Saying I live in Charlottesville is a little bit o
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2/12/2011
I've lived in Virginia my whole life. After attending school in Richmond and beginning my professional life there (VCU, Virginia Museum), I moved to Charlottesville in then early eighties. My husband and I are not wealthy people, but we've worked hard and built a wonderful life for ourselves here. Over the years, we've considered opportunities to move back to the Tidewater area, where the lifestyle was more affordable. Honestly, and even though we do miss the water, we never gave t serious thought. We agonized a little more over a career move to the Northern Virginia area, because the money would have been so much better. In both cases, we ultimately opted for staying in Charlottesville for the quality of life it affords us. We live in Albemarle County, which is 750 square miles surrounding tiny Charlottesville. Though I moved here in my mid-twenties from a rockin' life in Richmond and resented the pedestrian-ness of the place in the eighties, that really has changed. The availability of good music, food, theater, and recreation is pretty astounding, really. I'm sorry that certain commenters on this page think the town is "full of itself". I think they just got in with people with whom they do not share a commonality. Personally, having been raised in Virginia, I do enjoy a certain level of comfort here, and I really like the big-fish-in-little-ocean ambiance. There are a lot of highly-educated people always moving in and out of the area, thanks to the University of Virginia. Also, the area is dripping in historical significance, and I do believe that sort of environment attracts a different sort of person, and that person doesn't want the city of new suburban sort of lifestyle. We're really lucky that there is a significant contingent of people who want to restrain development in the area, who hope that we can retain the rural character that does still exist outside of the city-proper. Speaking of the city-proper... it can be a very cool place to live, but I do think it warrants a little sophistication. Charlottesville, the city, is a tiny microcosm of a larger city. Cool restaurants that aren't cheap, art film theaters, great live theater, some very cool bands, etc, along with... and then, there's the bad stuff that you find in cities, like the projects and a concentration of crime, mostly larceny. I just don't think it's realistic to believe we could have all of the amazing lifestyle qualities and avoid some of the bad. We had opportunities to leave, and we could certainly consider leaving when we retire, but we can't think of any good reason to do so.
Virginia | Charlottesville, VA