What do we think of Charlottesville, Virginia?

There are good people on both sides there.

It’s isolated.

I’d live there. It’s beautiful.

[quote]On top of it all, one can jump on a train and be in New York in about 6 hours. Read a book, have a sandwich, suddenly you're in Manhattan.

I guess if the book's War & Peace. SIX hours is long - you can fly to London in that time.

Not terribly so R2, Washington is only about two hours away.

I love the house Marina Rust has there in the nearby countryside.

It's nice, but I wouldn't want to live there. Not that I couldn't. I wouldn't be miserable.

Whatever helps you to blot out the tragedy of your lower middle class upbringing, OP.

I was in Charlottesville twice: the two times I went over the weekend when my father died, in 2003. I spent most of the time in UVA hospital (of course), but did walk around town a bit. What I saw was nice. It helps of course, that it's a college town. That's what my only exposure.

I’ve been to some parties there and met a lot of nice people. It’s not as preppy as it used to be, but more granola-locavoresque. Really beautiful countryside and not hard to find old houses for a bargain. It doesn’t exactly have the throbbing pulse of the big city, but if you want to be a gentleman farmer, it’s perfect.

A very walkable downtown. I used to work for a company that had a big office there. The airport is tiny, with only regional jets to hubs. Lots of nice restaurants. Lots of preppy college students mixed in with the free-range-everything crowd. Still looking to rehab it's reputation after the horrors of a couple years ago. About an hour away from Richmond, a much bigger city with nice museums.

Marina Rust's house is absolutely beautiful. It deserves its own "Tasteful Friends".

What's the gay scene like, Rose?

R12, it's all for you!

It’s pretty but literally in the middle of nowhere. It’s a college town where students have nothing to do by drink at Frat parties

There’s a downtown with some nice restaurants and enough culture, such as lectures, movies, live music. DC is only two hours if you want to go to museums.

16 replies and no one has mentioned Monticello?

What about Staunton right up 64 about 30 minutes..seems really cute ..we may buy a house there

R17, probably anyone who knows anything firsthand about C'ville is so fucking tired of hearing about Jefferson and his Grounds and his sick mansion that they can't bear to mention it.

I recruited at the U of VA in the early 80s for an Ivy graduate school. We recruiters were treated to lunch. Black older male servers wearing white gloves. I was mortified.

R20 they do still at the greenbrier!

Also the grand hotel in Michigan.

R20, did you get to meet Uncle Ben?

Staunton is boring as fuck. Pretty enough though. At least Cville has a wonderful mid-size live venue (The Jefferson Theater -- plus a handful of smaller ones) and an arena for whenever Dave Matthews comes through. I'm about n hour away from Cville and can't say I'd want to live there.

R23, so you live in Richmond? It Cville simply too small for you or is it more about the vibe?

It's like Asheville, a pleasant place to live or visit, but drive 10 miles outside the city limits and it's Trumplandia.

Everywhere is like that—Cities surrounded by Trumplandia. However, Arbamarle, Nelson, and Orange counties all have the sprinklings of hippy farmers and retired state department officials, making the countryside less conservative than many rural areas.

Hire a car if you visit: there are no buses or other public transport except $$$ taxis; taxis seem to run a closed shop in cahoots with the city so it may be that Uber and Lyft are also absent.

It's kind of a weird mix of hippie/purple haired/nose ring types with douchebros that look like & Eric & Jr Dump wannabes. Charlottesville is very pretty with surrounding wineries, a cute downtown but there is a lot of traffic (particularly when school is in session) and while it's not Deplorable-ville, it has a rude, snobbish vibe, though I imagine that's due in part to the type of students in attracts.

Staunton looks lovely and boring is what I need. I live in DC and need a getaway, country house.

Love Charlottesville - but it’s become almost overdeveloped now. Can still get a rural vibe if you go out far enough - but way too many McMansions encroaching on one of the must beautiful areas of the country. Used to be able to get one of those classic old brick houses on a lot of land relatively cheaply. Now it’s gotten expensive - relatively. And too much new development.

