Richmond folks, tell me why i should choose richmond over say the dmv(dc burbs) (home, utilities)

[daboywonder2002]

ok i wanna relocate and ive narrowed it down to south jersey(philly suburbs), the dmv(aka the dc suburbs) and richmond, va. i prefer to live in the suburbs but be close enough to the city where i can still enjoy myself. what does richmond offer that south jersey or the dmv would not?

[Teebyrd86]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

ok i wanna relocate and ive narrowed it down to south jersey(philly suburbs), the dmv(aka the dc suburbs) and richmond, va. i prefer to live in the suburbs but be close enough to the city where i can still enjoy myself. what does richmond offer that south jersey or the dmv would not?

Out of the three Richmond offers a lower cost of living, more southern style charm,friendlier people,less busy rush, and cool historic sites. Richmond is a nice place to live but DMV has a lot of advantages IMHO being close to D.C. and lots of concerts,sporting and cultural events. Not too familiar with Philly. I am a Richmond native who now lives in Northern Va. if you have any specific questions just PM me.. ill try to answer.

[RVAtoCNC]

Originally Posted by daboywonder2002

ok i wanna relocate and ive narrowed it down to south jersey(philly suburbs), the dmv(aka the dc suburbs) and richmond, va. i prefer to live in the suburbs but be close enough to the city where i can still enjoy myself. what does richmond offer that south jersey or the dmv would not?

1. Climate - Richmond has a noticeably warmer climate than either NVA and especially Philly
2. Proximity to downtown - you can live in a nice, safe, much less expensive home or apt. and be 5 - 20 min. from downtown - can't do that in Philly or NVA
3. Much lower cost of living - housing costs, taxes, food, gas, utilities - basically everything is cheaper here vs. NVA or Philly.

[Teebyrd86]

One thing to keep an open mind on is that even though the cost of living in Richmond is cheaper the pay rate is much higher in Nova so it acts as a balanceing act.

[ric75]

If you consider yourself an outdoor person and prefer a more accessible city, then Richmond would be the place for you. Less traffic, shorter commutes, less bustle and stress. The City itself has many access points to the James River Park system so if you mountain bike, trail run, kayak, or fish that would be a great benefit. Plenty of good food and some great history and architecture though of course not on the scale of Philly or DC.

[GoPhils]

The biggest advantage of Richmond is probably the climate. I live in Baltimore now and when we were getting 20 inches of snow I think Richmond got about 4 (although the people there still thought the world was ending). It also definitely has the Southern charm to it, although in my experiences the people in Philadelphia are friendly as well. DC suburbs not so much.

If it makes a difference to you, obviously DC and Philadelphia are much bigger cities, with more to do and major professional sports teams. All Richmond has are the Flying Squirrels, although the games are affordable and fun. But because Richmond is smaller it is a little easier to navigate and there is less traffic. Similarly, the public transportation isn't much to write home about.

Richmond probably does have the lowest cost of living of the three, but other than the taxes, South Jersey is actually very affordable considering the convenience of getting to Philadelphia, you just have to pay $4 to cross the bridge. Compared to North Jersey, South Jersey is much less expensive.

South Jersey also has the easiest access to the ocean (about an hour from Philly so probably even closer depending where you are in NJ). I think it's about 2 hours from Richmond to VA Beach and almost 3 hours from DC to OCMD or some of the Delaware beaches.

[ShannonMilligan]

We are leaving NOVA for Richmond...Building a home in the burbs of Richmond. Cost of living here in Nova is insane.

[BigMike50]

^^^^ All of the above

[VA Yankee]

If you pick Richmond you won't have the stigma of saying your from "Jersey"....

[ClarkStreetKid]

...but you will have to learn how to use capital letters.