Over the last couple of years, I’ve helped lots and lots of people move to the Richmond area from other parts of the country and one of the biggest questions I get is obviously, why Richmond? What makes it so great anyway? So I’m going to give you my top 10 Of all the things that I love about Richmond that I think makes us one of the best places to live.
1. There is always something to do here. If you cannot find something to do, you are literally trying to be bored.
2. Second, history. With over 300 historical markers throughout the Richmond area, you can always find history. Again, you’d have to really try not to.
3. Third, art is everywhere from the VMFA to the murals all around town. You can find galleries you can find high-end art and street art. It is a really fantastic place to soak up some art culture.
4. Nightlife and adult beverages shall we say. From craft beers to spirits now to wines and everything in between. You can go on tasting tours that last all day or have a great night out with friends.
5. Festivals, we love our festivals here in the Richmond area. And that means any opportunity to get together with friends, have a food truck, have some music, and have some adult beverages. We are in with both feet. We are there in crowds, all four seasons.
6. I grew up in Richmond but I have lived all up and down the East Coast. And one of the best things about our area is we have four actual seasons spring, summer, fall, winter, and none of them last too long. Yeah, it gets a little humid in the summer. But you know you can deal with traffic. People move, from up north especially, and they want a 45-minute commute. No one here has a 45-minute commute. You really have to have a horse farm to get a 45-minute commute. So you can be almost anywhere in the area within 20 minutes or so.
7. Proximity in the Richmond area. Within two hours you can be in the mountains you can be at the beach, you can be in Washington, DC or Colonial Williamsburg take your pick, and you can be just about anywhere in under two hours.
8. We are 6% below the cost of living for the rest of the state of Virginia and about on average with the rest of most of the country so you get a lot of the perks of being in a metropolitan area without paying for them.
9. Food. National Geographic voted us a few years ago as one of the best places in the world to visit for food and we are holding to that whether you want something really unique and delicious that you can eat on the sidewalk or you want to go have a world-class dining experience. We’ve got it all for you here.
10. Last but not least, the James River. That is probably one of my favorite things and it runs right through the city. So you can literally be in downtown Richmond drop in with your paddleboard or walk right up and rent a kayak and hop right in the river, 10 minutes after you get off work. Where else can you do that?