Possbile relocation to Charlottesville area - could use some information (Richmond: hair salon, apartments)

[Kickback Guy]

My girlfriend and I may be relocating to the C-ville area. I am exploring a position with the UVA Health System. We are both 40-ish with no children. We are sociable people, and it is important for us to make a network of friends. We currently live in a family development in the Philly area and people are not very friendly.

Can anyone share any thoughts on areas to live where we could meet some active, sociable people. Neighborhoods/developments where people get together for cookouts, block party, etc....? Even though we have no kids, we are not against family oriented neighborhoods/developments. Again, we are looking to establish a network of friends and just want to have better luck this time around. Thanks to anyone who can share some insight.

[Nebat]

Originally Posted by Kickback Guy

My girlfriend and I may be relocating to the C-ville area. I am exploring a position with the UVA Health System. We are both 40-ish with no children. We are sociable people, and it is important for us to make a network of friends. We currently live in a family development in the Philly area and people are not very friendly.

Can anyone share any thoughts on areas to live where we could meet some active, sociable people. Neighborhoods/developments where people get together for cookouts, block party, etc....? Even though we have no kids, we are not against family oriented neighborhoods/developments. Again, we are looking to establish a network of friends and just want to have better luck this time around. Thanks to anyone who can share some insight.

Hi there, saw no one had responded so I thought I would try to offer some input. I currently don't live in C-ville but work there. When I did live there I lived in the UVA area and it was mainly students so no one really got together on a neighborhood level. I'm sure there are some neighborhood orgs that get together but I'm not certain. Maybe some areas around the downtown area. There are a ton of sub-divisions around the city, one off of Rio(pronounced Rye-O, don't ask me why) named Dunlora seemed nice and full of families. Another further out is Forest Lakes, also seems to be full of families. C-ville is also the size if not smaller than many of Philly's suburbs, so be prepared for a slower pace of life and completely inept drivers here. Overall it's a nice area with easy access to DC and Richmond. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance. Good luck with your decision!

[Stpattylady]

There's a large master planned community currently under active development called Old Trail in Crozet, about 12 miles west of Charlottesville. They have lots of social activities; for example, Fridays after Five social during the Summer and early Fall, family cookouts, campouts in the common area, golf, swim club, etc. Within the development, there's a village style retail center with a tapas bar, pizza restaurant, an ACAC fitness facility, hair salon, and some other miscellaneous shops. There are also lots of walking trails and sidewalks within the community. It's very picturesque; part of the movie Evan Almighty was filmed in Old Trail. It has apartments, townhomes, and single family homes $400 - over $1M. Another option to at least check out. I work in downtown Charlottesville and get there in 30 minutes. I currently live in Old Trail and really like it, but don't care for Crozet overall particularly though. Although, it's changing as there is a lot coming out here now.