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Definitely DON'T even think about Richmond, VA. Wipe that from your brain right now. If you are a beach lover, it's 2 hours to VA beach, and trust me when I say that's too far! You won't be able to take evening strolls along the coastline, or workout by riding your bike or running in the sand, you won't smell the ocean, hear the cry of the seagulls, and stare at the beautiful majestic sea, or hear the waves crash, or smell the salty sea air in Richmond, VA. And no, the river is DEFINITELY not the same! Especially if you are a beach lover, then the river can never take the place of the ocean....period.
2. Stuff to do in Richmond compared to San Diego: Forget it! Richmond is a conservative, culturaless, snotty, closed minded town compared to San Diego. In San Diego, your nights are far more alive and vibrant than over here. According to my friends in the military who are stationed in VA Beach but from San Diego, they hate it over here. They hate how ignorant the east coast folk are compared to the west coast. Yes, we don't accept gays as well, yes there is alot more racism, yes there is less acceptance of cultural variety. Overall, this side of town if very ignorant and closed minded to differences compared to a place like San Diego. People don't people watch, people don't flirt, people are cliquish and closeminded and stick to who they already know. I'm sure some Richmonder will argue with me here, but I am right because I have lived in and been all over the USA and other countries. That is how this place is when you compare it to a place like San Diego or say...Miami where people are always trying to stare at or meet other new people.
I don't know anything about Baltimore. Charleston is going to be your typical white bread, conservative town. It is small, and there isn't much to do compared to San Diego. But it is beautiful, cheap and relaxed. Also, no matter where you go from Virginia on down the east coast, you will always have to deal with HOT and HUMID summers. I don't mind these summers so long as I have the ocean to cool off in, and it has to be the ocean, not the stupid, dirty river in Richmond.
For a person like yourself who loves San Diego, I would either stay there and find a quieter, less party like area to live in, or move to the southern part of Florida and also find a quieter, less party like area to live in. Or maybe even consider some part of Texas (I don't know, I've never been there). But you aren't going to find variety, cultural difference and acceptance, a vibrant and alive nightlife in VA Beach, and definitely not Richmond.
As far as crime goes, and on a positive note, Richmond actually has areas that are completely safe, such as Glen Allen, Henrico County, Midlothian. In VA Beach, bad neighborhoods are pretty wide spread and almost all of VA Beach is like this: the bad neighborhoods are next to or always close by the good ones. Consider Princess Anne, Dam Neck, Holland, Lynnhaven areas of VA Beach to live in, they are mostly nice. Don't live accross the bridge in Hampton or Newport news. The drive is a long one to the beach, and traffic over the bridge you have to cross to get to the beach is almost always horrendously backed up. It's not worth it for the less money you pay to have a house on the west side of the bridge.
What do I like about VA Beach? I like the ocean, I like the military presence. The military atleasts brings SOME variety to the area as you get to meet people from all over the USA and other countries..people who are open minded and more like Californians, lol.
Hope this helps you make a decision. Please consider that no matter where you go, there will always be crime. Just try to find a safe neighborhood to live in that is atleast a decent distance away from the 'hood.
I honestly think that based on your preferences that you should stay in San Diego, or move to another part of the California coast line, or consider Florida. No place is going to be perfect, sometimes you have to make sacrifices, but remember to weigh the positives and negatives of a place, and you will find where you belong.
Definitely DON'T even think about Richmond, VA. Wipe that from your brain right now. If you are a beach lover, it's 2 hours to VA beach, and trust me when I say that's too far! You won't be able to take evening strolls along the coastline, or workout by riding your bike or running in the sand, you won't smell the ocean, hear the cry of the seagulls, and stare at the beautiful majestic sea, or hear the waves crash, or smell the salty sea air in Richmond, VA. And no, the river is DEFINITELY not the same! Especially if you are a beach lover, then the river can never take the place of the ocean....period.
2. Stuff to do in Richmond compared to San Diego: Forget it! Richmond is a conservative, culturaless, snotty, closed minded town compared to San Diego. In San Diego, your nights are far more alive and vibrant than over here. According to my friends in the military who are stationed in VA Beach but from San Diego, they hate it over here. They hate how ignorant the east coast folk are compared to the west coast. Yes, we don't accept gays as well, yes there is alot more racism, yes there is less acceptance of cultural variety. Overall, this side of town if very ignorant and closed minded to differences compared to a place like San Diego. People don't people watch, people don't flirt, people are cliquish and closeminded and stick to who they already know. I'm sure some Richmonder will argue with me here, but I am right because I have lived in and been all over the USA and other countries. That is how this place is when you compare it to a place like San Diego or say...Miami where people are always trying to stare at or meet other new people.
As far as crime goes, and on a positive note, Richmond actually has areas that are completely safe, such as Glen Allen, Henrico County, Midlothian.
In the defense of Richmond:
It's true that I, as a Richmonder, hardly ever travel to VA Beach. This is probably because it's not worth traveling to when the river is just down the road! You can even drink on the river in plain view of the police and they will leave you alone (something you won't be able to do at VA Beach).
