Blacksburg, VA

[cheme2014]

Does any of you have experience staying at the Hearthstone Apartment? Any input will be greatly appreciated. 

[AdilB990]

Hello cheme2014 and samsales,

Did you guys visit Blacksburg/VT? If so, I'd love to hear your feedback regarding housing and about the town in general.

Thanks.

[LexHex]

How are the city buses in Blacksburg? Especially if I want to get to Christiansburg? 

Also, I'm looking at these Jefferson St. Apartments. they're .84 miles from campus and there's a shuttle. How does the shuttle run? On a schedule or by phone call?

Would anyone recommend getting a meal plan?

[Ungericht]

I got selected for a CS PhD at VT starting Fall 2014. I am from Pakistan and can't visit before the classes. I am married and have a daughter. Would definitely like to get in touch with those who are married and/or have kids as well. Want to get an idea of living expenses. I got the GTA for 4 years so I want to know if I can live with family in that money.

Hi guys!

I am deciding between College Station TX (Tamu), Gainesville FL (UF) and Blacksburg. I married, 33 years, and have a dog. I am trying to getter all info I can get from the towns.

How do you guys feel about those towns, I am specially concern about my wife, not going crazy in some place with nothing to do... Any married grad student care to share any thoughts?

Thanks

[hj2012]

Hi guys!

I am deciding between College Station TX (Tamu), Gainesville FL (UF) and Blacksburg. I married, 33 years, and have a dog. I am trying to getter all info I can get from the towns.

How do you guys feel about those towns, I am specially concern about my wife, not going crazy in some place with nothing to do... Any married grad student care to share any thoughts?

Thanks

 

All three towns are college towns, as far as I understand, with (relatively) little outside of the college itself. But she will likely be very bored in Blacksburg. There really is very little to do around the area.

[AdilB990]

Hello everyone! I have a query for those living in Blacksburg for some time. What is the average amount you spend on groceries/meals per month? I know everyone has different eating habits but I just need an approximate figure.

(I'm an international student, thus need maximum feedback so that I can make a proper budget for my stay there.)

Thanks in advance.

Adil B.

[Perhaps Later]

Hello everyone! I have a query for those living in Blacksburg for some time. What is the average amount you spend on groceries/meals per month? I know everyone has different eating habits but I just need an approximate figure.

(I'm an international student, thus need maximum feedback so that I can make a proper budget for my stay there.)

Thanks in advance.

Adil B.

 

Hello! I will mostly be heading to Virginia Tech this Fall, and I would like to know more about Blacksburg. I see that you're an international student too. How has the transition been for you so far? I read that it gets very cold out there, but hopefully I get used to it. I live in a place where it's hot and humid throughout the year, so the change is going to be quite drastic.

 

How are the living expenses there? What about off-campus housing? Any recommendations? Also, I see that you're in the Transportation Engineering program. I got accepted to the Structures program, so could you let me know more about the program in terms of research and funding opportunities, faculty,etc?

 

Apologies for asking so many questions! 

[doyouevenchop]

Hello! I will mostly be heading to Virginia Tech this Fall, and I would like to know more about Blacksburg. I see that you're an international student too. How has the transition been for you so far? I read that it gets very cold out there, but hopefully I get used to it. I live in a place where it's hot and humid throughout the year, so the change is going to be quite drastic.

 

How are the living expenses there? What about off-campus housing? Any recommendations? Also, I see that you're in the Transportation Engineering program. I got accepted to the Structures program, so could you let me know more about the program in terms of research and funding opportunities, faculty,etc?

 

Apologies for asking so many questions! 

 

Hey there. I'm currently an undergrad at VT, but I can answer some of your questions. I don't know anything about the engineering programs here, except that they are rigorous and highly respected.

 

Weather ranges from cold to hot, we get all four seasons. February is typically the coldest month, with an average temp of low 20's to 30's. Snowfall varies year-to-year, we got 6-8 inches on two occasions this Feb. Weather typically starts getting cooler in late October, transitioning to cold in November thru early March. Blacksburg gets very windy, which is really the worst part about winter here. Starts getting hot around May. It can get somewhat humid at the peak of the summer, but not too bad.

 

As far as living in the US goes, Blacksburg is very affordable. I currently pay $405 for rent, but it's for a very spacious appt that I share with 2 other roommates in a good location. Lots of grad students live in the Foxridge community, where you can get buy paying ~350 for rent in a shared appt. Utilities aren't too bad, maybe ~70 per month for everything. Food is pretty cheap if you're good at catching sales. I spend 200-300 per month on food (sometimes more, depending on the month), but I'm 6'3 and 200 and athletic, so I eat a lot. I think I have a pretty good standard of living here, you could easily get by on 10-15k a year. 

 

If you like the outdoors, there's lots of opportunities here. We live within an hour of a bunch of great hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail. We are also half an hour from the New River, where you can fish or going kayaking/tubing/rafting. Good outdoor climbing activities out in neighboring West Virginia. Shooting range pretty close by. Football games are hugely popular, and a blast. Other sports are free to walk in to watch. If you don't like the outdoors, there's really not too much to do here. Besides drink. Which we like to do. Southwest Virginia (where Blacksburg is located), is a rural area, so it may be a culture shock when you leave campus, depending on where you're from.

 

Blacksburg Transit runs a tight ship, the bus system is very good. However, I would suggest owning a car for shopping/activities. There aren't any big-box stores in Blacksburg proper, only some grocery stores and small specialized retails, although the town is expanding on the southern end (new movie theater going in!). But Christiansburg is only 10 minutes away and has a mall, Walmart, Target, restaurants, etc. Parking on campus is a huge pain-in-the-ass though.

