Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a degree in Geography and I am well aware of Richmond's place as a fall line city. Louisville is one too in case you didn't know. Louisville is located at the falls of the Ohio.
I live in DC and visit Richmond often. I also often visit a college friend in Bumpass, and my brother attended Fork Union. I have visited everything in Virginia from the eastern shore to Cudjo's Caverns. I am well aware of Virginia's history and geography, including economic geography. Northern Virginia is the economic engine of the state and if people cannot see that, then they are being willfully ignorant.
But I am also well traveled in the Ohio Valley and Louisville has a vitality that I have yet to experience in Richmond. That isn't to say the Richmond is a bad place, it isn't. But to me, Louisville is more interesting. It may be called the "gateway to the south" but it is really an interesting mixture of southern and mid-western. It has it's own unique cuisine, too. Burgoo anyone? Benedictine?
Who ever it was that raved about VCU, I can assure you, once you leave the mid-Atlantic, few people have even heard of VCU. That isn't to say it's a bad school but to say it is reknown seems exaggerated. I also find that Richmond, like many Virginia cities, seems to shut down on Sundays more than Louisville does.
Richmond has a lot going for it. And I can see where it will eventually connect with the Bos-Wash metroplex judging from developer friendly, some say crazy, Virginia system. And I know a lot of very interesting filmmakers, actors and other artists in the Richmond area, (some who graduated from VCU) but they all talk about moving away. And if proximity to the larger urban areas is the reason for choosing Richmond, then why not just move to the larger areas instead?
Incidentally, I have traveled throughout Kentucky, too. I have visited everything from the Jefferson Davis Memorial to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace, and from the juncture of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Cumberland Gap.
Both states are beautiful and have unique qualities to them. Both cities are beautiful and have unique qualities too. Both have some level progressive politics and are working hard to erase negative stereotypes.
But for me, Louisville is more interesting. The Actor's Theater and Humana Festival of New American Plays are some reasons I prefer Louisville. It also feels less segregated than Richmond probably because of its model school integration program that has been in place for years. Don't misunderstand me, racism is alive and well in both cities but I like that Louisville schools are working to get kids interacting with each other at an early age, a program that is admired nationally. Republicans have tried to kill it but it is still going strong. When I go to Richmond, I find there is a lot of tension...wonderful people, but tension just the same.
What is the tension you felt in Richmond? I'm from the area and the actual city is one of the least offensive places I've ever lived, considering I'm young, black, middle class, with a jacked up family background, criminal history, and other stereotypes and perceptions that have negatively impacted my life in other environs...Richmond has maybe the least tension I ever faced, certainly at the top two, so I'm interested in hearing your purview...
VCU may not be impressive to you, but ULouisville is not considered a better school; for all intents and purposes, the signature universities in both cities are equal. VCU is marginally higher ranked by US News:
Also, I don't get your point about artists moving away. I know a girl who late last year left Louisville for Tampa. Does that mean anything?
Both cities are gateways to The South. They are also, in reverse, gateways to northern regions. Both cities are geographically close to larger cities and share a kinship with said cities. Personally, I find being located along 95 from the diverse cities of that corridor to be more exciting and eclectic than Louisville's location, but different strokes...
Maybe they meant some people there seem like they want to say something bad about the place, but never seem to be able to? I noticed it was very difficult to get an unfiltered opinion from the locals.
Or maybe it was the hip fashion snobbery? Noticed that.
Or if they had an an experience like I did perhaps they kept coming across sisters that wouldn't give them the time of day.
Another thought might be tension was intended to be a comment on the sketchiness during the night?
What is the tension you felt in Richmond? I'm from the area and the actual city is one of the least offensive places I've ever lived, considering I'm young, black, middle class, with a jacked up family background, criminal history, and other stereotypes and perceptions that have negatively impacted my life in other environs...Richmond has maybe the least tension I ever faced, certainly at the top two, so I'm interested in hearing your purview...
