I'm looking into possibly establishing an HN meetup for people around CVille and UVa if there is enough interest. I have been learning how to program for the past couple months and would find it helpful to get to know some of the smart people who read HN and live near me.
My family lives in Charlottesville but I'm actually in Madison WI. If you get something going let me know and maybe I can check it out whenever I visit. I think it would be a great idea to get something started in the area. Email: aero4x [at] gmail [dot] com