I've been here about four years. Small city, 50-60k population depending on whether or not school's in session. There's a nice downtown area, lots of good restaurants, good nightlife, music. Traffic's negligible. Lots of good hiking, camping, hiking and fishing in the area. Rents are cheap in the city. Real estate is a little more expensive. If I were going to buy here I'd get a place 20 minutes or half an hour out of town where it's still pretty rural and land is cheaper, Buckingham or Louisa county or maybe south near Scottsville. Good gun club, Rivanna Rifle and Pistol.
The downside of C-ville is that it's a university town. That means lots of liberal fools and college children. Charlottesville is definitely a Democrat bastion in a very conservative area. Of course, the upside of it being a college town is the vast number of hot, scantily-clad 20 year old girls walking around.
Anything else you want to know?