 <p>Ya, I think you misunderstand what <code>virtualenv</code> does:</p> <p><a href="https://virtualenv.pypa.io/en/latest/" rel="nofollow">https://virtualenv.pypa.io/en/latest/</a></p> <blockquote> <p>The basic problem being addressed is one of dependencies and versions, and indirectly permissions. Imagine you have an application that needs version 1 of LibFoo, but another application requires version 2. How can you use both these applications? If you install everything into /usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages (or whatever your platform’s standard location is), it’s easy to end up in a situation where you unintentionally upgrade an application that shouldn’t be upgraded.</p> </blockquote> <p>Your project files don't need to be (and shouldn't be) where the <code>virtualenv</code> files are. </p> <p><code>virtualenv</code> installs your app's python dependancies in a folder for the specific <code>virtualenv</code> that is being used. </p> <p>Let's say you are not using <code>virtualenv</code>, the dependencies would be installed into into the site-packages folder for your system. The dependancies aren't installed in your project directory and your project directory isn't in your system's site-packages directory. </p> <p>Using <code>virtualenv</code> doesn't change that, it just changes where the dependencies are installed.</p>