Charlottesville Ranked #5 Best Place to Live in America in 2021 by Livability

[whiskeytangofoxtrotalpha]

Last time I was in C'ville was the FSU/UVA football game. Charlottesville let itself go in my opinion, became too political, righteous, and I'm probably sure it was always a bit pretentious. When I first moved here in 2006 I thought Charlottesville was one of the prettiest places I have seen and I have lived in Florida, Washington State, New York, Maryland, Kentucky, and Germany. I purchased some farm land out in Locust Grove and I'm closer to Fredericksburg now so unless I want to attend a football game or concert I really have no good reason to visit Charlottesville.

[spencer114]

I make it to Charlottesville a few times a year. It’s a lovely place, keeps getting better IMO. Watching the downtown area fill in over the last few years has been a real joy. The city gets prettier and the food and cocktails and coffee keep getting better too.

I’ve never found the people to be rude, but I’m an introvert and tend to be really comfortable around people who ignore me

[whiskeytangofoxtrotalpha]

What I liked about Charlottesville:

1. Carter Mountain Apple Orchard.
2. Barracks Road Shopping Center.
3. UVA football/baseball.
4. The Rock Store ( At the bottom of Carter Mountain Orchard).
5. PJ at JPJ (I was a really big Pearl Jam fan).
6. Tip Top Restaurant.

What I most hated about Charlottesville:
1. Route 29 traffic.

[saramarie56]

I just returned from an eight day visit in Charlottesville and I absolutely loved it. Loved the entire region for that matter. Drove up through Lexington and down to Lynchburg/Forest area back to Charlottesville in one day which was one of the most scenic day trips I’ve ever taken. And I spent most of my life in the splendid Pacific Northwest.

People were extremely friendly everywhere, especially in the Charlottesville area….one small example (out of many), the night of my arrival into CHO, my luggage did not make it due to my Sacramento flight being delayed. It was scheduled to be delivered the next morning, knowing that I was feeling exhausted and discouraged, the young lady in charge of missing luggage gave me her personal cell phone number so that I could text her in the morning and make sure my luggage was there before driving back to the airport.

Regarding drivers: I rented a small economy car and was given a Toyota Prius Hybrid as that was all that was left. So between my learning curve for the Prius and navigating a new area there were several times I expected drivers to honk at me, but it only happened once, trust me they would have been justified to be frustrated with me many times. I found the Charlottesville area drivers overall to be very patient and considerate.

At this point I only have three complaints/disappointments:

1. Traffic: there was a higher amount of traffic at all times of the day then I expected for a city that size. It was a home game football week, so I’m not sure if that affected traffic.

2. An almost complete lacking of sidewalks throughout most of the area, including and especially the outlying bedroom communities, rendering it not very walkable unless you go to a park with trails, or of course the lovely downtown mall.

3. Housing costs and inventory: but that is happening everywhere in this country.

All in all, I ended up liking the area much more than I expected after reading some of the opinions I had read on this forum. The downtown mall was alive, vibrant and a fun place to go with my young niece who flew in from N.Y.C.

I try to respect everyone’s views, but for those of you constantly knocking Seattle and Portland please consider both those cities have millions of people who are still very happy there. Are there problems in those cities? of course, there is no such thing as utopia or Heaven on Earth.
My sister and brother-in-law own a small Greek Restaurant in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle. They live within walking , biking distance of their little restaurant. The majority of their customers are people walking through or living in the neighborhood (very walkable neighborhood, tree lined streets and sidewalks) and can walk to get their favorite meal. It’s a beautiful part of Seattle and IMHO and certainly in their own perspective they are living the American Dream in a stunningly beautiful city.

[spencer114]

I’m glad that you enjoyed your visit and that you got to see a few towns in Virginia.

