(no subject)

[jianantonic]

It's my favorite kind of weather outside right now. It's clear and brisk outside - the kind autumn day where the air just smells perfect - it has a quality of familiarity and comfort - difficult to describe...but surely you've experienced this, right? Since I took my lunch at my desk today, I decided to walk some mail up to the post office and just stroll outdoors for a bit.

I love Charlottesville so much. I honestly believe this is the greatest place to live, all things considered. I walked out to the Free Speech Wall to see what was on there today. It had recently been washed, so it looked like only a few people had had their turns at the wall so far. Lots of poetry, some "X was here," and some really beautiful artwork...I love that wall.

The Free Speech Wall was first proposed in 2000, when I was a senior in high school, but it wasn't actually put in place until earlier this year. Basically it's just a large community chalkboard at one end of the Downtown Mall. The city provides the chalk, and citizens are free to write or erase whatever they please. There was a lot of opposition at first to the wall from people who were afraid that their children's virgin eyes might come into contact with the f-word, or that people would only use the wall for writing silly things like "Jenny loves Bob," but the city finally put the thing up despite the controversy. Sure enough, I don't think I've ever walked by it without reading obscenities as well as the many variations of "Jenny loves Bob," but I also see some incredible stuff up there every time I pass by. I write on it whenever the mood strikes me, and I admit that on at least one occasion, I've had nothing better to say than "I love Steve Finley," but hey, I like that there's a place where I'm encouraged to do that. Often I write things like "Support the Gravity Lounge" or something else like that - I'm never very controversial there, but I do like to read the political statements and other things people put on the wall. I think it's a great thing, and I love that it's there to help me pass a few casual minutes of my afternoons.

Oh, and for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about when I mention the Downtown Mall, here's a HUGE picture of it:



It's a little over six blocks long.


Anyway, I just wanted to blab for a moment about how much I love this city and how great I think it is.

Okay, and here are some pictures from the wall, also cut:






Yay Charlottesville:)

Peace.

Comments

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

<3

[pwylltwiceborn.livejournal.com]

looks highly articulate, flaming o'phoenix

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

Booyakashah.

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

also, it was supposed to be an emoticon heart.

Fewer than three.

[qparom.livejournal.com]

I honestly believe this is the greatest place to live, all things considered.
if you're not in the 25% of the town's residents below the federal poverty line...

Nice pics, though!

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

Hey, now. I have a number of friends who I think are technically below the poverty line (and live in Cville), and from what I can tell they like it there a damn sight better than the place they used to live. I worry about them because they don't have health insurance or any kind of financial stability or security, but they're doing all right and they're grown-ups and can make their own decisions.

::waves::

So is 25% a high number or a low number? Obviously it would ideally be 0%, but how does this compare to other cities around the country? And does it include the homeless?

[qparom.livejournal.com]

25% is twice the national percentage of 12 or 13 percent (from Wikipedia - take that for what it's worth). Honestly, I don't have any statistics on cities just Charlottesville's size, but my understanding is that this is quite high for a city with our population. The cost of living here is also outrageous! Perhaps I was hanging out with the Living Wagers at UVA a little too much last year, but I feel like the city is quite a nice place for those with financial means, but the gap here between the poor and wealthy seems to be a lot larger. I mean, a good portion of Albemarle County's teachers (and like 90% of my ex-fellow Belk employees, I'd be willing to bet) live in a neighboring county because housing costs are so high.

All that being said, I do think it is a nice town. The politics are right, and goodness knows we are an oasis in the middle of Virginia! But I just think that lots of the town's citizens are oblivious to the problems that we have, and they truly do need some fixing.

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

At least AC starting teacher salaries are $36K now. That's decent. And housing in Cville is still better than housing in DC, although of course there's that income differential thing. (For example, I pay for my one-bedroom apartment nearly what my Cville friends pay for a 4.5 bedroom, 3-story half of a duplex.)

I could *probably* have made it on my temp salary, and definitely if I had had a roommate, but if you throw children or other dependents into the equation it all flies to shit.

Tricky, tricky situations.

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

Yes...that's true. It's the greatest place for me to live. There are plenty of things to hate about the place, especially politically, but I'm very happy here.

[qparom.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I agree - I didn't mean to sound all indignant earlier, if that's how it came across. Actually I do hate the fact that you have to drive *everywhere* but I will drop my list of pissed-offness about Cville for now b/c I do realize that it is alright.

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

You totally don't have to drive everywhere! When I move into my new place, I'll be walking/biking distance from everything I need, for the most part. There are a lot of sprawling suburbs here, though. *shrug*

But the bottom line is...
I <3 Charlottesville:)

[qparom.livejournal.com]

The driving comment was mostly for me - ie the sprawling suburbs (sort of). Although, actually, Cville is not the most friendly city to alternative transportation. There are places even around the UVA area where the sidewalk just ends. And the Cville buses don't even run on Sundays! This woman I worked w/ at Belk who lived in Belmont w/ no car had to pay like 15 dollars for a taxi every Sunday.

I think this is all just inner frustration being vented that I am not yet in Bulgaria...

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you live or work in the 'burbs it can suck. (And yeah, I count Fashion Square as the 'burbs.) Very car-dependent in that case.

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend lived there for seven months and never had a car. Granted, he was able to get rides from roommates and me occasionally, but he didn't need a car. The only thing where it would have been 100% vital was something I had told him about/encouraged him to go to anyway (namely, quality healthcare that has a sliding scale for fees), so I was the one driving him.

[stillbigonbnl.livejournal.com]

I love the downtown mall in Charlottesville. Downtown Staunton is great, too but the mall kicks its ass. I wish Harrisonburg would get a clue about their downtown. They're starting to, but they're a long way off.

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

Court Square is the only part of Harrisonburg I could ever get on board with - it's like a tiny little taste of Charlottesville. But it's not enough. And have you ever noticed that NOTHING on Court Square is ever actually open?

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

I heart Blue Mountain Coffee!

That's the only thing about Downtown Staunton I'm familiar with, though.