I am curious about where Hokies want to live.
Some of it is pure curiosity some of it has to do with opening an office in a place Hokies want to live in hopes of recruiting Hokies to our company and having them be satisfied with their living situation.
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The whole thing assumes that people want to live in cities. And sure, lots of people do.
But for someone like me, the survey is a miss. From a rural area. Went to college in a rural area. Live and work in those same rural areas.
That is a fair observation. I probably should have specified metro area as well. I also prefer rural areas but have to account for other considerations.
Amen.
Oops, meant to reply to OP.
This! I'm happily living in PA surrounded by farms and working from home for companies located in cities. Computers are amazing.
Truthfully, if you want the best people in IT these days, consider making your company's culture a remote one with an office in a city. You get to recruit from the best local and the best remote pools.
key west. where do I send my resume?
I love Key West!
I liked the relaxed atmosphere of Key Largo much nicer than the dense party scene of Key West.
What kind of company do you have ?
Identity Management (Biometrics) and IT.
Live in the Shenandoah Valley but work somewhere else (I'd support the local economy but it probably couldn't support me).
Shen Valley also, probably no reason to relocate until retirement.
Amen, also.
Shenandoah Valley here...
The only place better would be somewhere in the islands
Still two years until Navy retirement, and the first thing everyone from back home tells me is how bad the job market is and how poor the wages.
If I come back I fully intend to work in NOVA or maybe down toward Richmond and "live someplace quiet" like the city folk who come in, with the difference I'm actually from here and not a carpetbagger. I'm perfectly fine stepping out my front door and it still being Shenandoah, unlike folks that complain and want to make it "the city" (as we call everything east of Warrenton).
That's funny, I have heard the exact opposite.. job market is pretty hot these days. Depends on the area, but most large+ metro areas have v low unemployment.
Specifically Shenandoah County, but now that I think about it, most of my friends/relatives aren't necessarily highly skilled.
Live in the Valley also and there is no better place if you like rural life. Salaries ain't bad around here but you can commute to Hooville if you want to make more.
Hey hey! - another Shenandoah Valley native here. Live in Leesburg now.
I would have said the playboy mansion once upon a time. Barcelona would be nice if weren't for all foreigners. A nice walking community with lots of restaurants and breweries within a few blocks would be great if they were not in big cities. Blacksburg would be wonderful if I was under 25. Now I'll just stick to where to the whiskey flows and the beer chases.
Key West
whoah. Ninja edit...I went to reply and your whole post disappeared.
I just wanted to say that it's not so much about living in NOVA, but being lucky enough to have the skillset to work in industries that will pay big bucks. I know people in roanoke, charlottesville, richmond, lynchburg, and other places in VA that pull in 6 figures without owning their own businesses. Admittedly, these guys have 15+ years experience in various engineering fields, but still, they don't have to live in NOVA.
I edited it because I live in NOVA hopefully temporarily for career reasons. I'm not from up here and an't see myself staying longterm. Never lived near the Ocean and thats a goal
Austin. But Texas in general.
I live in Atlanta and love it. The dream is to have a home in the city, and a vacation home in the mountains.
Atlanta has a lot going for it, other than the drivers/traffic.
Atlanta has so much going for it right now, I could write a 5+ paragraph post on it. Seeing how much the city has matured and improved over the last 3 years alone has been incredible.
IF you plan your working/living locations correct, you can avoid traffic. Easier said than done, I know. As an aside, Atlanta Traffic isn't worse than DC or Boston, or, the worst of all US cities - LA; it's just that there's a chunk of the population that hasn't lived in a major city before, and doesn't understand traffic.
You nailed it. I moved to Atlanta (city of, east side, never left) after the 1996 Olympics, been thru good times and busts - but I've never seen this town like it is right now. It's absolutely booming. Atlanta is at peak cool. Good place to be.
If DC/Boston/LA are the comparisons, yeah, I guess it's fine. It's at least understandable if there are actual traffic backups.
The problem I have with Atlanta is that there is no rhyme or reason to it. The traffic often isn't even backed up, there are just people slaloming other cars in every lane just for the fun of it. It's as if they have no fear of cops or accidents. Every city's traffic has a personality, and the one in Atlanta is "teen driving a Honda like a Formula One car".
