The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 32
HI
! MY NAME
S
I
EMILY & TOM DIROMA
When not commuting, the couple
enjoys getting outside and trying
new restaurants.
"For the first eight
months," DiRoma
says, "I actually hated
it here. But then I
met a lot of friends
through the YP eXperience conference last
spring and everything
got better."
Though the car is
king, when not driving back and forth to
her job, DiRoma loves
to get outside on the
greenway and nearby
trails and also try out
new restaurants.
"We live in Wasena,
so we're close to all the
action, which makes it
great," she says. "It's
easy to get downtown
and be a part of it all."
When asked what
helped her make the
switch to loving it
here, DiRoma pauses and says, "It really
helped when I realized
a lot of people aren't
from here-we're not
so different after all."
32
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
"Roanoke is a very
easy place to be
new. I can go anywhere and never
feel out of place."
JESS MAYS
BIG(GER) CITY LIGHTS
M
OVING TO A NEW CITY in a new state where
you know no one can be terrifying.
Doing so with just two weeks notice is
even more daunting. But for one of Roanoke's newest and loudest cheerleaders, Jess Mays,
the leap of faith she made in February 2015 (which
was, as she claims, "by the seat of my pants") could
not have worked out any better.
A native of Beckley, West Virginia, Mays grew
up not too far from Roanoke, but had never even
visited the city prior to moving here for her job
at Carilion. After graduating from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, Mays spent a
gap year at home working and hoping to eventually apply to a Physician Assistant program. With
that goal in mind, she began to apply for jobs in
the healthcare field and, on a whim, applied for her
position, never thinking that it would pan out. Fast
forward three weeks, and Mays found herself moving
into an apartment in Old Southwest and exploring
her brand-new town.
For Mays, the enduring appeal of Roanoke is that
"there's just so much to do." As she says, "Once I discovered downtown, I never looked back," and it's easy
to see the "big city" appeal compared to her sleepier
hometown of Beckley.
Almost every night of the week, you can find Mays
hunting down good live music at Martin's Downtown
Bar and Grill or Five Points Sanctuary, riding her bike
on the greenway or checking out one of the new breweries or restaurants that seem to be popping up all over
town. For a while, she even worked as a server at WildTheRoanoker.com
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker - January/February 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - January/February 2018
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - Intro
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - Cover1
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - Cover2
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 3
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 4
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 5
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 6
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 7
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 8
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 9
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The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 11
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The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 47
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 48
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 49
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 50
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL1
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL2
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL3
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL4
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL5
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL6
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL7
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL8
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL9
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL10
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL11
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL12
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL13
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL14
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL15
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL16
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL17
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL18
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL19
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL20
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL21
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL22
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL23
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL24
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL25
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL26
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL27
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL28
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL29
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL30
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL31
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL32
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL33
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL34
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL35
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL36
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL37
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL38
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL39
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL40
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL41
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL42
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL43
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL44
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL45
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL46
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL47
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL48
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL49
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL50
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL51
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL52
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL53
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL54
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL55
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL56
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL57
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL58
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL59
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL60
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL61
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL62
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL63
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL64
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL65
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL66
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL67
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL68
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL69
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL70
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL71
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL72
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL73
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL74
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL75
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL76
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL77
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL78
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL79
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL80
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL81
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL82
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL83
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - VL84
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 51
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 52
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 53
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 54
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 55
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 56
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 57
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 58
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The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 60
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The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 62
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 63
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 64
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 65
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 66
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - Cover3
The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - Cover4
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