I took Missy on a long walk today. It wasn’t as long as some of the ones we’ve taken in Richmond because she was two years younger then and it’s a lot easier to navigate around Richmond than here. One of the problems is that there is a severe elevation change between where I live and another part of the neighborhood.

There’s a path people have forged over time down the ridge. Missy and I took it today and walked though a nearby apartment complex to do a loop. I got curious about how much they’re going for, and a one-bedroom there is going for the cost of my current two-bedroom, 1½-bathroom place with an office. Of course, these are newer, but they’re smaller than the one-bedroom apartment I had in a similarly fancy building in Shockoe Bottom.

The Charlottesville area has an affordable housing problem. We’re getting a jump in rent next month, and we’re paying about double what we were when we were living in the Truman-era house (which was about the same size as this apartment). That house has jumped $20,000 in value from when I lived there until now.

I sometimes wonder if and when we get to be a full-blown mini-Silicon Valley and this area just is a playground for the rich.