In case you don’t read the Daily Progress (aka Regress) there was an article in today’s edition that talked about the Goody’s store in Barracks Rd. Mall which is shutting down later this month. The article hasn’t made it online yet (why is that?) so I’m paraphrasing the quotation…but this is pretty close.
A reporter was interviewing some high level person from the mall who said,
Goody’s just didn’t fit in with the rest of the mall. Charlottesville is an affluent area. We aren’t like Roanoke or Lynchburg. The students in this area are affluent, along with the local residents, and we hope the new store that moves in to that location will target the local community.
Did you folks down there in the noke and burg catch that article? You’ve been dissed!
What’s new! While based on several older studies from 2000, the data showed that Cville actually had more low income wage earners per capita than either Roanoke or Lynchburg. I would imagine that not much has changed, especially considering that the Lynchburg area is growing at a similar rate to that of Cville and Lynchburg itself is growing faster than both Roanoke and Charlottesville. I think the fact that the best jobs in Cville are stable, government supported jobs makes for a different demographic and feeds some of this arrogance. Both Roanoke and Lynchburg thrive economically, all the while relying primarily on corporate growth and investment as opposed to state and federal investment. Add to that, the underdog, Lynchburg, that gets much less federal highway dollars due to the absence of an interstate. Yes, the neighbors to the south and west got dissed, but ignorance is bliss- although I would imagine that dollar for dollar, my standard of living is better than that of the “high level mall schmuck!” By the way, as a side note for the “mall schmuck,” Asheville NC has 2 Goody’s and I would venture to say that one couldn’t make any argument for the lack of affluence in Asheville.