VCU may not be impressive to you, but ULouisville is not considered a better school; for all intents and purposes, the signature universities in both cities are equal. VCU is marginally higher ranked by US News:
Also, I don't get your point about artists moving away. I know a girl who late last year left Louisville for Tampa. Does that mean anything?
Both cities are gateways to The South. They are also, in reverse, gateways to northern regions. Both cities are geographically close to larger cities and share a kinship with said cities. Personally, I find being located along 95 from the diverse cities of that corridor to be more exciting and eclectic than Louisville's location, but different strokes...
Richmond has tension. I was raised there and notice that many Richmond-folk have rose-colored glasses when it comes to racism in particular. If you were black and in the RPD patrol zone, I don't know how you would be surprised that there is tension. Being born in the northeast, I felt like I was the only one in class that realized that confederates actually condoned slavery and that Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson shouldn't share the same holiday as Martin Luther King (and I got looked at like I shouldn't even be questioning this). That is the definition of tension.
What is the tension you felt in Richmond? I'm from the area and the actual city is one of the least offensive places I've ever lived, considering I'm young, black, middle class, with a jacked up family background, criminal history, and other stereotypes and perceptions that have negatively impacted my life in other environs...Richmond has maybe the least tension I ever faced, certainly at the top two, so I'm interested in hearing your purview...
VCU may not be impressive to you, but ULouisville is not considered a better school; for all intents and purposes, the signature universities in both cities are equal. VCU is marginally higher ranked by US News:
Also, I don't get your point about artists moving away. I know a girl who late last year left Louisville for Tampa. Does that mean anything?
Both cities are gateways to The South. They are also, in reverse, gateways to northern regions. Both cities are geographically close to larger cities and share a kinship with said cities. Personally, I find being located along 95 from the diverse cities of that corridor to be more exciting and eclectic than Louisville's location, but different strokes...
I have spent a considerable amount of time in Richmond throughout the past two years and I have lived a large part of my life in the Tidewater area of VA also. I think Richmond is very racially divided overall and I have experienced forms of covert racism on multiple occasions while being in the Richmond area. However, I can't relate to the part about the sisters being stuck up from the area. I actually noticed I receive more unsolicited attention in Richmond than in some other places.
Richmond has tension. I was raised there and notice that many Richmond-folk have rose-colored glasses when it comes to racism in particular. If you were black and in the RPD patrol zone, I don't know how you would be surprised that there is tension. Being born in the northeast, I felt like I was the only one in class that realized that confederates actually condoned slavery and that Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson shouldn't share the same holiday as Martin Luther King (and I got looked at like I shouldn't even be questioning this). That is the definition of tension.
That being said...
Louisville isn't any better, go Richmond!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kbank007
I have spent a considerable amount of time in Richmond throughout the past two years and I have lived a large part of my life in the Tidewater area of VA also. I think Richmond is very racially divided overall and I have experienced forms of covert racism on multiple occasions while being in the Richmond area. However, I can't relate to the part about the sisters being stuck up from the area. I actually noticed I receive more unsolicited attention in Richmond than in some other places.
I dig, I ain't knocking you alls experiences. There is a list of places I've been that I've experienced more racial tension than I have in Richmond, but that's my experience. Not saying mine is law!
However, I can't relate to the part about the sisters being stuck up from the area. I actually noticed I receive more unsolicited attention in Richmond than in some other places.
Yeah, I don't know. It's sort of a fashionable place (at least for my age group) and I'm not really into fashion so maybe that was it? Not saying it was bad by any means overall as I was getting love from a few white girls (one punk & one preppy/classy model type to give you an idea of the range) when I was there, but was digging the good looking black girls I was coming up on.
Asian girls were mostly neutral. Didn't see any Latinas so...?
I'd say overall it was about average, just my preference for the girls I kept seeing that I found attractive weren't about it.
By comparison I didn't have any trouble in Minneapolis, which people seem to complain about from a social/dating pov on here.
Usually do well in the south/Miami as well. Only other place that I remember some issue with, though not as much as above is Charleston downtown. N. Charleston black girls & white girls there in general loved me. So...yeah.
Anyway, I only visited. Probably a different story if I actually lived there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
