Living in Rocky Mount, Tori Melson doesn’t have to watch her kids like a hawk when they play outside. Franklin County provides a safe environment with low crime and good schools, all of which were fully accredited last year, making it an ideal place for the 27-year-old mother of two to raise her children.
Yet, the artist wants to move to Roanoke.
“I have more opportunity to be around my friends, I have more opportunity for better jobs and if I want to try to make money off art, it’s a better place for me to be,” she said.
Though Roanoke recently has made gains in attracting young adults, rural Franklin County is a tougher sell for millennials, the generation that lives online and is said to prefer city life.
