Mourn for me mine Hokie and TKP brethren (and sistren). A great woe has befallen me. My wife (an RN) has frequently talked about her desire to obtain her masters. However, because MCV has been negligent in giving her the time of day and behaving like a hive of doucheturds, that community college west of Cap City on 64 and their admittedly reputable med center has all but won her over.
I know there are some Hokie and TKPers holding out in there, but I need some info. What is the market like there for IT (particularly networking) in comparison to Richmond? I know RMA has an overall larger economy than doucheville-er...C'ville. Do jobs pay more in C'ville than in RVA? My brother-in-law seems to think so in regards to IT (he's a programmer). If RVA is better I've been considering a commute. Any advice? Thanks TKP community.
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run.. run away as fast as you can and never look back..
Can't speak much for pay, but I do know there is a Lockheed Martin facility in Charlottesville. I'm sure they have IT positions available.
There are IT jobs everywhere, including in Cville. In fact, there are quite a few listed and needed at UVA. As much as it sucks to think of WORKING for the enemy...keep in mind, they would be PAYING A HOKIE to do a job they can't do themselves.
Keep in mind, though, that even if the pay is the same (or even a little more), the COL is more than the RVA. Rent typically runs around 800-1500 for 1-2 BR apartments, which looks like it could get you 3 BR 2000 sqft homes there.
The food is amazing, they like their music, and traffic is a pain in the butt.
So pay rates are higher in doucheville than RVA? That's what my bro-in-law has been spouting.
I couldn't say for the IT world. In most fields, it's typically about average.
Though they actually had an article in the local paper last year that showed that the median pay here wasn't high enough to pay the rents/mortgages for houses/apartments/condos. I think they said the median wage was around 40k, and that it should be like 65k to be able to reasonably afford the cost of housing in the area.
The pay is higher but, they cost more in rent and the beer is higher cost but lower quality.
Oh my God... I'm so sorry!
I can't speak to the IT job market, but I actually kinda like Charlottesville. Living in Blacksburg the last two years, it wasn't really feasible for me to go home for breaks other than Christmas, but my aunt and uncle live in Charlottesville, so I was able to spend the last two Thanksgivings and part of a spring break there with them. It's no Blacksburg, but it's really not too bad of a town. All my experiences there have been decidedly positive.
Considering you go up there around Thanksgiving, I think I have a pretty good idea why your experiences have been so good.
In all honesty, though it's not Blacksburg, you could do a lot worse than C'ville.
This
We'll be with you in spirit as you take that last walk.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want..."
Ok, I figured I have to respond on this post, for obvious reasons.
On the plus side, (and I have personal experience in this), you'll have the intense pleasure of reminding slimy wahoos exactly what the score of last year's football game was. There is a certain guilty pleasure in watching them kind of twist in the wind after that (or develop facial ticks...responses vary). Wear your VT gear with pride here. I can promise you, you'll be surprised how much of it you see. I've even worn my VT hat into Alderman Library (returning a book my son checked out for school), and I really enjoyed that. I've been poking a stick in the collective eyes of wahoos since 1985, and for the most part, it's been fun. And if I happen to see someone at Walmart or the grocery store in a Tech hat or shirt, I usually speak to them (My wife thinks I'm nuts for doing this, but she didn't go to Tech, either, poor girl).
I can't intelligently comment on the IT job market in the area, but I can tell you that there are a wealth of defense contractors here, whom I think would always be looking for people with computer smarts (most are conveniently located on 29N, where you'll love the traffic. Honest! Because that by-pass that we're gonna build....oh, wait..never mind). There's always Mr. J's school, but why torture yourself. There are some decent opportunities here, though, I think. The area has not been as affected by economic problems as much as some parts of our Commonwealth, so we consider ourselves fortunate in that regard.
Regarding the cost of living/housing compared to RVA, not sure exactly what it's like in our fair capital city, but apartment housing in town is not easy to come by or cheap. If you don't mind a little drive, or are looking to purchase a house, some of the surrounding areas are nice. If your wife is working at the hospital, I'm guessing you'd want to be at least reasonably close. (30 min drive?) Western Albemarle can be pricey, but that's because it is just so darn gorgeous. Crozet is very nice. (In fact, if you drive out 250 west toward Afton, you can roll down the windows and smell the old money wafting in the breeze.) I live in east, in Fluvanna, about a 25 min drive to town. If you decide to commute back to Richmond, I'd suggest Fluvanna or Louisa (Zion Crossroads area has some very nice communities there). Greene County is not bad either, but you have to deal with Rt 29 traffic (see above). I would suggest not living in Charlottesville-proper, unless you like nutty government for its entertainment value. (The latest thing is that they want to regulate what residents can plant in their yard...think "No more Azaleas for you!" in your best Seinfeld-Soup Nazi voice.)