/Flame off
Just wait til it rains. ;)
I love ATL, but the commute is insane - It takes me 1hr to go 6 miles from The Highlands to Buckhead during rush hour... insanity.
No thank you to that even if it were for 100K more.
That's a tough commute, simply because there's no direct route between the two neighborhoods. There are only two direct ways to get to Buckhead (if you're commuting from the south), and neither are highways. VaHi is basically the same. Can you commute off hours or are you stuck in rush hour?
It's really easy to travel north/south in Atlanta, and slight more difficult to travel east/west. If you choose a commute that is neither, there's a good chance you wind up miserable.
It was horrible when the highway collapsed. Now, since the weather is nicer, I just Uber or Bird to/from the Marta in Midtown.
I think it's more "teen driving a Honda while eating, texting, and reading paper map quest directions in order to find a location they've never been before."
That's embarrassing... fixed.
I'm more embarrassed that I had to look multiple times to realize what was wrong.
Its write they're fore u two sea!
I have lived in Houston for 3 years. I miss the mountains and nature, but its an affordable city with great food and high salaries.
Charlotte is where I wanted to end up and it's where I ended up after a short stint in Charleston. My only beef w charlotte is the lack of beach.
Edited. My eyes saw Charlottesville the first time.
Charlotte seems to be the last place where the combination of traffic, pay and housing is still really attractive.
Traffic isn't bad here if you:
1. Have flexibility and can move at slightly off times
2. Know your way through the city and understand alternate routes
If you're inflexible, don't know the city well and you're forced to drive at 730-830am and 430-530pm you're not going to have a good time.
I think part of what we would offer would allow for flexibility. We really want to make sure our employees are in the right mindset for success.
Rent is starting to skyrocket within the city limits. Much cheaper to live "outside" of Charlotte then inside Charlotte...if the school system was on par with the Raleigh-Durham area, it would be perfect here..
Yea I live in Matthews (although I can literally throw a rock from my back yard into charlotte) and the bang for your buck is SIGNIFICANTLY better than just 2-3 miles away into charlotte.
Now if we can just move on making our own charter schools and peeling away from CMS were in business.
Texas, specifically Dallas and to the east.
Wound up in Denver and couldn't be happier that I'm in Colorado.
Moving there from Dallas next month
My sister and her husband moved out there a few years ago. They love it and were told it has the second-largest Hokie Club outside NOVA.
This is fascinating, is it actually true? Why so many Hokies there?
Lots of reasons. Colorado's population has exploded over the past decade, and Denver is a really attractive city for young 20 somethings. For us, I got a job offer for Fort Collins and we jumped at it when we saw it was one of the top places to raise a family.
300+ days of sunshine, awesome climate with no humidity, proximity to the Rocky Mountains are all great. Plus the local Hokie Club chapter is really well run from what I've observed.
Moved to Fort Collins from Nova 4 years ago. Single best decision I've ever made for my family and I.
I was in Boulder for a month for some job training. Awesome area, will probably retire in Longmont.
EDIT: would also love to end up at Gold Coast, Aus.
Moving to Boulder in a month!
Checkout the Rayback Collective when you get there. Coolest place for a beer I've ever been to.
Will do. Thanks for the recommendation!
We moved to Denver a year ago and we love it here, too! Live in Parker and work in Lone Tree.
You Denver people are killing me. I would move to Colorado in a second. Unfortunately my pension and 4 weeks of vacation make it hard to leave. I'm in it but my company is very "old fashioned". Some day. Maybe Frisco
I like my City...Charlotte. It's not too big and it's not too small. Weather is good most of the time, traffic is starting to get bad, but it's not like DC or Atlanta yet. I plan to travel more to see what's out there, but I'm good in the Mid-Atlantic Area for now...
That's an amazing comment. I like to use adjectives as nouns, but I can be a dumb sometimes.
Why is the 757 not on there? Biased.
Also agreed with the above. Some people just enjoy the sticks. Pungo is a very unique sticks in that it is close enough (depending) to people & things and very close (depending) to the ocean.
Drove through Pungo on the way to Kitty Hawk last weekend and commented to my fiancee how much I would enjoy moving out that way. Definitely agree that it's not a bad distance from anything depending on what you're looking for.
