Is Ashland a "college town"? (Richmond, Lakeside: transplants, buying a house)

[docmommaCA]

I am part of a mixed marriage -- I am a Democrat and my husband is a Republican :-) My job is in Lakeside, and when I drove around I liked the feel of Hanover county in the Atlee Station/Chamberlayne Rd area. I know my husband will prefer it to Lakeside, and the commute isn't bad. However, I have heard that Hanover is very conservative. Am I going to feel uncomfortable? Or are there enough transplants coming in that the area is likely to be more "mixed"?

I also liked Ashland near the college -- is it considered a "college town"? Ashland Coffee and Tea seemed pretty funky -- is it an anomaly or is the town more liberal than the county?

[minor_swing]

Hey.. We just moved into Hanover. On the whole we just moved to the Richmond area from Colorado Springs (you want to talk about conservative lets talk Colorado Springs!). We rented in the short pump area for 8 months before buying a house in the Elmont area Cedar Lead Park neighborhood in March. After living in Athens, Ohio and working for Ohio University I would not consider Ashland a college town but I would say the small school adds a fantastic flavor to the town. I personally am a big fan of the Tea and Coffehouse exactly for the funkiness. I also like considering Ashland our community (we live 5 or so miles from town)

I would say a couple things about Hanover/Ashland area:

1. we dig the rural nature of the County. Poor Farm Park has decent mountain biking, the rural roads make for great cycling, good bit of farm and forest left, south Anna river looks like a nice river for canoeing though I have not been on it yet.

2. Our neighborhood is nice and new. We got a lot of house for the price, it is the best planned subdivision I have seen so far in the area with open space, buried powerlines, a park, a pond. Some downfalls like very traditional stormwater management that I personally don't care for but hey. We have a five year old and for us right now (though we prefer to live in the woods) this setting is really just perfect.

3. Schools seem good and area safe as far as raising our little family.

4. People seem friendly.

5. I am not impressed at all with some of the reactions of the Board of Supervisors and Planning commission with regard to what I understand has taken place with the comprehensive planning process. I think there is a lot to preserve/protect in Hanover and without foresight it could turn into another Short Pump. Which is not good in my personal opinion.

6. I am not real pleased with the grocery shopping. Basically Ukrops (too high of prices for the same stuff you can get anywhere) Walmart (it's walmart) and Food Lion. We could use some sprucing up on the grocery side.

7. Conservative/liberal - It is always a personal opinion to how it effects your daily life. We are a very liberal type family and feel social aspects of life are important, the environment is important, being a good neighbor is important. I am not an activist but a participant. I don't really relate my opinions to my neighbors unless they really ask me to. That being said I would say that on the whole it probably tends toward the conservative side of things. But, in my opinion, no more so than the other Richmond hinterlands. It really does not effect me in my day to day life. There are definitely more open/diverse/liberal places to live but this does not even hold a candle to Colorado Springs!

8. Overall I give it a thumbs up. I am glad we chose Hanover to live in but if you need open public social support for you to feel secure in your views you will probably not get that. That is not an attempt to knock on you I am just trying to say some people want to live in a place where they can surround themselves with like minded individuals. We have not surrounded ourselves with a great bunch of hippies, envrionemntalists and social justice advocates that might make for a great little community. I really don't know what most of the folks are like but they have been really friendly and that is all I ask for. I feel comfortable.

let me just add.. we would have liked to live in town near the college but truth be told we could not afford it for the kind of house we were looking for. At least when we were looking.

[docmommaCA]

Originally Posted by minor_swing

Overall I give it a thumbs up. I am glad we chose Hanover to live in but if you need open public social support for you to feel secure in your views you will probably not get that. .... I really don't know what most of the folks are like but they have been really friendly and that is all I ask for. I feel comfortable

That's all I wanted to know -- I am not an in-your-face type of person when it comes to my views, but I am uncomfortable if someone else wants to "convert" me (I would *not* like Colorado Springs). Thanks!

[minor_swing]

Originally Posted by docmommaCA

That's all I wanted to know -- I am not an in-your-face type of person when it comes to my views, but I am uncomfortable if someone else wants to "convert" me (I would *not* like Colorado Springs). Thanks!

Yeah.... The west (Rocky Mountains at least) has some great liberal enclaves (read Boulder, Taos which are great) but on the whole I was surprised (read Appalachian Ohio raised) at the pervasive conservative nature and Colorado Springs is a stronghold (where someone might actually try to convert you, ever heard of the word mega-church! it was new to me). However, it too has great spots (Manitou Springs is an awesome little burg of the Springs) and great mountains! And was a great experience to live there for a bit. There is always a little to learn from all places!

Good luck.