Harrisonburg area for liberals (Staunton, Waynesboro: fit in, colleges, live)

[freckles888]

we might be relocating to Harrisonburg, VA. would a yankee, liberal married couple do okay there? is the area environmentally friendly? do they have any vegetarian restaraunts, natural food co-ops? how accepting is the area to gay people? we are a straight couple but find tolerance a very important issue. thank you very much for any info you can provide.

[Mr_Jonas]

Hummm...Harrisonburg, VA is probably not the place for you..........

[Dr.Jim]

Hburg is quite bustling,...and a mecca for all things 'commercial'.....alot of college students as well,....and some immediate high price houseing in the immediate area,.....BUT it is also kind of the 'shopping area' for several very conservative, 'country' towns in the general area.......so IMHO Hburg itself lacks much in the way of its own identity,....it is a place to 'go to'.....'do what you need to do'....and then 'go back home'. I dont think it has much in the way of community. Its very 'plastic'.

And the surrounding towns, I don't think would fit your profile. Now,..they are some great 'old guard' type towns,...and you could easily fit in,....but if you are looking for 'like minded'....then you might want to look elsewhere.

Best of luck! There is some beautiful areas around Hburg though! You still might want to have a look around. Staunton is nice, and 'might' be more liberal,..and it definately has tons more character than Hburg!

[freckles888]

Thanks for the responses!

And the surrounding towns, I don't think would fit your profile. Now,..they are some great 'old guard' type towns,...and you could easily fit in,....but if you are looking for 'like minded'....then you might want to look elsewhere.

please excuse my ignorance but what does old guard mean?

yes, the area looks absolutely breathtaking.

[Dr.Jim]

Heh,...not your ignorance, my term.
I guess I mean 'old, conservative, bible-belt' towns.

[knopfler]

A gay couple owns the Artful Dodger coffee shop and bar right in the center of Harrisonburg, behind the old courthouse. You might stop in and ask them - I'd bet they'll be able to tell you lots!

[knopfler]

Oh, and regarding Harrisonburg politically -

Harrisonburg City only narrowly approved the Virginia constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, and civil unions, 52-48. Allen and Webb essentially deadlocked in the City, 50-49, and in 2005 Governor Kaine (D) carried Harrisonburg City 51-47. As long as you stay within Harrisonburg City, it's quite moderate politically. Mind you, once you leave Harrisonburg City and venture out into beautiful, scenic Rockingham County, it gets quite red out there.

(data at http://www2.sbe.state.va.us)

[cathy J.]

Originally Posted by knopfler

Oh, and regarding Harrisonburg politically -

Harrisonburg City only narrowly approved the Virginia constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, and civil unions, 52-48. Allen and Webb essentially deadlocked in the City, 50-49, and in 2005 Governor Kaine (D) carried Harrisonburg City 51-47. As long as you stay within Harrisonburg City, it's quite moderate politically. Mind you, once you leave Harrisonburg City and venture out into beautiful, scenic Rockingham County, it gets quite red out there.

(data at http://www2.sbe.state.va.us) (broken link)

Actually to use the results of Virginia's constitutional amendment to see how liberal an area is or not is a bit misleading. According to a number of polls prior to the election many Virginians statewide were actually supportive of civil unions but not gay marriage. Of course the way the amendment was worded in order to to say no to gay marriage you have to say no to civil unions too. And the fact the amendment included the words "domestic partnerships", says to me that if you are gay "..we don't want you in Virginia". So to put the words "gay friendly" and "Virginia" in the same sentance, well its laughable.

Harrisonburg may be a bit more liberal than the other towns in the valley only because it is a college town. But going back to homosexuality, no I would not call Harrisonburg "gay friendly". After all their local newspaper a few years back made valley resident Lisa Miller "a hero" because she became an "ex-lesbian" and I believe the paper at one time supported the actions of Fred Phelps. BTW, Harrisonburg's newspaper does not publish on Sunday for "religious reasons".

And at one of the Harrisonburg chicken processing plants an employee was fired because he wanted to use company time to talk to his fellow co-workers about the gay marriage amendment and how allowing gay marriages would mean the end of their own marriages. The man sued and the state of Virginia forced the company to re-hire him as I recall the state claimed the facotry took away not only his right to "freedom of speech" but also the right to express his religion. Thats odd, most companies I can think off you don't bring religion to the workplace. I remember seeing this on WHSV-TV.

While Harrisonburg has grown a bit over the years and its a far cry from when they had "Christian Supermarkets" ( Remember Red Front? ) as far as being a liberal place and accepting of gays, not in our lifetime.

[SixMile]

Before giving up entirely on Harrisonburg, you might want to check out the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harrisonburg website. As they ask on the website:
"Are you seeking a church where the freedom of the pulpit and the freedom of the pew are equally respected? Do you desire an opportunity for women and men, regardless of race, color, religion of origin, sexual orientation or political affiliations, to come together and be more concerned with the love of people than the love of things?"

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harrisonburg Virginia

My husband and I are also considering a move there and wouldn't do it if there were not a UU church around close. There's also a larger one in Waynesboro.
Good luck--maybe we'll meet you in Harrisonburg one day!

[appalachiangirl]

Never lived in Harrisonburg, but I have been there many times--have friends who live there--and the people are very friendly. There are 3 colleges in the area,so it has an educated population. I don't think they care so much about being a Yankee or not. It isn't the Deep South.