Richmond is not as conservative as you are trying to project it to be. I used to live in San Francisco and find that Richmond is just as charming, (not quite as liberal, but I'd call Richmond moderately liberal), it has more culture than San Francisco as it is about 300 years older. It is also far less conservative than the Hampton Roads area. While it's true that Richmond is a smaller city than say, San Diego or San Francisco, that doesn't mean that the 'party spirit' isn't here. Richmonders actually LOVE to party from what I have experienced. There are tons of bars (it's not very big on the dance/club/rave scene, but then again neither was SF) to go to, and they're usually very cheap!
Downtown Richmond also has a large young student population, adding to it's vitality and night life. Many of VCU's, UofR's, VUU's, and VSU's students stay in Richmond after graduation so there are a lot of young people in their 20s here as well (again, something you will not find in VA Beach).
And to give you some exact numbers on just how "conservative" Richmond is compared to VA Beach: 79% of Richmond voters voted for Obama in 2008 compared to 49% of voters in VA Beach, and 54% of voters in San Diego...
hey hate how ignorant the east coast folk are compared to the west coast. Yes, we don't accept gays as well, yes there is alot more racism, yes there is less acceptance of cultural variety. Overall, this side of town if very ignorant and closed minded to differences compared to a place like San Diego. People don't people watch, people don't flirt, people are cliquish and closeminded and stick to who they already know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RVA-Jsn20
And to give you some exact numbers on just how "conservative" Richmond is compared to VA Beach: 79% of Richmond voters voted for Obama in 2008 compared to 49% of voters in VA Beach, and 54% of voters in San Diego...
I feel like I should address the snooty way you and lady 8506 have called the area 'conservative' (as if it is necessarily a bad thing) in your last few posts.
First off, Richmond is 58% African American, and 97% (basically all) of African Americans voted for Obama. So by definition, at least 56% of richmond voted for Obama by default. The rest of the community was basically split. I'm not judging it, just stating the facts. About 95% of detroit residents voted for Obama, does that make it a nice place to live? I really fail to see the logic of this argument.
Secondly, what is the obsession with liberal vs conservative? It is just a generalization. Clearly you equate one as "good" and the other as "bad" but that is really not the case. I am in an interracial marriage in Hampton Roads and have had no issues. I have openly gay friends in HR and they aren't harassed by anyone. Certainly there is not the large, open, gay community that there is other more 'liberal' places... but it is not like you are gonna be run out of town either. Most folks live and let live around here. Furthermore, I don't recall the original poster telling us their political affiliations so why would you assume one or the other anyways?
To RVA-Jsn20: I am not sure where you are getting your assumptions about the beach from but they couldn't be further from the truth. I seriously doubt you have lived in Virginia Beach or visited very often. By contrast, my mother lives in Richmond 3 months out of the year for work and I am very familiar with the downtown area. Richmond is a very cool city, with a vibrant music scene, a lot of culture, and a lot of young people. But an oceanfront community it is not.
As for drinking at the beach in HR... I drink on the beach all the time, it is a non-issue. There are tons of beaches on the bay, the rivers, the north end, or even the south side of sandbridge where locals hang out and people go with the flow. In fact, there are probably more miles of waterfront here, per unit area, than almost any other place in the country. Nobody who actually lives here goes down to the strip in the summer anyways, which is the one place the cops might harass you about that.
I feel like I should address the snooty way you have called the area 'conservative' (as if it is necessarily a bad thing) in your last few posts.
First off, Richmond is 58% African American, and 97% (basically all) of African Americans voted for Obama. So by definition, at least 56% of richmond voted for Obama by default. The rest of the community was basically split. I'm not judging it, just stating the facts. About 95% of detroit residents voted for Obama, does that make it a nice place to live? I really fail to see the logic of this argument.
Secondly, what is the obsession with liberal vs conservative? It is just a generalization. Clearly you equate one as "good" and the other as "bad" but that is really not the case. I am in an interracial marriage in Hampton Roads and have had no issues. I have openly gay friends in HR and they aren't harassed by anyone. Certainly there is not the large, open, gay community that there is other more 'liberal' places... but it is not like you are gonna be run out of town either. Most folks live and let live around here. Furthermore, I don't recall the original poster telling us their political affiliations so why would you assume one or the other anyways?
Third, I am not sure where you are getting your assumptions about the beach from but they couldn't be further from the truth. I seriously doubt you have lived in Virginia Beach or visited very often. By contrast, my mother lives in Richmond 3 months out of the year for work and I am very familiar with the downtown area. Richmond is a very cool city, with a vibrant music scene, a lot of culture, and a lot of young people. But an oceanfront community it is not.
As for drinking at the beach in HR... I drink on the beach all the time, it is a non-issue. There are tons of beaches on the bay, the rivers, the north end, or even the south side of sandbridge where locals hang out and people go with the flow. In fact, there are probably more miles of waterfront here, per unit area, than almost any other place in the country. Nobody who actually lives here goes down to the strip in the summer anyways, which is the one place the cops might harass you about that.
