[EAMiller]

We just do the inverse. In a local_settings.py we import settings - then set DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=path.to.local_settings

[timfletcher]

This is by far the simplest and best way I've found. This also allows me to remove manage.py and use django-admin.py. I just set DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE in the virtualenv's postactivate hook file.