Charlottesville Economy (Richmond, Arlington, Hampton: apartment complex, renting, lawyers)

[sleeptodream138]

Hi,

I'm looking into transferring to UVA from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I will be moving with my significant other so dorm housing is not an option. I'm curious to know what the current employment rate is in the Charlottesville area and what does the price of renting (in a good area) typically run?? Are decent paying jobs easily acquired without a degree?

Thanks! Any other info you'd like to add about relocating to this area will be much appreciated as well.

[Bigfoot424]

Charlottesville is not part of NoVA. You might want to try the Roanoke area for more accurate replies.

[540_804]

LOL..or actually the Richmond area.

[Nemesis15]

Charlottesville has alot of defense companies down there. That's about it for white collar jobs.

[cville<>centerville]

Well.. that and doctors, lawyers and an entire industry of engineers, academics and other professionals propped up by the great university located there. It amazes me how people in this area write off Charlottesville as if it's some blue collar hick town. Keep in mind, strip malls built in the 90s do not define a superior or better cultured area. That's about all NoVa was outside of the beltway until a decade ago (and still is for the most part). Charlottesville has about as much in common with Roanoke as it does with Charleston, WV.

Not trying to be rude, it just amazes me about the preconceptions some around here have about anywhere south or west of wherever they happen to live. Arlington looks down on Falls Chuch, Falls Church Looks down on Vienna, Vienna looks down on Reston, Reston Looks down on Chantilly, Chantilly looks down on Mananas, etc, etc, etc...

[Tone509]

I never thought of Charlottesville as a "hick town" but I'm pleasantly surprised at the diversity of job opportunities there, per a previous poster. It makes sense that UVA would be the catalyst or rallying point for all of that.

To add or amend to other suggestions, the general Virginia forum would probably be the best place to look for information on Charlottesvile as the city indeed is not considered part of Northern Virginia by locals.

[Leroy Brown]

I've lived most of my life in Northern Virginia, except for a few years in Charlottesville while attending UVA. I don't think I've ever heard anyone up here refer to Charlottesville as a hick town - I think its pretty universally recognized as a nice college town. Blacksburg on the other hand...

Charlottesville is a small city by any standard but it is a very pleasant place to live. Charlottesville is gorgeous, right near the mountains, has friendly people and is safe. The university offers a number of cultural opportunities that would normally be impossible to find in a city that size, and the live music and restaurant scenes are remarkable (supposedly more restaurants per capita than any other city in the country). In addition to the University's new John Paul Jones arena now attracts most of the major tours that would have gone to Richmond in the past (The Police, Springsteen, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake etc. have all been to town in the last year or two and U2 is coming next month), there are a number of nice smaller music venues across town which attract all types of acts. There are a number of wineries and breweries (and now an orchard that makes hard cider) nearby if you're into that whole scene. Plus ACC basketball and Football right in town, Richmond is a short hour away, and DC only a two and a half hour drive.

Charlottesville is kind of interesting place because there is a lot of extreme wealth in town and extreme poverty. There are a lot of really rich people near and in Charlottesville because its a nice place to live (and because you can get land and horses and there is at least one very nice golf community) but the city itself its somewhat of a different story. I believe around a third of the population within city limits lives in subsidized housing, and even when times were good unemployment in the city hovered around 10%. To be clear, a lot of what is commonly referred to as "Charlottesville" is not actually within the Charlottesville city limits but Albermarle County. Unemployment is usually lower in the county.

Outside of the city, population is most densely concentrated in Albermarle County along Route 29, which has a long series of strip malls and feels very suburban.

Ten or fifteen years ago most of the white collar jobs in town were associated with the University in some way, but that is changing as the city grows. There are a number of corporations with offices in town that didn't used to be here. I believe SNL Financial is the biggest company headquartered in Town. There are a surprising number of small investment managers in town and the CFA institute is actually headquarted in C-Ville.

The biggest single employer in town is the UVA health system. UVA has the one of the biggest and best hospitals in Central Virginia (I think the VCU medical system is bigger). The regular university also directly and indirectly creates a lot of good jobs. As nemesis alluded to there are a number of defense contractors with offices in town.

Again, unemployment is high in Charlottesville, but unemployment rates are very different across different education levels (and unfortunately across different racial groups). What are you looking to do?