 

Students (and everyone) here are generally very nice and outgoing. Lots of fit people - we're the fittest campus in the nation, along with happiest and we have the best food. We have spectacular gyms and dining halls. Faculty are in general nice and approachable. VT is really a special place.

 

If you have any more questions, I'd love to answer them.

[toxicdevil]

Hi Can someone tell me how the city is for a Muslim student? My most important concern is the availability of Halal food.

Also as I will be a graduate student in the CS dept what will be some good nearby places to live in and approx rent?

Does VT have hostels? Can someone tell details about it?

[Lachit]

Going there for PhD in electrical engineering. Any fellow admits who have finalised on VT ?

[strawberrykat]

8 hours ago, Lachit said:

Going there for PhD in electrical engineering. Any fellow admits who have finalised on VT ?

Not officially yet but 98% sure! 

[Lachit]

On 3/23/2018 at 3:37 PM, strawberrykat said:

Not officially yet but 98% sure! 

Which other colleges are you considering apart from VT ? Electrical Engineering ?

[strawberrykat]

Environmental Engineering. U Michigan, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon. There's a particular professor I like at Virginia Tech but it's a tough choice. 

[ephemeral]

Hello guys,

I am considering going to Virginia Tech for Ph.D. this Fall. For those who have been there, how is Blacksburg, VA?

I heard since it's in the Appalachians, there will be a lot of good hiking opportunities. Since I'm into the outdoors, I am considering this factor as well. Previously, I went to Bozeman, MT for school mostly for the outdoors.

Also, how are the people and the culture there? Is it the Southern type? More of a mix between the South and NOVA? How detached or influenced is it from the D.C. metro?

I have not looked into the housing options yet. What would be the best options both inside and outside (but near to) the campus? What should be the price range?

Moreover, I currently don't have a car, and won't be having a car for the first semester. In that case, how easy is it to get around places without a car? Is the public bus system reliable?

Thanks so much in advance!

(P.S. My other options are UGA in Athens, GA, and may be Kansas State in Manhattan, KS. I am also really drawn toward choosing UGA for the location/culture/arts-scene factor.)

Edited March 19, 2020 by ephemeral

[Iworkwithbacteria]

I will start this off by saying I am originally from an urban area in the southwest US. I had a bit of a culture shock coming here. I am self aware enough to know that if I continued to live where I was from it would be far to easy to distract me. Where I am from has a completely different demographic both at the school and the cultures. (I am from a HSI for undergrad)

Hiking is pretty popular, you won't have to try hard to find people to go with.

Blacksburg is fairly isolated. Blacksburg is built around Tech. I am not originally from Va so I don't know a lot about NOVa to say much about that comparison wise. I will say that Blacksburg is adorable it feels very small town which was a big change for me. Blacksburg is essentially the area immediately around Tech and Christainsburg is more the city with all of the big brand stores. If you want to go to a bigger city there is a bus that goes to Roanoake which has all the big cities things.

As far as being connected to other cities, Tech does have ways to get to D.C. through a bus that takes you to a station in Roanoke. There is also a bus thing that will come through on like spring break and maybe winter break that travels to other big cities.

Not having a car shouldn't be a big issue, the bus lines are pretty good here. I will say that over school breaks the bus service is reduced, but it is still pretty easy to work around. I actually have a car but still take the bus to campus during the academic year. It makes sense because parking for grads can be limited at times and pretty expensive. The bus line is Blacksburg transit if you want to research that a bit more.

I would recommend living in Blacksburg, if you don't have a car. The bus lines are really focused around there, not Christainsburg. A lot of grad students live off of South Main St. and some complexes will specify that they only accept Grad students or young professionals throughout town. As a bonus, if you decide to go to Tech there is a website that you can join to look at apartments/people looking for roommates. Pricing will depend on the area and if you want roommates or not. I am paying ~600 with a roommate in a2 bd/ 2 ba. That is at the higher end of the average. You can find places where you can room for 400 a month but those tend to be with undergrads and shared bathrooms.  Christainsburg is really cheap but then bus lines are more difficult to get to. The complexes tend to advertise that they are near bus stops, so keep an eye out for that.

 

[Modulus]

Blacksburg is a "small college town" and has that feel to it. There's not much going on, but there are still places to eat, drink, and relax. 

I really like Roanoke, which is about 30-40 mins away and has a lot of festivals and cultural events.

I would say that the culture is less Southern and more Appalachian--think West Virginia, not Alabama. 

My brother went to VT for undergrad and loved it. I actually highly considered it for my PhD too, but ultimately chose UGA for a more senior mentor and perfect research match.

[ephemeral]

That's great! Thanks for the information, both!

How is the downtown like? Are there nice places for hanging out, music, arts and galleries, etc., or do you definitely need to go to towns like Christainsburg and Roanoke? How accessible are places like Costco and Walmart from the town?

[Iworkwithbacteria]

Downtown Blacksburg is what you would expect I guess in a small college town, lots of restaurants and bars.

Tech does have the Moss Arts Center so (normally) there would be different shows that you could see there and various exhibits. If there are extra tickets there is a text message thing you can sign up for that allows them to notify you. They normally give away extra tickets for the shows. The school itself did bring in a few artists in fall semester for a free show for students. It was Anderson Paak, Fitz and the Tantrums, and someone else, but I can't recall.

Christainsburg has a Walmart, Target, Best Buy etc. but no Costco or Sam's club. Sam's Club and Costco can be found in like the Salem or Roanoake area. The Walmart is fairly easy to get to by bus, iirc there is a bus that runs to it.

The music here is not really to my taste, so I tend to travel for that. I tend to have to travel to much bigger cities, but I have always been willing to travel to shows if I was excited about it. I drove from the LA area to Las Vegas a few times for random shows.