Anyone in NoVA Send Kids to College in Harrisonburg? (Staunton: ski resort, home)

[MaggieGreene]

If there are parents on the NoVA subforum who send their children to Harrisonburg in Rockingham County, I'd like to hear their perspectives about how that area appears for NoVA residents in comparison.

Also, what do your children think of the area?

The same question goes for people who might have family, relatives or friends in the area? How does that area seem to NoVA people? Thanks!

[Vectorhead]

I've got a daughter who's a freshman at JMU. It seems like a nice little town -- very pretty setting, small historic downtown area, reasonable shopping and amenities. I've also visited there with my mother, who's looking at a certain type of retirement community. She loved the scenery and the quiet, peaceful feeling of the town.

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for. Are you wanting to know how it compares to NOVA for quality of life, schools, jobs, cost...? It's a completely different environment, that's for sure, but I can't really comment on a lot of those issues. Most of my knowledge comes as the parent of a JMU student so I know nothing about the job market or housing costs.

[ChristineVA]

My son is a sophomore at JMU. He really likes it there. I love/hate the fact that the school is only 2 hours away. It's great when he was a freshman and we needed to go there for any reason. But, it's close enough for him to come home more often.

Anyway, he likes the area, likes the school, I like the area. Plenty of dining/shopping options so you don't feel like you are in the sticks but it doesn't really compare to NoVA either as far as those same options.

[MaggieGreene]

Thanks for the comments. My family and I are thinking about moving there. We like Northern Virginia a lot, but it has grown very big and congested and we are drawn to a smaller town life more and more lately. Still, we are not ready to completely sever ties to NoVA and would like to maintain a reasonable degree of closeness. So Harrisonburg being a nice little college town pretty close to NoVA, we thought it might be a good option. Also, we wanted to get some perspectives of the area from people who live in NoVA and understand what we are used to here.

Job is not an issue as we live off investments. Housing we figured is not an issue either since it costs considerably less than here.

Oh, one more thing. How rowdy are college kids there? I heard about a huge riot that had to be put down with tear gas and riot police some years back. Do JMU students have a reputation of being unruly? I heard some local grumble about "rich kids from NoVA with their BMWs" in town.

[ChristineVA]

Personally, I don't think they are that unruly. A few years ago, the issue you discussed happened at the annual Springfest. Since then, the college has toned down that event. My son has been there for 2 years and he says very little about it being unruly or that they go into town and get into trouble. The bar scene in Harrisonburg, in my opinion, is minimal, which keeps the college kids out of town. Compare that to West Virginia University, where my daughter went, and the town and the college are very heavily intertwined and there's lots of spillover.

My son does say there's a lot of NoVA kids there and many of them are of the spoiled variety which bothers him (and he's a NoVA kid).

[mdcrim]

There are some other really cute towns near Harrisonburg. I really like the I-81 corridor from Winchester down to Staunton. Staunton itself isn't very far from Harrisonburg and has a ton of really interesting buildings. Check out the sleepy little area of Bayse as well. There is a ski resort there (Bryce) and they have a golf course, a lake and zip lining.

[MaggieGreene]

Any of you walk about the town (say the downtown area) while visiting your children there? How does it feel?

Also, do the JMU and EMU students spend much time off-campus and, if so, what kind of activities do they do?

[ChristineVA]

I have been to the downtown area and it feels quaint and nice.

My son doesn't spent a whole lot of time off campus. He does belong to a volunteer organization and they have had some of their functions at some recreation areas. They watched the sun rise in some "popular" area once, and they have pot lucks at some of the other park like areas but I don't get a lot of details on that and it's only once in awhile.

[gomason]

I just can't get over the fact that students have to cross an interstate to get from one side of the campus to the other (and yes I know there's a tunnel).

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by gomason

I just can't get over the fact that students have to cross an interstate to get from one side of the campus to the other (and yes I know there's a tunnel).

They don't have to literally cross the interstate. I know a lot of people feel that way about it, and before I visited I thought it kind of weird. Once you are on the campus, you actually just forget about the interstate. There is a large pedestrian bridge/overpass that the majority of student use and when you are walking on it, it just feels like another walkway on campus and not something like what crosses over I-95. The tunnel is there too, but most people use the bridge.