Des Moines vs. Richmond (live, state, compare, places)

[BlessedLife]

I'm curious about comparisons between Des Moines and Richmond.

Richmond is one of my favorite cities in the US. It's very rich in culture and history -- the historical places alone are much more plentiful and interesting than most other cities its size. It's in a great climate (if you don't care for extremes). It's beautiful -- and there's always something to do. COL isn't sky-high (yet). It's close to DC and not far from the mountains.

Although I'd love to live in Richmond, my husband's job might transfer us to Des Moines. I'm a native Midwesterner, so its location alone does not alarm me (in fact, it holds a certain appeal, primarily because I know how great Midwesterners can be). I didn't know too much about the city but some of my research seems to show some similarities to Richmond. I wasn't trying to compare the two cities, but I had the thought a few times when looking at pictures of the scenery and looking at activities the city offers that "This looks like Richmond!" The riverfront through downtown is one big similarity.

Any thoughts? This forum seems to like to discuss topics like these at length. It would be great to hear from anyone who is very familiar with both cities.

[iknowftbll]

I can't make a comparison but I will say living just north of Richmond, the city is probably a bit underrated. It doesn't show nicely from the freeway so if anyone formed their opinion of the place from just a drive through town it's not likely going to make a positive impression. Of course, this can be said about a lot of cities, but Richmond really does take this to extremes: it looks awful from the freeway. Still, there's a lot of reasons to like the place, a lot of nice areas, and reasons to appreciate living near Richmond.

I love the Richmond airport because of ease of access. When I travel for work (average once a month) I use Richmond over Dulles or Reagan because traffic north of me is obscene. Richmond has some pretty nice museums, minor league sports (though truthfully it may be time to bring down that dumpy stadium and replace it with something a bit more modern and pleasant), and a great theme park just outside of town in King's Dominion, with another just a short drive away in Williamsburg (Busch Gardens). My family buys season passes for KD and my kids pretty much never get tired of it.

I also like that Richmond isn't too densely populated. I was surprised to see the metro area population was close to 1.3 million people because it seems closer to half that size. While I'm not against big cities, living outside the DC area has taxed my patience with people more so than anywhere else I've ever lived and I generally prefer to be as far away from them as possible. Since that's not happening until I can build a log cabin in Alaska, a nice balance between the great outdoors and the amenities of a larger city is pretty nice. Richmond provides that balance well enough with decent shopping but easy access to rural Virginia, some great wildlife management areas, and Shenandoah National Park.

Then there's the history of the area...And that is a thread in its own right!

OP, if you end up moving to Des Moines I hope you enjoy it. I can see why you'd like Richmond too, though.

[manitopiaaa]

Richmond is beautiful itself and the location is a knock out:

Within 150 miles the major attractions nearby are:
Annapolis and the United States Naval Academy
Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Trail
Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon
Atlantic Ocean
Blue Ridge Mountains and Parkway
Charlottesville, Monticello and UVA
Chincoteague Island
Ocean City
Outer Banks
Raleigh
Rehoboth and Lewes Beach
Virginia Beach
Washington and Alexandria
Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown

Within 150 miles of Des Moines:
Bridges of Madison County
Iowa City
Omaha

Both are growing fast, however, and Des Moines is closer to being a Madison than a Detroit.