This is Charlottesville, Virginia, the town in which I was born and have spent most of my life outside of college.
Major attractions include the Downtown Mall, a bricked-over pedestrian area which dates back to the 1970s.
This is a typical feature of cities in Germany, where such areas are called Fußgängerzonen ("pedestrian zones"), but is unusual in the United States.
Charlottesville is the home of the University of Virginia, one of the highest-rated colleges in the US,
whose notable students have included the great American horror writer Edgar Allan Poe.
The well-known Dave Matthews Band was also formed in this town,
with its lineup including members of the local jazz scene.
Charlottesville has accumulated a long list of other distinctions,
including being rated the best place to live in the country,
as well as the happiest
and the smartest.
My parents moved here from Massachusetts in 1979 so that my father could attend graduate school at UVA, and I think it was a wise move on their part.
For many years now the town has been home to weekly free-admission jazz shows. These concerts take place at Miller's, a restaurant and bar on the Downtown Mall,
and feature some of the area's great jazz talents, including UVA professor and saxophonist Jeff Decker,
guitarist Mike Rosensky, and drummer Aaron Binder.
Local resident, UVA lecturer and jazz trumpeter John D'Earth can also be found at the same venue with his quintet on Thursday nights.
Further live music can be found at a variety of other venues as well.