Kyle Archer Babson

1. Mountains - When I moved to Virginia 2.5 years ago from the flatlands of Kansas, the mountainous tree covered terrain was the biggest shock. It took a good year or more to get used to, but I’ll miss the views and the feeling of always being surrounded by nature.

2. Mudhouse - I really like coffee, so when the local chain of coffeehouse’s opened a location in Crozet I was pretty happy. Small cups, over-priced, but I couldn’t resist.

3. Charlottesville - Charlottesville is a smallish college town, with more history than you can shake a stick at. I usually made my way into town at least once a week to walk the downtown mall, eat a meal at Bodo’s or Eppie’s, or see a show at JPJ, The Paramount, or the revolving door of smaller club venues.

4. UVA - The University of Virginia has so many unique traditions, a beautiful campus, and it was founded by TJ himself, the university really enriches the area. Go Hoos.

5. Traffic - There is none, forgetting about rush-hour was life changing.

6. Crozet Pizza - I’m not a huge pizza eater, but Crozet Pizza is the best I’ve ever had.

7. Weather - Central Virginia boasts a mild climate. It’s rarely too hot, and I got by without a real winter coat most of the time.

8. Community - Crozet is currently going through some growing pains. New developments around the city are bringing rapid changes. The newer residents are thrilled to have more to do, while the old timers are not so sure they want to see their home town change so much. Either way, they all care deeply about the community. That’s something I wasn’t used to, but I learned a lot from it, and look forward to connecting more with my community in Kansas City.

9. Starr Hill Brewery - I don’t drink a lot of beer, but when I do I try to make it something special. My favorite brew is still Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat, but Starr Hill makes a number of pretty good alternatives. It didn’t hurt that the brewery was connected to my office.

10. Musictoday - I’m staying with Musictoday, but in a weird kinda way I’ll miss the old chicken pot-pie plant.

Overall, I’m glad to be back in Kansas City, but I’ll always look back fondly on my time in Crozet.

Send me your track

I spent the better part of the last week house hunting, and I picked up a thing or two about marketing real estate.

1. Your “For Sale” or “For Rent” sign says a lot about the property and the landlord/owner, whether you intend it to or not.

2. By not posting pictures with your Craigslist ad you’re telling me I should ignore your property.

3. Finding housing online is a minefield of confusing, deceiving, and poorly designed sites. The door is wide-open for somebody to create something new and better.

4. I found my new home on Facebook’s Marketplace. I recommend it, it’s a lot harder to hide when you’re posting with your real name and picture.