DC to richmond? (Petersburg, Winchester, Fredericksburg: lofts, home, schools)

[richmondpics]

Interesting topic - this is a highly rated industry publication's take on rising stars in the DC area (which included Richmond):

Here's Who StarChefs.com Thinks Are D.C.'s Rising Stars - Eater DC

StarChefs.com Rising Stars – culinary industry top Chef Awards

Richmond (214,000 pop) performs admirably with 4 of the 6 chefs nominated in Virginia coming from Richmond (1 from NoVa, 1 from Staunton). DC (650,000 pop) had 6 chefs. 1 of the 4 artisans nominated was from Richmond (Sub Rosa).

Let's keep in mind the DC metro areas has nearly 6 million residents and Richmond's MSA has just over 1.2 million. DC's food scene should clobber Richmond's. Having said that, I think Richmond's food scene has come a long way and represents very well.

[Octa]

Originally Posted by PK12

Within DC itself.... Mei Wah, Great Wall Szechuan House and Sichuan Pavilion..although I will admit that within DC itself the ethnic food scene is not very good, the exception ofcourse being Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine...some of the best in the country.

Since Peter Changs is in Glen Allen, I will factor in the close-in DC suburbs.

Falls Church: Hong Kong Palace, Hong Kong Pearl, Mark's Duck House, Peking Gourmet Inn.

Chantilly: 88 China. Probably some of the best Sichuan food I have had anywhere in the East Coast.

Rockville: Sichuan Jin River, Bob's Noodle House, Bob's Shanghai, only to name a few.. Rockville's Chinese offerings are par none.

Silver Spring: Oriental East.


And this is just Chinese food. Name any kind of cuisine, and of any budget range, and I can assure you that the NoVA/DC region has Richmond beat.

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, DC publications don't go crazy everytime a new restaurant or grocery store opens up in the area the way they do in Richmond. In the DC area, you have to seek out these places because there's an overwhelming amount.

To respond to someone else from earlier: I don't think Richmond is "dirt cheap" compared to DC. I can go to a unassuming restaurant being run by first or second generation immigrants and get a meal for less $7. I can also go to a sit down restaurant here and spend $10 on a meal. If I go into popular spots around NW, I can find meals between $10-20. In Richmond, whenever I would go out to eat, I was spending around $10 for a meal. For what it's worth, I think Richmond is slightly expensive in the restaurant category.

[StraightOuttaDC]

Hi, all--this was a very useful thread to read and essentially confirmed my thoughts on DC to RVA. Reviving it to see how you think things may have changed in the last two years.

We've been in DC for 12 years and I'm just worn out. I've said it many times, but life here is "hard" (I noticed someone above mentioned RVA life being easy, and how that grows on you). The tension, the pace, the frenetic lifestyle, the logistics, the cost of living, I'm just tired, and I miss the South. We don't really have a social circle--we're DINKs in our 40s and 50s and we feel a little out of sorts in millennial/stroller brigade DC. We've considered a move to the burbs, but that doesn't really do anything for COL or pace of life.

So, just curious about your general thoughts on folks like us heading down 95 and settling in Richmond. Also, what the job scene might be like for a network/broadcast engineer-type. I realize there would be fewer positions and the pay would be lower than here in DC, but just wondering about the overall scene for someone in that area of IT.

[Charlesaf3]

People like you are around half of Richmond now. For precisely your reasons. And note we don't move back to DC...

More IT down here than you would think. Capital One IT is based out of here, I think. But others would know better.

[sls76]

Originally Posted by Charlesaf3

People like you are around half of Richmond now. For precisely your reasons. And note we don't move back to DC...

More IT down here than you would think. Capital One IT is based out of here, I think. But others would know better.

It is for now but I believe long term they would prefer to have more IT in Northern Virginia. And C1 pays well but few people I've ever met enjoy working for them.

I agree on not missing that area. We moved from Tysons in 2002. There is nothing I miss about it. For me, quality of life is so much higher here.

[Charlesaf3]

Even though cost structure is cheaper here?

[sls76]

Originally Posted by Charlesaf3

Even though cost structure is cheaper here?

Yep. I don't get it.

[JimGriffith]

My wife and I just sold our house in Alexandria and are shopping for a new house in the Richmond area this month.

Like plenty of others have noted, we're just "worn out" by the lifestyle -- paying huge amounts of money and taxes for our little house, the cold attitudes, the traffic, the METRO (don't get me started), the sense that wife and I are grinding through 60-hour work weeks just to pay other people to raise our kids for us.

There are benefits to living here, notably the economy, the diversity (we're a mixed family) and the cultural amenities. But when weekends roll around, we're usually too whipped to go enjoy that stuff. Would rather just go to church, take a walk, and relax out back with the grill and a cooler. Seems we should be able to pull that off in Richmond.

Some people love it up here, and if I had a DC-centric career I was really passionate about, I would stick around and make it work. But when you don't have any family nearby and your job is just a job, sheesh, it really is a grind.

RVA here we come!

[Charlesaf3]

I think you'll find you aren't giving up anything in RVA. And DC is not that far off (gawdawful traffic excepted)

[NJRAMAL]

Do people in DC (other than the ones trying to escape) even know Richmond exists? Is there any connection between the two metros? Has the Redskins training camp heightened DC's awareness of RVA? And on the same token do Richmonders feel any connection to DC? Ive lived in NC for 10 years and am always amazed at how connected the entire state is. Here the common attitude seems to be North Carolina first and your specific city second. Totally the opposite in Virginia. Hell theres barely any exchange economically or culturally between Richmond and Petersburg which is 20 minutes down the street!