Rankings
According to Bestplaces.Net and Mens Journal Magazine, Charlottesville Ranks #5 For Healthiest Towns in the U.S.
January 18, 2010 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · 1 Comment
Thanks to Tom Sellman with C&F Mortgage for this great find!
Men’s Journal Magazine
February 2010
Volume 19, Number 1
According to Men’s Journal Magazine, Charlottesville is competitive on the following items;
- Local Farms
- Short Commutes
- Sidewalks
- Low Pollution
- Green Spaces
- Good Weather
The other top ranking cities were;
- Iowa City, IA
- Boulder, CO (we are often compared to this city)
- Logan, UT
- Northampton, MA
Blue Ridge Outdoors Reader Poll Reveals Several Charlottesville Favorites!
January 9, 2010 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · 1 Comment
The Blue Ridge Outdoors January Issue “Best of the Outdoors” article highlights several beautiful areas in Charlottesville. This article is reader voted- polling readers from Baltimore to Atlanta to pick their favorites of the Blue Ridge.
Here are a few of the places that Charlottesville was competitive;
- Favorite Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway; Humpback Rock voted #3!
- Favorite Waterfall Section in the Blue Ridge; Crabtree Falls is voted #1! (biggest waterfall East of the Mississippi)- Nelson County
- Best Ski Runs in the Blue Ridge; Wintergreen Resort Cliffhanger mile long run voted #2!
- Best Snowboarding Event in the Blue Ridge: Blue Ridge Double Cross voted #1!
- Favorite Section of the Appalachian Trail: Shenendoah National Park Section voted #5!
- Best Road Race: The Charlottesville Ten Miler voted #5!
- Favorite Terrain park: Wintergreen Terrain Park voted #6!
Check out the full video interview of Tom Daly, from Blue Ridge Outdoors on the Newsplex website here and be sure to read the full article at the Blue Ridge Outdoors website here!
Photo Credit: http://www.blueridgelocksmithing.com
According to Kiplinger.com, UVA is #3 in the Nation for Best Value in Public Colleges
January 6, 2010 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · Leave a Comment
The University of Virginia always seems to fare pretty well in this review, but we have once again been ranked high nationwide based on cost versus value.
How is this determined? According to Kiplinger.com;
“Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, then add our own reporting.
We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.
We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).
To assess costs, we look at total expenses for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and books); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans); the average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants; the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt per student before graduation. (In the table, aid is need-based assistance.)
To determine out-of-state rankings, we run the academic-quality and expense numbers again, this time using total costs for out-of-state residents and average costs after aid.”
John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville Voted Best New Arena by Sports Illustrated
January 3, 2010 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · Leave a Comment
We all know that the John Paul Jones Arena is hugely successful and has brought lots of great attention and activity to Charlottesville, but it doesn’t hurt to have Sports Illustrated agree!
BEST NEW ARENA: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.
The University of Virginia spent $140 million to build John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006. The arena is a perfect size (capacity 14,593), includes state-of-the-art practice, training and academic facilities, and it blends perfectly into UVA’s stately campus.
[From Tyler Hansbrough, Jonny Flynn shaped decade in college hoops - 2000s: The Decade in Sports - SI.com]
Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons
Money Magazine Names Charlottesville in the Top 50 Places to Launch a Small Business
October 16, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · Leave a Comment
Check out the full article here
From the Chamber of Commerce website…
City Chosen as a Top Place to Start a Business by Money Magazine
Charlottesville is the Only City in Virginia to Make the List This Year
The Metro Charlottesville area has been named in the top 50 places in the country to launch a small business by Money Magazine. Charlottesville was also ranked 19th among smaller cities in the country with Billings, MT and Bismarck, ND taking the top spots. For all markets Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Houston, and Hartford made up the top five. Charlottesville and other Virginia cities have made similar lists in previous years but this is the first year that Charlottesville has been singled out as the only city in the state to make either the small, medium or large metropolitan listing.
“We are very pleased to be recognized in this prestigious survey this year for our healthy business climate and competitive costs for doing business,” said Aubrey Watts, Director of Economic Development for the City, “we hope that this important ranking encourages other enterprising businesses to consider Charlottesville home and recognize the opportunities that are possible in Charlottesville even in these challenging economic times.”
According to the editors of the survey the top markets had “growing economies, affordable workers, stable housing markets, low crime — these metro areas have all the features entrepreneurs need to thrive.” The rankings cover hundreds of metropolitan areas and are based on job and income growth, business and living costs, crime, and educational attainment. The city is no stranger to accolades; Charlottesville has the honor of besting 402 other metro areas in the United States and Canada to claim the title of “Best Place to Live” in “Cities Ranked and Rated” by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander.
Forbes Names Virginia as Best Business State
October 4, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · Leave a Comment
According to Forbes Magazine, Virginia is the best business state yet again (for the 4th year running), “booming compared to the rest of the nation.”
http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html
Forbes attributes this to our highly educated workforce, low energy usage, and business-friendly incentives.
Virginia Ranked #1 for being Pro-Business
June 30, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer, REALTOR ® · Leave a Comment
Taken from the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce’s recent ChamberBits newsletter…
Virginia Ranked #1 Again for Its Pro-Business Environment
Even during these difficult times, Virginia’s pro-business environment has garnered it its latest number one ranking nationally. That’s welcomed and needed good news!
The top slot was accorded to Virginia just this week by Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc., a top U.S. corporate site relocation expert. It marks the third time the company has recognized the state with its highest ranking and is the sixth time overall that the Commonwealth has received national recognition as the most business-friendly state.
Titled “Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2009: Rebuilding Americans’ Economic Power”, the annual study examined job retention and creation by all 50 states and the federal government. Other states rounding out the top five are Utah, North Carolina, Wyoming and South Carolina.
Virginia also held the top spot in the Pollina study in 2003 and 2007. The Commonwealth ranked second from 2004 to 2006 and third in 2008.
The Pollina study evaluated states based on 33 factors—including taxes, human resources, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers’ compensation laws, economic incentives programs, and state economic development efforts.
In recent years, Virginia has been recognized as the most business-friendly state in America (Forbes.com 2006-2008), one of the best states for business (CNBC 2007 and 2008), the top-performing state government in America (Governing Magazine 2008) and the state where “a child is most likely to have a successful life (Education Week 2007).”
Earlier this month, the Commonwealth also ranked second in Directorship magazine’s first annual Boardroom Guide to the Best States for Business. The guide assesses the litigation climate in each of the 50 states, as well as the economy, tax climate, cost of living, education, and other measures. In Directorship’s study, Virginia ranked in the top 10 on quality of life, higher education, economy, and the state litigation ranking.
Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate is a full-service brokerage and consulting firm representing corporations in real estate matters on a national and international basis.
None of these accomplishments is possible without steady, pro-business leadership – at all levels.
