Am I the only person who can not reccomind living in Richmond to ANYONE? (Chester: real estate, apartment)

[Richmonder27]

Originally Posted by RonMaverick804

Other than you contradicting yourself over and over again, you represent the Richmond attitude. Read what I originally wrote and this is exactly what I am talking about. If anyone had any doubts in what I wrote they shouldn't anymore!

This is why there is no culture here. Richmond does not welcome others (from the north) and you refuse to expand your own city's history. Richmond is just stuck doing nothing. When someone tries to speak up or offer something new oh boy Richmonders hate that! How dare you want to bring change?! I feel that the city is so conservative it is just absurd.

Richmond Conservative?

HA HA HA HA AHA HA HA






HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Oh Im sorry I need to stop laughing, but thats the funniest thing I ever heard.

BTW, change is not always GOOD change. Richmond has lots to offer culturally. Havent you ever been to Buzz and Ned's?

Anyways, we have lots of art galleries and Carytown is better than anything you would find anywhere in the world. Oh, and Ukrop's! Thats the best grocery store that was ever created. I like how they are closed on Sundays too. Keeps the hooligans away.

[Anders15]

Wow. Glad to see you're easily amused. Then again I guess you have to be to live here.

[Yac]

Calm down everybody and get back on topic, please.
Yac.

[ric75]

What an exercise in psychology this has turned into... funny how the early posters calmly observed how this is basically a personal preference/perspective issue and that similar threads can be found in most any City's forum but look what it's turned into.

I'll try and put my $0.02 in without attacking anyone personally... I moved here in 2001 from Blacksburg where I went to school. While I still love that town with a passion I have no regrets moving here and in some ways see Richmond as just a larger scale version of that town. One of my biggest reasons for loving Richmond is that it's an urban mecca for folks who love the outdoors. I don't know of any other cities where you can kayak in Class 4 rapids, go tubing, fish, mountain bike on amazing trails, rock climb, swim, or run trails all within the downtown area. Richmond is small enough to travel around on foot or by bike but big enough to have a solid offering of cultural options. We have some great museums here, a couple of nice music venues pulling in great live acts, a strong and growing arts scene, some amazing restaurants, a quirky shopping district with a historic theater, a rich history, and beautiful architecture. For some added perspective, I had a friend in from Berekeley, CA over the summer and took him to the InLight Festival on Broad St. and he said they never have anything like that.

Regarding the people that live here I have to agree with some other commenters that every city is going to have rude people and if you don't realize that by now you still have some growing up to do. As a whole however I find the folks of Richmond to be very friendly and active in their community... pretty much the antithesis of what a few of you have mentioned. People say hello when passing by, will let you in when changing lanes or trying to merge in traffic, and are willing to help out with directions.

My recommendation for the miserable folks who have found themselves trapped in a place they hate is to get involved in the community to help fix the things you see wrong with it. Not only will you make a difference but you get to meet forward thinking people who can help give you a different perspective on things. I have a feeling those that classify all Richmonders as rude or snobby have experienced only a small cross-section of the community. If that still doesn't work for you then for your own sanity, move somewhere else! It's ridiculous to blame the world around you for your bad mood and then decide to stay and complain anwyay.

[richmondpics]

Amen.

[richMO]

Hi RonMaverick,I am 21 years old. I have lived in Richmond my entire life as well, and I think you make some very valid points about the Richmond area. I too do not understand the socio/economic make up of the city, and my only wish is that our city can adapt with the times and not get left behind. I understand that depending on what area of Richmond one grew up in, their parent’s wealth, schools, and varying recreational activities and interest can affect ones perspective on the city. Richmonders as well as non-Richmonders brag about the history in our city. That's fine and dandy, but clinging on to the past will not allow you to develop a future. This is not to say that we should demolish the multiple battlefields that surround the city. We should continue to preserve them because it is important to know who you are, but knowing your past is only ONE part of having an identity.

