Lynchburg (Richmond, Roanoke, Jefferson: low crime, vacation home, neighborhood)

[BBGsinger]

Anybody know anything about Lynchburg? Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[raliwa]

Lynchburg is a nice town- low crime, nice scenery, good place to raise a family or retire. Its centered around a Christian school called Liberty University. Depending on your perspective, jobs may or may not be plentiful.

[moedog]

Lynchburg is fairly depressed eccomically. Many would say Liberty U. and its leader, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, has had a negative impact on the area, however there are several smaller colleges there with excellent reputations.

[roanoker 4]

Lynchburg is a perfect place for young families and retirees. There are tons of churches(almost on every corner). In its heyday, Lynchburg was one of the wealthiest cities in the nation(not many people know this). If you visit the downtown area(rather depressed now and abandoned)you will see much
of its proud history in its architecture. There are efforts to restore downtown to bring it back to its past glory. The people are friendly and suprisingly open-minded and progressive. If you visit Lynchburg, be sure to dine at LaVilla on
Fort Ave--the italian food is outstanding! The city is an hour from Roanoke,
2 hours from Richmond, 3 hours from Washington DC. There are mountain views everywhere and the city has 7 hills. The surrounding countryside is beautiful and currently unspoiled. Visit Jeffersons' vacation home, Poplar Forest(similar to Monticello). Yes, Jerry Falwell has overwhelmed Lynchburg but please don't let that influence your view of this beautiful Virginia city!

[lmdotes]

We relocated to Lynchburg 4 years ago from the D.C. area. My husband has lived in six states all over the country. I have lived in three. I think we are a pretty open minded pair. Lynchburg...progressive? Huh? I definitely do not see this area as progressive. There is a pocket of us who might be defined as progressive, but the great majority of folks here are very conservative.

There is a lot to like about L-burg. It is a nice, small town. People are friendly and neighborly. Housing prices are great (more bang for your buck). Shopping has improved since we moved here (we just got Kohl's and Old Navy). Nice schools in the Boonsboro area (particularly Paul Munro and Bedford Hills).

The bad? One previous poster mentioned it being one of the wealthiest cities in the nation way back when. Yes, from shoe manufacturing and the other businesses associated with it. There is a lot of OLD money in Lynchburg, and it can be very "cliquish" here, especially if you are not a native. Someone told me that I was very "exotic" because I am originally from California, and I work (I have two little ones -- lots of stay at home moms here).

Churches...yes, you have your pick here, but if you "don't have a church", you sort of get looked at funny. It's one of the first things folks ask you when you move here, "Have you found a church yet?"

There is a distinct division between black and white in this town...racism does exist here. If an African-American wanders into our neighborhood, you can be sure the Lburg police are on their way ASAP (I've seen it happen three times).

My husband is a HS teacher, and although the high schools do a good job of educating, the social atmosphere leaves a ton to be desired. There are literally "thugs" who are allowed by the school administration to continue to attend after serious violations. It's hard for good kids to feel safe or to have a positive social experience in that type of atmosphere.

Lburg does have it's socioeconomic issues -- very light industrial and customer service driven economy. The city is trying very hard to change that, which I admire. They are trying to revitalize downtown, and I think that's also a positive step. There are old-timers fighting that every step of the way though.

There are lots of retirees and more educated younger people coming here for the cost of living, and hopefully an influx of new people with various life experiences will change the town for the better. As for us, we are looking at leaving -- it isn't the place for us.

[stephpopo]

Does anyone know about the public schools in the Lynchburg area? I have heard that Glass and Heritage are good. Forest and Brookville look like their test scores and "numbers" are better, but I have heard that Forest is overcrowded and there is tension in the school. I've heard that Brookville has tension also. We are white, and live in a suburban area - very Vanillaville. I wouldn't mind my kids being in a school with more color, and think that's really better. I just wouldn't want them to feel insecure if there is tension... Most city schools in our area have a lot of crime, and the teachers have to spend a lot of time disciplining the troublesome kids, which then takes away from the kids who are there to learn. I would never send my kids to the city schools in our area. But I want to be open minded about schools in VA. Does anyone know about Glass and Heritage High Schools in Lynchburg? We would also consider christian schools. Anyone know about Liberty Christian Academy?

We also love OLD homes, and noticed that Boonsboro has a lot of them. Looks like a beautiful area.

thanks for any input!

[richmondpics]

Doesn't Genworth Financial have a large corporate presence there? I think it's second only to their corporate headquarters facilities in Richmond.

[rubytue]

Originally Posted by richmondpics

Doesn't Genworth Financial have a large corporate presence there? I think it's second only to their corporate headquarters facilities in Richmond.

First it was First Colony Life, which has a big presence downtown. First Colony was bought out by GE Financial Assurance in about 1997/98. I had to google it, but GE Financial is now Genworth. So yes

I worked for GEFA back in 98/99.

Originally Posted by lmdotes

The bad? One previous poster mentioned it being one of the wealthiest cities in the nation way back when. Yes, from shoe manufacturing and the other businesses associated with it. There is a lot of OLD money in Lynchburg, and it can be very "cliquish" here, especially if you are not a native. Someone told me that I was very "exotic" because I am originally from California, and I work (I have two little ones -- lots of stay at home moms here).

My boss (a GE cooperate type who relocated to Lynchburg when GE bought them out) and his wife agreed with this 100%. They didn't stay long b.c of that.

[KAPPA ALPHA PSI GUY]

Originally Posted by stephpopo

Does anyone know about the public schools in the Lynchburg area? I have heard that Glass and Heritage are good. Forest and Brookville look like their test scores and "numbers" are better, but I have heard that Forest is overcrowded and there is tension in the school. I've heard that Brookville has tension also. We are white, and live in a suburban area - very Vanillaville. I wouldn't mind my kids being in a school with more color, and think that's really better. I just wouldn't want them to feel insecure if there is tension... Most city schools in our area have a lot of crime, and the teachers have to spend a lot of time disciplining the troublesome kids, which then takes away from the kids who are there to learn. I would never send my kids to the city schools in our area. But I want to be open minded about schools in VA. Does anyone know about Glass and Heritage High Schools in Lynchburg? We would also consider christian schools. Anyone know about Liberty Christian Academy?

We also love OLD homes, and noticed that Boonsboro has a lot of them. Looks like a beautiful area.

thanks for any input!

You act as if Lynchburg City Schools are like the schools in Inner City Washington DC or Baltimore with bars on the windows. What city school system in America doesnt have the few bad apples in the pile?

[Stonecoldharbours]

for the most part here, City schools will never measure up to the suburb schools and will always have more crime and problems, that is why people with money move to the suburbs, to escape that.