My husband and I are in retirement planning mode, although it is still many years away.

We live in a great little community now, and but for the snow, would retire here. Cost of living is also a drawback.

Our community is @20K, waterfront, historic (1700 and 1800 era), great shops, restaurants, etc., and always some festival or something going on. Very art-centered, and cultured with live theatre, and an old cinema we can walk to. It's also only 30 miles from Boston, for major theatre and sporting events which we do now and then, not to mention the great health care.

We have been looking at CA (Sonoma area) for retirement, but although not yet much more than prices here (550K for a basic 3BR/2BA home), prices are high. We happened to stumble across an article mentioning Charlottesville, and it intrigued us.

Of course we plan to visit, but for now are full of questions. How is the weather - we are trying to escape 120+" per year and 20 below temps. Our snow here is from Nov - March. A little wouldn't bother us. We want to be in an area with some history and culture, and a vibrant, active "real" downtown.

We also want great health care, and from what I've read, Charlottesville has it.

My 2 main questions at this point are how hot and humid does it get in the Summer, and does the town life revolve entirely around the University?

We can't wait to visit and see the city and surrounding area. It is a little bigger in population that we wanted, but "feel" more than anything is important.

Would love to hear pros and cons from people who live, have lived, or have visited.

I spent time flunking out of college in Lynchburg, 45 minutes south of UVA and can tell you a little about the climate.

Hot and humid in the summer but that is only a couple of months. It cools off at night most of the time. It is definitely a four season type of place will fall being stunning. Some snow in the winter but it isn't too bad.

Expensive and artsy. The major industry in Charlottesville is UVA. Excellent medical university to say the least.

Great public schools, short drive to the mountains, hop skip and a jump away from Washington DC, great family town.

Basically a lot of big town amenities for a small town and close enough to big towns to make it attractive.

Coming from the Boston area you will not find Charlottesville expensive. You will probably get a much nicer house with a lot of property for 550K. Even though UVA is there, I don't think it revolves around the university. I feel it has a lot to offer on it's own.

There is a theatre with live performances of plays and concerts. It's in the down town mall area which is an open main street with no cars.

Richmond is a hour away which has the Riverwalk area and more. Washington DC is probably 2 hours. To the east is the coast and to the west is the mountains.

Winter is much shorter and summer can be hot, but it was as hot in NYC this year. Every few years there are bad snow storms, but most of the snow is just a couple of inches. Being from Boston....and I'm from NY...you would find it funny that they close schools with 2 inches of snow on the ground.

It's a great community and even though it's southern, you will find a diversity of people. Some areas of Virginia and the south don't have that kind of diversity.

I live in the suburbs of Richmond, not too far away from Charlottesville. It is a cute town and the University is a big part of the town. The surrounding area is very much the rolling hills, pretty landscape. You are near the Blue Ridge Mts. So, lots of hiking and outdoorsy stuff if you like that.
On pricing, I am not an expert, but it is expensive. The central VA area used to be a steal, but times are changing and it is getting expensive here too. I think Charlottesville is more expensive then my area.
Weather: The summers by me are hot and humid. This year in particular was hot,but hot everywhere on the east coast. I would think being near the mountains, it is cooler and less humid there. There is some snow in the winter, but nothing like Boston area. The town will most likely shut down with an inch of snow and schools will be out. The best time of year is the fall. The fall seems to last till almost Christmas with warm days and cool nights. The fall is usually the best weather. My kids have never worn coats on Halloween in the eight years here. But it is not hot either. The winter hits right around Christmas usually with a cold snap and some ice. It clears in March and we have spring until mid May and then it is hot till the end of Sept.
That is the average type of weather.
Charlottesville strikes me as a liberal thinking city with money. That is the impression I get whenever I am there.
Hope that helps.