Once a person comes to terms with their background, they have to look at who they are in the present. Currently we do have some museums like the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the Valentine Museum as well as events at Kanawha Plaza and at Belle's Isle. We even have a new movie theater near the Diamond which I pray that the theater has longevity in the city. However, there are MANY things that need work in the city, and I feel that many of these things outweigh the good in Richmond. I am not going to sit here and name everything, but I will name a few.Once upon a time, we had a baseball team in Richmond known as the Richmond Braves. This year will be the first year that the Braves won't be calling the Diamond their home. I was very disappointed with the way Wilder handled the Braves situation and his choice NOT to grant them a home in the Shockoe area even though the team carefully laid out and planned the construction of the new stadium. And being a native Richmonder, I know as well as everyone else that the area that the Braves chose will more than likely become another building area for VCU Health Systems allowing them to continue their quest to takeover the downtown area.As for our parks, there's Byrd, Maymont, Bryant, Dogwood Dell, Dorey, Three Lakes, etc....While these parks definitely have beautiful works of nature, you never quite feel completely safe in them. We all watch the news and read the newspaper and hear about the crimes that go on in these parks. No city is perfect and all are subject to crime, but MAYBE, just MAYBE, if the city and surrounding counties decided to invest a little more money into improving the parks in their areas, maybe the youth of the city will start using these parks for their sole purpose of jogging and fishing and picning rather than killing and “distributing.”Honestly,

I don't think Richmond needs to carelessly add an aquarium or distribute laptops to every student in the city as well as Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover. To me this would be a WASTE of money. Rather, the Richmond area and surrounding counties need to come together and improve the quality of life for EVERYONE. This is coming from a girl who has lived in Eastern Henrico County my entire life. I have visited Deep Run and I see how they built the majestic school for the kids on that side of the county while managing to keep me encased in an overcrowded school that doesn't even have walls (Varina). In 2005, I'll never forget attending a leadership retreat that Varina High School has every year where the representative for the Varina district stood up at the podium and said that another high school wouldn't be built in the area until 2013 yet they can allow people to come in yearly to build multiple subdivisions in the area. Didn't make much sense then, and now in 2009, it still doesn't make much sense now.

I have many friends and family who attended schools in the city as well as Hanover and Chesterfield. While I feel it is a dirty shame that the students in the city are not receiving the same education that I receive considering that I only live 10-15 minutes away from them, I don't think giving these students a laptop to take home every night is the solution to the problem. They have laptops and computers in schools in the city as well as schools in Hanover and Chesterfield. Hanover and Chesterfield students aren't allowed to take home laptops nightly either yet they fare better on their SOLs, SATs, and multiples of these students attending Hanover and Chesterfield schools are attending 4 year colleges.This is not to bash technology, for every kid needs to be exposed to it in order to survive in our digitized world, but this is to say that the quality of living in Richmond needs to be improved tremendously. If you want to eat at a nice restaurant in Richmond, you have to go to Shockoe Bottom or Short Pump/Stony Point for some quality eating. This definitely shows the favoritism and cliqueness of Richmond.This is also not to say that Richmond should become the socialist capital of the country, but I believe that people who may live in the "country" parts of Richmond as well as the "ghetto" and the suburbs all have the right to feel comfortable in their living situation.

And one more thing RonMaverick, if you don't like the way things are in Richmond, don't leave the city. If you leave, it’s just going to continue to be the same for years and years. Talk to people, and when I say talk to people, I do not mean the people on this website. I feel like people on here are either extreme Richmond lovers or extreme Richmond haters. With this website, you are only limiting yourself to a specific set of people. Start talking to your mom or dad. Chances are they too like most Richmonders have been living here their entire lives and can give you an honest take on life here in Richmond. You're 20 right? You are still young and have your life before you. Take your youth, as well as I am attempting to do, and do what you can for the city of Richmond. Don't fall in between the gaps with the ignorant people who think that there needs to be big changes and those changes have to occur right away. Realize that change comes in increments, and as you and I can see, the changes that the Richmond area attempt to do in grandiose fashions tend to dissipate quickly due to poor execution. I honestly think that one of the biggest and best success stories of Richmond is the Ukrop's grocery store. Mr. Ukrop didn't start off with 50 stores. He started small and expanded at a comfortable pace. Today, his company continues to grow. The Ukrop's store isn't spread all over the United States for a reason, and that's because Ukrop's understands that you have to take your time to expand. And even though you can’t find a Ukrop’s in California or Montana, people around the country know its reputation. Ukrop's is known for its QUALITY foods. People don't mind paying $7.00 for chocolate pie because they know that it is going to be one of the best pies ever that practically no one can duplicate. The chain is also known as one of the best grocery stores as well as one of the best employers in the nation given that they aren't even open on Sundays like most of their competitors. So do what you can, realize that people in general will let you down in life (not just Richmonders, even though having left Richmond for college and travelling up and down the East Coast as well as the Mid-West, Richmonders REALLY need an attitude adjustment), and like the Ukrop's family, put God first in everything you do. Like I said, I am 21, and yes I still have a lot of learning to do in life as well. All this is just my opinion.

