Young social scene in Richmond outside of VCU (Hampton: high school, university)

[djchriscruz]

I was in Richmond around VCU campus last week to watch the final four game and I kind of miss the old charm and artsy nature of Richmond from my days as a VCU student. My girlfriend is entertaining the idea of moving back to Richmond. I really enjoyed our short visit to Richmond and loved VCU when I attended but I'm thinking the college experience was probably a big part of that fun moreso than Richmond itself.

I'm 27 and dont really want to hang around campus as the old guy at college parties or college bars. I love Carytown, First Fridays, and going shopping in the West End. I'm just wondering how is the young social scene in Richmond outside of VCU? I'm from Hampton Roads and the young social scene is kind of stale because everybody just sticks to the social circle they grew up with. Everybody else moves up to DC or NY. I'm looking to make more friends just outside of my boys that I went to school with and grew up with.

[ric75]

There are plenty of young professionals in the Richmond area but you'll have to make an effort to meet new people as you would with most anywhere. In college, social life is handed to you on a platter but not so now. My recommendation would be to get active in clubs and volunteer organizations. Meetup.com is a good start. For better or worse I partied pretty hard into my early 30's and I'm not a Richmond local. What are your interests?

[Anders15]

That's a great way of answering without saying anything really. OP I suggest for nightlife you look into DC area. All the clubs in Richmond are constantly shutting down so the ones that ARE open like HAND and hat are full of the kiddies around 18. DC is much better if that's what you're into. There was a thread like this a while ago btw.

[ric75]

OP asked a general question without delving into specifics. Do they like music, the outdoors, food, sports....? You focused solely on the club scene which is a pretty limited way to go about it.

[djchriscruz]

I'm just wondering in general how is the young social scene in Richmond outside of the VCU community. Are young professionals usually open to meeting new people or are people townies and just stay within their own social circles?

I know right now being a VCU student and living in Richmond is an awesome experience. When I first got to VCU in 2001 the coolest thing to do was Regency mall and VCU was your backup school if you didn't get into VTech. Now kids actually pick VCU as their first choice, the basketball team is actually good, the campus is way bigger, and there is 10x more in the West End.

[hgnmx]

Even though a lot of my friends don't go to VCU, they still went to high school in the area. I think most of the social scene in richmond is very oriented around people who you already know. If you know people in Richmond then there's a great scene for you, if not... then not so much.

[traveling_in_the_sun]

Young professionals are open to meeting new people. There's a lot of young professionals who aren't from Richmond either. However, it's definitely not college so if you want to meet people you do have to try. The two best ways I've found to meet young professionals in Richmond is meetup.com and River City Sports. They are both great and I've met some amazing people through there! Also, depending on where you work, you might work with people your age who are interested in going out.

Richmond is not DC or NYC, but I really enjoy it. Since you went to college here I'm sure you know what to expect.

[Anders15]

Originally Posted by djchriscruz

I'm just wondering in general how is the young social scene in Richmond outside of the VCU community. Are young professionals usually open to meeting new people or are people townies and just stay within their own social circles?

I know right now being a VCU student and living in Richmond is an awesome experience. When I first got to VCU in 2001 the coolest thing to do was Regency mall and VCU was your backup school if you didn't get into VTech. Now kids actually pick VCU as their first choice, the basketball team is actually good, the campus is way bigger, and there is 10x more in the West End.

Well let's just say Regency is on the verge of shutting down. I went to Tyler so I can't speak on a university but I'd suggest Facebooking some events. I don't think people even use Meetup.com anymore it looks dead. I see tons of people replying to "fan pages" and meeting up that way.

[Charlesaf3]

My guess (educated guess, but a guess) is that Richmond would be a lot better than Hampton Roads, but a lot worse than a lot of other places like NYC, SF, Seattle, Boston, etc. Not sure if I'd put DC in that list from my experiences there, but it's been a while.

[djchriscruz]

My girlfriend and I have been focusing on finding jobs in DC but we've been kind of turned off by the stuffy arrogant suit culture there. But we have tons of friends in the DC area. We really like the artsy creative vibe you find around the Fan and Carytown.