In 2004, Frommer's rated Charlottesville as the best city in America to live in. That same year, Irated Charlottesville as the longest word I knew how to spell (that title still holds). So what makes this town the best? Let's find out.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. But is the opposite true? Does it take a child to raise a village? No, that's absurd. Of course not.
Let's examine the matter more closely. I'm sure many University students are inclined to think that it's our school that gives C-ville a good name. Obviously, this is absolutely and utterly true. But at the same time, shan't we explore other potential sources of its greatness? We shan. (Yes, I realize "shan" is not technically a word, but Jefferson got away with "academical," and I'm at least as verbidexterous as he was.)
I went straight to the man himself, Virgil Goode, to find out what the mayor thinks makes the city so special. He said, "Well, I'm not the mayor. I represent the Fifth Congressional District of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. But to answer your question, I believe that the citizens of Charlottesville ..." And that's where I cut him off. Look, if I'm not hearing it from the mayor, I don't want to hear it, period. "Goode riddance," I said, and stormed out of the sauna.
So clearly the answer to my burning question is not "the quality of the local politicians." But fret not. There are many stones yet to be upturned and many private health clubs yet to be broken into.
Demographically, Charlottesville is very diverse, with women and men being the two most prevalent human groups represented. There is almost a dead even split between female and male residents in Charlottesville, which in my layman's opinion is just about where you want to be in terms of fostering a community conducive to procreation. But if this was the secret to the city's past success, then it appears that someone has leaked it to the rest of the world. Virgil, I'm looking at you.
Il y a beaucoup de restaurants à Charlottesville. Translated from the French (although this is of course unnecessary for Charlottesville residents since all are fluent in French, not to mention widespread conversational proficiency in Portuguese and Sudoku), this means that our city rules gastronomically. In fact, it is said that this town has more restaurants per capita than New York City. I also came across a recent poll that determined there are three restaurants per every one restaurant in Charlottesville. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but that's a lot of places to eat!
Many famous people have grown up here or currently live here, and I'm sure this plays a role in the praise the city has received. Everyone knows about locals Dave Matthews, John Grisham and Howie Long. But what about the people who don't live here? I'm talking about folks like Justin Timberlake, Tom Clancy and Terry Bradshaw. The absence of these celebrities is no doubt a crucial factor contributing to the city's high quality of life. I haven't done the research, but I don't think too many places can say that.
We have an old saying here in Charlottesville: "Come for the football, stay for the first quarter." Sure, it sounds bleak, and the University's football team is certainly nothing to brag about this season. But plenty of activities in and around Charlottesville will get your mind right off of football. For example, there's the Downtown Mall, an open-air pedestrian strip where tourists can escape for an afternoon of food and window shopping and where angsty preteens can escape from their overbearing parents.
The reasons for our ascendancy may never be fully understood, but I think the kindness of the people is our strongest asset. Finally, I will say this: If you happen to be visiting the Charlottesville area in the near future, please take a moment to stop, bask in your surroundings and then get the hell out of here. We are the best city in the country, and we didn't get to the top by admitting riffraff. We'd love to have you stay overnight, but we also love being number one. You would, too.
Dan's column runs each Wednesday. He can be reached at dooley@cavalierdaily.com.
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