimes there are stretches of unbearable heat in the summers (100's for weeks).
The autumn is generally cool but not cold. 60 is often the temperature to look forward to in the fall. We don't know what true cold is here. Winter is a here today gone tomorrow kind of season for Warrenton. Similarly, when it snows ,which is rare,the snow is often gone the next day or the next few days.
When hurricanes come through the town there aren't usually any casualties. There may be high winds, heavy rain, and secluded flooding, but often the damage is confined to a few downed trees, maybe a bit of power line damage, some washed out dirt roads here and there; nothing too serious. Most of the time, though, moderate rain is all we see of hurricanes. Generally, the community survives intact as a whole. | | Crime in Warrenton is low. You won't hear about many white collar high profile crimes in the community. It is more likely you will hear about some bored kids getting into trouble because of vandalism, under-aged drinking, or smoking weed. Since Warrenton is more of a farm community, you may hear of people growing their own brand of fun in their fields and getting caught for it. I would say you have to know someone who knows someone to hear of a murder or something serious like that. It is also rare to hear of domestic abuse. There is also few random petty theft crimes. Since people are spread far apart the person committing the crime is generally known by the victim. You don't normally have people roaming around looking to get into trouble or into someone elses property. There are people who think they are in "gangs" but those "gangs" are not serious. You might see a few things tagged and vandalized but I have never heard of any gang related crimes being committed. | | The best and most beautiful part of town is around Main Street. There you will find the large, expensive elegance of the historic district. Many of the homes are Queen Anne style Victorian homes. The Main Street and the streets that branch off of Main Street are well preserved. As you get further and further away from Main Street you will find homes from the 50's and 60's. Further out toward Norlina you will see trailer parks and a lot of small homes being rented. Over all a lot of the homes were built before 1980. There seem to be a lot of renters in Warrenton. There is also a small club near Norlina.
In Warrenton you will mainly find black, white, and hispanic people. You may find a few Haliwasaponi Native Americans. There are a lot of mixed race people.
Since people are spread out there are some places where you won't have a neighbor for half a mile to five miles. This can be good if you do not like people or like privacy. If you like country music the Opry House near Ridgeway is the place to go.
If you just want to drive to relax and see the countryside driving out toward Ridgeway will satisfy that need.
| | The community is aging while the younger generations are getting out of dodge. There are community colleges so the children with bigger aspirations are going off to bigger cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, and Richmond for their education. People are generally nice and most people will stop to help someone who has broken down or give a ride to someone who is walking because most people know each other.
I can see an older retired person with a farm community background fitting in well in Warrenton. However, I think younger people, if they are not from the community or surrounding the communities, may not fit in as well. Any race of blue collar worker may find Warrenton to be a good fit. People who are willing to drive a bit for work may find this community refreshing as well. Flamboyant, outlandish,gay, lesbian, transgender, super wealthy, well educated, and/or single people may find this community looking at them funny. Some Warrentonites may even make some of those of people feel unwelcome. | | Downtown Area | | Restaurants | | Schools | | Single life | | The closest thing to a shopping area in Warrenton is on Main Street where there are a few small town shops, thrift shops, and boutiques. Otherwise there are the normal convenient stores, grocery stores, and clothing stores. | | There is a restaurant called the Burger Barn on E Macon St that we call the heart attack shack because the food was greasy, calorie heavy, and absolutely, sinfully delicious. If you ever get a chance, get a milkshake from the Burger Barn. On N Main St. there a couple of nice "sit down" restaurants but there aren't any real fine dining/five star opportunities in Warrenton. Milanos on N. Main St. is the closest thing to fine dining in Warrenton. The food there is pretty good. There are a few bed and breakfasts as well but I have never been to them. | | I was a student at Warren County Middle School which is a nice school physically. There was a little bullying there and the faculty didn't do much about it. WCMS and WCHS are on the same property so if you have a middle schooler and high schooler you can drop them off within a minutes of each other. That also meant that the middle school kids and the high school kids rode the bus together. The teachers at the middle school were helpful and nice most of the time.
The elementary school I went to, Northside, was an older school. The teacher that I had did nothing about bullying and even participated in bullying. She asked inappropriate questions and treated some less vocal children in less than honorable ways. The other teacher there seemed to enjoy their jobs and did their jobs. | | There are no obvious places for singles to meet, save a few very small very low quality clubs. One of those clubs is predominantly attended by Hispanic people and it is near nearby Norlina. The Opry House maybe a potential place to meet people but the choice are pretty limited because the same people go there most of the time. | | Noise | | town comparison vs. | | Best hospital | | Tourist attractions | | Some houses are on the highway but generally the town is quiet especially out in the country. In some places it is so quiet and dark out at night you can hear a pin drop in the woods and see all the stars. | | Compared to South Hill,Va, and Henderson, NC, Warrenton is a really small really slow community. People can easily escape the hustle and bustle of big cities like Raleigh, NC or Richmond, VA. People in Warrenton often know each other or know of each other. Like many other small towns most of the population is related by blood or marriage. Where as a bigger city like Raleigh has more varieties of people and families, nationalities, and . In Warrenton you are more likely to find families that have been in the area of generations maybe even a century or two. Yes, Warrenton is at least that old. The cost of living is lower than Raleigh, Henderson, or Richmond. The air is cleaner than those places, and so is the water. Compared to those cities Warrenton has wide open fields and a great deal more trees. If you are looking for a place to think, a slower pace, and fresh air Warrenton is a good place to live. When I lived in Warrenton there the closest mall was in Roanoke Rapids. There are very few opportunities for jobs in Warrenton beyond stores and farming. | | The closest hospital is Mariah Parham and a lot of people call Mariah Parham Murder Parham so it isn't really considered the best. A lot of people prefer to drive to Franklin Regional which is further away to avoid Mariah Parham. | | The nicest place to visit is Main St. You can park on one end and walk to the other and see historical homes, visit the post office, the library, do a little shopping, and get something good to eat. If you want to get out of town a bit you can visit Kerr Lake which is well maintained and has boat,fishing, and swimming areas. | | General comments | | | | | | | This town feels like a very small pond for young people with big dreams. If you are older and want to buy affordable housing on a good plot of land and do not mind an older house you can find just that in Warrenton. This is more of a lazy, suspended kind of community. All of the cattle, equine, live stock seen from many main roads make Warrenton feel very, obviously, farm oriented and somehow calming. There isn't much to do in Warrenton if you are a party goer, raver, or club hopper. Even if you are a drinker there aren't many places to find your poison. This place is not exciting but it is stable. It is a very blue collar kind of place. The relatively new Opry House gives the community a very Country Music kind of feel.
There are a lot of old homes and out buildings falling apart. That gives me the impression that a lot of the families that built those old homes and buildings did not have the money or manpower to maintain those places during one of history's' collapses or exoduses from the area. Although a lot of places are falling apart there are still a lot of well maintained thriving places. So, I feel this community will continue to find a way to survive. | | | | | | |
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