Good question. I can't deny bias. I can tell you that of the write in responses only 2 people listed any place in 757 (Norfolk).
I lived in Norfolk for about a year. If you have the money you can stay in a decent area close to Granby Street. Outside of the that it starts to get pretty sketchy just a street or two over...but I guess that's just city living. There's plenty of food and night entertainment esp since they revamped waterside. I moved to the VAB earlier this year and enjoy the area I'm in now because you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a good grocery store, restaurant, or shopping in general plus I'm only a 10 min drive from the ocean front. Still would prefer Pungo over all that but that's me.
Switzerland
Augusta, Georgia is nice because it's 3 hours from the beach, 3 hours to the mountains, no traffic and the it/cyber security field is blowing up there.
There is literally no reason that this post should've been downvoted. WTF, TKP!
I FUCKING HATE AUGUSTA /s. Hopefully it was a scrolling accident.
It was my friends who were messing with me lol
You may want to add a question about where you live now. You ask for hometown, but not where you live currently. Certainly a difference.
You may want to look into hubspots for rural areas. Definitely benefits to bringing jobs to rural areas. Remote and collaboration opportunities make it easy to work from anywhere with an internet connection.
As for me, I plan to take my talents to Middle Peninsula area of Virginia. Beautiful part of the state and access to water = fishing.
I can do that if everyone is willing to take another survey.
The difficulty with HubZones is that the 30% of your employees have to be living in a Hubzone as well as having the company located in a HubZone.
If our biometric product line takes off and we need to do some manufacturing, I could see opening up an office in an area where there is a high availability of "skilled unskilled labor".
Part of what we're trying to avoid is the perfect storm of misery for our employees while also being able to adequately serve customers. Certain metro areas, but especial NOVA, are headed full speed into the perfect storm. A lot of employment is government related which combined with a growing population contributes to lower pay and a higher cost of living plus traffic. I see lots of references to "six figure salaries" in NOVA but you have to factor in the cost of living to see that those salaries get eaten pretty quickly with rent.
I really appreciate the feedback. Is there anything else you think I could do to improve the survey?
Moved to the Middle Peninsula six years ago from just outside of Blacksburg and am very happy about it. Rural living near the Chesapeake Bay, Mathews suits us just fine. 2 miles to the nearest boat ramp, and I'm too old to care much about shopping, too poor to worry much about eating out, so it works just fine for me.
Looks like the majority of us want to live in Other, myself included
Somewhere where it's fall year round.
That exists, right?
Where I REALLY want to live? Some island...Barbados, St. Croix, etc. I'm not particular.
Where I'd really be content to live? My home, but it seems like I live at work. (heavy sigh).
Haven't found my dream area yet. Still looking. Southern California was probably pretty close, but it's expensive and too many people.
If I had the right resources, it is hands down San Diego. Lots of Hokies there, they have the best Alumni Bar, Bubs (It's like watching a game at TOTS), and its an easier vibe then LA. The weather is perfect year round.
Buddy of mine had an internship in SD once upon a time and told me about a Hokies bar he found that turned into a Steelers bar on Sundays. Is that Bubs?
Now that I live in MidCal, I'm sure there's going to be a time when I'm in SoCal on the weekend and I gotta know where to go to watch the games.
Yes that's the correct bar. LA is not to bad either, I used to be the VP of the Alumni Chapter there and ran all the watch parties in Hermosa Beach. Definitely do a trip to both. San Diego though is almost like being at TOTS, so that gets the nod of being a tad better.
HA...should have read your post before writing mine. Nailed it!
Utah, aka BeUTAHful, don't miss the Virginia humidity ONE BIT!
Utah is beautiful and wild as hell. Lots to do and plenty of room to do it in. That was our second choice after retirement, but we're still happy here in Mathews.
That's pretty interesting as I can't think of two places that are more dissimilar than any place in Utah and Mathews, VA. I like both, by the way.
Yep, we have a love of the West in general, and Utah holds great memories for us and would be a good launch pad for traveling the general area. But, we love the Bay and family is in Virginia, so here we are.
Where do I want to live?
On a nice quiet property on a lake in the mountains that still manages to have a good high speed, preferably gigabit, internet so I can still stream whatever the F I want.
