City offers prospects to new residents
By Clark Williams | April 12, 2000Whether or not they appreciate it, University students are living in what many magazines have voted one of the most pleasant communities in the nation, and that quality has led to an influx of jobs and people that is altering the area's small-town features. Charlottesville is attracting high-tech businesses and young professionals to the area, helping to push its unemployment rate down to 1.4 percent -- the lowest in the Commonwealth. And most of the newcomers are settling in Albemarle County, one of the wealthier counties in the state, forcing it to build schools and add public services at a rapid pace and prompting debates over growth. The area is known for its temperate weather, picturesque scenery and low pollution levels.