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At a guess, I do think you'll like Richmond. It will feel much bigger than Louisville, though not so big as philly. Personally, I don't miss Boston.
No substitute for visiting though...
Richmond feel bigger than Louisville? That's laughable. For one, Richmond is smaller in every measurable category, and that could not be further from the truth. Louisville also has SUBSTANTIALLY more gays and I am sure more Jews too.
It sounds like Jessem is just having a bad run lately. You can run into absent minded folks anywhere.
Richmond feel bigger than Louisville? That's laughable. For one, Richmond is smaller in every measurable category, and that could not be further from the truth. Louisville also has SUBSTANTIALLY more gays and I am sure more Jews too.
It sounds like Jessem is just having a bad run lately. You can run into absent minded folks anywhere.
The geographic feeling of a city isn't as important IMO. My friend who was born and raised in KY lived in Raleigh this summer. Raleigh is not much smaller than Louisville. In fact, I just checked. Louisville is the 43rd largest MSA, Raleigh 44th, and Richmond 45th. Raleigh has so many people from the Northeast that she felt as though it had a bigger city feeling to it. As in people's experiences and backgrounds and interests were more varied and diverse. Being part of the Research Triangle, she ran into many more educated and driven people
I do enjoy Louisville, but it sometimes feels small because the people are not as worldly and diverse geographically. With so many people born and raised in Louisville and surrounding areas, it seems like everyone knows each other and barely anyone has any desire to leave the state. My school's career office is having trouble helping my friend and I find jobs out of state because they're honestly not used to students wanting to leave the state.
Also, I would be applying to the state of KY for jobs if our capital wasn't Frankfort. It's a hell of a commute from Louisville and field offices aren't really much of an option as an entry level worker. I also have not seen any postings for law clerk jobs in Louisville either.
Definitely not opposed to it! But I'm worried about the COL and so many law schools concentrated there in not that big of a city. Definitely considering the MA AG's office and City of Boston though. Honestly not that opposed to any sizable, urban, old east city.
Make anything under 100k/yr and your poor there. Although I never hit 100k I was in the 90's my last couple years there and we lived in a crap apt (but in a nice neighborhood) and live paycheck to paycheck without a lot of debt. The competition there is beyond insane and unless you know some people (or went to the right school) it's an uphill battle. You don't want to go anywhere near the MA AG, she's just shy of being dragged out and burned right now and the whole state including the elected officials are against her right now. Not sure what being a lawyer for the city would be like but I'd assume it would be an underpaid position. A huge chunk of my family is police and city employee's it's not what it's cracked up to be. Private Sector is where all the $$$ is.
The geographic feeling of a city isn't as important IMO. My friend who was born and raised in KY lived in Raleigh this summer. Raleigh is not much smaller than Louisville. In fact, I just checked. Louisville is the 43rd largest MSA, Raleigh 44th, and Richmond 45th. Raleigh has so many people from the Northeast that she felt as though it had a bigger city feeling to it. As in people's experiences and backgrounds and interests were more varied and diverse. Being part of the Research Triangle, she ran into many more educated and driven people
I do enjoy Louisville, but it sometimes feels small because the people are not as worldly and diverse geographically. With so many people born and raised in Louisville and surrounding areas, it seems like everyone knows each other and barely anyone has any desire to leave the state. My school's career office is having trouble helping my friend and I find jobs out of state because they're honestly not used to students wanting to leave the state.
Also, I would be applying to the state of KY for jobs if our capital wasn't Frankfort. It's a hell of a commute from Louisville and field offices aren't really much of an option as an entry level worker. I also have not seen any postings for law clerk jobs in Louisville either.
But come on Jesse...Richmond "worldly" compared to Louisville? I am not buying it. I personally think Louisville feels bigger since its urban core IS bigger. That said, these are nearly identical cities in size, arts, restaurants, culture, etc. There are very few US cities that could be considered so similar. Both have lots of festivals, are experiencing a recent boom, and both fly "under" the radar.
Louisville has tons of transplants too. I think your posts lately seemed to be tainted by a couple "local yokels" who may have pissed you off.
Moving from Louisville to Richmond is at best a lateral move, and at worse, it could be possibly more provincial
But come on Jesse...Richmond "worldly" compared to Louisville? I am not buying it. I personally think Louisville feels bigger since its urban core IS bigger. That said, these are nearly identical cities in size, arts, restaurants, culture, etc. There are very few US cities that could be considered so similar. Both have lots of festivals, are experiencing a recent boom, and both fly "under" the radar.
Louisville has tons of transplants too. I think your posts lately seemed to be tainted by a couple "local yokels" who may have pissed you off.
