Lynchburg Virginia

OK...so am back after a log time...contrary to my decision...nothing new here :)

Actually I got inspired by my brother’s blog (myindianlife.wordpress.com). He has been pretty regular in blogging… and his blogs are pretty interesting as well…quite diverse. I get a sense of his Bangalore life and that’s cool!

Let me write something on Lynchburg and some thoughts on my US trip this time….actually it’s not a trip….its an assignment for my job.

Lynchburg (http://www.lynchburgva.gov/) is also called Hill city. It is a city of 50 square miles located near the geographic center of the state, bordered by the eastern edge of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. It is located approximately 180 miles southwest of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

I came to Lynchburg with my 5 month pregnant wife in August 2008 for a long term assignment. I had been to US a few times before, in Jersey City, NJ and Houston, TX. I had a wonderful time in Jersey and so was excited for being back to US…but was disappointed during the first few days.

Comparisons with JC made me even sadder…..no worthwhile public transport, no big malls, not too many restaurants of my liking etc. But as we spent time at our Walden Pond apartment, I started liking the place.

It was like liking Porbandar in comparison to Amdavad. Lynchburg is small…my office is just 5 miles from home. I come home for lunch every day. I get to spend a lot more time with my family here and that’s what I always wanted.

I find the natives here are quite close-knit, may be not that welcoming to non-residents, but then that’s okay as they are not hostile either. River Ridge mall is a small place but we like it now. Milan is the Indian restaurant here…..my colleagues here hate its food, but strange as we are, my wife and I like the food here better than Taaza (60 miles away in Roanoke) which my friends relish.

River Ridge Mall is the only proper mall in the city. It has stores like JC Penny, Sears, Macy’s, Aeropostle, Belk and some eateries like Sbarro (it’s the worst Sbarro I’ve ever been to), Fuji Japan (Chicken Teriyaki is not the best, but find it tolerable), Chik-fill-a, Subway…and some other non-descript ones.

There is another place that is sort of a strip mall and has Ross, Kohl’s, Old Navy, Target etc. near to each other. There is also a Kmart which people use more for driving practice for new learners :)

Lynchburg is approachable by US 29. There are some good man-made and natural spots like Natural Bridge, Smith Mountain Lake, wintergreen, Virginia Safari etc., but I haven’t been to any of these.

Wal-Mart is the life line as far as I am concerned. It’s a Supercenter and so open 24 hrs. Sam’s club is just nearby. Most of our groceries and house hold items come from here. There is also couple of Kroger’s and Food Lion stores, but I like Wal-Mart better.

I compare it to Porbandar as it is smaller compared to the known cities. It is beautiful and not too crowded.

The place we stay – Walden Pond Apartments - is a big neighborhood of apartment. There must be more than 500 apartments. Almost all desis stay here…more than 100 for sure. It has a swimming pool, a Tennis court and a small Gym with many machines not working. :)

After Kashti’s arrival, we are enjoying this place. We love to take her out and are not worried as there is not too much of a crowd. Hope we have a nice long happy stay here :)