We are from NY and also have a home in Charlottesville. So to the people living in the central Virginia area you may think Charlottesville is expensive, but compared to the area "wanderer" is from (which I also know very well), Charlottesville is much less expensive. Taxes are much lower, houses are much more affordable, snow is much less, etc. When I tell people the taxes I pay in NY and the sixe and price of my home, it's inconcievable to the people in C'ville. Yes, the suburbs of Richmond is even more affordable.

"wanderer" I think you realize that you have to spend a lot of weekends going to the area. It's a vast area. North, south, east and west. You will learn that you will be driving a lot more.

As someone who lives in the Shenandoah Valley (Waynesboro) and works in C-ville, C-ville does seem expensive--it's one of the highest priced areas outside No.VA. Many people who work low-income jobs commute in because they cannot afford to live there. It's liberal (a little circle of blue in a very red state). Also, it is growing. I like C-ville ok but it has a lot of traffic problems and its still growing and expanding. Maybe one of the outlying counties would be a better place to live than C'ville itself.

Medical care is top-notch. UVA is consistently rated a top hospital.

C-ville's not that centered around the University. It's not like a small town where that's the only industry so there is plenty of non-student activity.

C-ville is fun and has a cute downtown walking area--basically a pedestrian street with shops and restaurants. The only other place where you could really walk around the town would be the "corner" which is basically just student shops and restaurants. You will do a lot of driving anywhere in VA. Parking anywhere in the downtown is a giant pain.

I disagree with the previous post about winters (probably because I prefer warm weather) -- I think it gets cold (and sometimes we get snow flurries) in early November. The weather is unpredictable when the seasons change. But snow is usually only a few inches, fall is gorgeous and spring always seems to arrive just in time. Summer is certainly very hot and humid--which I like but many, many people hate.

Also, although C-ville is diverse by central VA standards, it is not by Boston standards. It's still a southern state.

I love VA and will never move from it--I hope you also find you love it but don't build it up only to be disappointed.

Yes, we know we will need to visit many, many times. What we are trying to do right now is rule in/out places that sound like possibilites, as there is only so much vacation time to visit...

I am not concerned - where I come from - about prices. I've check superficially, and they are much, much lower than here.

I am most concerned at this point about the "hot and humid" summers. We ruled out Savannah and Charleston because of that. I was surprised to learn of the humidity - I would have thought that being West would alleviate the humidity. (??)

Ambience is our other consideration, as Cville is bigger than our target pop of 20K, but only visiting will give us a sense of that.

Thanks for everyone's help.

HI Wanderer

I went to UVA back in the mid to late 80's, just visited C'ville this weekend and live in another retirement mecca, Williamsburg.

My mother is from a county about 30 min north of C'ville so I spent many many summers as a kid in those mountains, as well as two summers as a student - it is HOT and humid there, although not comparable to Tidewater.

It is a wonderfully diverse city and I love how the Downtown Mall has really come along over the years. Yesterday the Paramount Theatre had a 4 pm performance of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the area was flowing with the over 60 crowd. In my days there, the Mall held court to many homeless, alternative and a bit wacky people, as it still does. It's wonderful to see the mix now. C'ville is much more diverse than Williamsburg, which I love too.

Get ready to drive ... with the size of the city, there really is nowhere that you can live and walk to get all your needs met, unlike my current hometown.

Charlottesville is a wonderful town and I wish you luck in your decision!

weespxx -
How does the weather in C'ville compare to Williamsburg?

Williamsburg was originally on our list, but taken off thinking the heat and humidity would be far worse being closer to the coast.

My parents live in Williamsburg and it has a lot of nice communities that has more of an over 50 crowd, although younger people live in those communities. Almost everyone is from someplace else in these communities.

BUT, it is hot and humid there in the summer. It is most likely hotter than Charlottesville.
Also, if you truly want diversity, I think Charlottesville offers a more cultural and artsy community.
I know it is a lot cheaper than the north. We moved down here 8 years ago and I can not relate to the prices in NJ now. I just can't believe what they are getting for the tiniest home. Charlottesville is pricey for central VA standards.
Good luck in your search.

