Family moving to Richmond

[sellnhomes]

Dear Bad to the Bone,
As a foreigner myself, and a Relator in Richmond for the past 15 years, I knowMost of the population in the Metro richmond area have come from all over.
This place might not be as diverse as California or NY but despite its bad reputation for being closed minded, most everyone here is friendly and welcoming.
Plus as it was noted in another post, there is a large Muslim population and places of worship in the Midlothian/Southside area.
Please email me if you need any more information or if I can help you [EMAIL="Sellnhomes@comcast.net"]Sellnhomes@comcast.net[/EMAIL]


Note to Ivannet: The problem with those national crime statistics is that in most of the US (in states) Cities are within the counties and they group the crime rates by metro areas. In Virginia (a Commonwealth) The cities are not always in a County. The crime rate is high ONLY in pockets of the actual city limits.

[Pruzhany]

You may want to reconsider the Far West End (Glen Allen, Short Pump) for living as most of the communities and shopping areas are north of the river. The best Hallel meat is there. If you want to find the best grocery, bakery and shish kebob you will need to go to Old Parham Rd (which is currently only one block long). There is nothing wrong with Midlothian and I live about 30 miles west of it. But I travel as least twice a week to these stores plus Whole Foods & Trader Joes which are all within a few miles of each other in the Far West End/West End. (I'm neither Muslim nor Pakistani but I understand the flavoring very well)

[Mike Kane]

Crime stats can be misleading, and it is all in your perspective. Generally there are pockets of higher incidents than others and I think it is a pretty safe place to live.

[AYSHIA2000]

Originally Posted by rvasonicbloom

At the larger corporations in the area, Philip Morris/Altria, Capital One, MWV, Genworth etc, you'll find there are quite a bit of Indian, Arab, Muslim, etc people. I would suggest looking around Broad St. near Parham road. There are a ton of ethnic grocery stores and restaurants in that area, and I'm sure that area is more open to different religion or ethnicities than somewhere on the southside of Richmond. Good luck. Also, smile more, as already said, fight off the ugly people with kindness. This might be a shocker, but for some people in the Richmond area, you, yes you, might be the first Pakistani person they have every met/seen in their life. lol.

We just moved here about a year ago, our son is attending VCU. My husband is Pakistani 53 years old, has worked in retail for many years and bio-med/ factory work, its been very hard for him to find work. As for the companies you mention its so hard to et in there. He has applied many times. Most of the factories here go with temp . places like express/ areotech/ ect... its hard to find work when you are over 50 years being Pakistani and Muslim. Especially since his college degree is over 30 years ago. Anyone know of some place that is hiring that pays more then 10 dollars a hour? cause that's the problem here the pay is so low. Also I am a white American/convert to Islam over 20 years, and I don't cover. I find that most of the Muslim ladies here that are covered, when you say Salaam Alaikum to them , they don't even reply back... just because you aren't covered they judge you!! so I don't even have any friends here, its the same for my husband once they see he is married to a white lady they also act different. We are blessed to be married very happy for over 20 years thank you for any help...

[AYSHIA2000]

We just moved here about a year ago, our son is attending VCU. My husband is Pakistani 53 years old, has worked in retail for many years and bio-med/ factory work, its been very hard for him to find work. As for the companies you mention its so hard to et in there. He has applied many times. Most of the factories here go with temp . places like express/ areotech/ ect... its hard to find work when you are over 50 years being Pakistani and Muslim. Especially since his college degree is over 30 years ago. Anyone know of some place that is hiring that pays more then 10 dollars a hour? cause that's the problem here the pay is so low. Also I am a white American/convert to Islam over 20 years, and I don't cover. I find that most of the Muslim ladies here that are covered, when you say Salaam Alaikum to them , they don't even reply back... just because you aren't covered they judge you!! so I don't even have any friends here, its the same for my husband once they see he is married to a white lady they also act different. We are blessed to be married very happy for over 20 years........... we find these area to be safe and the only place to shop for our hadal food, however its not a Pakistani community, mostly indian, but they always smile at me and are very friendly when we shop there! thank you for any help...

[Blackbird Fly]

First of all welcome to Richmond--we are glad to have you! Virginia, in general and certainly Richmond, is very diverse--with about 1/10 current Virginians being foreign-born. I saw a recent documentary about preserving the Himalayan Brown Bear, a species native to northern Pakistan, and I was struck by the beauty of your country! I certainly hope you will have nothing but a positive experience in Richmond!

[burtonrider3889]

Sorry to hear so many people are so closed minded. There are some bad apples everywhere, but I think you will find Richmond welcoming overall.

[TownAndCountryPerson]

Many people from the Indian subcontinent in the Short Pump area. GL to you.

[PK12]

Richmond has a decent sized Pakistani community, I'd say anywhere from 2,000 - 5,000 people, scattered all over the Richmond metro area. It is not as socially active as the Indian community in the area though.

Move to or make frequent weekend trips to NoVa/DC area in general if you want to be part of an active Pakistani community/social scene.

[confusedprotoplasm]

Coming from a similar background I can assure you that there is a decent sized Pakistani community where you can find friends to your liking. I moved here 4 years ago and was very warmly welcomed by the Pakistani diaspora and otherwise. My wife does not wear the hijab and we are not devout but respect people of all dominions. Do not feel that you are being judged because of your color, please. Reach out to the ICVA and you will see/meet amazing people. The Pakistani physician community(APPNA) in town is very active in the society and warmly embraces people regardless of their religiosity, color or class. You will fit in perfectly, I assure you. Richmond is a gem of a city. We have muliple multiracial families that we are friends with personally. There maybe a few people who may be judgemental but they are very few fortunately. Welcome to RVA! Reach out to these two societies/communities and you will see your friends' circle expanding. Best wishes.