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.
I went to a private school out of state, but spent a summer at Tech. My 12-year-old wants to go there to play football. However, I've had to tell him 1) You're not good enough (yet) and 2) You won't get to be good enough if you don't bring your grades up because you won't be playing (and couldn't get into Tech anyway).
When I graduated from high school in 1976, Tech was still a "fall back" school for many of us. It's no where near as easy to get into now.