Edited by Moderator to add paragraphs for easier reading.

[oleo]

Originally Posted by richMO

Hi RonMaverick,I am 21 years old. I have lived in Richmond my entire life as well, and I think you make some very valid points about the Richmond area. I too do not understand the socio/economic make up of the city, and my only wish is that our city can adapt with the times and not get left behind. I understand that depending on what area of Richmond one grew up in, their parent’s wealth, schools, and varying recreational activities and interest can affect ones perspective on the city. Richmonders as well as non-Richmonders brag about the history in our city. That's fine and dandy, but clinging on to the past will not allow you to develop a future. This is not to say that we should demolish the multiple battlefields that surround the city. We should continue to preserve them because it is important to know who you are, but knowing your past is only ONE part of having an identity. Once a person comes to terms with their background, they have to look at who they are in the present. Currently we do have some museums like the Virginia Fine Arts Museum, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the Valentine Museum as well as events at Kanawha Plaza and at Belle's Isle. We even have a new movie theater near the Diamond which I pray that the theater has longevity in the city. However, there are MANY things that need work in the city, and I feel that many of these things outweigh the good in Richmond. I am not going to sit here and name everything, but I will name a few.Once upon a time, we had a baseball team in Richmond known as the Richmond Braves. This year will be the first year that the Braves won't be calling the Diamond their home. I was very disappointed with the way Wilder handled the Braves situation and his choice NOT to grant them a home in the Shockoe area even though the team carefully laid out and planned the construction of the new stadium. And being a native Richmonder, I know as well as everyone else that the area that the Braves chose will more than likely become another building area for VCU Health Systems allowing them to continue their quest to takeover the downtown area.As for our parks, there's Byrd, Maymont, Bryant, Dogwood Dell, Dorey, Three Lakes, etc....While these parks definitely have beautiful works of nature, you never quite feel completely safe in them. We all watch the news and read the newspaper and hear about the crimes that go on in these parks. No city is perfect and all are subject to crime, but MAYBE, just MAYBE, if the city and surrounding counties decided to invest a little more money into improving the parks in their areas, maybe the youth of the city will start using these parks for their sole purpose of jogging and fishing and picning rather than killing and “distributing.”Honestly, I don't think Richmond needs to carelessly add an aquarium or distribute laptops to every student in the city as well as Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover. To me this would be a WASTE of money. Rather, the Richmond area and surrounding counties need to come together and improve the quality of life for EVERYONE. This is coming from a girl who has lived in Eastern Henrico County my entire life. I have visited Deep Run and I see how they built the majestic school for the kids on that side of the county while managing to keep me encased in an overcrowded school that doesn't even have walls (Varina). In 2005, I'll never forget attending a leadership retreat that Varina High School has every year where the representative for the Varina district stood up at the podium and said that another high school wouldn't be built in the area until 2013 yet they can allow people to come in yearly to build multiple subdivisions in the area. Didn't make much sense then, and now in 2009, it still doesn't make much sense now. I have many friends and family who attended schools in the city as well as Hanover and Chesterfield. While I feel it is a dirty shame that the students in the city are not receiving the same education that I receive considering that I only live 10-15 minutes away from them, I don't think giving these students a laptop to take home every night is the solution to the problem. They have laptops and computers in schools in the city as well as schools in Hanover and Chesterfield. Hanover and Chesterfield students aren't allowed to take home laptops nightly either yet they fare better on their SOLs, SATs, and multiples of these students attending Hanover and Chesterfield schools are attending 4 year colleges.This is not to bash technology, for every kid needs to be exposed to it in order to survive in our digitized world, but this is to say that the quality of living in Richmond needs to be improved tremendously. If you want to eat at a nice restaurant in Richmond, you have to go to Shockoe Bottom or Short Pump/Stony Point for some quality eating. This definitely shows the favoritism and cliqueness of Richmond.This is also not to say that Richmond should become the socialist capital of the country, but I believe that people who may live in the "country" parts of Richmond as well as the "ghetto" and the suburbs all have the right to feel comfortable in their living situation. And one more thing RonMaverick, if you don't like the way things are in Richmond, don't leave the city. If you leave, it’s just going to continue to be the same for years and years. Talk to people, and when I say talk to people, I do not mean the people on this website. I feel like people on here are either extreme Richmond lovers or extreme Richmond haters. With this website, you are only limiting yourself to a specific set of people. Start talking to your mom or dad. Chances are they too like most Richmonders have been living here their entire lives and can give you an honest take on life here in Richmond. You're 20 right? You are still young and have your life before you. Take your youth, as well as I am attempting to do, and do what you can for the city of Richmond. Don't fall in between the gaps with the ignorant people who think that there needs to be big changes and those changes have to occur right away. Realize that change comes in increments, and as you and I can see, the changes that the Richmond area attempt to do in grandiose fashions tend to dissipate quickly due to poor execution. I honestly think that one of the biggest and best success stories of Richmond is the Ukrop's grocery store. Mr. Ukrop didn't start off with 50 stores. He started small and expanded at a comfortable pace. Today, his company continues to grow. The Ukrop's store isn't spread all over the United States for a reason, and that's because Ukrop's understands that you have to take your time to expand. And even though you can’t find a Ukrop’s in California or Montana, people around the country know its reputation. Ukrop's is known for its QUALITY foods. People don't mind paying $7.00 for chocolate pie because they know that it is going to be one of the best pies ever that practically no one can duplicate. The chain is also known as one of the best grocery stores as well as one of the best employers in the nation given that they aren't even open on Sundays like most of their competitors. So do what you can, realize that people in general will let you down in life (not just Richmonders, even though having left Richmond for college and travelling up and down the East Coast as well as the Mid-West, Richmonders REALLY need an attitude adjustment), and like the Ukrop's family, put God first in everything you do. Like I said, I am 21, and yes I still have a lot of learning to do in life as well. All this is just my opinion.

