Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks Mormegil27... We love visiting up there (San Juan Islands in particular, but the whole area is great from Portland to Vancouver, B.C.)... Wouldn't be for another 4-8 years probably before we'd move again. We're essentially retired (retired Naval officer) but have a small photography business on the side that helps keep us engaged and sane, so fortunately, jobs availability (or lack thereof) isn't an influencing factor for us right now.
Interesting comments and helpful posts by the people above. I'm also considering moving to Charlottesville, and plan to commute to work someplace else. In my case C'ville is cheaper (in terms of home ownership) than my current situation, and after looking around in a 2.5 hour commute radius it seems to be the best option given that it is a university town, which usually means it has some amount of culture and things to do. Maybe the people who have commented above would disagree, don't know. Richmond supposedly has some good culture, but it also supposedly has high crime which I want to avoid.
I've visited C'ville quite a bit because I also have family there, and I found it to be friendly enough. I'm from NY, so "friendly" probably has a sliding scale. I'm also somewhat progressive, and progressive is a little hard to find in VA if you aren't in NoVA - C'ville is one of those pockets of progressiveness. Of course in NoVA you get ivory-tower liberal, which isn't really to my taste either. If you are from AL you might be more conservative, don't know, but given that it is VA you probably can find both political sides. I note that the Fed House Rep of C'ville is GOP.
Personally I think it is a good fit because it has lots of outdoor activities and I prefer a small city with some intellectual flavor, as opposed to rural insular or urban unaffordable box living.
Be aware that VA is starting to become an ex-burb state, similar to NH in the Boston area or NJ in general. The massive profiteering (particularly during the high of the Bush war/homeland security years) and poor urban planning in DC (local corruption among other things) has made DC impossible to live in, but jobs continue to be created there on mass, so people are starting to venture far out in order to give their families a normal life. I know multiple people (younger people in their 20s and 30s, ie the student loan generation) who are moving to Richmond or C'ville or other small towns - my coworker commutes to DC from Richmond, we have friends who just bought in Harrisonburg but continue to work in DC, etc - go look at google maps and see where these places are, and you will get an impression of the insanity that DC has created. I know of people commuting from WV to DC, which is 2 states away! We are moving partially because no one who is in my age bracket is staying in DC - at least no one with a family unit of 2 or more, and who thus can't shack up with 5 housemates - they are all moving away (some with new jobs, some keeping but commuting).
My point in writing the above paragraph is to warn you that, on the one hand, you may have to compete with more than just UVA grads for jobs. You are trying to solve the 2-body problem, which is probably the most pressing problem on the current 20-to-30-something generation besides the student loan crisis. The movement of women into the workforce 3 decades ago, which I think is an important step in our society, has had the unfortunate side effect that now to live a middle class life you must have 2 incomes. Unfortunately, finding 2 jobs in one place at the same time is really quite improbable. So commuting becomes the rule instead of the exception, unless you are a lucky-ducky to have chosen the right field that lacks workers (maybe nursing?). I'm sure you know this better than I do, but from what I've been told/read law positions are saturated in many places.
On the other hand, you might consider that C'ville is just close enough that you might be able to find legal work in DC. My friend who bought in Harrisonburg is a lawyer and is keeping the job in DC - I suspect there's some flexible work schedule involved where the commute is kept to once a week or so. Probably depends on what kind of lawyer you are, but there are clearly lots of law firms in DC for obvious reasons.
Best of luck.
Richmond does have good culture, but the crime is vastly overstated. It's no different than anyplace else - bad in the hood, not an issue elsewhere. And has improved insanely in the last 20 years even in the hood - check the stats. Thing is, a lot of people still talk about it as if Richmond is still in 1993 (when it was a dump to my mind, and I couldn't wait to get back to Charlottesville.)
Moving to c'ville - good situation to be in. Thanks for your service, I also work for the navy but as a civilian. My retirement is still at least 30 years out (assuming I can at all), but I've often pondered trying to move jobs to the NW once our daughter is out of the house.
I wasn't aware that Richmond had improved - my wife is from there so the mid 90s has left a lasting memory on her.
