Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock
I know. It seems strange doesn't it? And it's not even close. Its almost insulting. Indy metro has about 800,000 more people than Richmond metro and Indy city limits has about 4 times as many people as Richmond. I don't believe for a minute that Richmond has so much more to offer than Indianapolis does, in terms of criteria for this particular thread. With the exceptions of Chicago and Minneapolis, the Midwest cities, and Indy in particular, tend to not do so well in these City Data polls when pitted against cities from other regions. There is alot of bias against Indianapolis and the Midwest in these C-D Forums.
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This post displays a porous lack of knowledge of what is offered in Richmond, and at any rate, the thread isn't asking if Richmond has "so much more" to offer than Indianapolis, because it doesn't...
Per 2015 Census Estimates, Greater Richmond has about 718,000 fewer people than Greater Indianapolis. That's barely 700k rather than "almost" 800k and anyway, you're only indignant because you don't realize that Richmond is a city that largely carries the amenities of cities in the next tier up....Indianapolis would be considered the next tier up from Richmond. Not really hard to believe Richmond fits into that tier:
Quality of Life:
Based on, what? A lot of people define this differently. The quality of life is a culmination of the other categories, more or less...
Nightlife:
I'll take a shot in the dark and say they are equal here. When I was in Indy I didn't experience the nightlife. Downtown looked rather dead in the evening, but in fairness, there are people who've been to Richmond and weren't in a nightlife area so that left an impression. Neither of these two cities have renowned nightlife so the best assumption is that they are probably equal. Live music/dance clubs/gay clubs/bars/lounges/theatres; you'd expect Indy to have more because it is bigger, but Richmond is capable here...
Scenery:
It's gotta be Richmond here. Richmond is in a geographically better setting, and is just a prettier city with better and more enticing architecture. This one is easy...
Recreation:
Richmond's Park Score 2016 wallops Indianapolis by almost double. According to Park Score Richmond's population has better access to parks and better access to parks by income, and better facilities and investment...
ParkScore
Richmond has recreational islands, better bike trails and the James River. I'd say Richmond wins this category rather handily...
Arts:
Of the premier art museums in both cities, the IMA appears to offer a more extensive collection of art. Yet, the VMFA has higher average attendance (465k to IMA's 428k) which is an indicator on the draw to arts in both cities, being that Indy is so much bigger. And the VMFA is renown amongst smaller art museums for being one of the best in the nation, probably for its consistent and diverse period pieces and shows...
US News gives the VMFA a marginally higher ranking (4.7 to 4.5). Other reviews of both include Trip Advisor (VMFA 5.0, IMA 4.5) and Yelp (VMFA 4.8, IMA 4.5). Clearly, the museums are on roughly equal footing but the fact that a city with "almost 800,00" fewer people has higher attendance to its premier museum, coupled with professional and personal rankings consistently higher than IMA (even if only slightly so), kinda speaks to which city's arts culture has more interest, doesn't it?
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Reviews | U.S.News Travel
Indianapolis Museum of Art Reviews | U.S.News Travel
Besides that, I don't Indianapolis has a reputation for being a creative or artsy city. Richmond does, and is. Indy has nothing by comparison to the breadth and influence of VCU School of Arts. Richmond has more museums per capita. Richmond has public street art and murals that blow away Indy. Richmond's architecture blows away Indy. The performing arts venues are roughly equal in both--again, this would be advantage Richmond since it's so much smaller. This just isn't a category Indy does well in against this city. Most indicators on every facet of art seem to agree that Richmond is stronger...
Food:
I think both cities have been mentioned as rising stars in the culinary scene? Although Richmond was never recognized as a city with the most chain restaurants per capita like Indianapolis was, at one point. I'd lean towards Richmond here, but won't make a declaration...
Shopping:
All other things being seemingly equal (local boutiques, malls), it's hard to beat a mall in the middle of downtown. Advantage Indianapolis...
Entertainment:
Again, probably advantage Indianapolis. The allure of pro sports wins. Things like theater and arts are entertaining too, and Richmond more than holds its own here, but the sports thing is too much...
Transportation:
Indianapolis has a better freeway and bike share system. Richmond's commuter rail to the NEC is a plus. I've flown/been in both airports since 2011. Both are growing and much better than they were 10+ years ago. Richmond is the busiest airport in VA outside of the DC-area airports and it's location to those airports is the primary reason it has lower traffic, not because it's a crappy airport. The airports are on relatively even standing, although it can be argued that Rich has more transportation and air options. Both seem to have good public transit in-city, though not great...
Vibe of city and people:
Too loaded a question that's completely subjective to personality and interest. I won't say any city is better but I'm not fond of the Midwestern atmosphere and countenance. That's just me, though...
Urbanity:
Richmond wins this pretty handily. Denser city with higher peak densities, more urban neighborhoods, shorter skyline but is more compact and more concrete. Richmond is so much more walkable over a much larger area. Indianapolis only has a public transportation score of 24, per Walk Score 2016, and just 41 on bike score. Richmond is vastly more urban...
Metro Area:
Not sure how to call this. I'm more familiar with the southern Indy metro than the northern ones. Tie here?
Economy:
Indianapolis' GDP is about $60 billion higher than Richmond's and a higher GDP growth rate. Lower unemployment rate as of December '16 (3.9 to 3.6), higher job growth (1.9 to 0.7). Indy is much less impoverished...
Richmond does have a wider and more diverse economy, and has nearly triple the F500 companies. Richmond has the higher median income, higher family income and the higher GDP per capita. This is a city with more concentrated wealth:
Richmond Virginia Household Income | Department of Numbers
Indianapolis Indiana Household Income | Department of Numbers
Tie?
.....
As you can see, this comparison is nowhere near as "strange" as you'd think on first glance. Anybody who's been to both would come away with a similar impression. Indy feels like a bigger city, that much is true, but doesn't feel like a city that has a hell of a lot more going on than RVA...
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