I like the vibe of Staunton now much more. Retains the small town, country vibe that Cville used to have. Arguably nicer commercial district. The Cville Mall is a little too strip-mall-y. The UVA/Corner strip is nice - but small.

I would definitely do CVille before Asheville. Closer to civilization - DC, airports, trains.

Wasn't there some big, ultra-right, fascist rally held there a few years ago?

Yes but they came from other places...that is not indicative of Cville

R31 Beautiful place, beautiful people! Very fine people in both sides. The finest people on both side you’ve ever seen. Many people respect me there. If you disagree, you’re a low rated, third grade, failing, lazy radical democrat from a failing democratic city!

It's beautiful. My sister lives there. I LOVE it there.

I was raped there and it just wasn’t fair!!!

Becki and I went there but we had no luck! Something about a demonstration with fine people there. All the young guns were at that. Maybe try again after Covid.

I had a ginger beer I scream (mint & razz) float there served by a Goth-girl. My first float ever. I was visiting from Y'rop and the patrons and staff were rather concerned for me; no more floats since.

I met a nice boy there with ochre eyes.

A friend lives there and takes one of the quick commuter flights to work in NYC. Lot's of Wall Street types think they discovered Albemarle County where Charlottesville is located. If you are looking for cheap small-town living, look elsewhere.

^^That's why I'm looking at Staunton..going there this weekend. I'll report back

R40, I'd love to hear what you thought about Staunton!

I just returned from Staunton and Lexington VA. I didn't know it wasn't pronounced Stawnton, it is Stanton for some reason. Really liked it. Not much available real estate wise. I didn't know it was 1400 Ft above sea level either but it is a charming place, fresh air with some good restaurants. Lexington seemed more chic and manicured and it is about 40 minutes further from DC. There is also Virginia Military Institute there which gives me pause.

Glad you enjoyed your trip; it was humid on Friday, but otherwise a beautiful weekend. So did you see lots of TRUMP signs (always a bad sign) during your visit?

I live outside of Cville, and have been here for 20 years. After living in DC for 20+ years, we were looking for a change. The City of Charlottesville is very blue (higher Democratic voting percentages than Arlington/Alexandria); the surrounding county of Albemarle is more purple. The counties further away tend to be more Republican.

We've had no problems being an out gay couple even though we live in a rural area 30 drive minutes from the University. Although we know many gay and lesbian couples, our closest friends are straight couples. It's rougher being single here for anyone as there isn't much of a single dating pool outside of University-aged folks. Single friends who are LGBT or POC usually look to Richmond for dating.

Lots of people retire to college towns because of the general laid-back atmosphere, the cost of living is less than in larger cities, and the quality health care. Charlottesville, Asheville and Santa Fe have similar vibes, and it reminds me of 1970s Austin when I lived there.

Staunton has wonderful architecture, a beautiful setting, a really handsome small downtown, and it is very affordable. It is, though, boring as fuck and rather far removed from things: more than an hour to Charlottesville (which has a very small airport), 2.5 hours to Dulles Airport, about 3 hours to DC. There is Amtrak service but expensive and not frequent and not especially fast either. If you are a homebody who likes historic architecture and doesn't mind long excursions to get to civilization of any sort it's a great choice. There are single family houses of great variety in style and period and a few 19thC warehouses and industrial buildings converted to loft apartments, some well, some of middling success. It's an uncommonly pretty large town/small city and enough going on that—if you are not terribly demanding—would be a nice place to live. If you are boredom prone or look externally for diversion I would recommend some caution. It feels isolated there and it is; if you like that, it may be a good choice, if you want vibrancy and stimulation and energy around you, keep looking.