Moving from Louisville to Richmond is at best a lateral move, and at worse, it could be possibly more provincial
I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding in this thread, but OP, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I think some people are assuming that the OP is asking whether he should move to Richmond in the absence of any other factors (i.e., whether he should move for the city itself). I don't think that's the question the OP is asking. My understanding is that the OP is asking about whether he would like Richmond well enough if he finds a job here that works for him. That is, he would be moving for the job rather than moving for the destination and wants to know whether Richmond the city will get in the way of his happiness. I think the answer to whether he could be happy here given a good job is probably "yes" based on what he's said so far.
Whether the OP would like Louisville or any other city slightly more than Richmond is irrelevant if he doesn't have a good job option in Louisville and he does in Richmond, right? If he has good job offers in multiple places, then maybe the destination question is more important (and if that's the case, then he should probably visit).
I haven't visited Louisville but I've heard good things. One thing that I really like about Richmond's small urban core is that if you live within the city limits, you're really never more than 10-15 minutes away from anything else going on in the city (I'm not counting anything that might go on in the suburbs - but even then, you're only 20-30 mins away at most). I guess my only point is that there are benefits to having a small urban core. :-)
I'm sure there are other threads on this, but I feel like my situation is always a little bit more unique so I'm going to ask. If you guys can think of any threads that I could read up on to help, I'll be more than happy to read those and not make you rewrite your responses lol.
I'm currently in the job application process in my last year of law school. Found openings in Richmond obviously since I'm interested in government. I lived in Philly that past summer and fell in love. I love the urbanness, the vibrancy, the people (I prefer the upfront honest Northeast personality over the polite Midwest/South/West Coast), the vibe, the food, the walkability, the history, the old buildings, just absolutely everything about it. I'm applying for jobs there too, but I want to broaden my geographic limits of applying for the most possibilities.
I'll be 25 next summer when I move there. Outgoing very liberal single gay male. Not hippie or hipster style. Just a typical gay male from SoCal. Born and raised in LA. Never fit in with the typical gay community though.
Do you think I would enjoy living in Richmond? It looks beautiful. I want to live in an old east coast city with history, historic buildings, old narrow cobblestone streets, etc. where I can walk a lot of places. A real downtown where people gather after work for happy hours and where there is a significant concentration of bars/clubs. I don't like how in LA all the nightlife is so spread out. I like bar hopping. I've been spoiled with food options growing up in CA, Louisville is a foodie city, and Philly is too. Having a wide variety of food options is required. I'm the furthest thing from a suburbanite one can get. I do have some pretty strong political opinions. I will keep them to myself usually, but after living in Louisville, I've realized it's hard for me to befriend far right wing individuals.
I always encourage people who are looking to move somewhere to spend a weekend in the city if at all possible. There's only so much you can see and do in even a small-to-midsize city like Richmond in a weekend, but it should be enough to give you a feel for the place and see if you like it.
With that said, I think you'd like Richmond. If you're looking for an old east coast city with history, you'll get it here. In particular you'd probably love the Fan, Museum District, and Church Hill neighborhoods, which are made up primarily of 19th century houses and have a very genteel, "old South" vibe to them.
As far as the social life, it's going to pale in comparison to a top-5 city like Philly or LA but there's plenty to do. If you're outdoorsy there's lots of parks, whitewater rafting/kayaking on the James River that runs through the city, nearby hiking trails, and the Capital Bike Trail that runs from Richmond to Williamsburg. Richmond punches way above it's weight in regard to the food and beer scene, with several local breweries and a huge amount of quality restaurants, a few of which are James Beard semifinalists. I can't speak on the gay scene - it's undoubtedly smaller than Philly's or LA's but I know there's a VA Pride event every fall where the community comes out, and there are a few gay bars/clubs in town. You also have DC two hours (if traffic isn't bad...) to the north if Richmond is too small/insular. Most of the nightlife in town revolves around Shockoe Bottom, which is more clubby, the Fan where you've got lots of great neighborhood bars and restaurants, and Carytown, which has a ton of local/independent shops/restaurants/bars. Downtown, which is likely where you'd work if you're trying to get into BigLaw, is unfortunately kind of a dead zone, but the nearby Jackson and Monroe Wards are also becoming nightlife spots as those neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying.
If you're into arts/music there are a few live music venues - the National and the Broadberry are two of the biggest. There are also two performing arts venues - the Altria Theatre and the Carpenter Theatre get Broadway shows, comedy acts etc. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is also a gem and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is well-known for its fine arts program which puts on shows and performances too.
