Kiplingers has just named Charlottesville the #4 Best Place to Live and Work for 2009.  Why? Because we rock and have “stable” jobs.

Big, stable employers plus the UVA student body add up to paying customers for the small businesses that give Charlottesville its spunk. An eclectic mix of more than 150 shops, galleries and restaurants line the historic downtown pedestrian mall. For example, one-year-old Siips Wine and Champagne Bar has already become a hot spot with its ballroom-dancing and tango nights. Just a block away, Sharon Nichols opened her Dog and Horse Lovers Boutique a year earlier. She chose Charlottesville for her dream store because it’s a “vibrant city surrounded by horse country.”

How’d they decide on the top cities?

Based on the formula, which includes data such as income growth and cost of living, we looked for places with a professional, high-quality workforce that will help generate new jobs and businesses once the recession ends.

Full List after the break…

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While it may seem that New York would make inquiring minds more intelligent, according to some scientists the overload of the senses in big cities actually makes you stupider. 

A scientist by the name of Marc Berman evaluated students as they walked through urban and natural environments. He found that urban environments are full of stimulation and require you to direct attention to various distractions and threats (like dangerous intersections). After spending just a few minutes in urban environments, the brain is less able to remember things and suffers from reduced self-control. Apparently, the brain has a limited amount of energy and focus. When you focus on things like “oh that homeless looking dude might try to rob me” you have less brain power to remember things like the names of Obama’s cabinet. Maybe that explains why everyone I know in NYC drinks 5+ times a week (because they are stressed as hell).

What’s also interesting is that natural environments capture our attention without producing negative emotional responses. Scientists find less domestic violence in apartments with nature views and hospital patients heal faster when exposed to nature. Time to get outdoors and make fun of my friends in NYC.

The scientific study is after the break if anyone is interested…

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The Miller Center, UVa’s “Center for Public Policy,” made a big deal about a report it just released which studied public perceptions of climate change. Most Virginians think climate change is happening, but less than half of those who think it is happening believe that it’s a human cause.

It seems that Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth has done its job by convincing Virginians that global warming is pretty much going to kill us all.  Despite the criticism to the movie and all the other doomsday news, climate change is something that has become somewhat of a cultural phobia to the good or bad, I have no clue. I digress.

The study’s findings were part of a national effort to study public perception on the topic. Specifically, in Virginia the study found some very interesting things.  The results are after the break:

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Well, if you didn’t think we were green, you have been living under a hole.  Charlottesville recently got two awards that solidify our kingship of the best places to live.  Even if Forbes thinks we aren’t as cool as midwestern cities, we still have them beat in a few places:

Outside Names Charlottesville Top 20 Best Towns in America…AGAIN!

According to Outside Magazine, Charlottesville was among the 20 best cities in the Country to locate and enjoy outdoor living. Charlottesville was the only city in Virginia to make the list. In addition to Charlottesville, the list includes: Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., Ogden, Utah, Portsmouth, N.H., Tacoma, WA, Ithaca, N.Y., Louisville, Ky., Eureka, Calif., Crested Butte, Colo., Columbia, Mo., Oxford, Miss.; New Orleans; Oakland; Sacramento; Levittown, N.Y.; Wilmington, N.C.; Corvallis, Ore.; Seattle; Brattleboro, Vt.

and..

Charlottesville is one of the top 10 MSA’s for Owners of Hybirds [from Buy Hybrid Car]

The list (# of Hybrids per 1,000): »Read More

Here’s a plug for cvilleStyle.  They are having a contest to win a ticket for an upcoming Chloe champagne VIP brunch event.  Did we mention that all you have to do is comment to enter?  Tell your friends.  Also, we have coupons for Chloe, so show cvilleStyle some loving!

If you aren’t interested in the contest, you may be interested in some other interesting threads:

Curious about Charlottesville downtown shopping?

Despite some really great shops, I think the mall is lacking in terms of retail activity. It is even sadder in the winter. Still, I’ll head out to browse on a lazy afternoon hoping that there might be something new or interesting to catch my eye. It has so much potential. But I often have to hop in the car and drive to select spots peppered around town when the mall doesn’t do it for me.

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