Are we missing something, Charlottesville??? (Virginia Beach, Richmond: real estate, chapel, how much)

[CrystalCities]

Originally Posted by sregorat3

A couple of things I'll point out. Traffic isn't awful, like DC, but it surely moves slowly for the traffic counts. Cville is poorly planned, long ago choosing to put all the eggs in the density model of city planning. Maybe this is why you think that Cville is between DC and Lynchburg in size. Actually, Lynchburg has a much larger population, by ~ 60%, and about 4 times the size. I like to visit Cville frequently, but it certainly lacks the culture and urbanity of a DC or even Richmond. I guess Cville is really great if you are landing a government job, since the government teat seems to be quite accessible in that area.

Lynchburg has annexed its surroundings so it's fifty square miles to charlottesville's 10 square miles, putting it at a population density of 1500/square mile. Calling it a city is being generous. Charlottesville actually has a semi-urban core (small) and the city has a population density of 4500/sq mile.


In terms of total population... The combined statistical area that comprises the Lnychburg metro are 2100 Sq Miles and contains 250,000 People. Charlottesville's metro area is only 1650 miles, and contains 207K people, which again puts it at a higher population density. If I threw in two of the areas not counted in the Charlottesville metro, but who's populations certainly are a part of the metro (Madison & Orange), you'd find that the square mileage and populations actually skewed ever so slightly into Charlottesville's favor.

Regardless of the population pissing contest that you seem to frequently throw out there, I don't think there's anyone in their right mind who would say that Lynchburg comes out ahead versus Charlottesville.

You don't even want to start comparing things like income or education levels, as Charlottesville and the Albermarle county make the Lyncburg metro look like it's West Virginia.


You sound like you're bitter towards Charlottesville, especially with that little tea party jab at the end. Given that the Federal Government isn't even in the top 10 of the largest employers in Charlottesville, I'd say you're off-base and are probably commenting because you've driven past the DoD facility on 29 that's almost in Greene County.

[CrystalCities]

Originally Posted by hithere17

No you are not missing anything...at all. I lived in Charlottesville for three years and hated it...just being honest. I lived out in Crozet in one of the planned communities you probably drove through the day you were there - Old Trail Village. Nice enough, pretty homes, pretty entrance...but WAY overpriced for being out in BFE. I guess I'm more of a city gal or at least suburbia. Charlottesville several years back got voted #1 small city and so there was a lot of hype about it. Unless you are affiliated with UVA, either the hospital or university, job opportunities are limited. Although, my husband's job took us to that dreaded place and then I was way underemployed during that time period. The kids at Western Albemarle High School were the biggest snobs for absolutely no reason whatsoever. There is a lot of conflict in Crozet between the newbies in the bigger newer neighborhoods and the old Crozet die hards who do not want their town to change. Why this is true I do not know; the vast majority of the town area in Crozet needs to be bulldozed down as I always wondered how they met code. There is nothing to do but drink at the vineyards - Crozet drove me to drink lol. There is the strip on Route 29 and a very old mall with no real shopping to speak of. While we were there from 2008 - 2011, there were no nice movie theaters. It was big time excitement when they built a large theater with stadium seating in Waynesboro woo hoo. I left in 2011 as soon as my child walked across the football field at graduation. Do not buy into the #1 small city thing - it was dismal there...except for the mountains...they are pretty...in the spring and summer only though.

So the entirety of your experience of Charlottesville is living 15 miles away in Crozet? I didn't realize Crozet had achieved that #1 city ranking or was being discussed here.

The only thing of any redeeming value in Crozet is Vinny's Pizza.

[sregorat3]

Originally Posted by CrystalCities

Lynchburg has annexed its surroundings so it's fifty square miles to charlottesville's 10 square miles, putting it at a population density of 1500/square mile. Calling it a city is being generous. Charlottesville actually has a semi-urban core (small) and the city has a population density of 4500/sq mile.


In terms of total population... The combined statistical area that comprises the Lnychburg metro are 2100 Sq Miles and contains 250,000 People. Charlottesville's metro area is only 1650 miles, and contains 207K people, which again puts it at a higher population density. If I threw in two of the areas not counted in the Charlottesville metro, but who's populations certainly are a part of the metro (Madison & Orange), you'd find that the square mileage and populations actually skewed ever so slightly into Charlottesville's favor.

Regardless of the population pissing contest that you seem to frequently throw out there, I don't think there's anyone in their right mind who would say that Lynchburg comes out ahead versus Charlottesville.

You don't even want to start comparing things like income or education levels, as Charlottesville and the Albermarle county make the Lyncburg metro look like it's West Virginia.


You sound like you're bitter towards Charlottesville, especially with that little tea party jab at the end. Given that the Federal Government isn't even in the top 10 of the largest employers in Charlottesville, I'd say you're off-base and are probably commenting because you've driven past the DoD facility on 29 that's almost in Greene County.