Politics-wise, the city of Richmond is deep-blue, especially with VCU at the heart of the city. There's no shortage of hipster/hippie types, but there's a mix of people all over the city. Conversely, the suburbs tend to be quite conservative (these are the folks that threw out Eric Cantor for being too moderate) but in general I'd say most people in Richmond (locals/natives at least), regardless of politics, fit the Southern stereotype of being polite to your face even if they don't like you in private, which as you mentioned may be a negative in your book.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling but I do think Richmond has a lot to offer, especially for a city of its size.
The downtown area between Grace Street and down to Main street is really starting to pickup with Capital Ale house, Penny Lane, Kabana, Rappahannock, Wong Gonzalez, Pasture, Julep's, Richmond Center Stage etc. starting to bring in crowds.
I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding in this thread, but OP, please correct me if I'm wrong.
I think some people are assuming that the OP is asking whether he should move to Richmond in the absence of any other factors (i.e., whether he should move for the city itself). I don't think that's the question the OP is asking. My understanding is that the OP is asking about whether he would like Richmond well enough if he finds a job here that works for him. That is, he would be moving for the job rather than moving for the destination and wants to know whether Richmond the city will get in the way of his happiness. I think the answer to whether he could be happy here given a good job is probably "yes" based on what he's said so far.
Whether the OP would like Louisville or any other city slightly more than Richmond is irrelevant if he doesn't have a good job option in Louisville and he does in Richmond, right? If he has good job offers in multiple places, then maybe the destination question is more important (and if that's the case, then he should probably visit).
I haven't visited Louisville but I've heard good things. One thing that I really like about Richmond's small urban core is that if you live within the city limits, you're really never more than 10-15 minutes away from anything else going on in the city (I'm not counting anything that might go on in the suburbs - but even then, you're only 20-30 mins away at most). I guess my only point is that there are benefits to having a small urban core. :-)
That's definitely it. I'm just trying to broaden my options. Since I'm interested in government work (even though it pays far less), capital cities are often where my job options will be strongest. Frankfort is KY's capital and not a great city whatsoever. And since I want to be on the east coast, I've started looking into other options. Richmond is one of the few capital cities on the east coast that seems like it could fit what I'm looking for. Harrisburg is not somewhere I could see myself. Trenton is...well...Trenton and commuting from any other true urban area in NJ is a nightmare. Delaware is too small and you have to live in the state you work in, so living in Philly and commuting is not an option. Albany isn't somewhere I'd be happy to live in, but I think I could handle it for a bit. Richmond seems way better though. Hartford...not for me. Providence is an option. Boston is besides the COL.
Besides state level, I'll also be taking a look at city level government jobs like a DA's office or something in the bigger non-capital cities like Philly, Baltimore, etc.
The reason I asked about Richmond is because it seems to be one of the best capital cities to live and work in on the east coast. With Richmond also being a sizable city, there could be some options for city level work as well. In Louisville, I can only get city level employment since commuting to Frankfort is not something I want to do everyday. It's at least 45 minutes without traffic. And there is absolutely nowhere to live near Frankfort.
As for government vs. private sector, yeah private sector has the money, but I've interned with both sides. I liked the government side more. Can't exactly say why, but it felt more my style. Less cutthroat, more relaxed, more people caring about their work rather than their salary and getting new client. In government, clients often come to you so you don't have that added stress haha
But come on Jesse...Richmond "worldly" compared to Louisville? I am not buying it. I personally think Louisville feels bigger since its urban core IS bigger. That said, these are nearly identical cities in size, arts, restaurants, culture, etc. There are very few US cities that could be considered so similar. Both have lots of festivals, are experiencing a recent boom, and both fly "under" the radar.
Louisville has tons of transplants too. I think your posts lately seemed to be tainted by a couple "local yokels" who may have pissed you off.
Moving from Louisville to Richmond is at best a lateral move, and at worse, it could be possibly more provincial
This is incorrect. I'm an urbanite. I've lived in Miami, New York, London, Boston, Denver, DC, SF and others. Richmond was on my list, and plenty of people I know from the above visit me while going through Richmond. It's now the bottom of the northeastern corridor. Louisville is outside my orbit.
I have a friend who has an office in Louisville that reports to him. He goes there sometimes. He likes it. As a Manhattanite, he doesn't think it compares to Richmond.
While I'm sure Louisville has a number of nice things, if you are judging by size, you probably wouldn't understand. For example, Jacksonville and several other large Florida cities are much larger, but don't compare to RVA in terms of urbanity. Either its obvious, or its impossible to explain.
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