Holy Jesus, Paragraphs please, I am not reading all of that, it hurts my eyes. What is wrong with you people?

P-A-R-A-G-R-A-P-H-S - but thanks for putting effort into your first post on the forum, welcome.

[Franklicious]

Originally Posted by Richmonder27

Richmond is not rude ! Except for the NY/NJ foreigners we have had in recent years.

We have art galleries, great restaurants, and our own photomat!

Ummmm...you just contradicted yourself. Thank you for proving my point.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by RonMaverick804

The school system the past 2 years have been a joke, the mayor is a joke and over all this city has a serious budget problem. We never get the good concerts or events they go to Hampton Roads or DC. Our city is no where near what it could be as one of the founding cities of the COUNTRY. After all the money and taxes they still can't afford to do simple things like collect trash,put the proper amount of police in neighborhoods or have proper bus routes for children. They charge people the most insane fines for stupid things like speeding (first time offenders included originally), watering the grass (Then you're fined if your yard looks "too bad" if you do not water), you're charged if your garbage bin is on the curb earlier than 4 p.m. the day before collection. They must be removed by 7 a.m. the day after pick-up to avoid the fine.(I still have not figured this one out) and let's not forget regular taxes then they ********* out of your voting for the next US president.

Well, the original post quoted above is nearly a year old by now, and hopefully the OP has moved on to a place they like better. But since I was just browsing through the room and stumbled on this one, I'll address the quoted part above since some folks may have "the grass is always greener..." thoughts:

Schools? Here in Atlanta, hardly a day goes by where we don't hear about kids in school bringing guns or knives with them, or getting into fights where they bash the heads in (literally) of other classmates. Mayors and budget problems? Our Mayor and her staff last year "misplaced" over 70 million dollars (yes, millions) of the City budget money last year. As a result, this year they have had to furlough HUNDREDS of police and firefighters in the city. We now are 800 police officers short in the middle of a violent robbery crime wave, and, some fire stations are closed on the weekends because of lack of staffing. She's done nothing to try to solve it since. So Mayor problems in Richmond? Compare?

Ticket fines for speeders? Speeding is serious and could potentially cause an accident that could kill other drivers/passengers. Honestly no fine is too high when you're talking about potentially saving lives, and here, they're just as stiff, though you may get by with it easier due to the sheer number of speeders here. That is, when you CAN speed, as many times it may take you an hour to go 8 miles in local traffic. We too, are not allowed to put the trash bins out before a certain time, or leave them out long after it's collected. We are still on water restrictions as well, and yes, you are fined if your grass grows too long or you leave things on your lawn that don't belong.

Does Richmond sound so bad, now? I fully agree that young people should travel around a bit and see other places, and not become stagnant in their homes towns too early in life. However, you will find that while the grass may be greener somewhere for you - that once you've seen some other places, Richmond 'aint quite as bad as you thought afterall.

[Transplant2000]

It's worse when you come from a larger city...