The Portland Perspective: Richmond, Virginia? Another hipster-oriented city? (price, moving)

[EasyBeezy]

We somewhat recently moved back to Portland after spending a couple of years in Charlottesville Virginia, which is an hour from Richmond. My SO is born and raised in Portland. She actually really liked Richmond. I really like Richmond too. It is, in some ways, more hip than Portland these days as Portland has become unaffordable to all but high-earners. It has more rough areas than Portland, but it's no Baltimore and with a dash of street smarts you'll be fine. Most of the really rough areas and the safer areas are separated by significant natural boundaries (such as the river or really big hills.) Downtown Richmond kind of sucks while Downtown Portland has much more life to it. The traffic in Richmond is basically non-existent and drivers generally have an easy go of it there (the city has an almost incredible amount of freeways for it's size.) Personally I like the climate in VA better than Western Oregon, but that's a matter of opinion.

I have read many negative replies on this thread, and I don't get it, but some people are just sippin the haterade and can't help themselves. Others are colored by their own experiences. Maybe they are nervous around black people (if that is you then definitely do not go to Richmond.) I think it's probably not for everyone but it's inarguably up and coming and if you have a positive attitude and choose your neighborhood well you can have a great, and even somewhat Portland circa 2001 experience there.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by EasyBeezy

We somewhat recently moved back to Portland after spending a couple of years in Charlottesville Virginia, which is an hour from Richmond. My SO is born and raised in Portland. She actually really liked Richmond. I really like Richmond too. It is, in some ways, more hip than Portland these days as Portland has become unaffordable to all but high-earners. It has more rough areas than Portland, but it's no Baltimore and with a dash of street smarts you'll be fine. Most of the really rough areas and the safer areas are separated by significant natural boundaries (such as the river or really big hills.) Downtown Richmond kind of sucks while Downtown Portland has much more life to it. The traffic in Richmond is basically non-existent and drivers generally have an easy go of it there (the city has an almost incredible amount of freeways for it's size.) Personally I like the climate in VA better than Western Oregon, but that's a matter of opinion.

I have read many negative replies on this thread, and I don't get it, but some people are just sippin the haterade and can't help themselves. Others are colored by their own experiences. Maybe they are nervous around black people (if that is you then definitely do not go to Richmond.) I think it's probably not for everyone but it's inarguably up and coming and if you have a positive attitude and choose your neighborhood well you can have a great, and even somewhat Portland circa 2001 experience there.

Richmond is a better place to make a living than Portland, that's for sure.

[58rhodes]

Originally Posted by VTHokieFan

Richmond is a better place to make a living than Portland, that's for sure.

depends on the field and ones experience

[58rhodes]

Honestly I dont see how anybody can compare the 2 places they are so very different

[spencer114]

Either city should be proud to be compared to the other.
To the person possibly moving here, relax. You're gonna like it (even if you don't love it). There's great food, great art/music and tons of natural beauty in Richmond.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by 58rhodes

depends on the field and ones experience

Not really. Housing prices in Richmond are just much lower than Portland's, and that has nothing to do with field or experience.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by VTHokieFan

Not really. Housing prices in Richmond are just much lower than Portland's, and that has nothing to do with field or experience.

Demand isn't that high in Richmond compared to Portland. The NY Times isn't writing articles about how great Richmond is.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Demand isn't that high in Richmond compared to Portland. The NY Times isn't writing articles about how great Richmond is.

Why is the NY Times the end-all-be-all expert of the greatness of a city?

Who cares what they think?

[EasyBeezy]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Demand isn't that high in Richmond compared to Portland. The NY Times isn't writing articles about how great Richmond is.

And that is precisely why we're having this conversation. Can you get Portland like amenities and/or culture without the high prices? If the NY Times is writing articles and there are TV shows about how wacky your city is, then its already to late to get in on the ground floor. While the two cities are obviously very different in many ways, I do believe that you can find many of the same things people look for in Portland over in Richmond. And I know for a fact that you can get a decent job there easier than you can here.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Demand isn't that high in Richmond compared to Portland.

Right. That's definitely the main cause of lower housing prices.

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

The NY Times isn't writing articles about how great Richmond is.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/tr...ours.html?_r=0

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