Comments after visiting
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6/5/2006
I recently interviewed for a job in C-Ville. Got the offer, but turned it down for a variety of reasons.
General Impression - Beautiful scenery. Located in rolling hills with lots of large trees all over. Downtown is fairly small and seems to be the only place with any night life, although I was not there long enough to search out all the possibilities.
Housing - prices were higher that expected. However, you get a nice piece of land with your house. I have also visited Austin, TX recently and they seem to be of the California school of 1/4 acre or less lots.
Cost of Living - Expensive to go out for a small town. Rents/Leases must be high for business owners. Flights out of the local airport were ridiculously expensive. Had to fly in/out of Dulles (roughly 100 minutes away).
Conclusion - Seems to be growing too fast. Most likely because it was voted best place to live by some magazine. This is not going to be a pleasant place to live in 5 years since the infrastructure won't be able to handle it. It also needs to develop some pockets of entertainment besides downtown. All I saw were strip malls in which everything closed at 9 PM. Not enough of a bargain for my wife and I too move there. Additionally, not too many companies, so if things didn't work out it would be tough to find another job in my field (Software Engineering).
Steve | San Diego, CA