Housing is cheap in an absolute sense although it may be a little more expensive than where you're coming from. What is your significant other studying? For the most part students of all ages have to live within walking distance of grounds (campus) because there parking is very scarce. There is a bit of a premium for apartments near the university, especially for apartments along 14th street which the heart of the University's undergraduate social scene and "The Corner" which is a collection of bars, restaurants and shops near the University. You may want to be near these things too - not sure how old your are. I would expect to pay 700-800 a month for a one bedroom apartment close to grounds in a decent building. Check out the website for the Blue Ridge Apartment Council (Charlottesville Apartments - Blue Ridge Apartment Council) to get a feel for the places to live around grounds. The two areas closest to grounds are Rugby Rd/The Corner and JPA. If you are less concerned about being close to grounds/the bar scene Eagle's Landing (www.eagleslandingva.com) is a pretty nice apartment complex that was built with undergraduates in mind, but way too far away for any undergraduate to want to live there. As a result rents are much lower than you would expect to pay. They run shuttles to UVA during the day.

Hope that helps (and was coherent) - be happy to answer any questions.

[Nemesis15]

Originally Posted by cville<>centerville

Well.. that and doctors, lawyers and an entire industry of engineers, academics and other professionals propped up by the great university located there. It amazes me how people in this area write off Charlottesville as if it's some blue collar hick town. Keep in mind, strip malls built in the 90s do not define a superior or better cultured area. That's about all NoVa was outside of the beltway until a decade ago (and still is for the most part). Charlottesville has about as much in common with Roanoke as it does with Charleston, WV.

Not trying to be rude, it just amazes me about the preconceptions some around here have about anywhere south or west of wherever they happen to live. Arlington looks down on Falls Chuch, Falls Church Looks down on Vienna, Vienna looks down on Reston, Reston Looks down on Chantilly, Chantilly looks down on Mananas, etc, etc, etc...

There are doctors, lawyers and engineers everywhere for their respective area. I'll give you the nod that a larger number of doctors study at UVA than other areas but aside from that, C-ville is fueled by UVA.

[Nebat]

Originally Posted by cville<>centerville

Well.. that and doctors, lawyers and an entire industry of engineers, academics and other professionals propped up by the great university located there. It amazes me how people in this area write off Charlottesville as if it's some blue collar hick town. Keep in mind, strip malls built in the 90s do not define a superior or better cultured area. That's about all NoVa was outside of the beltway until a decade ago (and still is for the most part). Charlottesville has about as much in common with Roanoke as it does with Charleston, WV.

Not trying to be rude, it just amazes me about the preconceptions some around here have about anywhere south or west of wherever they happen to live. Arlington looks down on Falls Chuch, Falls Church Looks down on Vienna, Vienna looks down on Reston, Reston Looks down on Chantilly, Chantilly looks down on Mananas, etc, etc, etc...

Great post! Now if only we could convince NOVA that the rest of the state isn't some backwash hicktopia! I live in the Shen. Valley and the perceptions of the area by visitors from other parts of the state amaze me. Anyway, nobody commented on apt. pricing in C-ville. For a nice single room apartment in the city it can range from 800 being dirt cheap in a questionable part of town to 1500 for a nice place. That's in the city though, the county is more reasonable. I've always thought C-ville was overpriced for its size.

[Stpattylady]

I do not regard Charlottesville as a "hick town" at all. In fact, there is a lot to like about it. Charlottesville's proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains affords a variety of outdoor activities. The walkable downtown mall for a town this size (and yes, it is a town, not a city) is great; although, the boutiques and retaurants and very expensive. The sporting events at UVA are fun, if you are into that, and there are soom good artists who perform at the JPJ arena. Additionally, there are some nice vineyards and fun breweries. Oh, and there's Monticello, but I grew up as a child in Richmond, and you can only do that so many times.

The problem with Charlottesville perceptions is not how others view Charlottesville, but rather how a lot of Charlottesville residents view themselves in relation to the rest of Virginia and the United States for that matter. It is not "all that". People here constantly feel the need to tout its affluence, number of professionals, amount of money in Albemarle County, etc. and I am saturated with hearing it and so is my child who attends one of the Albemarle Co. high schools. I'm sure you can guess which one

There are professionals everywhere and aside from the University and associated medical center, there are only a handful of major employers left as most have pulled out of the area. There is only one small mall and the three movie theaters here only have a few screens and are old and dingy. Everyone who writes about Charlottesville always says, but Richmond and DC are only an hour and 2.5 hours away, respectively. Personally, I get tired of driving to Richmond to do my major shopping and to see a movie. Even though the outdoor activities associated with the Blue Ridge Mountains are great, you can only do that for half the year. While central Virginia does not get any significant snow relatively speaking, it's still pretty darn cold here November through March at least.

Like any area, there's good and bad. It's tolerable. Not sure if we're here for the duration.