Are People Friendly in Richmond's West End Area?? (Tuckahoe: cliquey, insurance)

[milldill]

Hi. I just finished reading a long post about how unfriendly people from VA are to newcomers (nobody said which city they had a problem in). I am hoping to get another perspective on what people are like in the Tuckahoe school district/area since that is where we are thinking of moving. Now I'm totally scared to relocate if people are not going to be helpful and welcoming. My husband was just in town for business and said everyone was super friendly and nice to him, so basically now I'm just confused. Are people less friendly in the more rural, traditional areas?? If he is working at Circuit City's headquarters, where should we consider living? Any guidance is appreciated!

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Gee, I wish I could answer your question from experience. I'm planning to relocate next year and have been reading this site for 8 months now - overall, I've gotten the impression that in general, people are wonderfully friendly and helpful. It seems that if you come from up north with a hard rough accent looking to change their pace and outlook on life, then maybe you'd be not so well accepted. I do have a friend here in Austria - she is German, and lived on the West End for 5 years because of her husband's work - she is still crying, 4 years later, so misses it so much. She hasn't stopped talking about how wonderful perfect strangers were to her, what a great neighborhood she had (in Wyndam I believe), the school her daughter was in etc. Absolutely loved it. She was even back to visit this year, surprised her old neighbors, and in a day a Bar-B-Q was planned and over 20 people showed up for a grill party for them. She hasn't said one negative thing about her experience there.

I hope this helps - I mean, I'm looking to come myself and again, this isn't from experience. Read the "what's bad about richmond" thread - lots in there. All the best to you!

[milldill]

Thanks for your insight. I have spent a lot of time traveling in the south and have had nothing but positive experiences. I agree that the people who are having issues may have had trouble adjusting to a slower pace - I found this out when living on the west coast as well...most of the country is pretty easy going with the exception of some mid-Atlantic / NE regions (and can say this b/c I lived in Philly for 20 years). Good luck to you!

[AHR]

we moved from the NorthCarolina a year ago,lived for one year in the fan area(Richmond),two weeks after we moved we got broken into(at 11 am) and the rubbers took every thing I mean every thing they cleaned our apt out even our foor they took,Richmond is not a safe place to live and people are awful not friendly,lots of crimes and worst of all Racasam and discremanation every where,we got over charged by the city utility for almost $1700, we got a refund after a year but it wasnt easy,job market sucks here
insurance is high,cost of living is high,I though to my self
it's only two hours and a half away, but it's like a another
third world country.this has been our experiance here.

[richmondpics]

I'm trying to decipher this...

"Rubbers" stole your (what I think is supposed to be) floor???

[blippo]

I live in the West End. I moved here 23 years ago from PA. Let me tell you, people are very nice in the West End. People in Richmond are very nice. If you find any unfriendly people here, chances are they came from out of state.

[jhrichmond]

Originally Posted by AHR

we moved from the NorthCarolina a year ago,lived for one year in the fan area(Richmond),two weeks after we moved we got broken into(at 11 am) and the rubbers took every thing I mean every thing they cleaned our apt out even our foor they took,Richmond is not a safe place to live and people are awful not friendly,lots of crimes and worst of all Racasam and discremanation every where,we got over charged by the city utility for almost $1700, we got a refund after a year but it wasnt easy,job market sucks here
insurance is high,cost of living is high,I though to my self
it's only two hours and a half away, but it's like a another
third world country.this has been our experiance here.

I am literally crying I am laughing so hard. I live in Midlothian, but know lots of friendly people from the West End.

[Pogo1288]

Don't believe the nay-sayers. Richmond is a great place to live and work. I think as a whole you'll find people are very friendly. The West End of Richmond is no different. You'll find many wonderful communities, peopled with families like your own, that moved there from somewhere else, whether as a result of a job relocation, seeking excellent schools for their children (and themselves) and finding much too offer in the way of cultural and recreational activities.

[redell]

While excusing the typos by AHR, I agree with some of what he/she mentioned regarding high cost of living, crime, utilities, taxes, etc. These are real concerns when you have lived in other places which differ considerably. There are some things that need to be considered when reading someone's post because everyone's experience is different, and I am sure the experiences are more relevant to whether a person is red, blue, white, brown, or purple as well as their profession and lifestyle. I also see from reading multitudes of posts regarding different southern cities/states, there are different perceptions of what diversity means. Richmond does have much to offer, but I also believe that college graduates should be able to afford to live here.

[MisnSoFL]

In general, people are cliquey and not friendly here. I can't wait to move due to the unfriendly people.