[nzumbi]

I'm looking for some information on the charlottesville area. Any locals out there?

Whats the general vibe?

How green is the place (environment wise)?

Biking is great, right?

Weather?

Crime?

Family friendly?

Schools (for kids)? Alternative education (montessori, waldorf)?

Recreation centers? Parks?

Bike friendly, commuting wise?

Thanks.

 

[Volsfan]

Nice Town, Old Money, Mountains, Clean, Growing, U of Virginia, Nice Trails, 4 Seasons, viineyards

 

[lovemonkey]

I'm from w'boro, just across the mountain from c'vill. I like c'ville, it's a nice place, but housing is a little pricy. As far as mountain biking goes, check out http://cambc.org

 

[Fattirewilly]

Whats the general vibe?
The vibe is good. Lot of opportunity for group mountain bike rides and road biking. Both are strong with quite a bit of cross over. There are 3 good rides nearby with epic rides at Sherando and Harrisonburg being 30 to 1.5 hours away. Check out www.cambc.org .

How green is the place (environment wise)?
Quite green. Albemarle County (surrounds C'ville) has restrictive zoning which slows growth beyond the designated "growth area".

Biking is great, right? Yup.

Weather?
We usually catch snow instead of ice.

Crime?
Not bad, but varies according to your neighborhood. City has a higher crime rate than the county. Duh.

Family friendly?
Yes. Varies from okay to great depending on neighborhood.

Schools (for kids)? Alternative education (montessori, waldorf)?
Both those choices + more depending on your wallet, but the public schools (choose wisely?) are good to.

Recreation centers? Parks?
Lots of Parks. Private Rec. centers (ACAC)

Bike friendly, commuting wise?
Generally friendly. Where are you trying to work?

 

[nzumbi]

thanks!

Thanks for the scoop. I am in the preliminary job hunting phase, so I can't say for sure where I'll be employed.

The family and I will be coming down there for a few days next week to check the place out. Anything not to miss? I have a 5 and 1 year old in tow.

 

[Fattirewilly]

Thanks for the scoop. I am in the preliminary job hunting phase, so I can't say for sure where I'll be employed.

The family and I will be coming down there for a few days next week to check the place out. Anything not to miss? I have a 5 and 1 year old in tow.

Check your PM

 

[BlueRidge]

lots of good music. come live here. its chill

 

[nzumbi]

Next week

It's a ways out, but anybody feel like showing a visitor some short local cville loops? I say short only because I don't want to abandon the vacationing family for too long, and the social director hasn't quite granted the authorization to bring the bike yet.

I'll be there monday through wednesday, heading home thursday.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

I'm from w'boro, just across the mountain from c'vill. I like c'ville, it's a nice place, but housing is a little pricy. As far as mountain biking goes, check out http://cambc.org

I live in w'boro as well. Just bought a home here after living in c'ville for 5 years. I love c'ville, but as mentioned housing is WAY pricey. Now on to your Q's...

Whats the general vibe? Pretty damn good, lot's of culture, great night life, tons of great people. GREAT nightlife and tons of solid music to catch for any taste.

How green is the place (environment wise)? Green as green can be! I hike, fly fish and bike and this place is packed FULL of adventure and amazing outdoor locales

Biking is great, right? Hell yeah!

Weather? 4 seasons, although this winter has been mild and I've been biking 3+ times a week

Crime? pretty low

Family friendly? very family friendly

Schools (for kids)? Alternative education (montessori, waldorf)? Great Schools and plenty of alternative schooling

Recreation centers? Parks? Lot's of parks, several great national forrest parks with great swimming/hiking/kids stuff. Several forrest lakes with beaches with lot's of other kids for the youngin's to play with.

Bike friendly, commuting wise? C'ville can be a bit hairey with the way people drive. The town cannot handle the traffic and people are a bit frustrated on that front making them drive like crap. I have been hit, but not badly. I have a co-worker that was slammed by an old lady last year and got pretty hurt. The neighborhoods are very bike friendly though. Downtown mall is really nice. I use to live in Belmont and biked to the mall area everyday for to sit out on the mall and have some coffee.

