Ah, being back with old friends reminds in a city that was home for nine years reminds me of how I love Richmond. Let me count the ways:
1. You can get anywhere in around 20 minutes (contrast that with Northern Virginia, where you can't get anywhere in less than 45 minutes).
2. It's a capital city that actually has a real, cool downtown--not just a couple of pitiful government buildings surrounded by miles upon miles of pointless surbaban sprawl (yeah, I'm looking at you, Raleigh).
3. It's got so much history. The fan district is the largest historical area on the East Coast--tons of great old houses and cobblestone streets. There are so many parts of town that are old and full of tons of great (and at times not-so-great) history. Charlotte, which sprung up one night in 1985, has nothing of the sort--but hey, who needs history and culture when you've got aluminum siding?
4. There's a healthy amount of growth but the streets and highways are not one perpetual construction project. I'm talking to my peeps in the 757, the Hampton Roads/Virgina Beach area, where the explosion in population is only surpassed by the proliferation of orange barrels along highway 64.
5. There are just enough rednecks to give the area a little Southern charm, but not so many that they run the place (see the entire state of South Carolina).
6. And while I can't imagine one would want to leave such a paradisal city, it's close to lots of cool things: an hour and a half to the mountains, two hours to the beach, two hours to D.C. This is in contrast to the entire Central Time Zone, which isn't close to anything cool at all.
So while Kelly and I are glad to be back in the Triangle, it's been good to be back to so fine a city as Richmond. And now that I've alienated just about all of you, I really am done until Monday!
8 comments:
You've even managed to alienate me, a Richmond reader, since I never liked Richmond! (I know it has potential, but not too much if you live in sleepy Midlothian, as I do.)
Well, the housing market has also sky-rocketed since companies started moving hq's and large operation bases to Richmond. NY/NJers come down and buy $1/4M to $1/2M houses in cash.
A new townhome division being built is advertising from the $300k. Eek! B'ham, here we come!
Alex, umm.. no. I just deleted my arguement, because I know you have to be joking about Raleigh. So, I'll stick with
umm.. no.
in response to my last two commentators:
1. the guy's from jersey. 'nuf said. altho he's got a good point about the whole capital of the confederacy thing. that's all part of the glorious sordid history...
2. reba, no way i'm joking about raleigh.
Here Here Todd!
1.) Jersey
2.) Norfolk
3.) Richmond
4.) Fredericksburg
Peeps. Lemme set you all straight.
1.) Austin
2.) Miami
3.) Austin or Miami
4.) Austin and Miami
. . .
100.) Neither Austin Nor Miami
I love Austin, but when I lived there, I really missed the seasons. In Austin there is Summer until December, then all the leaves abruptly fall off the trees one night, there is winter for a couple months, then Summer again.
kristen: I'm unclear on the problem here? :-)
Miami is even better! There, the leaves never fall off the trees!
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