That is my retirement plan 1A
Nice plan. Quiet property on a lake is tough to do though unless you own the whole lake.
Right now I live right across the street from a low to mid-rent apartment complex.
My definition of quiet may be a bit different than yours.
San Diego. It is expensive, but less so than LA/OC or SF Bay Area. Weather is PERFECT, literally 65-75 (hotter when Santa Anas are blowing) and sunny (get 30 days of overcast and 5 days of rain) about 330 days per year. Very cool vibe to the city, not as pretentious as LA/OC or SF Bay Area. Tons of biotech and engineering here already, so your hiring pool is enormous. Large and active Hokie group (BUB's Dive Bar is a must on Fall Saturday's). Loved my time in San Diego.
Just moved from SD to OC for work. SD is amazing, wish I was still there. But, at least Im still in SoCal. I dont think I can live in another part of the country anymore. It does suck how much of my pay goes to my mortgage, but NoVA, NY and the other major east coast cities are similarly priced.
Ideal world: Blacksburg
Dream world: London or Zurich
Real World: Where I can both have a stable job and afford to own a house in a decent school district that doesn't flood and I don't have to sit through an egregious commute. Somehow all are failing to be fully achievable.
Just looked at the survey results. No one wants to live in Baltimore.
And I'm not surprised.
I just got back from a week in Montenegro which has now moved to the top of my list.
Well, that's one I never expected to see on this list
I mean, he's stuck in Russia. Lots of places probably look amazing from there.
You should really get out more.
Twas a jab at an adversary nation-state, not at a fellow Hokie who labels himself as "stuck" there.
The Mountain Time Zone, preferably New Mexico. Staunton/Harrisonburg again/Asheville if I can't get off the east coast.
Santa Fe is pretty epic...never lived there but always enjoy visiting. Taos is a funky but fun place, too.
I love New Mexico. There's a good chance I'll have to leave in the next few years and I'm dreading it.
Went camping in the Gila National Forest this spring and I was amazed how beautiful the entire state is
Just don't go to the eastern part of the state
What's wrong with the eastern part of NM?
pretty much all looks like this
You need to go further North. North East NM looks like this.
Oh yeah, I go backbacking in the Sangres several times a year, and that area is beautiful. I guess I just wouldn't call that "North East."
The southwest side of the mountain in that picture is basically the Santa Fe ski basin, and horizontally speaking, it's right in the middle of the state. Just about all of the mountainous areas are West of I-25.Edit: Just realized I confused my baldy peaks; that's from the Eagle's Nest/Red River area. It's a little further east than Santa Fe, but still not what I think of when I think of "East" NM.
Florida Panhandle.
Great weather, low cost of living, near beach and boating, airport nearby. In the Florida Panhandle, so great weather most of the year. While not super close to anything, driving distance to mid-Atlantic.
Negatives: Not super close to a major city, so culture options are limited, threat of hurricanes.
Negatives. Consistently, perpetually HOT and HUMID.
This is true, but you can go boating and watch football on the same day in September and October.
Generally, you're wearing shorts and t-shirts March through October.
Oh yeah, another negative is that after a couple of years you don't have any winter clothes anymore.
Winter clothes, those are long sleeves for that environment?
Yeah, I meant what other places consider winter clothes, like warm coats, knit caps, scarves and gloves when you're packing to go somewhere else. When we travel in the winter months, we end up borrowing/buying stuff at our destination.
Shorts weather is year round. #teamnopants
Other thoughts:
Blacksburg; Roanoke; Raleigh-Durham.
I'll take Richmond over most places. Great food and beer, city stuff to do without the traffic, pretty low cost of living.
Northern Italy, but that'll have to wait until retirement. The government, for some reason, won't let me telecommute into the secure facility. *sigh*
Yeah, I'm in.
Funny how only 6 people say they want to live in NOVA yet every single person I graduated with is headed there
Welcome to NoVA, the place where nobody wants to live, but most people can find jobs.
