Harrisonburg, Virginia - "The Friendly City" The Worst Town W/O
Written: May 22 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: yeah...
Cons: well...
The Bottom Line: On Harrisonburg - great place to visit boring place to live.
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| cletta1201's Full Review: Virginia |
First my extended and endless apologies to dedemw for posting so late to her The Worst Town Write-Off. The concept of Dede’s write-off is simple: pick a town that sucks and tell epinions all about it so without further ado I present to you Harrisonburg, VA.
- A little about how I ended up here -
I came to Harrisonburg, VA in 1996 as a freshman at James Madison University many moons later the town has sucked me into its vacuum and I haven’t left yet. Honestly, there are aspects of “small town living” that remind me of the city where I’m originally from (Lynchburg, VA) but there are some things that are just so exclusive to Harrisonburg you just have to laugh.
- You are now entering a time warp -
The year round residents of Harrisonburg are affectionately and not so affectionately referred to as “townies” and compromise about 1/3 of the city’s population (the other third comes from college students). One trip to your friendly Harrisonburg Wal-Mart will reveal many things about the town’s residents.
Apparently since the town is nestled in the Shenandoah Valley it permits new trends from entering the city because everything here is about 20 years behind. Don’t be surprised to see such fashion trends as acid and stonewash jeans, stirrup pants, and frosted jeans with various appliqués such as bows, zippers and lace and tie-dye shirts. All of those are very commonplace and are worn with pride around these parts. Don’t be surprised to see frosted hair and perms nor gasp when you see that women here still tease and spray their bangs. For the men, the mullet remains a very popular style and is best worn with tight jeans and cowboy boots or your best camouflage and blaze orange gear.
- You don’t know poultry like Harrisonburg knows poultry -
Harrisonburg’s real claim to fame is that it produces more poultry than any other place in the country (in the world as far as I’m concerned). Seeing trucks and trucks full of chickens and turkeys riding through town is common and enough to make anyone consider becoming a vegetarian. Chances are if you eat poultry, it came from here and I could tell you horror stories, but will refrain for fear of lawsuit. There are a few poultry plants in town and right on the outskirts where if you’re interested you can get such cool jobs as “chicken catcher” and “neck ringer” – I’m serious.
- There’s nothing like the smell of dog food in the morning -
Harrisonburg also deals a bit in cows and pigs (the former being part of the city scenery) and the rendering of said animals casts a horrendous stench on the town some days. A cross between sulfur and poo it is commonly just called the dog food effect.
- On “ethnic” relations -
There is also a strong Latino community within the city, of the city’s 40,468 residents, 8.8% are Hispanic/Latin*. Honestly, and this is of no insult to anyone – Harrisonburg also has a large presence of illegal immigrants because there are never a shortage of jobs in regards to the various poultry facilities and factories in the area. Go downtown on a Sunday morning and you might think you’ve walked into Mexico. It’s a treat to see women, men and children in traditional dress going to church.
The ‘burg (it’s nickname) is 87.1% White, 6.1 % African-American, 0.2% Alaskan Native or American Indian, 3.2% Asian, 3.4% some other race, and 2.6% two or more races*. Speaking as a black resident, I don’t know where the 6.1% are, because you hardly ever see black people around.
- When in doubt, eat -
Harrisonburg does have some great places to eat and for a place which isn’t very multi-cultural you can eat Japanese, Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Authentic Italian, Ethiopian and many more different types of foods all around the city. Due to the lack of nightlife in the city, you often end up eating at one of the million restaurants in town.
- I love the nightlife -
Don’t come the ‘burg if you’re looking for excitement because it just ain’t happening. There are 3 “real clubs” which don’t really qualify in my humble opinion. Go there and don’t be surprised to find strobe lights, fog machines and girls dancing on the speakers – yes on the speakers.
- The men in blue -
Because crime is so low in Harrisonburg, chances are you’ll get lots of traffic tickets due to the fact that the policemen have nothing else better to do. They jump at the chance to tell you that you failed to yield or that you were going 8 above the speed limit so be careful.
Really, I have to say that Harrisonburg is a terrible place to live for the 30 and under crowd because of the lack of entertainment. If you were looking to settle down and raise a family however, I think it would be an excellent place to raise kids. Although it’s quiet and pretty slow – major cities like Richmond, VA and Washington, DC are only about an hour and a half to two hours away. I hope that I’ve provided some insight and a few chuckles into Harrisonburg, “The Friendly City”
*Statistics sourced from http://harrisonburg.areaguides.net/stats.html
Recommended:
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cletta1201
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Member: Cletta The Great
Location: Northern Virginia
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