For the most part, its a pretty nice area to live. And don't forget, I'm here for ya. There are more of us infiltrating the area than you think. Hokies gotta stick together!
I didn't go to Tech either but both of my p's did. Also, my wife got her RN at Shenandoah and her eldest bro graduated from Tech so as far as I'm concerned I think that immunizes her from wahoo. Thanks a bunch. I guess I could try to convince her for Fluvanna.
Also, was hoping to hear from you.
Fluvanna is a nice place to live from what I have seen.
Don't sell Louisa (Zion Crossroads) short. Fluvanna has its share of short-sighted government types too. We just had an 11% property tax increase because there is very little businesses to provide a tax base.
At least it's not Cleveland.
Even cleveland isnt the least desirable place
But to add to the c'ville conversation, every time I drive through that place I blare Enter Sandman and the music/audio from the preseason football video Billdozer made. I doubt anyone can hear but I know they can see my big ass truck with VT all over
At least they got the R&RHOF. What does Detroit have?
More abandoned building/lots per capita than any other place in the US?
I'll echo what EnemyTerritory stated - you will blend in if you wear Maroon and Orange in Charlottesville. So opposite of Blacksburg, if you wear UVA colors. UVA only 'acts' like they care about VT one day of the year.
agreed, i've worn tech gear hanging around the corner and downtown mall a million times and noone's ever said a word. it's just different than blacksburg in that regard. on gameday though, the shit talking flows like the james river.
Why did this come to mind?
Random tangential question: Is your wife considering getting her nursing doctorate?
It seems like the prevailing winds are pushing for more and more education. If she is pursuing a Master's, she may find, depending upon her goals, that she could eventually need her doctorate.
Nursing is a great field to be in currently, and advanced degree nurses are going to be sorely needed with the health care changes.
Not at this point.
C'ville isn't bad. Born and raised. Pantops mountain area is nice. Grew up in Key West subdivision which is up rt 20 north. Some newer communities have been built up that way. State farm regional office is on pantops as well as some newer businesses up around Martha Jefferson Hospital.
Another area that has really grown is the 20 south/Avon st extended area.
There are way more Hokies there than you would expect. Alot of older hokies, whose kids grew up learning to hate UVA students by their stuck up attitude. Love walking downtown in orange and maroon.
As far as IT jobs go, you have North fork research park, What used to be NGIC and a bunch of smaller companies. My cousin works at a place on pantops and seems to get paid reasonably well. He lives in Lake Monticello, in Fluvanna county, and can be at work in around 25 to 30 minutes.
so I grew up around Charlottesville and then lived just north of there (greene/madison) after college for a few years before moving back to Blacksburg. Charlottesvile is actually nice. Sure, you run into your share of UVa d-bags, but it's a large enough town that you can avoid them pretty easily. I'll echo the sentiment that it's expensive to live in Charlottesville, or even in the surrounding county, but you can always find the occasional good deal. If you want reliably cheap, just live in one of the surrounding counties (greene/madison, orange, nelson, fluvanna, louisa, buckingham...no wait, not buckingham). If you're going to commute to charlottesville itself, try to do it on 20 or 29 from the south or 250/64 from the east/west. Coming down from north of town on 20 or 29 is a major pain because greene has become such a bedroom community (see cheap living comment above). I went to high school in Crozet and it's a really pretty area, but it's also a dedicated growth area so they've built a ton of housing and charge you for it. But again, if you look hard enough you can find a place out there and commute in easily enough.
As much as we like to take shots at UVa (or let them do it to themselves) there's a reason Charlottesville has gotten such good reviews as a place to live. Great restaurants, good entertainment, pretty nature settings within easy drive. Anything you'd miss in Richmond is only an hour away. I prefer Blacksburg for a lot of reasons, but we definitely gave up a lot moving down here (like being able to choose from 5 great thai places, sam's club, movie theaters, no football traffic...)
As for work, there are likely a lot of options for IT positions due to the sheer volume of companies in and around the area. however, you've also got more people competing for them so there's that. Lots of government contractors. Lots of jobs with the university and related corporations. The school system is even big enough to offer a bunch of jobs.
All in all, Charlottesville is somewhere between NoVA and Blacksburg in terms of feel. Starting to get a little sprawly, but you get the convenience that comes with that (you know, if you value things like whole foods market and trader joes being across the street from each other). And then you can just hop 3 exits down on 64 and be on skyline drive to go hiking. Also, if you head a couple miles outside of town, you run in to the same type of good ole boys you find in Montgomery county so it's not all that different.
Real nice brewery scene close to Charlottesville starting with the Blue Mountain brewpub just south.
I'm planning on doing a "Opponents outlook Tailgating Tech" on interesting Charlottesville brewing spots the week of the Decade Plus of Domination Game week.