I may be one of a very few, but I love where I live (north of Leesburg). That's admittedly a long ways from the heart of NoVA (Fairfax/Arlington), and it definitely makes the commute the part I struggle with the most. But it's a tradeoff I accept given the benefits: I'm close enough to take advantage of what NoVA/DC have to offer but far enough away to enjoy peace & quiet at home. I've got enough land to hunt on, the job market & schools are excellent, and there are multiple local breweries and wineries nearby. Leesburg has also grown up quite a bit in the last 10-15 years, so it's rare that we need to drive more than 20 minutes to get whatever we need (doctor, grocery, big box stores, restaurants, etc).
Charleston, SC would be my pick. Few places in this world beat the beauty of Lowcountry South Carolina, and I just love the historic character of the area.
Charleston is great except for: cost of housing, flooding, lack of land for new buildings.
And how ridiculously crowded it is getting
Boston or London.
Just got to spend 5 days in London during my study abroad, will get a chance to go to Boston at the end of September for Red Sox-Yankees game 162 and to see Hamilton.
Boston is a great city. Spent a week there back in '82 and fell in love with it. Durgen (sp?) Park Restaurant for the biggest and best prime rib I've ever been fortunate enough to overeat on, just for one thing. Did the baseball game as well and met some fantastic people and even loved their hot dogs.
Make sure you make time for the aquarium, though, it is a highlight.
If you get a chance do the tour Fenway Park tour. Great way to see the entire stadium and our tour guide was hilarious.
London is the coolest BIG city I've gotten to visit. We did hit it during a 5-day sunny, 75-degree weather stretch, which helped.
I've heard great things about Boston. I'm hoping to take advantage of the direct flights from RIC soon.
I love living and working on Cape Cod, but I'd hate it if I had to commute into Boston.
Winter in the keys and summer in a private lake in Canada
I'm in Shawsville now and liking it just fine, particularly being close to VT and Roanoke.
But I'm thinking a move north is in the cards eventually. Vermont seems nice.
How does this survey exist without Blacksburg as one of the options?
Blacksburg is a great town if you're a student or in the summer. But during the school year, it can get old, fast... at least from what I've heard.
I lived in blacksburg as a townie from 2010 til 2016. I'm just now getting to the point where I wouldn't move back in a heartbeat if I could find a job that paid enough. Unfortunately, those are fairly rare and the people with them never leave so you have to catch the job market just right to find a job worth it. The students do suck, though.
Yeah don't get me wrong, I'd definitely live in some of the surrounding towns, but I'd avoid Blacksburg itself like the plague. The region is great, but the students make Blacksburg itself just undesirable to me.
That was my attitude towards Christiansburg and Radford...
We lived a stone's throw from the price's fork lot and it was awesome...except for the one house on the street rented by students. We were looking to buy and considered McCoy and out toward Giles only because Blacksburg was way too expensive for the areas safe from students. Of course I never would have made long term plans to live in any of the student focused complexes (Fox Ridge, etc).
Lived in Giles for 26 years this past go-'round (post graduation) on 15 acres with a trout stream. Great living in my younger years, but the rigors of the mountains, driving long distances for everything, wood heat and a 150 year old house finally took its toll on us. Nice being close enough for VT sports, but the town got real old a long time ago for us.
I never left after graduating in 97, but I did move to Cburg in 03. Property is much cheaper, the amenities are great, and I am still close enough for basketball and football games.
That is because in Blacksburg you get old fast. I remember going back when I was like 26 and people looking at me like I was going to whip out an AARP card.
There is a write in section.
Shameless plug: if anyone wants to live in or around Lynchburg, I'm still trying to hire two more mechanical engineers with machinery design experience and our software and electrical groups are looking to hire as well. Great cost of living, less than 2 hours from Blacksburg, not the worst place to be.
We've been there since September. I never in a million years thought I would wind up in Lynchburg, much less enjoy it. It grows on me every day. That is as long as I stay north of Liberty.
I've been pleasantly surprised myself. I turned down a job in Lynchburg back in 2013 so I could stay in Blacksburg and literally told the guy "I just can't see myself ever living in Lynchburg." Then I had to move here when I changed jobs and it's been pretty great. My mortgage in Forest is way cheaper than rent in Blacksburg. A lot more convenient than Blacksburg except for being able to walk places. I really miss walking down to the Cellar Friday evenings in the summer, but that's a pretty specific thing that you just can replicate everywhere. Then again, Blacksburg doesn't have El Jefe tacos...
