VT / Blacksburg Vibes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently took my DD to tour VT. DH and I went to graduate school there (graduated early 2000). Omg it has changed and not for the good. Downtown is dead. I see the NIMBYs who fought development in downtown Blacksburg won. All the housing is built up outside of town making VT a commuter campus.

Additionally, do not believe the admissions speaker when he says your kid won’t have TAs teaching. Your kid will absolutely have TAs teaching for professors. (We both taught in grad school!) I was shocked by that blatant lie. Pretty much any R1 school you will have TA teaching for professors because that’s how research works! Profs get research grants and buy back their teaching time.

Hmm. Everything about this post screams troll. I have a current student there and I ran your claims by them. Downtown is not dead, it's where everyone goes to socialize. All of the housing is right there IN Blacksburg - lots of townhomes and apartment complexes to choose from. Some are close enough to walk to campus, others are right along the bus line and just a few minutes away. My DC (a current senior) has never had a TA teach any class. Ever. TAs might lead labs and study sessions, but they do not teach classes/lectures.

So, in short, your entire post is BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you love nature and the outdoors, Blacksburg is an unbelievable place to live.

These are college students not bird watchers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently took my DD to tour VT. DH and I went to graduate school there (graduated early 2000). Omg it has changed and not for the good. Downtown is dead. I see the NIMBYs who fought development in downtown Blacksburg won. All the housing is built up outside of town making VT a commuter campus.

Additionally, do not believe the admissions speaker when he says your kid won’t have TAs teaching. Your kid will absolutely have TAs teaching for professors. (We both taught in grad school!) I was shocked by that blatant lie. Pretty much any R1 school you will have TA teaching for professors because that’s how research works! Profs get research grants and buy back their teaching time.

Hmm. Everything about this post screams troll. I have a current student there and I ran your claims by them. Downtown is not dead, it's where everyone goes to socialize. All of the housing is right there IN Blacksburg - lots of townhomes and apartment complexes to choose from. Some are close enough to walk to campus, others are right along the bus line and just a few minutes away. My DC (a current senior) has never had a TA teach any class. Ever. TAs might lead labs and study sessions, but they do not teach classes/lectures.

So, in short, your entire post is BS.

Agree with that being BS! None of this is true of my 2 Hokies' experiences either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you love nature and the outdoors, Blacksburg is an unbelievable place to live.

These are college students not bird watchers

Troll. How do you not understand that the school tends to attracts a large number of students with outdoorsy interests due to setting/location? My Hokie has done a ton of great hikes (Cascades, Bald Knob, McAfee knob), visited Natural Bridge, and has been camping at a nearby State Park several times just in the last month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

I’m sure there are things to do in Blacksburg, but it’s not quite the same as Charlottesville.

Blacksburg is very centered around Virginia Tech, and there’s not much nearby outside of that.

Charlottesville feels like a bigger town with more stores, and one of its biggest advantages over Blacksburg is its proximity to Richmond and DC.

Your age is showing. Only boomers and maybe older Gen X care about “stores” lol go back to mall walking, boomer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you love nature and the outdoors, Blacksburg is an unbelievable place to live.

These are college students not bird watchers

Troll. How do you not understand that the school tends to attracts a large number of students with outdoorsy interests due to setting/location? My Hokie has done a ton of great hikes (Cascades, Bald Knob, McAfee knob), visited Natural Bridge, and has been camping at a nearby State Park several times just in the last month.

+1
Same here. I’m living vicariously through all their outdoor adventures and road trips!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

Charlottesville is a sought-after, expensive town where people long to relocate. Certainly nobody unrelated to VT is getting near Blacksburg voluntarily.

Who unrelated to UVA is looking for Charlottesville in the year 2026?

Hasaaaaaa!!!! My city kid thought Charlottesville was the sticks. Too rural, too much country music and cowboy boots.

Where was your kid? Fluvanna? I live in Charlottesville and have not heard country music blaring anywhere I’ve been downtown nor seen anyone in Cowboy boots.

[Anonymous]

NP. Can anyone compare the vibe of Ann Arbor to Blacksburg? Kid loved the vibe at UM, but probably won't get in. We will visit VT this summer as we unfortunately cannot get there during the school year. OOS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

I’m sure there are things to do in Blacksburg, but it’s not quite the same as Charlottesville.

Blacksburg is very centered around Virginia Tech, and there’s not much nearby outside of that.

Charlottesville feels like a bigger town with more stores, and one of its biggest advantages over Blacksburg is its proximity to Richmond and DC.

A lot of college kids have no issue with the town being centered around their school. College kids that attend VT absolutely love everything about it, including where it is.

Why do so many parents not understand that many kids want something completely and totally different for the four years they’re in college? One of ours specifically sought out college campuses that were not remotely urban. They grew up here so they wanted to experience the opposite.