In terms of friendliness, I give C'ville, in general, a C+. But that also depends on where in C'ville you live. We live in a not too cookie cutter neighborhood five minutes from downtown that is extremely dog friendly/oriented. As we are dog people and walk the neighborhood a lot as a result, our particular neighborhood rates an A- on the friendliness scale (dog people talk to each other). We moved here from Charleston, SC so I understand friendliness/neighborly. We too don't have children so our social interaction and friends are comprised primarily of neighbors and work friends. Have met some wonderful women via book groups I've found through "Meet-up" that have spawned additional friendships outside of book club. So in all, there are good ways of meeting people if you're open to it. Unlike the south (or at least in Charleston), you will not find people here hanging out in their garages drinking and watching sports every saturday/sunday afternoon. I found that taking the first step in introducing yourself to your neighbor and inviting them over for a drink goes a long way to making friends around here. When we first moved to SC our neighbors across the street knocked on our door at 7:30 am on a Saturday and invited us out for breakfast. The timing seemed a bit odd to us, but the gesture didn't go unnoticed and I realized that if you want to make friends, take the first step. (they turned out to be bat**** crazy, but that's another story...)
As for legal jobs for you, it could be tough going. There are quite a lot of firms in town, but it depends on what type of law you practice as to if you'd have much luck. I'm a former litigation paralegal and I know there are a good number of litigation firms in the area. Lexis is also in town, though they've downsized I believe. But I know a someone who does contract work for them out of his home. Don't know if you're admitted to the Bar in VA or not either, but you'd need to consider that.
Sounds to me your husbands job offer is either with GE or NGIC. Both are right near the Briarwood/Camelot neighborhoods. Generally speaking, you will find more affordable housing the farther away from Charlottesville you get (assuming you're not looking for huge parcels of land/farms like you'd find in Ivy/Keswick.) The downside is that if you should find yourself working in downtown Charlottesville where the legal jobs would be, then from the North you've got to battle the 29 South drive in the mornings which I hear is quite a pain. If I was a 30 something that enjoyed good food and a cocktail, I'd do my best to try to find someplace closer to downtown. The commute northbound on the 29 in the mornings is much more tolerable than the reverse.
Generally speaking, the city and immediate areas are more progressive politically than the outlying areas. Though I've met plenty of conservatives here as well.
As to food/utilities pricing, I don't think there's much difference between here and Charleston, SC. We recently ate at Orzo (a good restaurant in town) and each had an entree/dessert and had a couple glasses of wine and got out, including tip, for about $75-$80. On the flip side, we took some friends to the Downtown Grille a couple months ago and with appetizers/entree/desserts and a couple bottles of wine, including tip, we spent an even $400 (there were 4 of us). So it depends on which restaurant you pick, but there are plenty in between.
My husband and I have moved around quite a bit living i Newport, RI; San Diego, CA; Northern VA; Charleston, SC; Milan, Italy, etc., and now in Charlottesville (we've lived here two years now.) I find, and not everyone does, that moving and trying new places, facing all the ups and downs of living in a new place (jobs, housing, finding friends), is actually a real growing experience. With each place we've lived, I've managed to learn more about myself. People with children often down have the luxury of moving around and experiencing new places, but if you don't have kids, especially while you're still young enough to take in all that a place has to offer, you should give it a try. Don't know if you're originally from Alabama or have moved much in your life, but think of Charlottesville as your next adventure. I don't know where we'll move to next or when it will be, but there will be another couple moves in our lives. (Am thinking the Pacific Northwest maybe....)
Good luck..
That neighborhood sounds awesome! We have a dog, so that's great to hear. I'm also an author so the book friendly atmosphere Cville seems to have sounds wonderful to me!
We looked at the cost of Ruckersville, which seems more reasonable housing-wise. Yes, the husband's job would be supporting NGIC. That's what made Ruckersville more attractive--it's only like 8 minutes from the NGIC facility--but I don't know anything else about that area.
