New Job Update - Six Weeks in SoBo

Six weeks down in South Boston, VA.

The experience has been interesting. While I can’t discuss the specifics of the new job, I can report that things are going well. School has started again, and learning is taking place.

My soon to be home away from home in SoBo, VA

In the meantime, my own education is continuing.

It had not occurred to me until recently that I have never lived in a city with less than 100,000 residents. Alexandria, Newport News, even Staten Island (New York City), where I attended undergrad school at Wagner College are cities with all the trappings of a metropolis. Traffic is one. Suffice it to say, after 48 years of living in a metropolis, there are certain things that one takes for granted.

Like 7-11’s and cab or bus service.

While enjoying a steak sub at a local eatery last month, I was ready for a “nightcap,” and asked the teenage waitress where I could get a Slurpee.

Her look of befuddlement embarrassed me.

“A... what?”

From the next table, a woman who was educated in these sorts of things was kind enough to chime in. “We have Sheetz.”

Duly noted. No Slurpee’s in South Boston.

A couple of days later, the squealing from my brakes was too much to handle. I knew the pads had to be changed, so I followed some good advice and took my car to a place called Rice and Sons. It was close to my hotel, the South Boston Inn, so I walked home, figuring that I’d just catch a cab the next morning while the work was being done. (Point of note - brake pads, rotation and new inspection sticker - $160, less than half of what I would have paid in Newport News)

Imagine my surprise the next morning when I walked to the lobby and asked for a cab.

“There used to be one here, but I think it closed.”

I called work and someone had to pick me up. That doesn’t happen everywhere.

South Boston has a population of about 8,500 spread out over 12 square miles. It’s quaint, and it has seen better days. There are a lot of closed up businesses in the downtown area. Still, I’m optimistic enough to think the town will rebound. And, if a real estate speculator or two might be reading this, there are some foreclosed single family homes here that can be had for less than 50-60K. And by homes, I mean three bedroom colonials with a yard and the need for some TLC and elbow grease.

While the word “urgency” isn’t part of the SoBo lexicon, I am enjoying the friendliness of the town folks, and the quiet and lack of traffic is refreshing. Raj and Amil Gupta, who run the South Boston Inn, have been great innkeepers during my elongated stay there. If you’re in the region, I highly recommend it. Not the Ritz, but enough bang for the buck ($50 a night, in my case) to make the stay worthwhile. The room is clean, and there is Wi-Fi and cable. In simple terms – five weeks, no bedbugs.

Of course, I really miss being away from home. It’s hard to be away all week.