C-Ville tribal elders love claiming that C-Ville is tops in this and tops in that. I’m sure they will be happy that we are no where to be found in the Best Small Cities in America for 2008 list.
Why are we not in there? Well, that is an easy answer. We don’t qualify as a small city. To be a small city you have to have 50k to 300k people. C-Ville only has around 39.9k. The elders had to fight the government over this number, so they will claim 41k but we know that isn’t the case.
Where is the list for Best Villages in America? I bet we are in that list. Of course the local gang activity (for 12-14 year old bangers) or mob beatings (involving guns and high-heeled shoes as weapons!) of the village might hurt our chances. Just never leave your house after 8pm and the village is lovely…right?
It was interesting to read the comments that followed that list. Many were disappointed that some “cities” included are really suburbs of large cities and have no character of their own. Charlottesville can be an annoying place to live, but at least no one can claim it as a suburb of something else.
The violence in the city that you mention are isolated incidents. I would also posit that the second link is to an incident that was personal in nature, not sign of a systemic need for the public to panic and shut their doors.
While you are pointing the finger at local crime, perhaps you can help address Charlottesville’s unacknowledged segregation of white and black populations. Since moving to Charlottesville, my son has concluded that white people are not poor but black people are.
I think people in Charlottesville need to realize that the price of gentrification is increased tension between haves and have nots. For ever house renovated in a heretofore marginal neighborhood, a poorer family was probably displaced. Karma’s a bitch.
It’s all a farce anyway. A marketing gimick to sell magazines. They choose cities near popular areas for the most part, DC, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Denver. None of the “Quad Cities” even show up on the list. They don’t even seen to feel Moline, Illinois exists. I wonder if they just pick cities based on a poll of subscribers? In which case, since nobody here has money, we probably don’t have enough people subscribing to Money Magazine.
Cathy, I’ve pointed the finger many times at the extreme segregation here in the village. TJ set the standard years ago, and the village sticks with tradition.
And yes, it is pure marketing. C-Ville still promotes itself as the healthiest city in the United States, but as we all know, that is far from the truth with our exceedingly high smoking and obesity rates here in the south.
Technically, we do qualify as a small city, since they count the metropolitan area. Our metro area is over 100K. We have the numbers, just aren’t hip enough. Sorry to burst your bubble.
from Wikipedia (yes, wikipedia):
The city is the heart of the Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson counties…The metropolitan area population is 185,000