It's been a long trek to Charlottesville, but after years of globetrotting, we’ve
FINALLY LANDED. Since we left Los Angeles in January 2000, we’ve moved more than 15 times in four countries (Portugal, Angola, USA, Brazil) on four continents (Europe, Africa, North America, and South America).
We cleared almost all of our belongings out of my parents' house and trucked them across the country to Charlottesville.
Believe it or not, Charlottesville (C'ville) has been rated as one of the
best places to live in the country. C'ville's population is about 40,000, although the inevitable sprawl in the surrounding areas brings that number to over 115,000. We're about 100 miles or 2 hours from Washington, D.C. and a short drive from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in
Shenandoah National Park. The town's main focus is the
University of Virginia where Roque teaches in the History Department. Thomas Jefferson is a very prominent figure around here and we live just a few miles from historic
Monticello. It's actually quite a lovely, sophisticated little town with plenty of restaurants, art galleries, cultural activities, etc.
http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=157,
http://www.charlottesvilletourism.org/We’ve rented a house (yes, that means we’ll be moving again next year when we find our own place) in the “chic”, rejuvenated urban neighborhood (
Belmont) near downtown. There is a
coffeehouse, Spanish tapas bar, fresh produce store and parks all within walking distance. The downtown mall--a
real pedestrian mall--is just a 5-minute walk away, which means it’s easy to stroll to the public library, post office, restaurants, the
childrens’ museum,
gym (with free babysitting!), drug store, and free concerts. It's truly a luxury not to have to jump in the car to go everywhere. This
satellite image gives an idea of the layout and size of our new town.
Alex is adjusting well to his new environment--not surprising since the kid began traveling overseas before he was born and has been moving around ever since. He’s as happy and smiley as ever.