I am not currently barred in VA, but I've been practicing five years so it wouldn't be difficult to waive in. Alabama has reciprocity with Virginia. I practice contracts/corporate law, so the number of litigation firms sounds promising. I'm in talks to keep on with my current company and work remotely, so if that works out it would be fantastic and would make the move much more attractive, although I wouldn't be opposed to commuting one day a week. I wouldn't want to do it more than that, though. I used to commute 1.5 hours every day, not counting traffic, and hated every second of it.
The husband and I have both lived in Alabama all our lives, which is one reason we're considering the move. What makes it so difficult is the cost of living. For example, our 2300 sq ft house in a good neighborhood, in the city, backing onto a nature preserve, was $191k. From what we've looked at, a comparable space in Cville would be around $350k and up. I will say, my eyes bugged out at the meal prices you listed. $35-50 is pretty standard for a good meal here. We had a steak dinner the other night, with wine/beer, that came out to $55 for us both with tip, and was delicious. $75-$115 is an expensive dinner, and that's the total for both of us. I'm about to faint over the concept of a $400 dinner, haha.
I guess it's really going to come down to whether my employer will let me work remotely. If I had a job going in, I think we could make the leap.
Its really all what you're use to in terms of pricing (food and housing) and what you can make due without. Our house in Charleston was a 2600 square ft house (5 bedrooms!!). I had a lot of stuff and liked the idea of having the formal living room/family room/dining room and the five bedrooms. But what we deemed ultimately more important was the location of where our next house would be and not how big it was. We wanted to be a short drive from where we would be spending lots of our time - downtown. Restaurants, bars, shops, live theaters, the Pavillion, library, UVA, etc., were all in the downtown area. We had to drive 30 minutes in Charleston to get downtown and it was a drag. So we found out very dog friendly, very safe, very wooded (so you feel like you have privacy, but in truth you've got neighbors), five minutes from downtown. We live in neighborhood called Mill Creek. We have a 1600 sq. ft house that we remodeled a bit (new kitchen and flooring), we paid $260k for it. We have ZERO regrets on our decision in location/house.
I've got friends in Ruckersville and while they like it, there's not much there. If its not a ticky-tacky neighborhood there, then it's country folk. There's a pizza place, and maybe one or two other restaurants and some fast food. But that's about it (there's a Lowe's & a Walmart too). Two out of the three that I know that live up there regret having bought their homes because it takes so long to get into town which is where they want to be for socializing (dinners out with the girls, book club, etc.) - going out after work, but having to run home to walk the dog and then coming back downtown isn't ideal. If you make the move up here, or wherever you may go in life, if you're not totally familiar with the area, please do yourself a favor and rent for a year. Lots of single family rental homes around town and plenty take dogs! Should you find yourself needing a realtor for a rental or a purchase, give me a holler and I'll give you the name of a friend.
I hope your firm lets you telecommute! That's a perfect solution!!
Ruckersville is a pretty unspecial rural crossroads, located in Greene County, hence why housing is cheaper (not just because it is further out from C'ville, but poor schools, etc). There is nothing out there, and traffic on 29 is bad, especially during rush hours. Living in Ruckersville is NOT the same thing as living in Charlottesville or the nicer parts of Albemarle (Ivy, Keswick, Crozet, Barracks Road, Free Union).
In general, living north of Charlottesville in the Rte 29 corridor is not very desirable.
When we first moved to SC our neighbors across the street knocked on our door at 7:30 am on a Saturday and invited us out for breakfast. The timing seemed a bit odd to us, but the gesture didn't go unnoticed and I realized that if you want to make friends, take the first step. (they turned out to be bat**** crazy, but that's another story...)
This was so funny, I almost spewed my coffee - and it would probably make a good movie!
I visited C-ville last fall, considering it for retirement, and spent about 5 days there. So, after 5 days I kind of felt like "been here, done that". It's a pretty relaxing place but definitely no "city" vibe. It doesn't take long to get really out there in the "country". If you wanted to experience more urban, you'd need to drive to Richmond about an hour away or venture into NoVa. I did have two bad experiences at the hotel (won't mention which one) which turned me off. The airport is nice but super small. It was definitely too small a town for me.
We decided not to move. Not yet at least. If things take off for my husband's company up there, then we might have other opportunities in the future, but for now, the timing just isn't right.
Good decision. The fewer new arrivals here, the better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
