NYC girl considering moving to Richmond (Virginia Beach: job market, gated, taxi)

[SmokeyBong420]

Originally Posted by Perlagirl25

What are the bad areas of Richmond?

Hull Street is where all of the crime you hear about on the news happens. Thankfully, Hull Street is south of the river and you have to cross a bridge to get to it. I (personally) feel very safe just about anywhere else.

[mrstewart]

Originally Posted by SmokeyBong420

Hull Street is where all of the crime you hear about on the news happens. Thankfully, Hull Street is south of the river and you have to cross a bridge to get to it. I (personally) feel very safe just about anywhere else.

Not all of Hull Street is bad...East Hull Street is where it can get dicey, at best. West Hull Street is not bad at all...not my cup of tea, but Hampton Park, Woodlake and Brandermill are hardly bad areas.

[kcpowers1]

NYC girl,

I think you should try to visit before you come. I'm 28 and a VCU grad, and while I admit Richmond has some issues, I love living here. I'm moving for grad school soon, but I would be happy to stay otherwise. For your budget, you can find really nice apartments in the fan, museum district, schokoe bottom or the slip. It's also a college town, VCU has more than 30,000 students, so there are a lot of young people and recent grads. My personal opinion is that we have a decent amount of culture for a mid-sized city. Check out first friday's, an art walk along the galleries and restuarants on Broad st. Obviously wont compare with NYC, but I try to go every month and I think its fun. The locations I mention are friendly to bicycles and you can pretty much walk to everything you need (unless you are really lazy). Its beautiful in the city during spring and fall, the summer is hot and sticky, but you can always go hang out at belle isle and swim in the river (which you can easily bike to from almost anywhere in Richmond). Whether you'll like it here or not, I have no idea, but I think its worth a visit.

BTW, everthing I've said applied to the city, not the suburbs. You would need a car to go outside the city b/c the public trans is pretty weak.

[Perlagirl25]

I am in my early 30s. Would I like the singles scene there in Richmond? I am less into the drinking party scene and more into hiking,intellectuals, and the arts. I prefer down to earth people over materialistic ones. I would be moving from Wash DC. Are there any good places to live for a single girl outside of the city?

[left my heart in ny/nj]

It has been a struggle living here. After growing up in NJ/northeastern NJ then moving to Beirut, Lebanon (one of the most metropolitan and cultural cities you can live in) it was a dramatic culture shock for me to move to Richmond 2 1/2 years ago. And if I had my way I would get out of here in a heartbeat. My husband doesn't want to leave because he has an established practice here.

It's been hard for me to find a full-time job. Even though I have several years of experience and I even worked for a few years on a state-dept. project.

It is just too vanilla in every way. By vanilla, I mean blah. No flavor to anything-whether it be in the cookie cutter neighborhoods where you have to drive 3 miles before you get to a store, or the howdy neighbor who's against the government because they banned something that is "supposedly bad for the environment" or the segregated transportation and school systems.

You don't the number of people that I've talked to here who are supposed to be educated, with master's degrees from William and Mary and VCU who haven't travelled farther than the east coast or don't know anything about countries further than England (the mother home) or any other religions for that matter.

I am just sick of the ignorance and holier than thou attitude. It's been absolutely unbearable.

[Anders15]

^ clearly this poster has not been to Shockoe Bottom or Carrytown.. that's the answer to everything, didn't you know that?

[richmondpics]

Sounds like you live out in the burbs... which tend to be kind of vanilla/blah in almost every American city... which many people are content with. A great deal of the culture is in 'urban' Richmond.

Did you know Richmond has a decent sized Lebanese community? While I know it's nothing like Lebanon itself, I always enjoy the Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival...from the music and dance to the food to the Lebanese beer and wine, to the diversity of the crowd...

Did you attend the National Folk Festival? I found it to be very culturally enriching... certainly not vanilla in any way.

And I agree that a college degree by no means makes one "educated." Exploring the world's diversity of cultures, cities, people is just as, if not more, important to a well rounded "education."

[left my heart in ny/nj]

Originally Posted by RonMaverick804

^ clearly this poster has not been to Shockoe Bottom or Carrytown.. that's the answer to everything, didn't you know that?

I have been to Carytown and I love it. I wish I could live around there but it's expensive, especially the property taxes and according to my husband not the safest.

I do also like Shockoe Bottom.

These places are great but you have to drive out to get there. There is no convenience in getting around.

Last summer, I broke my knee and I couldn't drive for 12 weeks. I really needed a car when I started physical therapy. I couldn't always fit into my husband's or friends' schedule so I had to take a taxi. For one way, 12 minutes, it was $15.

It's really ridiculous I think when a city is scared to have a mass transportation system because they have a NIMBY attitude (this is according to many people I have talked to).

[left my heart in ny/nj]

Yes, I do live in the burbs, wish we could live near the city. I am aware of the Lebanese community and we do have some friends from the community. The Lebanese food festival is great and we do attend every year as well as attend many different other festivals including the folk festival.

I guess my major frustration is with the openness of people to Richmonders with anyone who is different than what they know(which is not much).

Thanks for the suggestions.

Originally Posted by richmondpics

Sounds like you live out in the burbs... which tend to be kind of vanilla/blah in almost every American city... which many people are content with. A great deal of the culture is in 'urban' Richmond.

Did you know Richmond has a decent sized Lebanese community? While I know it's nothing like Lebanon itself, I always enjoy the Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival...from the music and dance to the food to the Lebanese beer and wine, to the diversity of the crowd...

Did you attend the National Folk Festival? I found it to be very culturally enriching... certainly not vanilla in any way.

And I agree that a college degree by no means makes one "educated." Exploring the world's diversity of cultures, cities, people is just as, if not more, important to a well rounded "education."

[nycricanpapi]

Originally Posted by left my heart in ny/nj

It has been a struggle living here. After growing up in NJ/northeastern NJ then moving to Beirut, Lebanon (one of the most metropolitan and cultural cities you can live in) it was a dramatic culture shock for me to move to Richmond 2 1/2 years ago. And if I had my way I would get out of here in a heartbeat. My husband doesn't want to leave because he has an established practice here.

It's been hard for me to find a full-time job. Even though I have several years of experience and I even worked for a few years on a state-dept. project.

It is just too vanilla in every way. By vanilla, I mean blah. No flavor to anything-whether it be in the cookie cutter neighborhoods where you have to drive 3 miles before you get to a store, or the howdy neighbor who's against the government because they banned something that is "supposedly bad for the environment" or the segregated transportation and school systems.

You don't the number of people that I've talked to here who are supposed to be educated, with master's degrees from William and Mary and VCU who haven't travelled farther than the east coast or don't know anything about countries further than England (the mother home) or any other religions for that matter.

I am just sick of the ignorance and holier than thou attitude. It's been absolutely unbearable.

Wow, I totally agree with you I moved to Virginia Beach in 2008 from the bronx, New York. Here is not like in NY. If you have to wait for the public bus, it takes a long time to get where you are. There is not much to do. Clubs closes at 2am. Restaurants closes early. It just horrific. However I think Virginia Beach is a better city than Richmond, because everything is near. The hospital is near, clubs are near, the mall is near, everything. I would advice you to move to VA Beach. It is better than what you describe Richmond as.