Charlottesville and other college towns

[Dorothy1960]

Charlottesville is gorgeous - I've spent LOTS of time there on business. Getting a little pricey in Albemarle County but if you are coming from the NE, you should be used to that. Some nice horse country if you like to ride, pretty farms & cute little shops. The # of stores have been increasing over the last 10 years. I've found people to be very friendly. Nice relaxed feeling there.

Blacksburg/Christiansburg is nice too, but smaller town feel than C'ville, IMHO. I've spent lots of the time in B'burg, too. The mountains are fantastic. I remember coming out of my hotel room in the early morning & just standing outside looking at the scenery. Breathtaking.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by looking4home

Just a thought...I've read many similar posts on this forum (fill in the blank with city/state). It never ceases to amaze me that people are unable (or unwiling) to make the connection that their views/lifestyle might have contributed to the things they are now escaping from. For example, I have read many posters from the more liberal states (NY, MA, CA, etc.) say they wanted to move away to a more rural environment with an old-fashioned quality of life, but then are quick to add that it must also be "progressive" in either attitudes, places to eat, cultural amenities, etc. Hello? Maybe being liberal/progressive isn't conducive to the quality of life or lifestyle you are looking for? Maybe it is because of liberal politics/social mores that your current town has become somewhere you don't want to live anymore. Things don't happen in a vaccum - there's a reason for the "problems" many of these states have, and maybe we have only ourselves to blame for supporting a system which has created it, and instead of rebelling against it, we run away. Sorry if this sounds too preachy, but I just wish people would give more thought to why a place/state/city is the way it is, and think about what they could do to contribute positvely to the next place they end up living so it doesn't become just like one of the places they just left.

VERY well said! We are having the exact problem down here in NC.

[Stockholmaren]

I'm considering going to UVA for grad school (MBA) and I was wondering if anybody has some input on the school and programs themselves? It sounds like Charlottesville is a pretty good town to live in, is it also good for students?

[Stockholmaren]

Looking4home,
I think if you are used to a liberal/progressive mindset, I think it's difficult to get used to a different viewpoint and embrace it. I think some progressive issues like openness to interracial couples, gay relationships, global thinking, etc. is something that you don't want to sacrifice.

[looking4home]

Yes, but there should be room for all opinions and people should not try and change the place they move to becasue they think their way is "better" (didn't that used to be called imperialism?)
Liberals, imagine if you will, the opposite effect. If tons of ultra-conservatives moved in droves to a progressive state/area like Boston or SF and then tried to change things - how would that be received? There would be protest marches in the streets over how conservatives were going to brainwash the school children, and take away people's rights. I think because conservatives have bee demonized by the press/media and the "intelligensia" for so long, they are very "underground" about what they want, even to the point of being reluctant to admit on a forum like this that they would rather live with like-minded people for fear of being criticized or bashed by intolerant liberals.

[LEX4ART]

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

We live in expensive Massachusetts and have a fantasy of moving to Virginia to a progressive college town such as Charlottesville. We are looking to find out what it's really like to live there or in other similar towns, how expensive it is, and what the quality of life is.

Thanks for any help!

TRY TO SEE LEXINGTON AS WELL AS CHARLOTTESVILLE. Lexington is smaller, with 2 small colleges: W&L and VMI. It is one hour southwest of Char'ville. I live downtown, and you can walk everywhere except the grocery store.

What is Friday night like? We have 4 art openings tonight, then we go to view a foreign film at W&L. You could eat at any number of downtown restaurants ///or at W&L international cafe-like restaurant for less than $9.00. How would you like that? A Friday night out for less than $9.00.

If you are looking for more of everything, Char'ville is best. Esp nightlife.
We have little for night entertainment other than a movie theater, and the concert series or such at the colleges. Most people eat out or entertain in homes for a night out.

How old are you? I would say Lexington is more traditional than progressive. Most of VA is traditional, except Northern VA due to its proximity to DC.

[Stockholmaren]

However, I think one of the main differences are that conservatives are not as open to new ideas, that they want things to stay the same, while liberals welcome different opinions.
I do agree though that people shouldn't just try to change things, but in my opinion, we won't have any progress if we just never change our minds or open up to new ideas. After that you can decide what is better and make informed decisions.
Maybe since conservatives are so "under-ground", what is it that they really want? They do take away the rights of people (see Patriot Act, allowing torture, etc.), so I'm just curious what I'm missing :-)