Wife has interview in Lynchburg, enough to do there for me? (Roanoke: 2014, skateboarding)

[bruceox1962]

We moved from Lynchburg to Daytona Beach 1 year ago. I was born and raised there and there is nothing there. Nothing to do,no ocean,nothing. Here in Daytona Beach you do not have to have any money to find something fun to do. We are so glad to be out of that dead town ran by the Fallwells. Lynchburg is about 50 years behind the times so if you like that kind of thing you will love it there.

[Fenway65]

bruceox1962, your opinion has been expressed by many others as well. In fact the vast majority of responses we received have been very negative about Lynchburg. Some people have even sent private messages, stating they were sure their profile would be deleted if they posted anything negative about Lynchburg. The woman leaving the office where my wife is interviewing admitted she was leaving because she found the area depressing. The office also confessed they have had a lot of difficulty finding qualified candidates willing to move to Lynchburg. We are hoping this may help us negotiate a more lucrative contract. They have already offered to pay for our flights and all moving expenses. With nothing to lose, we feel we have to visit and check it out.

We are coming down next week and will spend every day/night exploring the town and meeting the locals. My wife and I are 29 and 46 years old respectively, and we have no intention of spending the best years our lives sitting home watching TV. We typically go out ~4 nights a week, dining with friends, or going to concerts, plays, museums, races, cruise-nights, drive-in movies etc. We have been reassured on this forum that Lynchburg is an up and coming town with plenty to offer, and nice affluent neighborhoods to live/shop. As for Jerry Falwell, he and his ilk have always been comedy fodder to most people up north for decades. I hope he does not truly "run" the town. I will never judge anyone for believing in any of the world's many religions. But neither of us are church-goers, so I doubt we will even notice this aspect.

[roanoker 4]

As for Jerry Falwell he is dead so I doubt if he can run anything now. I live 50 miles from Lynchburg and the Falwells have never been taken as seriously locally as the national media. I have often been amused at how Jerry was invited on the networks discussing Gay rights and the uproar that issue created! Liberty University is a fundamentalist school, I do not expect them to embrace Gay people anytime soon, sorry folks! I am sorry people see Lynchburg as a City run by Liberty, I don't think it is possible in Va for a university to run the local government. Btw, on a recent visit to Daytona Beach I read the city had one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. Daytona was dirty and quite depressing to me from my memories as a kid. Lynchburg is a nice place to live, it is just misunderstood I think.

[Fenway65]

Dead men can't bother anybody, can they? Ha! And I heard that Reverend Sun Myung Moon (Korean messiah) now pulls the strings at Liberty University anyway. I understand he bailed out Falwell when Liberty was in financial trouble the 90's. As I said, church has not been a part of my life since I was a boy. My parents pulled us out when all the child-molestation problems became public.

PS. I wish we would be there for 1st Friday in Roanoke again. We had a great time there, last time. 'Good bands, friendly people, and much nicer restaurants and hotels.

[bruceox1962]

boring,how about you do what we did and leave Virginia and move to Daytona Beach,it would take you hours to post all the things to do here. LOL!

[badger74]

LU has so much money (>$1 Billion) now they could buy Moon if they wanted. Might want to check all the new construction and programs since those tough days. They have moved on way beyond the 90's as has the rest of the town. Daytona Beach also has crime at over twice the national rate while L is below the nat rate. COL also significantly lower.

Things to do in around L
1. Mountains
2. Beautiful countryside vs flat ugly FL.
3. All levels of college sports and entertainment
4. More than adequate restaurants
5. Pro and amateur auto racing
6. Several live music venues of all types
7. Safe and inexpensive.

[Fenway65]

badger74 has a point. A low crime rate is a huge plus. Living in a small suburban town in Mass, I can't remember ever locking my house or even my cars. We travel to Florida several times a year (mostly the keys for sailing and Boca), and I know it is different there. We are always cautioned to lock the doors and gates. Most of the homes we rent there even have those foolish, annoying ADT alarms! I never want to live in a place where you have to lock your front door!

I don't remember many big mountains around Lynchburg itself, but nice surrounding hills. An hour or so to the north or southwest is a great drive to see real mountains. I must agree with the locals though. That big "LU" across from the mini-mall is "an audacious scar." Liberty U is DEFINITELY financially secure these days. I know for a fact that they received over $400 million is government handouts and more Pell Grant money than any other university in Virginia. It seems to contradict there small government, "conservative" ideals, but must be a welcome stimulus for the local economy.

[badger74]

If you live in Boonsboro area it is a short drive to the foothills and then the Blue Ridge parkway about 15 mins away and those are mountains for this region. Peaks of Otter are nearly 4000 feet. The Lynchburg airport is just over 900 feet so that's a nice sized hill for the east coast.
Blue Ridge Province | The Geology of Virginia

[Fenway65]

I meant no offense by calling them hills badger74. I've driven the 81 corridor to TN several times. And yes, the VA mountains are pretty too. They remind me a little of the Berkshires here in Mass or the Green Mountains of Vermont. But once you have climbed the Swiss alps in a VW microbus, crossed the Continental Divide and hiked to the peak of Mount Washington in NH as I have, nothing in Virginia will ever look like more than a bump in the road. It's all a matter of perspective.

[badger74]

I have been to Denali. It's huge. And has as much to do with Va as the Alps. And I have even ridden the cog train on Mt Wash. I get around too.