Hey, y’all. It’s Amie.

When we first got married 10 years ago, Kody and I very briefly discussed renting an apartment instead of financing a house. Technically, we even more briefly discussed living in his dad’s basement for a few years—a plan that I informed my fiancé would end in divorce before we even signed the marriage certificate.

At the time, there were actually some perks to getting a mortgage over a rental. For one, it’d be ours (albeit that’d take 30 years). And 10 years ago, it was cheaper to pay a monthly mortgage payment than to rent an apartment. My, my, how times have changed.

Briefly looking into rental rates right now, I don’t know how y’all are doing it. I mean, sure, we’ve still got 20 years left on our mortgage, but reading through today’s lead story was quite the stark reminder of the current housing market in our commonwealth. The good news is we’ve rounded up some helpful resources for renters, and you can read all about them below. I’m so glad you’re here.

Amie Knowles

Newsletter Editor, Dogwood

A two-bedroom, two-bath house available for rent in Roanoke. (Aila Boyd)

What $1,797 rent gets you in Virginia—plus helpful resources for renters

By Aila Boyd

Here’s what you need to know: With mortgage rates still high and housing inventory below pre-COVID-19 levels, many Virginians might prefer to rent. It certainly comes with its own set of benefits, including a lack of long-term commitment and the ability to call the landlord when something breaks.

Top facts:

With an average apartment rent of $1,797, Virginia is the 12th most expensive state when it comes to rental prices. The price is representative of a one-bedroom apartment with an average square footage of 727, according to Apartments.com.
The most populous city in Virginia, Virginia Beach, is home to 454,808 residents. Clearly, there’s a lot of housing stock in the city, but that also means rent prices are quite a bit higher than average, at $2,250, according to Zillow. That number represents a $96 increase since May 2025.
Virginia Housing is an organization focused on helping Virginians attain quality, affordable housing. It offers renter education programs, like how to manage money, the application process, and information about the rights and responsibilities of renters.

Want more info? We’ve got more details on Virginia’s housing market at the link below.

Welcome home →

For many Virginia families, the end of the school year can also mean losing access to reliable meals.

Two programs launching June 15 will provide grocery support and free lunches for children across Virginia.

Virginia SUN Bucks will provide eligible families with $120 dollars for groceries, and SUN Meals sites will offer free lunches to children under 18, no ID required.

Learn more →

The tale of Grandma’s failing health survived a century. (Amie Knowles/Dogwood)

Oh, the drama of 1926 Roanoke

By Amie Knowles

I recently bought an antique photo album from a vendor at the Hillsville Flea Market. While the album itself is in pretty rough shape, I purchased it for the pictures, letters, maps, and doodads inside. For $30, I figured it was a pretty solid investment in other people’s business.

I finally had a chance to look through the contents this past weekend. Inside, I found a couple of letters: one from RW Hunly of Mineola, Missouri, and another addressed from Roanoke, penned by someone, as best I can tell, who was named … Mollini? They’re both to Lizzie—that’s Elizabeth Pratt—who lived in Leaksville, North Carolina (around modern-day Eden).

Any my, oh, my. Grandma. Grandma’s not doing well, y’all. That’s the major takeaway from RW’s March 22, 1926, letter, which starts off: “After a long time, I’ll let you hear from me as I want to hear from you.” Well, RW, aren’t we kicking off this reconnection on an interesting foot? There’s talk of the weather, of RW’s job as a teacher, of a measles outbreak, and then, after a brief intro about Grandma’s failing health, there’s this bomb at the end: “Tell your Grandma that I hope she may be feeling well. I do hope to see her again.”

Granted, in 1926, that might’ve been a kind pleasantry. But 100 years later, it reads more like a thinly veiled threat by a Victorian ghost standing at the foot of dear Grandma’s death, does it not?

Thankfully, an update from Mollini arrives on Sept. 27, 1926. “Was so glad to hear from you to know Grandma was better.” Well, that’s nice—I’m sure you kept up with her health to know she was well? Oh, wait, never mind … “I have been trying to write every day, but I found so much that had to be done, it kept me some [busy].” On the reverse side of the paper, Lizzie, who apparently has been pretty close to sickly Grandma this whole time, gets hounded about being “too busy” to go visit Mollini. To wrap up the warm family fuzzies, Mollini tells Lizzie in no uncertain terms that Roanoke’s fair is better than Leaksville’s.

For $30, I thought I was buying an old photo album. Turns out I bought front-row tickets to a century-old family group chat. I guess times haven’t changed that much after all. But weighing in as a Virginian, Roanoke’s fair probably was better—and I hope Grandma got to go.

Would you recommend this newsletter to your neighbor?

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Knowles. Amie is a lifelong Virginia resident and mom to a fantastic 8-year-old who loves Pokémon. This edition includes stories from Aila Boyd and the breaking news team. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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