Moving to Charlottesville, VA help (Norfolk, Richmond: best cities, real estate, condos)

[Nikitta43]

I am thinking about accepting a job offer in Charlottesville, VA. I currently live in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina which is a great place to live. I'm a single parent so I'm looking for a safe neighborhood with great schools. I'm originally from up North so the possibility of going a little bit further North is exciting. I make a good salary and I am not afraid of putting some elbow grease into a home. My main concern is the neighborhood. I am really looking for a GREAT neigborhood. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Nebat]

Hi there, hope I can be of help. If you like historic walkable neighborhoods you will have to stick to the downtown areas. Streets like Park St. and it's adjoining streets and roads. Locust Ave. has newer houses, they look like they were built between the 20's and the 60's. The Barrack's/Rugby neighborhoods are nice as well, a mix of older and newer. The main streets are Rugby Rd and Rugby Ave. Yes they are seperate roads. And Barracks Rd. Across Barracks Rd is the Venable neighborhood which i believe is mainly a university area. In my opinion some of the most impressive houses are in this area. FYI anywhere inside the city limits of Charlottesville is quite expensive, at least compared with SC I assume. But it's probably much more affordable when compared with parts of the northeast. I find C-ville to be a very nice town/small city, but it's kind of overrated in my opinion. Don't come with grand illusions of it being the best place in America as the city markets itself, and take it for what it is and you should enjoy it. And BTW, all of those neighborhoods I mentioned I found on the city's website, charlottesville.org. Good luck with your decision!

[Blueice1]

I think the "city" schools are great up through 5 th grade...the Albemarle county schools, north and west, and much better after that...but you are at about 10 minutes outside the city (or more if you go rural)

for a "city" neighboorhood, I like the Greenbrier district..its not IN the city, but within the lines, and there are some really nicer homes in there...it also has a older (read big trees, interesting arch etc) and established folks....they range from 250K all the way over 600K.

if you are searching www.mycaar.com for homes, and want to be IN the city....I would search the Burnley Moran elrm school in the city of cville (under additional search options) Its close to the downtown shopping, safe, and thats a great elem school (if thats your childs age) I would look in the areas south of Rt 250/Bypass on hte city side, the Rio rd side is a bit older and congested

I think what is great/interesting about Cville, is you can have just about anything real estate wise....small farmette 10 min from town, or a urban condo,....and everything in between.....

good luck

[Nikitta43]

Thanks for the information. I have heard such great things about Charlottesville and I must say I was under the impression it would be one of the best cities in America to live. I've been doing some comparisons between the city I live in now and Charlottesville and the real estate is definitely more expensive in Charlottesville. I am leaning towards the move but it will take a little more budgeting.

[Nebat]

Originally Posted by Nikitta43

Thanks for the information. I have heard such great things about Charlottesville and I must say I was under the impression it would be one of the best cities in America to live. I've been doing some comparisons between the city I live in now and Charlottesville and the real estate is definitely more expensive in Charlottesville. I am leaning towards the move but it will take a little more budgeting.

I don't know how open you are to commuting up to 30-40 minutes but Staunton is a much cheaper place to live with some charm, but without the energy of being a college town like C-ville. I live in Staunton and work in C-ville because I couldn't justify paying the exorbitant apt. prices. Waynesboro is closer but lacks any kind of identity, it's more of a bedroom community, but it is getting more shopping in the way of big box stores. In addition to my "neighborhood" suggestions, keep in mind that the city limits of Charlottesville are actually quite small. The entire city is the size of some big city neighborhoods. Just don't want to give you a false impression of the place when you hear about a bunch of different neighborhoods as if they each had their own feel. In my opinion C-ville is too small to have that neighborhood vibe like bigger cities have. With all that said Charlottesville is a wonderful place to live. If you do need a big city fix, Richmond is about an hour away and really big, DC is 2 hrs up 29. The beach and Norfolk are about 3 hrs depending on traffic. So it's really a good centrally located area. Good luck!

[hollowayla]

I may be getting a job in Charlottesville too and I would like more of a suburan feel! i did read there website and was concerned about the race tab! Is Charlottesville racist???????

[Blueice1]

Originally Posted by hollowayla

I may be getting a job in Charlottesville too and I would like more of a suburan feel! i did read there website and was concerned about the race tab! Is Charlottesville racist???????

ummm I dunno...I don't feel it as a "vibe" Seems to be more "liberal" than most southern small towns IMO...probably the college does that....the "inner" city schools are rated very high scorewise for minorities....

And to Nebat's commnets...I like Staunton...we head that way often to the park etc...having said that...I wouldn't come over that mtn everyday...I'm not skeptical about driving in any conditions, but that mtn in fog, rain, snow et all is tough.

I lived in NOVA for 34 years, and there's more diversity in housing in Cville than in that area (other than maybe the "new" Arlington) from cookie cutter .25 neighborhoods, to in city brownstones, to nice condos and older places south of UVA (but outside the students) there is also places right outside the city on golf courses, and within 10 minutes any direction you have rural and privacy- in fact its MUCH like Staunton but larger IMO.

Coming from a large city, I need stuff to do...and for the size of this place, there is a lot. I live @ Lake Monticello (takes me 20 minutes to get to work right next to the ped mall) and its "blue collar" and retiree's but has transferred over to a bedroom community....power boat lake, golf course, cheap taxes, "average" schools - so folks thinks its "hike" back into town....its a country drive to me :^)

Either way good luck - all these areas surrounding the Blue Ridge are nice