Charlottesville is a more established, grander Staunton in many ways, also isolated, a bit closer to DC (2.5 hours), but more a city. It's a city on the old Virginia model which was anti-city: the life of the area took place in the countryside and the town was a place for trade, for banking, for commerce, for the university. The core of the university, Monticello, and the many late Colonial and Federal and Greek Revival and Colonial Revival period red brick country houses are gorgeous and there are some very rich people living out of sight down long private drives in the country. Around the university and a small but nice downtown are rings and rings of suburban strip mall sprawl, a little higher grade in design than in some other places maybe, but all of Charlottesville is not rich and prosperous and beautiful. In Charlottesville, I would live in the countryside not in town, a big lifestyle choice. Like I was saying of Staunton, it's a place for people who are self-contained, self-content, and not anxious for a constant stream of external stimulation. I wouldn't move to Charlottesville looking for an instant community because it exists only as a thousand communities, and few of them instantly attained. Charlottesville is more expensive and nice old houses in the countryside come at a premium because it's a popular place for retirees of second-home owners or people with the money to change their scene for a few years.

Both places can be really glorious in the autumn.

The whole “six hours by train to Manhattan” is so opposite a thing from a plus that I really question this entire post.

That's my reaction too, and with Amtrak it's going to be more like nine hours. Plus, don't you have to change trains in DC?

Also, be aware that Monticello is a ripoff - you wait in line forever, and once you get in they show you about two rooms and then they kick you out of the house and tell you to explore the (dull) grounds.

For years, Charlottesville had a good radio station and that was all it had going for it. And Staunton was a hick nightmare. But I imagine things have changed.

[quote] On top of it all, one can jump on a train and be in New York in about 6 hours.

You're talking about it as if it's just a hop, skip and a jump for NY; but six hours is quite distance. You could fly to NYC from Chicago faster than you could take a train to NYC from Charlottesville.

There are 3 direct trains daily from Charlottesville to Penn Station; the duration is 6.5 hours.

I much prefer the Delta non-stop from CHO to LGA. Leaves at 3:30 and gets to LaGuardia around 5pm.

[quote] On top of it all, one can jump on a train and be in New York in about 6 hours. Read a book, have a sandwich, suddenly you're in Manhattan.

That must be some big ass sammich.

R49 id much rather fly too. A “short flight” is a lot more appealing sounding than a half a day train ride (which is an entire day door to door).

If Staunton is a hick nightmare, then C'ville is just a plain old nightmare. It doesn't have much going for it unless you are one of the Ivy League queens that infest DL and ask you what college you went to and if you sniffed the hind quarters of any aristocrats.

Threads like this always sound like feeble boosterism.

OP's post (especially where he offers the SIX-HOUR commute as his topper) pretty much amounts to: "C'mon, guys--Charlottesville is really not as bad as all that! Can't you please be a little envious of me for living here? Just a little bit?"

You travel there on an Amtrak

On an Amtrak

Out you climb!

Dong, dong!

You're in Hong Kong

Having yourself a time!

UVa is the Harvard of eastern Virginia, didn't you know?

[quote] You travel there on an Amtrak On an Amtrak

“An” Amtrak.

Isn’t that the big city folks from Walton’s Mountain went?

I like that this thread got diverted to Staunton. Gays are so damn ahead of the curve. Cville was kinda hip in the 90s. Now it’s like Asheville - becoming a retirement community for the rich. Staunton is gritty and interesting and not filled with housing developments. A much more interesting place right now - in my opinion. Yet, still with easy access to Shenandoah Park and highways.

[R58] Staunton has been the place to go for small Organic farms and traditional/modern chefs for at least ten years. Can we just pretend Staunton and the upper Shenandoah Valley is awful so no one else moves here?

I saw one Trump sign in Staunton and about 20 ...no lie...Biden signs and lots of rainbow flags too. It took us 2.5 hrs to get there from downtown DC. The fact that it may be boring as fuck doesn’t bother me at all. It’s exactly what we are looking for. But I kind of doubt it as there were lots of music places, a few wine bars and tasting rooms and breweries

A Staunton VA thread of current listings for my tasteful friends....