richmond..not on my mind (Chester, Williamsburg: transplants, houses, job transfer)

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by Ahma

My husband and I are relocating from Charlotte, NC to Richmond and we are feeling sick about it for many reasons. We visited Richmond a couple of weeks ago for one night and day. Had planned to stay a few days but felt overwhelmed in Richmond. I was shocked to see so much trash on the side of the interstate and roads in general. The landscaping here in Charlotte and the surrounding areas are just so manicured 95% of the time.

While in Richmond, we drove around to the different counties. We are shocked at the cost of housing. Southwest of Richmond was very congested, so was Midlothian, Chester and a few other areas. We are not going to have a choice about relocating to Richmond. Hopefully, we still have enough time to find an area suited for us. It will definitely mean taking a few more trips to Richmond with a more positive outlook.

Ive said this countless times before- YOU CANNOT get a feel for a place just by visiting for a few days.

The first time I vistied Nashville, TN I thought it was trash and wanted to leave. I have now been there 4 times. Now I love it !!

[htlong]

first off there is 5 commonwealths in america,
second ukrops is a great store,business from all over the world come here to study what ukrops is doing ,and why it works so well,the answer is the service, it is next to unbelievable,they close on sunday so employees can attend the church of their choice,they dont sell liquor . they treat the customers and employees very special!

[wanderlost]

First off, I disagree about Ukrops....that's not a grocery store it's a social gathering place...trying to grocery shop there is extremely frustrating. I'm not a fan of big corporations, but I've found Ukrops so unpleasant that I do my shopping at Kroger.
As far as Ukrops closing on Sunday so that their employees can attend church....that's the Bible Belt Christians expecting everyone to support their beliefs. How would you feel if the public schools in Richmond decided to suspend class time for an hour each day so that the Muslim students could say their prayers? Supermarkets are a way of life in this country and weekends are the only time many of us have to shop for groceries....so again, I shop at Kroger.
Second, if the best thing you can say about your city is that it's only 2 hours from some really nice places....why not just move to one of the really nice places?

We moved here a year ago and are already making plans to leave. Oh, and we did visit here about 5 times before we moved here....we weren't too impressed but, like the above poster stated, you can't judge a place by visiting. Well, now we can judge because we live here....we hate it!

[richmondpics]

First, there's actually plenty of stuff to do in Richmond, but sometimes it's nice to let someone know what is possible within a short distance for day/weekend trips etc... There's a lot to do in Richmond, though sometimes it requires an effort to actually check and see what's happening instead of expecting a festival or concert to set up outside one's front door. Some places aren't for everyone, but sometimes some people are unhappy wherever they go.

Second, it's one thing to prefer a grocery store over another, but the facts need to be straight. The Ukrop's aren't bible thumpers, they do drink even though they don't sell alcohol, and they aren't trying to force any beliefs down someone's throats. As a company, they are very tradition oriented and keep many things in place that have been since the store was founded. They've always been closed on Sundays. Regardless of the original reason (though that was common back in the 30's) today it is to give all employees a day to spend as they wish whether it be church, family, fishing or sleeping. There's no "we're stuffing our religion down your throats" going on.

[wanderlost]

Well hopefully Ukrops wouldn't expect their employees to work seven days a week if they stayed open on Sunday. Businesses that are open 7 days a week rotate shifts, obviously. If Ukrops chooses to be closed on Sunday, that's all fine and good, and it apparently works here in Richmond. If they were to try to branch out into more progressive markets...as a supermarket, being closed on Sunday just wouldn't cut it. Try going into a Krogers on a Sunday afternoon and notice how crowded it is.

I stand by my original statement that Ukrops is more of a social gathering place for the locals. The times I've been there I've gotten so frustrated trying to push my way through the clusters of cackling hens that I've just given up on trying to shop there. Never mind the higher prices.
Obviously Kroger is a successful supermarket chain because they've figured out what customers want.....lower prices and efficient shopping.

P.S. Grocery shopping is very low on my list of priorities....but apparently here in Richmond people get pretty defensive about their grocery stores.

[Patsfan20]

Originally Posted by htlong

first off there is 5 commonwealths in america,
second ukrops is a great store,business from all over the world come here to study what ukrops is doing ,and why it works so well,the answer is the service, it is next to unbelievable,they close on sunday so employees can attend the church of their choice,they dont sell liquor . they treat the customers and employees very special!

VA / PA / MA....what are the others? I would google it, but I'd rather you tell me.

[Patsfan20]

Originally Posted by wanderlost

First off, I disagree about Ukrops....that's not a grocery store it's a social gathering place...trying to grocery shop there is extremely frustrating. I'm not a fan of big corporations, but I've found Ukrops so unpleasant that I do my shopping at Kroger.
As far as Ukrops closing on Sunday so that their employees can attend church....that's the Bible Belt Christians expecting everyone to support their beliefs. How would you feel if the public schools in Richmond decided to suspend class time for an hour each day so that the Muslim students could say their prayers? Supermarkets are a way of life in this country and weekends are the only time many of us have to shop for groceries....so again, I shop at Kroger.
Second, if the best thing you can say about your city is that it's only 2 hours from some really nice places....why not just move to one of the really nice places?

We moved here a year ago and are already making plans to leave. Oh, and we did visit here about 5 times before we moved here....we weren't too impressed but, like the above poster stated, you can't judge a place by visiting. Well, now we can judge because we live here....we hate it!

Couldn't agree more, been here a year and a half, don't like it either. Just an odd place to live. Moving soon........

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by Patsfan20

VA / PA / MA....what are the others? I would google it, but I'd rather you tell me.

Kentucky is a Commonwealth.

Furthermore, I don't see how anyone can call Richmond "dirty". Yes there may be some spots along Jeff Davis Hwy or Southeast Richmond that aren't too clean, but overall the city is simply gorgeous !

There's very few cities as beautiful as Richmond. The statues with dogwoods and magnolias on every corner. The Jefferson Hotel. Byrd Park- Maymont Park !

How many cities have a park as beautiful as Maymont? With the Japanese Garden and the waterfall. You step in there and its like another world.

Maybe I'm partial to it since my family has been here so long, but I can't imagine where anyone would get this idea about Richmond being ugly.

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by Patsfan20

Couldn't agree more, been here a year and a half, don't like it either. Just an odd place to live. Moving soon........

Have fun in plastic, soul-less Charlotte.

That place is like Northern Virginia only worse. I have friends who live there and they wish they could move but they have jobs there.

Have fun in white-bread boring Charlotte.

[richmondpics]

Originally Posted by wanderlost

P.S. Grocery shopping is very low on my list of priorities....but apparently here in Richmond people get pretty defensive about their grocery stores.

Not really being defensive, just getting incorrect facts straight. I personally prefer Ukrop's, but I'm not adverse to going to Kroger as it's pretty good for a national chain. If it's Sunday and I need to get something, I'll just go to Kroger and it's not a big deal. Food Lion's on the other hand... yuck. I really enjoyed Wegman's while in NoVa.