Rant over....
On the contrary I was born in VA Beach. And I didn't bring up a liberal/conservative argument, I was responding to another persons post. And what does it matter if one is black or not? It doesn't change the fact that Richmond is clearly more liberal than Hampton Roads (which is a concern of the OP, not of me). On top of this, your assumption that 100% of the african american vote turned out in 2008, is very untrue (I'm not denying that 9/10 black voters voted for Obama, I'm just pointing out that not all black people voted). I would expect more from a supposed university graduate.
Last edited by RVA-Jsn20; 07-22-2010 at 03:02 PM..
I'm a little confused as to why you're considering Norfolk among cities like DC, Baltimore and Boston. If you don't want to leave San Diego for a smaller city/town then I recommend not choosing VA Beach or Norfolk, it's more conservative with an incredibly large military presence. I think you'd be disappointed there. Why not downtown Richmond, VA?
Although I agree Richmond should be considered since he/she seems to be looking at other Mid-Atlantic cities, Virginia Beach and Norfolk are both more populated cities than Richmond, and with the way Southside Hampton Roads runs together they can feel even bigger. I wouldn't consider them small towns, even when compared to SD.
Richmond is a great city though, imo. It's not as crime-ridden as Bmore and DC (but more crime than Norfolk), but just as urban in many neighborhoods. Like others have mentioned, it's a great half-way point between DC and the Beach, and it also experiences every season. Fall in Richmond is especially beautiful.
I'd say there's more going in Richmond than Hampton Roads, but they're pretty close together so it's not too big of a deal if you find yourself spending time in both areas for activities.
If I were you, I'd look closely at Richmond or DC. I enjoy Baltimore as well, but crime is a serious problem there. I'm sure Boston would be great too, but I hear the Winters are brutal and I'm under the impression that Boston is more expensive than the other cities you mentioned (I could be wrong though).
On the contrary I was born in VA Beach. And I didn't bring up a liberal/conservative argument, I was responding to another persons post. And what does it matter if one is black or not? It doesn't change the fact that Richmond is clearly more liberal than Hampton Roads (which is a concern of the OP, not of me). On top of this, your assumption that 100% of the african american vote turned out in 2008, is very untrue (I'm not denying that 9/10 black voters voted for Obama, I'm just pointing out that not all black people voted). I would expect more from a supposed university graduate.
To be factual, you were the first to mention conservative and put it in a negative light, the OP did not even mention the word liberal or conservative. Do a search for the word conservative on the first page of the thread, your post is the only one that comes up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RVA-Jsn20
I'm a little confused as to why you're considering Norfolk among cities like DC, Baltimore and Boston. If you don't want to leave San Diego for a smaller city/town then I recommend not choosing VA Beach or Norfolk, it's more conservative with an incredibly large military presence. I think you'd be disappointed there. Why not downtown Richmond, VA?
It is not an assumption that African American voters came out in record numbers for the 2008 election or that upwards of 95% of African Americans stated in exit polls that they voted for Obama. I don't have a problem with it, I am just stating the facts. Showing voting percentages as evidence of a liberal city in a heavily AA community skews your statistics and doesn't make any argument for Richmond being 'liberal' in the way you are trying to portray 'liberal' since polling has also showed that a large majority of AA are against gay marriage, are strongly christian, and are on the conservative side of other 'liberal' issues. Once again. I could care less either way, but I am trying to keep you honest. Perhaps I should ask you to define liberal for us.
Finally, being born here tells nothing about what it is like now. I was born in Japan, I don't know much about how it is now. I lived in Colorado for 6 years when I was a kid, I don't know much about it now. The fact that you don't even know where you can go drink on the beach is suspect to say the least.
It is not an assumption that African American voters came out in record numbers for the 2008 election or that upwards of 95% of African Americans stated in exit polls that they voted for Obama.
That's african americans who voted, my point was that not 100% of african americans went out and voted, it was more like 60%.
That's african americans who voted, my point was that not 100% of african americans went out and voted, it was more like 60%.
Regardless, the way you tried to use those voter statistics was misleading in my opinion. San Francisco is a 'liberal' city, Honolulu is a 'liberal' city, Boulder is a 'liberal' city. I would call both Richmond and HR relatively neutral if you really look at the culture and issues.
Anyway, you may not want Richmond if as you said you're interested in settling down. The schools are bad, and most people send their children to private school if they can afford it. It's become such an issue there were news stories at the start of last school year about people going door to door encouraging people to use the public schools because they had so little money due to a lack of students. If you're worried about resale or having a home long term, settling down and having a family Richmond is not for you.
Regardless, the way you tried to use those voter statistics was misleading in my opinion. San Francisco is a 'liberal' city, Honolulu is a 'liberal' city, Boulder is a 'liberal' city. I would call both Richmond and HR relatively neutral if you really look at the culture and issues.
Are you kidding me? You're the one who said: "First off, Richmond is 58% African American, and 97% (basically all) of African Americans voted for Obama. So by definition, at least 56% of richmond voted for Obama by default."
i'm done trying to reason with you
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