I moved to a rural area just north of there 11 years ago. I like it pretty well. Here's the good stuff.
1. It tends toward Democratic and moderately liberal, even though the surrounding area is horribly GOPer. (Our congresscritter is the disgusting and smarmy Ben Cline)
2. The downtown is being restored and has been being worked on since the late 80s. It is great, with shops, restaurants, etc. Parking is a PITA although there are a couple of parking garages. The library is downtown which is nice.
3. There is BUS SERVICE, which surprised the hell out of me when I moved here. I have not had the occasion to use it, but it seems to go pretty much everywhere in the 'burg, at least during the day.
4. JMU--James Madison University. It's not just for kids. They offer degree programs for adults with reduced tuition, plus they have a great continuous learning program (currently, I think, on hiatus due to the pandemic) for adults which offers all kinds of interesting classes.
5. EMU--Eastern Mennonite University, the peaceable kingdom. Not what you might think, this small university on the north end has an outsize influence on the whole area. In fact, the Mennonite presence, with its emphasis on peace, peaceful resolution, welcoming the stranger, and understanding, I would say is one of the nicest things about the entire area.
6. A vibrant arts community. The whole Shenandoah Valley area has one of the best arts communities I've ever been privileged to be around. There is a co-op gallery in the downtown 'burg, right on Main St. (I'm part of it) and other galleries in surrounding communities.The artists are friendly and helpful to each other.
7. A strong local foods movement. There's a Farmers' Market in the downtown and several farm markets in the area that handle locally grown foods.
8. It's more cosmopolitan than many cities of its size. It's gotten more so just since I moved here. Part of that may be due to the influence of the university, but some of it may also be due to the above-mentioned Mennonite influence (there is a Hispanic Mennonite church, for instance). However, there are people from all over the planet here and you will be surprised! There is a fabulous international grocery on W. Market St. and the aforementioned Ragtime Market is in the same shopping center.
Now the not-so-good, because every city has it:
1. I-81. It goes right through town. According to my spousal unit, it wasn't planned that way and the 'burg mostly existed on the west side of it when he moved here in 1992 and the east side grew up after that. The planning has been decent though and you can avoid it while going through town. However, getting OUT of town....! It is dodge 'em trucks all the way.
2. You can't get there from here unless you drive or fly. There is no bus service and no train service...which seems awfully stupid,. considering that there is a university of 20k students here! You would think there would at least be a BOLT bus to DC or Richmond or something, but noooooo. If you want to fly, you have to drive the 2.5 hours to Dulles or Richmond and deal with parking lots, shuttles, etc, OR...surprise! There is a little commuter airport just down the road from the 'burg in Weyer's Cave! I fly out of there usually now. You do have to leave early and change planes somewhere, and it's little puddle-jumper jets, but the parking is free and the security folks are really nice and don't hassle you.
3. It is the aforementioned blue dot in a big red district. But I love it here.
This is long, but I hope it helps.
= new reply since forum marked as read