Glad to see Richmond, VA on their "bad" list. Pappy what about Blacksburg being a good "liberal" city?
Bburg is probably more conservative than Charlottesville. We have our share of wacked-out liberals but they generally keep to the PCUSA church. The massive numbers of international students makes it very interesting here. The schools are outstanding and the summers are wonderful. No heat and most of the students are gone.
We looked at Cville but the traffic was a turn-off to us. Housing prices are cheaper here as well. But there is a LOT of money in and around Cville. It's definitely second on my "after the kids go to college" list behind Hot Springs, Va.