Are we missing something, Charlottesville??? (Harrisonburg, Forest: house, neighborhoods, buy)

[toyabc3]

My husband got offered a great job opportunity within his company and the position will be in Va, Harrisonburg area... It's a position he should not turn down. That being said, he is going to take it... we have 3 children... 12, 6 and almost 5yrs. old. If the kids and I decide to join him we would want to live in Charlottesville but not in the heart of the downtown. We did a recent visit, just for the day last weekend... we left there feeling, "I cannot see us living there!" We thought Charlottesville was extremely crowded and this was on a Sunday afternoon! We couldn't find parking to walk around. We then drove to Crozet area and really didn't like it there. All brand new neighborhoods - yes they are pretty but extremely over priced! We are coming from PA, about 40 minutes north of Philadelphia... Collegeville is our town....

We thought Crozet didn't offer much of anything except nice homes but weird neighborhood layouts especially in the Highlands... Way too country like of a setting.

People we have known to live in Charlottesville for 7 or 8yrs. said they loved it!! So, are we missing something? The kids and I will probably stay here and my husband will work in Va and come home on the weekends. We are going this Saturday to meet with a realtor to take another look and see some homes in Charlottesville but right on the outskirts of downtown, so we won't be too far from the downtown. Staying within Albemarle County cause great schools are very important if we all move together. Any input would be helpful ... and if we did miss something please tell me! Thank you!

[VaNative]

That's going to be quite a commute for him...Charlottesville to Harrisonburg. I grew up in Charlottesville and lived in the city. If you want county for the schools, that's fine but you aren't going to be near downtown unless you pay tuition or choose private schools. Tandem is a great private school in town...not sure about the tuition costs though.

Downtown parking can be difficult to find but just use the garages. I wouldn't think parking should be too far to find on a Sunday afternoon. Parking is harder to find around The Corner area at the University but there are options as well.

If you are going to talk to a realtor, you might want to look at Forest Lakes or one of the other communities north of town on 29N. You will definitely be close to shopping and restaurants out that way and there are plenty of activities within the community for the family.

Charlottesville is a great place to raise a family and beautiful in the fall when the leaves change but it's an expensive place to live.

Good luck in your search.

[toyabc3]

Thanks. We definitely don't want to live in the country part... like Crozet area... we didn't like that. But I do know that Albemarle County schools are good and apparently Western Albemarle schoold district is better. We were going to look in the neighborhood of Redfields.... but I am pretty much sold on staying put here in Pa and he'll live close to Harrisonburg so he's close to work. He'll drive home on weekends... we live 4hrs and 20mins away.... If we all did move there together, we would not pay for private schools. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

[badger74]

I too found Cville did not offer enough to justify the high cost of housing and traffic, etc. Way too far to drive every day. I'd just live in or near Hburg.

[toyabc3]

But what does Harrisonburg have to offer? I didn't think it had much to offer there and less to offer than what Cville has... I think Cville has fun things to do in warmer months for entertainment purposes, but the cost of homes are overpriced. For now, i think the kids and I are staying put in Pa... we live in a great area and Cville did not sell me on wanting to move there. We wouldn't have anyone we know there and the closest family to us would be 3 hours away.... But I wanted to see what people would have to say/offer about living in Cville.... because maybe we did miss something???

[badger74]

I guess I just assumed most families prefer to live in one place. Long commutes suck the life out of you. Hburg is a nice enough town with a large college, good scenery, good home prices. What more do you really need for a few years?

[VaNative]

Originally Posted by badger74

I guess I just assumed most families prefer to live in one place. Long commutes suck the life out of you. Hburg is a nice enough town with a large college, good scenery, good home prices. What more do you really need for a few years?

I agree and while I've never lived there, I've driven through the area plenty of times. Home prices are WAY below what they are in the Cville area...especially Albemarle County. If it's only going to be for a few years, buy a small house in Harrisonburg and then sell when you're ready to move on.

[strawberrykiki]

Originally Posted by badger74

I guess I just assumed most families prefer to live in one place. Long commutes suck the life out of you. Hburg is a nice enough town with a large college, good scenery, good home prices. What more do you really need for a few years?

That's what I was thinking...a 4+ hour drive each way every weekend is a long way to go. And I can't imagine a daily commute from Charlottesville to Harrisonburg. That would take at least an hour, probably more, and Afton mountain can get really foggy and very tricky in bad winter weather. Surely if you aren't going to move with him, then your husband will just get a small place close to work?

I think Charlottesville is beautiful. The downtown area is fantastic, lots of restaurants and little shops to go to. There's so much history there as well, you're close to mountains, and just a few hours drive to the beach. No offense, but seems like you just have a bad attitude. I can't imagine my husband living away from me during the week and doing a 4 hour drive each way every single weekend because I didn't want to move. There are a lot worse places to relocate to than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

[tbone88888]

Born and raised in c'ville. It was a great place to live 20ish years ago. Then it was voted "best place to live"....totally ruined everything. Massive influx of people and huge increase in traffic. Combine this with terrible transportation planning and youre gonna be waiting in traffic almost anywhere you go.

[GustavoFring]

For the people complaining about traffic in Charlottesville, god forbid you ever move somewhere with actual traffic. As long as you avoid 29 and the corner at rush hour, traffic is a breeze. Even 29 at rush hour isn't that bad, just congested.