next »

[1msrenee]

There is a great TT opportunity in my area - any insight on the school and/or the Winchester, VA area? Thanks in advance for your responses!

[tintern]

I don't know much about the school except that it's got a really good music program.  Winchester itself isn't a bad town -- the unfortunate thing is that the campus is right next to the highway and in the middle of development at its ugliest (box stores, traffic jams, shopping malls, etc.).

More generally, though, Winchester is a great location for a number of things.  An hour to your west and you're in the heart of the West Virginia wilderness.  A little over an hour to your east and you've got D.C.  The valley itself is beautiful, and there's always the benefit of roadside apple cider in the fall . . .

[prytania3]

Patsy Cline is from Wincester, and Willa Cather was born near Winchester.

Anyway, Winchester used to be a small town in the middle of horse country.  Of course, a lot of development has occurred subsequently.

I don't know anything about the college, but I can think of far worse places to live than Winchester.

[spork]

The Shenandoah Valley itself is beautiful.

[santuzza]

I am completing my Doctorate at Shenandoah and can give you LOTS of insight -- especially if you're looking at the conservatory. (You're welcome to e-mail me if you'd like on this).

Winchester is a nice town -- close enough to both wilderness and big city life.  Cost of housing has gone through the roof over the past few years -- many people moving out of DC area and commuting in (over 70 miles if you can believe that!).  Outside of the university you will not find many intellectual types -- mostly blue collar workers.  There is a very nice health facility there with excellent ER services (unfortunately, I know this from personal experience!).  Lots of churches to choose from, and the people are generally friendly, but tend to "let you in" only if you're a southerner (from my experience).

The university has grown a lot over the past several years.  Leadership is adequate and they have several nice faculty events over the year (I was an adjunct while taking coursework and was invited to all these events with open arms).  Faculty is generally supportive, but has its factions as most do.

Pleasant weather, beautiful countryside -- really a nice place to live.

[happyhistory]

More generally, though, Winchester is a great location for a number of things.  An hour to your west and you're in the heart of the West Virginia wilderness.  A little over an hour to your east and you've got D.C.  The valley itself is beautiful, and there's always the benefit of roadside apple cider in the fall . . .

I concur completely with this view.  I love this area of VA--especially since the eastern panhandle of WV is only 27 miles or so away--this, in my opinion, is the most historical part of WV (in terms of colonial, revolutionary, and civil war related history).  The town of Winchester is a little built up...but all in all, a nice place.  The autumns are especially nice. 

[luckyduck]

Alert: Annoying thread take-over:

A little over an hour to your east and you've got D.C.  The valley itself is beautiful, and there's always the benefit of roadside apple cider in the fall . . .

I am contractually obliged, as a microbiologist, to be a buzzkill & remind y'all that drinking unpasteurized apple cider is a great way to acquire an E. coli O157:H7 infection.  You know, with the attendant bloody diarrhea and possible kidney damage.  That little children have died from in epidemics.

How does this get into apple cider? when E. coli lives in animal intestines?  Well, cows poop on the ground, water runs over cow-pies, and onto apples lying on the ground, which are used to make cider...

Seriously.  Stay away from unpasteurized versions of anything that is often pasteurized.

[tintern]

I am contractually obliged, as a microbiologist, to be a buzzkill & remind y'all that drinking unpasteurized apple cider is a great way to acquire an E. coli O157:H7 infection.  You know, with the attendant bloody diarrhea and possible kidney damage.  That little children have died from in epidemics.

How does this get into apple cider? when E. coli lives in animal intestines?  Well, cows poop on the ground, water runs over cow-pies, and onto apples lying on the ground, which are used to make cider...

Good warning and perhaps much needed in some cases.  Based on my experience in the valley, though, the "roadside" apple cider has actually been processed (and pasteurized) and then sent back to the owners of the apple orchards, who sell it at their roadside shops along with their bushels of apples.  It's not a large sample by any means, I have asked a few orchard owners about their cider, and the general consensus seems to be that it's much easier to send it out than to do the work independently.

It begs the question, though -- what about the raw apples themselves?  Sure, we wash 'em off, but how much should we be concerned?

[helpful]

The Shenandoah Valley itself is beautiful.

The song is beautiful. Does it have anything to do with the university or valley?

[happyhistory]

The Shenandoah Valley itself is beautiful.

The song is beautiful. Does it have anything to do with the university or valley?

You kid, right?  The Shenandoah River--of which the song is about---flows through the Shenandoah Valley and within a short driving distance of Winchester.  No connection to the school....beyond the proximity to the River and sharing the same name.....

[1msrenee]

Thank you all for your responses!