Choosing Where you Want to Live in Charlottesville – Walkability and Safety Top the List

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Choosing where you live is a huge, immensely significant decision. As I jokingly tell my buyer clients – “it’s no big deal … you’re just deciding where you’re going to live for the next five to ten years … “

Last year I asked you what were the most important factors when evaluating where you want to live. I’m finally getting around to publishing the results. (and thank you to all who answered – for answering and for your patience).

While by no means a scientific survey, as the RealCentralVA readership is probably skewed (I’d argue towards the more informed) 86 responses isn’t insignificant.

Not surprisingly, the top two answers to “What’s the most important factor when choosing a neighborhood?” are “Maximum walkability” and “Quietest/safest.” “Other” came in a reasonable third place.

What's the most important factor when choosing a neighborhood in Charlottesville?

What’s the 2nd most important factor when choosing a neighborhood? Revealed an interesting shift – “safety” and “neighborhood with character” came in 1st and 2nd with “activities for kids” edging out walkability and length of commute. Sadly, there are few “neighborhoods with character” being built in Charlottesville, so new construction buyers are left choosing from either soulless “neighborhoods” or older housing stock that likely needs some degree of renovation and updating, but may have the “proximity to stuff” that matters.

What's the 2nd most important factor when choosing a neighborhood?

From my perspective, everything is about location (naturally) – but “quality location” can be a relative term.

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Tuesday Reads – 28 May 2013

in General Real Estate on

— 32 Cheap And Easy Backyard Ideas That Are Borderline Genius – The sunflower playhouse looks pretty awesome.

— I’ve long been a Flickr pro user and its recent redesign is causing some real concerns; notably – we’re no longer customers.

— Who knew Greece’s property system was so broken and dysfunctional?

— As Need for New Flood Maps Rises, Congress and Obama Cut Funding – I’ve never quite gotten why the federal government subsidizes flood insurance.

— The NAR comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about student loans’ impact on the housing market (summary – more student loans = fewer homebuyers)

And for a bit more insight, follow Jesse Columbo on Twitter.

But massive student loans are ok, because the student loan debt is held by the federal government. Really.

For simple context in the student loans vs housing bubble debate have a look at this chart –

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Hearing Cicadas for the First Time

in Off-topic on
Cicadas in the most unlikely places

Ironically, I am hearing cicadas in Charlottesville for the first time on a new construction site. I remember the last time they were out, we were using them for bait. 🙂

A friend told me last week that cicadas aren’t in places where ground has been disturbed in the past 10 years. Living in Crozet, most of that space has been disturbed.

The contrast between new, graded lots and trees that will stay is striking.

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Tweeting Albemarle Community Advisory Council Meetings

in Albemarle Politics on

I attended last night’s Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting, tweeted as much as I could and just put together a Storify of the meeting. Albemarle has a few of these Advisory Councils:

Crozet Community Advisory Council, Pantops Community Advisory Council, Places 29 (29 North), Village of Rivanna (east of Pantops) – and there are vacancies on the Pantops, Places 29 and Village of Rivanna Councils.

Here’s the thing – I learned a ton by being at and live-tweeting the meeting, and I noticed that I was getting interaction and questions from other people on Twitter who were unable to attend the meeting. I’ve made no secret of my affinity for Charlottesville Tomorrow; they are invaluable and their recent partnerships with the HooK and C-Ville will prove moreso.

But … having someone in the meeting engaging the community following was super-valuable. I’ve noticed this in Crozet several times as a watcher – one following the meeting from the outside. I’m interested in what’s happening at the meeting, but can’t attend (kids, work, family, etc) and a live-stream wouldn’t be as useful as tweets.

Take a look at the storify from last night’s Crozet meeting – there were a couple things in there that likely wouldn’t have made any story published elsewhere – they’re asides, but valuable asides, and mentions that don’t warrant individual stories. They’re valuable tweet-worthy asides.

What’s the point? The point is this –

If you can, find your way to community meetings – particularly ones that aren’t covered by media – and get involved, tweet the meetings and tell others. A lot of stuff happens and gets discussed in these meetings, and most often, the wider public learns about them after decisions are made.

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