I had never actually been TO Lynchburg, only through it on 460 before my current job. All I ever heard about it was Liberty and bad stuff, but I love it so far. Downtown is nice for it's size and it seems like it keeps getting better. It definitely has some good watering holes and restaurants.
I actually haven't been that impressed with El Jefe's tacos, but I've only eaten there once. Maybe they had an off day. I feel like if you're in need of a Cellar fix, but don't have time to drive to Blacksburg, Rivermont Pizza is a nice substitute.
El Jefe definitely isn't an "order anything on the menu, it's all amazing" place. First time I went, I got an assortment and was "meh" about 2 of 3, but the chorizo one was awesome. That's pretty much all I get there now. Wifey loves the pescado, but you have to order 3 at a time and she wanted flour tortillas so we couldn't share. I need to try those on corn next time.
I'll have to try rivermont if they have any celiac safe options (Cellar had celiac safe gluten free pizza).
I had the pescado, beef and the potato. The potato was on point, the pescado was okay, and the beef was so greasy it was nearly inedible.
Not sure if Rivermont has gluten free options. You should definitely check them out though. They have a downstairs of The Cellar vibe and damned good pizza and beer.
Interesting reading all of these posts. I grew up in Forest and have lived in Richmond (twice) Dallas (twice) and Kansas City since graduating from Tech. I moved back to Forest last June with my wife and two kids and I love it. Great sense of community. Say what you want about Liberty, but if it wasn't for them, none of the rest of the things the area has now would be there.
Someplace with absurdly high speed internet, lots of television stations within antenna distance, a river in the woods my backyard, little light pollution, easy access to a major airport, and both snow in the winter and plenty of rain in the summer.
England
Moved to metro Richmond after college. I love this place. Great for raising a family. Good steady job market. It's really easy to find good people. Hard to miss out on the sense of community here. I've also been pleasantly surprised by the diversity. There's an awesome Brazilian hole in the wall across the street from a delicious Mediterranean HITW, with a Mexican Taqueria around the corner.
Love the location, too. 2 hr drive to the Beach, nation's Capitol (on a good day), my hometown in Maryland, Raleigh, OBX, add an hour for Blacksburg.
Richmond native here - once it's feasible, my wife and I want to move back (currently in NOVA).
NOVA has grown on me because there's so much to do within a 30-45 minute drive, but Richmond is home and both sets of parents (soon to be grandparents) are still there. Also, Richmond has gotten really cool over the last half decade... pretty much right after I left.
Also, Richmond has gotten really cool over the last half decade... pretty much right after I left.
Coincidence?
I kid, I kid.
Now, I know correlation doesn't equal causation, but it does make you wonder. LOL.
Edit: I really need to be quicker on the ball.
I left richmond in 2008 now when my friends back home post about going somewhere or eating something I don't even know the city. I was born and spent first 14 years inside the city limits and all anyone wanted was to move out to one of the counties.
I do miss the excellent neighborhood restaurants and bars in the city and Tuckahoe Area. The rich history and architecture (especially on Monument AVE) are hard to beat. Also, there are finally worthy successors to Ukrop's: Publix and Wegman's. Albertson's and Cash Wise freaking suck here in ND.
But... The Prairielands of The US and Canada the best steaks I've ever had. So there's that.
Having grown up in Chesapeake, spending 6 years in Blacksburg, then 7 years on the Eastern Shore of VA, I am now right where I've always wanted to be, having been in the Outer Banks for the past 4 years.
Charleston's pretty cool. I moved in 2010 after graduation and haven't left. Great food, beaches, golf, and weather (if you can tolerate the wet, summer heat and don't mind a hurricane every couple of years).
My ideal place to live, is somewhere along the Southeastern Coast (for my purposes, I'll start with Virginia Beach). That includes the Gulf Coast to about Galveston, Tx. I love being near the water, and enjoy sailing most of all for activities.
I don't really like the idea of living in a big city, and would never willingly choose to live in the I-5 corridor. Same with the Bos-Wash. Yeesh, that traffic!
However, I've come to really enjoy living in the Northern Plains. Some great natural scenery here, and within a day's drive of some excellent National Parks.