Thanks. Could you clarify what you mean by C'ville having more diversity?

Do you mean more liberal, more ethnic, or more events, etc. going on?

I think of my mother's community as more of a conservative mentality. I think of Charlottesville as artsy and more of a liberal attitude. You will see more republican signs in Williamsburg than in Charlottesville.
So, in answer to your question, I would say Charlottesville was more liberal with more events going on (in the arts department). Williamsburg events are more historical in nature.

I have to laugh when I hear that Boston may be more "diverse" than the South. It has always struck me as being the "whitest" city I have ever seen. I remember sitting in Fenway, looking around me and wondering "Are there no blacks in Boston or are they just not Red Sox fans?"

As far as weather, C-ville really is not far enough west nor high enough in the mountains to really avoid heat and humidity. Most July and August days are very muggy and often it thunderstorms in the afternoons. It's hot for sure.

As far as diversity--C'ville is generally wealthy and white. It's not very ethnically diverse. It is liberal and it is arsty, though. Also, there is a lot of variety as far as shopping and restaurants, which you don't get in smaller VA towns.

Good luck, wanderer!

Ditto on the comments on C'ville being more diverse than Williamsburg, altough it's no Berkeley. Williamsburg always seems to have tourist dollars on its mind, and perhaps rightly so. The College is generally very white and not extremely diverse, although we have met quite a few international students. There is an art scene, but it is small. We have a wonderful small theatre, whereas C'ville has a few more than that. And there are literally just a handful of very good creative restautants here - we have lots of chains. That said, we love it here. Not to say I wouldn't jump at the chance to move to C'ville though ...

And yes, the heat here is horrid in the summer, especially August!

What are some of the "outlying counties" from which one can commute to avoid high costs of real estate?

I am shocked that people think real estate is high in C'ville, but I guess it's all relative....

How many months of "horrid" hot, muggy weather is there???

I found this info a couple of days ago but never managed to post it. From the National Assn of Realtors (09/05), the median home prices for some parts of VA:

Richmond $198K
Norfolk/VA $192K
Charlottesville $225K
NoVa $429K

So, relatively speaking, Cville's a bit more expensive. When you get over being shocked you'll be pleased with the lower cost of living relative to your current homebase.

Regarding humidity, it generally starts in June and ends in September with July/August being the worst. When it starts & ends depends on seasonal fluctuations. We had a very cool spring this year, June was mostly lovely. Most of this September was quite warm and humid.

Horrid is not an exaggeration for the weather in peak summer. Brutal works too. If it's a show stopper for you, strongly advise you spend some time visiting in July/Aug.

For disclosure's sake, I live in Wmburg but travel often to Cville for work/pleasure.

Sundancer - Many people commute 20-40 minutes to C-ville from Augusta County. Also, C-ville is its own city so the surrounding county, Albemarle is cheaper than teh city itself. Nelson county is also a bedroom community for C-ville.

Just want to mention that the median price home is not really a nice home at all. For example, in Richmond, a nice home would start around 300,000. The more you pay, the better the school system. (Which I know you are not worried about, but for resale purposes.). The 300,000. may be a family home that is around 2000 square feet.
Yes, Charlottesville is by no means comparable price wise to Boston. But, if you are looking to scale down and still have a really nice house, you will be paying a decent price (starting around 500,000.most likely).
Your property taxes will be lower and your cost of living will be less.
As far as weather, June, July and Aug. like OBX said above are the hottest months in central VA. We have gorgeous falls, mild winters,short springs, and humid summers. It was hot everywhere in the country this summer. Heat is not the problem, it is definitely the humidity. Anyway, travel here in the summer and again in the fall (my personal favorite). There is a really nice resort east of Charlottesville called the Keswick. There is also the Homestead out in the western part of the state. The Boars Head Inn is around the Charlottesville town. There is also Wintergreen mountain resort near the Charlottesville area. You can hike the mountain areas.