Richmond vs Atlanta (Chester, Appomattox: rent, condominiums, crime)

[AutumnD]

Hi! My husband has been accepted to med school in Atlanta, Richmond, and San Diego. I am from San Diego but we are considering moving, mainly becuase San Diego is so expensive. We have one child and another on the way. I am just trying to see what people think of Richmond vs Atlanta as a place to live and raise a family. We have visited Richmond and I really liked it, plus we have some family & friends there. We do not really know anyone in Atlanta and I have not been there yet. I have pretty mcuh spent my entire life in California and have not really been to that part of the country. Any adive would really be appreciated! Thanks so much!

[csphillips18]

Hi Autumn,
My husband, daughter and I currently live in Atlanta, and are looking to move to Richmond sometime next year. He grew up in Richmond, and with our second child on the way as well, we want to get back closer to family in that area. We didn't know anyone when we moved here 7 years ago, and none of our family is anywhere close to here.

Atlanta has been great. The biggest drawback is the sprawl. Most of our friends are through work, and none of them live closer than a 25minute drive because we are all spread out so far. My commute is appx 17mi each way, and during the school year that takes 35-45minutes on back roads. My husband works another 10 miles past where I work, and his commute is easily an hour to an hour and a half each way. We live in Marietta/West Cobb County, and if we want to get downtown, it takes 15-20min without traffic just to get to the interstate.

Housing prices are reasonable, I think. People are pretty friendly, although we made a bad choice when we moved into our subdivision... it was a few years before we had children, and didn't realize it just wasn't a very family oriented subdivision - a lot of the neighbors keep to themselves.

Atlanta in and of itself is great, with a lot of neat things to do, lots of festivals etc. I just wish we were closer to downtown to be able to take advantage of them more. The weather here is great, at least from my perspective, but probably not so much compared to San Diego

Richmond, we are hoping, provides a slightly slower pace of life so we can spend more time together as a family. Less traffic. I don't know that there are as many neat things to do in Richmond vs Atlanta, but I love the proximity to the DC area. School age kids there take field trips to the museums and monuments in DC, and they would never get that here in Atlanta. Oh, and the schools in Virginia are much better than Georgia.

I don't know if any of that is a help, but please feel free to let me know if you have any more specific questions I can try to answer
Good luck!

[MisnSoFL]

I honestly feel that Richmond will be a major culture shock to you, especially coming from San Diego. I think that Atlanta is a much better bet for many reasons. More job opportunties, more things to do, more diversity, more people from all over the country and even the world. Richmond is not very progressive, and most people from here rarely want to befriend others that are not. Most of the people who live here have generations of family that grew up here and they have their friends and don't want any others. They are still very much caught up in the history of the Civil War and actually take pride in that (rolling eyes). You will find that the people are so similar, and that 50 -60% of the women here have 1 of the 2 styles of the Richmond hair-do. I guess that last sentence was a little petty, but it is true.

If you need more reasons why so many people do not like Richmond, see this thread: http://www.city-data.com/forum/richm...t-my-mind.html Are there people who move here and like it? Sure. But I have met so many people that moved here and don't like it, and even people that have lived here all their lives and don't like it! Believe me, I have tried so hard to like it here. I am from FL and NY (moved here due to husband's job) and I plan on moving ASAP. My suggestion is, if you plan on moving here, PLEASE just rent for 6 months to a year to make sure you like it first. I wish I had done that.

[AutumnD]

Wow! Thanks for the information. It is such a hard decision to make. Since the program is MD/PhD we will be there for about 8 years so I really need to make sure I can take it for that long. We will see. I may have more questions for you both later.

[richmondpics]

Richmond is less congested, with a slower pace of life. There's a blend of small town feel with big city feel/amenities. Atlanta obviously has more things to do - it's about 5 times larger than Richmond... but that's not to say there aren't a lot of great things to check out when living here. Having family and friends in town should help you adjust to a new place well.

I know people on these boards dwell on it, but I rarely hear anyone mention anything about the Civil War. There is obviously a lot of Civil War history, and the sites related to it are major tourism attractions to the region, but Richmond is far from this Civil War Living Theme Park people often try to allude to.

VCU has very strong MD/PhD programs and is a world class institution.