Those claiming to hate the “new” Charlottesville are just hyperbolic folks upset about local politics and UVA policy changes (actively seeking inclusion!) over the last few years. Of course anyone not completely provincial would recognize that the city is barely left of center in the scheme of things. You’d be smart to dismiss the opinions of anyone who talks of Seattle and Portland (two of the most beautiful and most innovative places in North America) in only negative terms. They’re just being grumping about becoming obsolete.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by spencer114

I’m glad that you enjoyed your visit and that you got to see a few towns in Virginia.

Those claiming to hate the “new” Charlottesville are just hyperbolic folks upset about local politics and UVA policy changes (actively seeking inclusion!) over the last few years. Of course anyone not completely provincial would recognize that the city is barely left of center in the scheme of things. You’d be smart to dismiss the opinions of anyone who talks of Seattle and Portland (two of the most beautiful and most innovative places in North America) in only negative terms. They’re just being grumping about becoming obsolete.

And your views/opinions make it impossible for you to even remotely believe or agree with the issues facing C'ville and the changes it has seen over more recent years. At 6'5 and 250 I am not intimidated by many but when I am accosted by three street thugs/beggars when my wife is with me on the Pedestrian Mall then there are problems. They saw me park so now I am forced to get back in it and drive to park elsewhere to avoid them damaging it. I believe they only walked away as they likely saw the weapon on my side under my shirt. I've seen aggressive panhandling in DC that was less aggressive than these morons. This was not the first time this has happened but it was the most aggressive. When police officers in the city say they cannot wait to retire and get away from this garbage then you know there are issues. Most here do not see it as they are not looking for it or are oblivious to the dangers. Tourists only see what they want to see obviously. I've mentioned here before that I know 2 officers who were transferring to other PD's away from C'ville to finish their careers as they had no confidence in your insane mayor and other top brass. I've also made it clear that I loved C'ville for many years and came close to making it my retirement home but with the changes we decided to go further north up along 81.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. I spoke with an officer walking the beat at the pedestrian mall when the above happened. We talked forever since we had a lot in common with our careers. I asked if his wife will walk alone on this mall and he's asked her not to do so if not with him or a small group at least.

Same goes with Seattle and Portland. Both beautiful places but both have some serious issues. The Seattle officer that spent 10 weeks with me here in VA as I trained him said he was also looking to move his family well away from the city if he can find a PD to continue his retirement. Like you, he knows tourists come and only see the "good" side of things and are clueless to what is happening behind the scenes. My wife has a cousin and his family in Portland and they've been there 20 years. When you cannot go into certain parts of your own city for safety reasons then why be there? There is not a neighborhood within miles of me where I cannot go walking and feel unsafe. He's also trying to relocate west and well from the city if he can arrange it with his job.

[saramarie56]

Originally Posted by spencer114

I’m glad that you enjoyed your visit and that you got to see a few towns in Virginia.

Those claiming to hate the “new” Charlottesville are just hyperbolic folks upset about local politics and UVA policy changes (actively seeking inclusion!) over the last few years. Of course anyone not completely provincial would recognize that the city is barely left of center in the scheme of things. You’d be smart to dismiss the opinions of anyone who talks of Seattle and Portland (two of the most beautiful and most innovative places in North America) in only negative terms. They’re just being grumping about becoming obsolete.

Thank you, Spencer114 !!

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by CapsChick

https://livability.com/best-places/2...ottesville-va/

I was browsing this forum because I'm thinking of visiting a friend who lives in Charlottesville next time I'm on the east coast, which I hope is this summer. I haven't been there for decades and was just getting some insight.

This post made me chuckle. For a few years I lived in a coastal town in WA state that was constantly listed in those "Best Places to (blank)" articles. It IS a really cool town - I left for reasons unrelated to the place itself. Anyway, it was once listed in an article titled, "Best Place to Retire on the Water" along with Duluth, MN. Now, I'm sure Duluth is a great place, but most retirees aren't too keen on relocating to a city with sub-zero temps in the winter.

I take all those lists with a small Siberian salt mine.