[Anonymous]

My now college kid went on an official visit to Virginia Tech. Didn’t care for the location and overall vibe from the school. Just felt a bit blah. Academically, majors outside of CS and engineering seemed unremarkable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

Charlottesville is a sought-after, expensive town where people long to relocate. Certainly nobody unrelated to VT is getting near Blacksburg voluntarily.

Who unrelated to UVA is looking for Charlottesville in the year 2026?

Hasaaaaaa!!!! My city kid thought Charlottesville was the sticks. Too rural, too much country music and cowboy boots.

Where was your kid? Fluvanna? I live in Charlottesville and have not heard country music blaring anywhere I’ve been downtown nor seen anyone in Cowboy boots.

The aggressive homeless folks on the mall probably mugged the cowboys and stole their boots! Then the cowboys were sad and didn’t play country.

Seriously, the mall is sketchy and you can hear country all over Charlottesville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

Charlottesville is a sought-after, expensive town where people long to relocate. Certainly nobody unrelated to VT is getting near Blacksburg voluntarily.

Who unrelated to UVA is looking for Charlottesville in the year 2026?

Hasaaaaaa!!!! My city kid thought Charlottesville was the sticks. Too rural, too much country music and cowboy boots.

Where was your kid? Fluvanna? I live in Charlottesville and have not heard country music blaring anywhere I’ve been downtown nor seen anyone in Cowboy boots.

The aggressive homeless folks on the mall probably mugged the cowboys and stole their boots! Then the cowboys were sad and didn’t play country.

Seriously, the mall is sketchy and you can hear country all over Charlottesville.

If you find the downtown mall in Charlottesville scary then you’ve clearly never lived in D.C. and neither has your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

I’m sure there are things to do in Blacksburg, but it’s not quite the same as Charlottesville.

Blacksburg is very centered around Virginia Tech, and there’s not much nearby outside of that.

Charlottesville feels like a bigger town with more stores, and one of its biggest advantages over Blacksburg is its proximity to Richmond and DC.

A lot of college kids have no issue with the town being centered around their school. College kids that attend VT absolutely love everything about it, including where it is.

Why do so many parents not understand that many kids want something completely and totally different for the four years they’re in college? One of ours specifically sought out college campuses that were not remotely urban. They grew up here so they wanted to experience the opposite.

+1
My Hokie loves the little town of Blacksburg. And so do I! I'll miss visiting as DC graduates this weekend. Very bittersweet. I feel so fortunate DC got to spend four wonderful years at VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

Charlottesville is a sought-after, expensive town where people long to relocate. Certainly nobody unrelated to VT is getting near Blacksburg voluntarily.

Who unrelated to UVA is looking for Charlottesville in the year 2026?

Hasaaaaaa!!!! My city kid thought Charlottesville was the sticks. Too rural, too much country music and cowboy boots.

Where was your kid? Fluvanna? I live in Charlottesville and have not heard country music blaring anywhere I’ve been downtown nor seen anyone in Cowboy boots.

The aggressive homeless folks on the mall probably mugged the cowboys and stole their boots! Then the cowboys were sad and didn’t play country.

Seriously, the mall is sketchy and you can hear country all over Charlottesville.

If you find the downtown mall in Charlottesville scary then you’ve clearly never lived in D.C. and neither has your kid.

Why do UVA people always, always show up in VT threads? This is not about Charlottesville. Start your own thread.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT campus is better than most colleges and kids are quite content.

Plus, its not like they are holed up in Blacksburg for 12 months - between Thanksgiving, Christmas break, spring break, summer - it all works out.

My older went to UVa and younger at VT - they both seemed to find the campus/school life equally good.

Except this is 2026 not 1999 and kids these days don't want to go to school for 4 years in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg just ain't it.

Blacksburg is no worse than Charlottesville or Harrisonburg.

Charlottesville is a sought-after, expensive town where people long to relocate. Certainly nobody unrelated to VT is getting near Blacksburg voluntarily.

Who unrelated to UVA is looking for Charlottesville in the year 2026?

Hasaaaaaa!!!! My city kid thought Charlottesville was the sticks. Too rural, too much country music and cowboy boots.

Where was your kid? Fluvanna? I live in Charlottesville and have not heard country music blaring anywhere I’ve been downtown nor seen anyone in Cowboy boots.

The aggressive homeless folks on the mall probably mugged the cowboys and stole their boots! Then the cowboys were sad and didn’t play country.

Seriously, the mall is sketchy and you can hear country all over Charlottesville.

If you find the downtown mall in Charlottesville scary then you’ve clearly never lived in D.C. and neither has your kid.

Straw man. Hopefully you didn’t attend UVA if you can’t craft an argument without logical fallacies.