Forbes ranks Blacksburg among the 25 best places to retire
The Town of Blacksburg has been ranked among the "25 Best Places to Retire," by Forbes.com.
The ranking included more than 400 cities nationwide. Those factors considered in the survey included overall cost of living and home prices, as compared to national averages, and general tax climates for retirees.
Home to Virginia Tech's main campus and approximately 42,000 local residents, Blacksburg offers the charm of a small town combined with the modern conveniences of a metropolitan area. Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the community has many restaurants and stores, arts venues, historic attractions and museums, sporting events, outdoor recreation, and a temperate climate.
More than half of those who have retired from Virginia Tech since 1990 continue to live in the New River Valley.
This recent ranking is among the many the Town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech have received in recent years that speaks to the quality of life that helps the university's ability to recruit and retain high caliber faculty and staff. Virginia Tech is a family-friendly employer, enhancing the work-life experience of its employees through the Hokie Wellness program, which provides programming and information to boost employee health, well-being, and productivity.
Other recent rankings include:
- Glassdoor.com ranked Virginia Tech in the top 10 universities to work for in 2014.
- Movoto.com ranked the Town of Blacksburg No. 4 on a list of the "10 Happiest Small Places in America" in 2014.
- The Best Workplaces for Commuters program gave Virginia Tech a gold award for its commuter program in 2014, for the fifth consecutive year.
- The Active Times gave Virginia Tech the top spot its list of the "50 Fittest Colleges in America" in 2013.
- Homes.com ranked Blacksburg No. 1 on its “Top 10 Cities to Raise a Family” listing in 2012, citing Virginia Tech and numerous economic opportunities as reasons for the top designation.
- Bloomberg's Businessweek ranked Blacksburg the “Best Place in the U.S. to Raise Kids" in 2012.
- Forbes.com named the “Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford” area one of the best small cities to find employment in 2012 based on statistical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For other notable rankings and honors, visit the Virginia Tech website.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.