Each city has a different feel, and both have their positive and negative attributes. Not every city is for everyone, though some people unfortunately have that expectation. Hopefully visits to both cities will help you make a good choice! Good luck!

[rosette8]

My husband went to college in Richmond and we met in NY. We then moved to San Diego with some of his college friends. We lived in San Diego for 8 years and loved it. One of the college friend couples moved to Atlanta from San Diego and have been there for 5 years. They like it, but complain about the sprawl. Seems not like much of a huge culture shock for them.

We are moving to Richmond this summer (after being back in up-state NY for 9 years). We now have 4 kids and this seems like the perfect place for us. My husband still has college friends in the area (many moved back after married and had children, but are from other parts of the country) They all rave about it. Our atlanta friends are jealous of us moving there as they love the beautiful homes (West End, not Far West end) as opposed to the Mc Mansions they have where are.

So...after living in San Diego and only visiting Richmond and Atlanta....we chose Richmond. I think most people would be happy in either place. They are both good options!

After San Diego you might enjoy more small city feel that Richmond offers or you may feel too bored and need the more hussle and bussle of Atlanta. Visit Both!

Good Luck!!

[csphillips18]

Sorry, but there is no way Richmond is more entralled with their part in the Civil War than Atlanta is. You don't burn a city down and rebuild just to have people forget about it. The rebel flag is proudly displayed by many, the Cyclorama is a big tourist attraction, and there was recently a high school just south of Atlanta that finally had it's first integrated prom. If you want to get away from the impact of the Civil War, you need to move North of the Mason-Dixon. Or just move on about your business like most people have after 143 years.

[Paul Hammond]

Perhaps you are unaware that Richmond burned to a crisp after Lee scurried to Appomattox. It looked like Berlin after the war.

Civil War Battle History of the Fall of Richmond, Virginia

There is a matchless Richmond Civil War site.

Richmond During the War

It is detailed, full of pictures and documented history.

[Georgia]

Some differences, you will find about a 15% cost increase in housing from Richmond (Henrico and Chesterfield Counties) vs. Atlanta.

Cost of living overall is a little less than Atlanta due to the overall tax rates

Richmond has one tenth of the gridlock than does Atlanta, mostly because the surrounding counties of Richmond require the builders to supply the road access along with schools (depending upon development size) vs. Atlanta who just hands any builder mutliple permits to slap together developments so the people can find a way to pay for it later.

Crime: Toss-up. Atlanta is more in less the Detriot of the south when it comes to crime, it is hard to compare to Richmond since it outnumbers the Richmond city area by 4 million. For the most part Richmond's crime is segregated to the Broad Street area downtown, parts of Hull Street, and areas on the East end. Hanover, West Henrico, North and West Chesterfield County are rather quiet. The Atlanta burbs are quite the opposite as I have concluded that with all the places I have lived Atlanta's crime is the surrounding burbs crime as well. All in all, Richmond wins on safety due to the overall numbers of population.

End result, I would choose Richmond by far. Actually, I may be tranferring back to the area within the next year and trust me, I'm counting the days.
No offense to those who love it here in Atlanta, but this area is not my cup of sweet tea. Between the heat, the traffic, and the pollen, add the overall crime rate, the pee poor school systems, and developers allowed to run amuk, if Atlanta is the "new" south, they can have it

[richmondpics]

Crime in Richmond is really concentrated in and around public housing. Broad Street really isn't that bad! The dark days are over. You should visit and see all the transformation occurring!

Like...
- A new Federal Courthouse designed by Robert A. M. Stern.

- Richmond CenterStage - A new/expanded performing arts center

- The recently renovated and totally awesome National Theatre, now known as The National

- The Miller and Rhoads Hilton Garden Inn and Condominiums, slated for late 08 completion


- A New State Office Building proposed at 8th/9th and Broad


- Major plans in store for Broad between 2nd and 3rd Streets by Douglas Development

- A new arts District between Belvidere and 1st along Broad... home to Richmond's First Friday's Artwalk

- Dozens of recent conversions into restaurants, retail, office space with residential space on upper floors.

- VCU's evergrowing presence on both the Medical Center and Monroe Park Campuses.

- An expanded Greater Richmond Convention Center.

- Great Restaurants like:
Tarrant's Cafe
Bistro Twenty Seven
Comfort
Popkin Tavern (broken link)
Lift Coffee Shop
and more!