Portland, Or to Richmond, Va (Charlottesville, Chester: for sale, crime, hotel)

[zoot]

Oh Portland, anyday! Richmond has more negatives than positives. Besides Portland is such a modern 21st century city unlike Richmond which is still whining about the civil war loss (serves them right) and still carries rotten Jim Crowe baggage. I've lived in RIC for 7 yrs and currently live in Norfolk, and yet prefer RIC to Norfolk in a relative sense. Politics here revolves round Guns, God, Gays, Abortion, Creationism vs Evolution, and more idiotic issues. City ranks very high in crime, non existent public transport, suffers from a narrow-minded social attitude, etc. You do have some pockets of contemporary sophistication, but nothing compared to what's in Portland. Please please please stay in Portland!

[Jmier7]

I wish I could stay here in Portland. However the job market is very depressed. A lot of people moving in with too few jobs. The marketplace is very stratified here, you either make a great living, or you are barely cutting it. Much like where I came from, San Francisco. Yes the politics are much liberal in Portland, however, once outside the city, or to be exact, outside the NW/ and NE/SE sides west of hwy 205 you're in conservative land. There is a growing population here which is very conservative, anti- gay, anti- liberal, etc. Most of the influx is coming from right over the Columbia river in Vancouver, Wa. Cheaper housing, no state income tax, and they cross over the river to buy in Oregon because O has no sales tax. Lot's of wannabie rednecks. East of Portland has the same problem.
My family has lived in San Francisco for over 100 years, and to be honest, the city is growing more and more conservative. The high home prices and rents brings that with it. What you see on TV are a lot of 'out of towners' who come to the city because the cameras are rolling. In the large anti-Iraq war protest there was only about 10% SF citizens actually present, everyone else was from out of town. Showboat.
I'm considering Richmond because of a promotion within the company. I make a good wage, but hate my job, in fact, many of us do, but are too used to the wages to quit. Moving up is a way for me to get out of the rut, and more experience in management. My intention is to downsize and see what happens. If I don't like Richmond, I could always move back, and really downsize. But this will allow me to try out the position.
I'm keeping an open mind.

[Dingler]

I think the West Side of Portland is perhaps the most beautiful City in America. (If you like Pine Trees, 1000 foot high hills and great views of snow capped peaks) Richmond is nothing special.

[Jmier7]

Dingler,
I agree on the attractiveness of Portland's west side. However there is a running predjudice from 'Westsiders' against 'Eastsiders' and vice versa.
The west side is where the money is no doubt, the east side is where the eclectic side of town resides. Most of the 'mainstream' (read- upscale type) resturants are located on the west side, however most of the newer creative places are on the eastside.
Most westsiders rarely cross over the bridges to visit the east end.
Well, I'll be visiting Richmond next week, I've been researching for sure, let's see what I think of it.
Acutally, I first look for cultural ammenities (symphony, opera, ballet, museums) this gives me a profile of what the city residents support and what thrives there. If you think about it, you can tell a lot about a city by its support of cultural events/groups.

[batchea]

Go to the FAN/Museum District - lived there for many years - you will like it quite a bit. As I believe it was mentioned in an earlier post, there is great architecture, great walking, independent shops and restaurants. Check our Carytown to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Keep in mind, people in Richmond think you're from Mars if you happen to be vegetarian and the city is not supportive of outdoor lifestyles (no bike trails, walking trails and poor park system).

[richmondpics]

The James River Park System is 550 acres of parkland along the river with bike trails and walking trails, and it's kept well thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the JRPS.

Some links:
http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/parks/james.aspx (broken link)

All told, there are some 57 parks with more than 3500 acres in the City.

Sportsbackers hosts many events along the riverfront that draw from all over the nation.
http://sportsbackers.org/

[Sunset_Va]

Originally Posted by zoot

Oh Portland, anyday! Richmond has more negatives than positives. Besides Portland is such a modern 21st century city unlike Richmond which is still whining about the civil war loss (serves them right) and still carries rotten Jim Crowe baggage. I've lived in RIC for 7 yrs and currently live in Norfolk, and yet prefer RIC to Norfolk in a relative sense. Politics here revolves round Guns, God, Gays, Abortion, Creationism vs Evolution, and more idiotic issues. City ranks very high in crime, non existent public transport, suffers from a narrow-minded social attitude, etc. You do have some pockets of contemporary sophistication, but nothing compared to what's in Portland. Please please please stay in Portland!

21st century city unlike Richmond which is still whining about the civil war loss (serves them right)

As always, transplants telling Southern people what they are doing wrong. I told a Californian wanting to move here to stay in California and got burned by several people about "Southern Hospitality" ...well..wonder why my "Hospitality" is that way after reading the above posting.

[OREGONRAIN]

Hi: From reading the different post on this, I think it would be in your best interest to visit Richmond, and then decide on your own. I have been to Richmond a number of times mainly on business, haven't been there in the past 2 years. I say to visit and then decide on your own without really going by the forums is a better way of understanding a place. You seem to ask about the crime and the smoking, I live in Portand, and can't quite understand why you think crime in Richmond is worse than Portland,or Oakland for that matter, or the smoke. Just about every restaurant in this town has a bar therefore smoke is in that bldg. Portland is not all the west side, that is a small percentage of it compared to how much of it has high crime. I think you will find Portland is not really any better than Richmond, except it certainly will not have the bohemian flair to it as here. There will be a different population makeup than here, it is much closer to big metro areas than here, DC is just up 95 and then its one after the other all the way to Boston. You will find that church is a big part of life in the south, and that family dinner at restaurants is very much a part of each sunday there. I know I have never seen the large amounts of homeless and panhandlers in Richmond, or Virginia. You will have the ocean and the mountains in Virginia also, The mountain areas are beautiful. But again, you will do yourself a world of good by laying out what you need in a place, and if Richmond can meet those needs, against living in Portland and the job you have here.

[richmondpics]

Nice post.... I totally agree that the best way to get a feel for a place is to visit it.

Jmier7, good luck on your visit!

[Jmier7]

Thanks everyone for all of the input.
Like I said earlier, I can live and feel comfortable many places. I'm being flown into Richmond on Wed afternoon and will stay until Friday. I have a feeling that I'll like it.
Thanks again.
Jamier