Is living in Richmond similar in term of life style then living in DC or Northern Virginia? (Charlottesville: hotel, house)

[NOVA_guy]

Originally Posted by mpier015

I grew up in DC. To us, DC and NOVA are completely different worlds. I would even argue that most people born and raised in the district, not the suburbs, would consider Richmond more similar to DC than 95 percent of NOVA. It's actually a running joke that NOVA is full of BAMAs from the middle of nowhere.

There's different versions of DC. When people say NoVa is similar to DC they're obviously talking about "Washington" and not DC but I catch your drift.

[1lostman]

Originally Posted by mpier015

I was raised in DC and I lived in Baltimore before moving here. I LOVE RICHMOND. Richmond and DC are different as far as DC being a lot busier but there is definitely an overall "Mid Atlantic" feel that is similar in Richmond. It also has PLENTY of history, to the point that you would be hard pressed to find a similar sized city with more history than Richmond. To me, Richmond combines the feel of all of Virginia into one city...you can get a little Williamsburg type history, you have neighborhoods that feel like Old Town Alexandria, you have neighborhoods that can feel like Norfolk ect ect. Also, the Architecture in the city in some neighborhoods is definitely similar to some DC neighborhoods. Richmond is not DC and definitely has it's own culture(every town in VA has it's own culture, even the small ones) but I have never met anyone from the DC area that felt out of place here in Richmond except if they were moving here expecting a Major city. I work for one of the largest employers in the area and I have met people from all over the country that have made Richmond their home and love it. Just in my 15 person office we have myself from DC by way of NC, two New Yorkers, One Alabaman, One person from Washington State and two people from the Philadelphia/Jersey area. They all love it here and enjoy the QOL that Richmond offers. See, we all can post random anecdotes that really don't amount to a hill of beans...

I doubt that you will respond to this but when was that last time that you lived in Richmond? If it has been a significant amount of time then I will respectfully ask that you stop posting comments like these in the Richmond forum. In this forum we like to provide people with helpful and accurate information that will assist people in possibly moving to our area. From your last few posts it seems as though you do not posses the knowledge of the area to present accurate information to prospective Richmonders. Richmond has made leaps in bounds in the past 10 years. We have steady growth, a healthy and diverse economy and neighborhoods that find themselves on plenty of "best of" lists. Richmond is emerging as a foodie town and we have many breweries popping up throughout the town as well as 8 fortune 500 companies. Find me another 200,000 person city that can say that.

I guess it just wasn't the kind of history that I cared about? Is that OK? I also met people who came from far away and made Richmond their home. I also met people who made Richmond just a pass-thru. It wasn't a forever home for us for a lot of small reasons and 1 big one: the miserable summer. Don't sell yourself short, your anecdotes provide valuable feedback for the OP.

I was in Richmond this year. A lot of people have pointed out how much it has improved recently and I was impressed by the strong desire to make it better. But it's still got a long way to go and it doesn't offer enough outdoor recreation to interest me. I could see myself looking forward to leaving all year long and that wasn't a good sign.

[lovely40]

Originally Posted by Calwine

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all of those who will address my question.

No. They are different. I worked in Richmond for roughly 2 years before heading back to NOVA. However, I did appreciate Richmond for being more laid back and cost-effective. That said, I missed the culture of the DC metro area tremendously when I lived in Richmond. The city has come a long way. But, it still has ways to go before I can endorse it.

[murksiderock]

Richmond city is definitely more comparable to The District proper than anywhere in Nova, save maybe Alexandria. Differences notwithstanding--any two places will have an amount of cultural differences--its laughable to me how many people perpetuate this notion of Richmond as some backwater compared to Northern Virginia...

I was raised in Woodbridge and Fairfax and that will always be home, but I love Richmond. It has an infinite greater sense of place than NoVa, and is the only alpha city in Virginia. I agree that it combines the essence of many different types of Virginia--unlike NoVa, which is just one brand of Virginia and it's strongest selling point is that it's close to The District and has the residual effects of that...

Nova/Richmond beef aside (which again in my experience is more prevalent online than in reality), there are a number of parallels in which DC and Richmond are similar. Not that the obvious should have to be stated, but there is more of everything in DC, everything is bigger and busier, more international flair, but Richmond provides a number of interesting cultural similarities at a smaller scale. Not to mention that a significant portion if Richmond actually looks like DC...

I'm becoming of the belief that NoVa residents who don't like Richmond are definitive suburbanites spoiled by the luxury of being the back door of The Nation's Capital. Anyone who admits "culture shock" in Richmond is basically admitting to this. Someone from The District proper may feel out of place in Richmond due to the drop in amenities and size, but I've never met anyone from The District proper who couldn't note the resemblance and ancestral/familial ties between DC and Richmond...

[Ed Roberts]

Originally Posted by Calwine

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all of those who will address my question.

Your own lifestyle will develop differently in DC, compared to Richmond. Richmond is really nothing at all like DC in most ways. More specific questions about the difference will probably get you better, more informative replies.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by murksiderock

Richmond city is definitely more comparable to The District proper than anywhere in Nova, save maybe Alexandria. Differences notwithstanding--any two places will have an amount of cultural differences--its laughable to me how many people perpetuate this notion of Richmond as some backwater compared to Northern Virginia...

I was raised in Woodbridge and Fairfax and that will always be home, but I love Richmond. It has an infinite greater sense of place than NoVa, and is the only alpha city in Virginia. I agree that it combines the essence of many different types of Virginia--unlike NoVa, which is just one brand of Virginia and it's strongest selling point is that it's close to The District and has the residual effects of that...

Nova/Richmond beef aside (which again in my experience is more prevalent online than in reality), there are a number of parallels in which DC and Richmond are similar. Not that the obvious should have to be stated, but there is more of everything in DC, everything is bigger and busier, more international flair, but Richmond provides a number of interesting cultural similarities at a smaller scale. Not to mention that a significant portion if Richmond actually looks like DC...

I'm becoming of the belief that NoVa residents who don't like Richmond are definitive suburbanites spoiled by the luxury of being the back door of The Nation's Capital. Anyone who admits "culture shock" in Richmond is basically admitting to this. Someone from The District proper may feel out of place in Richmond due to the drop in amenities and size, but I've never met anyone from The District proper who couldn't note the resemblance and ancestral/familial ties between DC and Richmond...

Seriously great post. Nice!

[talcos]

Northern Virginia is more similar to DC. Richmond seems more rural.

[cbl1]

Richmond City seems rural?

[aquest1]

Originally Posted by talcos

Northern Virginia is more similar to DC. Richmond seems more rural.

Comments that fail to make sense...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gMW...index=133&t=0s

[cbl1]

Where were all the cows in the video?