 

[nzumbi]

I live in w'boro as well. Just bought a home here after living in c'ville for 5 years. I love c'ville, but as mentioned housing is WAY pricey. Now on to your Q's...

So I finally checked out W'boro this morning. The housing market rocks! Loks like some really decent stuff can be had in the 200 to 250 range.

I did a really quick job hunt and came up realtively empty. Who are the big employers there? How about the not so big employers? I'm in IT, specifically IT security.

Do all the characteristics you listed for C'ville apply to the boro as well? I'm not terribly interested in night life...mostly schools for the hijos, recreation for me and a nice sense of community and bike-friendliness. Thanks!

 

[mud'n'sweat]

So I finally checked out W'boro this morning. The housing market rocks! Loks like some really decent stuff can be had in the 200 to 250 range.

I did a really quick job hunt and came up realtively empty. Who are the big employers there? How about the not so big employers? I'm in IT, specifically IT security.

Do all the characteristics you listed for C'ville apply to the boro as well? I'm not terribly interested in night life...mostly schools for the hijos, recreation for me and a nice sense of community and bike-friendliness. Thanks!

w'boro is different, but probably in a better way for you. I know I LOVE it over here. We built a new home for about 160,000 and it's already estimated at 205,000 in under a year.... we have YET to see the full c'ville spill over which will skyrocket property value, so it's a great time to buy here. The area/neighborhoods are much more community/friendly minded. Ton's of great neighbors who actually help each other out and are truely genuine people. People drive way better over here and the pace of life is nice and easy. No one rushing around, no one being too pushy. We have a lot of commerce building up right now. Super Walmart (which I don't support) was a bit of a boost and now the new Martin's Grocery store has really made an impression (that place rocks!). We have a Lowes and a Home Depot that make upwards of 3.5 mil a weekend (housing and home improvements are doing well, great sign). Lot's of new shops opening up in that same area too. The downtown area is pretty dead, which is sad seeing as how it could have a ton of character. One of the other best towns in VA is right down the street about 10 minutes which is Staunton. Such a great town for the wife and kids. The park is really nice with an enormous duck pond with thousands of ducks/geese and feeders for them. The playground area is recently upgraded and very cool. The downtown has so much character. The old Stonewall Jackson hotel just reopened after serious renovation and is amazing. Blackfriars is an amazing theatre with really great plays/productions for the kids and adults. Oh, and everything is way cheaper this side of the mountain, including gas! Lot's of employers. I work from Crutchfield which is one of the best places to work here. Not sure about IT hires in security, as we are extremely well locked down, but I know nothing about the IT side really so I'd look into them. We have a couple of riders there and we try to venturte out on some trips together. To reiterate, the riding here is excellent. So many great places to go with well maintained single track. You can get in anywhere from short fun 1-2 hour workouts to day long epics in the national forrest. Hopefully that helps some.

ps- the best ntl. forrest lake for the kids is just down the road from waynesboro and provides great hiking and epic mtn. biking as well! This area is the Sherando lake/big levels portion of George Washington national forrest. Oh, we also have a bit of skiing on the mtn. at Wintergreen or just a few miles north at massenuten (also resort biking at both in the spring/summer). Wintergreen also does snow tubing which is some great fun with the family.

 

[nzumbi]

that rocks...

thanks a ton. check your PM.

 

[amaner]

It's a ways out, but anybody feel like showing a visitor some short local cville loops? I say short only because I don't want to abandon the vacationing family for too long, and the social director hasn't quite granted the authorization to bring the bike yet.

I'll be there monday through wednesday, heading home thursday.

Check your PM regarding IT security jobs in the area. A few gov't contractors to choose from.

 

[bob]

It's funny on how two people can have different takes on the same town. I love C'ville but have never lived there, only visited. I would move there tomorow if the planets aligned right. A friend of mine who grew up in C'ville wouldn't move back for the world and hates it.

I lived in Staunton when I was a kid and I still have familly there. I hated Staunton and couldn't wait to move away. My wife thinks it's a beautiful community and would love to live there. Though Staunton isn't my cup of tea, it has dramatically improved since I lived there. Summer concerts in Gypsy Hill park, the new theater, all the new restaurants and businesses in downtown, a new sense of culture, and you are close to amazing MTB riding.