No pissing contest- just pointing out an error in another post. Call it what you want... it doesn't change the facts! By the way, if Cville didn't have a revenue sharing agreement with Albemarle, it would have annexed. Lynchburg hasn't annexed since the 70's, so pretending that its population growth comes from that is incorrect. Feel free to make those WV comparisons; not only is it pretty easy to see that you are unfamiliar with the demographics, the negative picture doesn't explain why the population of Lynchburg is growing at a much more rapid pace than Cville, Roanoke, or any other city south of NoVa.
The government isn't limited to the federal government, but yes, quite a few people recognize the fact the Cville wouldn't be nearly as prosperous without government spending.
Boy, you sure do remind me of Gustavo! He hasn't posted since June, and all of his attack comments seemed to relate back to WV in some way or another. He also tried to act like he knew everything, including the political leanings of others based on their comments. Are you all related?

[sregorat3]

Originally Posted by CrystalCities

You sound like you're bitter towards Charlottesville, especially with that little tea party jab at the end. Given that the Federal Government isn't even in the top 10 of the largest employers in Charlottesville, I'd say you're off-base and are probably commenting because you've driven past the DoD facility on 29 that's almost in Greene County.

Before you reply, compare the largest employer lists from Cville with those of Lynchburg or Roanoke. It is pretty obvious where the public dollars get spent. If you looked at the actual totals, most would be surprised.
The employment numbers don't even reflect the actual numbers that get mentioned in the local media and they continue to grow. There is a reason that local economic development officials in Cville have begun to pursue more manufacturing jobs, and it isn't because the job market in Cville is balanced and loaded with opportunity. I don't argue that Lynchburg is superior to Cville, but there are some people on here who seem to think that Cville is the second coming of Paris, when it is really just a nice town with density issues and a fairly large group of wackos who respond to articles about US 29 in the Daily Regress.

[CrystalCities]

I would have just assumed the employment figures in Lynchburg were from walmart, followed by social security and food stamps.

[hithere17]

Originally Posted by CrystalCities

I would have just assumed the employment figures in Lynchburg were from walmart, followed by social security and food stamps.

There is a lot of affluence in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. But, there is a lot of poverty in the Charlottesville region also. I worked for a non profit in the social services sector during my stay there.

[hithere17]

Originally Posted by CrystalCities

So the entirety of your experience of Charlottesville is living 15 miles away in Crozet? I didn't realize Crozet had achieved that #1 city ranking or was being discussed here.

The only thing of any redeeming value in Crozet is Vinny's Pizza.

Fair enough. I worked in downtown Charlottesville, but with all of the new development in Crozet, it is part of the Charlottesville "area". Anyone transferring to Charlottesville would probably check out the Crozet area, as the OP did. I think anyone would consider Albemarle County part of the Charlottesville area and Crozet is within Albemarle County.

Positives:

The walkable downtown mall is nice. There are some great restaurants. Most towns the size of Charlottesville do not have anything like it.

If you are new to Virginia, of course, Monticello is interesting. The influence of UVA is significant and there are a lot of interesting, well educated people around.

I love to run, so I did enjoy all the trails.

I would rather live elsewhere though and drive in to the ville to get my mountain fix occasionally. I did not have a positive experience living in Crozet, so it does taint my perspective on the overall area.

[sregorat3]

Originally Posted by CrystalCities

I would have just assumed the employment figures in Lynchburg were from walmart, followed by social security and food stamps.

Wow, are you a witty one, but at your age, your responses don't surprise me. I think that if you do your research, you'll see that there are more service jobs per capita in Cville than there are in Lynchburg. That isn't a stat to brag about, especially when there is very little difference in hourly service wages between the two localities. There are also a few earning categories as well as pockets of wealth in the Cville area that make the demographics look much stronger than they actually are. I assume that you don't work for Nielsen or some other MR firm.

[CrystalCities]

Originally Posted by sregorat3

Wow, are you a witty one, but at your age, your responses don't surprise me. I think that if you do your research, you'll see that there are more service jobs per capita in Cville than there are in Lynchburg. That isn't a stat to brag about, especially when there is very little difference in hourly service wages between the two localities. There are also a few earning categories as well as pockets of wealth in the Cville area that make the demographics look much stronger than they actually are. I assume that you don't work for Nielsen or some other MR firm.

Considering charlottesville is in the top 15 metros in terms of restaurants per-capita, I would expect a high number of service jobs. Oh, and it's more than just Bob Evans Golden Corral, which is what I'm guessing passes for fine dining in the burg.

[CrystalCities]

Originally Posted by hithere17

Fair enough. I worked in downtown Charlottesville, but with all of the new development in Crozet, it is part of the Charlottesville "area". Anyone transferring to Charlottesville would probably check out the Crozet area, as the OP did. I think anyone would consider Albemarle County part of the Charlottesville area and Crozet is within Albemarle County.

Positives:

The walkable downtown mall is nice. There are some great restaurants. Most towns the size of Charlottesville do not have anything like it.

If you are new to Virginia, of course, Monticello is interesting. The influence of UVA is significant and there are a lot of interesting, well educated people around.

I love to run, so I did enjoy all the trails.

I would rather live elsewhere though and drive in to the ville to get my mountain fix occasionally. I did not have a positive experience living in Crozet, so it does taint my perspective on the overall area.

I apologize, I confused Crozet for Ruckersville.. My comments were directed at Ruckersville.