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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was born and raised in Richmond, spent some time in other places and live here now. Frankly, I cannot wait to leave again. I have been here too long. But that's not to say there aren't good things about Richmond. I might just have been here too long.

I don't have a lot of familiarity with the NOVA suburbs, just DC itself. I think if I just wanted to be suburban, if I still had little kids and my life revolved around work, kids' schools and hanging out with other families, Richmond would probably still be more appealing to me than NOVA suburbs, just because you can get more for your money and there's less traffic.

As I get older and my kids are in high school, that changes.

A lot of the cute houses people post are from Richmond city, which is the most liberal area. Those houses tend to be in areas with good elementary schools-Fox and Munford. But the middle and high schools aren't great, so people with money usually either move for middle or high school or pay for private OR if they are lucky get into the few public charter/government schools. Richmond city has the same problem with segregated schools that exist other places. Race and class are still intertwined.

The Short Pump area, where I live (please kill me), has really good schools in terms of testing. I wasn't that impressed with them, and we did private for some years. There was a lot of teaching to the test. But, I mean, they are known for having good schools. There are a lot of white kids and a lot of Asian kids and a lot of Indian kids at the "good" schools. So--diversity? I mean, sort of. Short Pump, and the general far west end, has a lot of big houses with prices that will probably seem appealing to people coming from NOVA. It's really easy to get around, but there's not very much interesting to do. It's about 20-25 minutes into the city by highway.

Henrico is trending blue, and I would say where I live it's around 50/50 or maybe 60/40 (Republican 60). Chesterfield has always been known to be more conservative, but I do think a lot of people move there because the housing is cheaper, and that probably is making a difference. Even if my area is 50/50 or 60/40, I would still say it's fairly "conservative" just in terms of attitude. And soooo many people here have lives that still revolve around college--VA Tech and UVA and JMU...people are so into the VA college sports. Overall, between the people I know here and friends I have in DC, the people in DC are much more interesting. More interesting jobs. More cultured...I don't mean that in a snobby way. Just like..more experiences outside of this area.

The "cool" part of Richmond is probably the Scott's Addition area right now...or it was before COVID. It does tend to skew young, but there are more and more restaurants and fun activities that were opening. Richmond was becoming a cooler city than it used to be, for sure. I don't know how COVID will change that. And there is always the fan. Shockoe Bottom. But Scott's Addition was really growing....

BUT....

Richmond is still a medium sized city. That's why I say that if you're in the part of your life where you are really family focused...30s to mid 40s...depending on kids....it's a nice place to live.

But in terms of cultural opportunities...I mean...yes. We have the VMFA. VCU opened a small art museum. There is a science museum, children's museum....etc...we get people coming here for concerts and shows. But there just isn't NEARLY the same amount of cultural things as in DC, and you will find that a lot of the fun things to do are really dominated by very young people. I haven't met many people my age here who like to go out and do stuff. My friends' lives literally revolve around their kids. And--I have looked for a long time.

So, that is my take! I really want to move, but I am entering a different stage of life.  [/quote]

This post is fair but you do not need to move to Short Pump for good schools.  City limits end in Tuckahoe so you could in theory live near the University of Richmond (a beautiful area with plenty of non "Short Pump" amenities) and still send your kids to the county middle and high schools.  Surprised a lifelong Richmonder would relocate to Short Pump upon return.  This post smells more of a person who grew up in Chesterfield or Midlothian.[/quote]

I grew up on River Road. Moved to the far west end upon returning to richmond because of family pressure and we could get a lot more house for the money. I’m not in short pump...just close to it.

Freeman is a 5/10 now on Great Schools, which is surprising to me. Deep Run is 10/10. But if doesn’t matter since you can apply to specialty centers.

Lol. I also love the south of the river “shaming.” 😂 It’s RICHMOND. [/quote]

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