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WontArnett t1_j1unvsm wrote

WE ARE NICE PLACE.

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McFlare92 t1_j1v7st4 wrote

WE'RE FULL OUR NICENESS HAS GONE TOO FAR. EVERYONE SHOOT GUNS IN THE AIR

-grumpy people on r/rva

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ThatChildNextDoor t1_j1xbrll wrote

Just wait until new year's eve.

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tagehring t1_j1z9a40 wrote

The day when, in my neighborhood, playing "Guns or Fireworks" is a lot harder than usual.

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tmos540 t1_j1woqw5 wrote

Shockoe Bottom got that message a while back.

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ShuRugal t1_j1x9fea wrote

Shockoe Bottom shoots their guns into the RIVER. Chesterfield is where we shoot the sky.

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tmos540 t1_j1xd07z wrote

My mistake, I couldn't hear the traumatized screams of the fish.

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LihpMar t1_j1vkec4 wrote

Duloc Richmond is a perfect place

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illixxxit t1_j1w4l0c wrote

lmao so condescending and self-satisfied

>> “Visitors to Virginia’s capital will find a Monument Avenue devoid of Confederate statues, a lively dining scene featuring Black-owned restaurants, and exhibitions that take on the city’s complicated past.”

what American city doesn’t have a ‘complicated past’ especially with issues of race and deeply-entrenched systemic racial inequality? looking right at you, new york city, especially your schools, your cops, and your jails/prisons. what a bunch of smug shallow liberal pat-on-the-back hogwash that has absolutely no critical value. good riddance to the monuments, but fuck you, NYT.

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lemonartichoke t1_j1wn7uy wrote

Also, the prevalence of black owned restaurants isn’t remarkable here? There really aren’t THAT many.

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STREAMOFCONSCIOUSN3S t1_j1uybet wrote

From the article you would think Richmond is stuck in the 1860's with a bunch of slave owners still. Jeesh. Is that really how big city people view us?

> Over the years, Richmond has drawn me back multiple times, each visit a deeper dive into Civil War history — with plenty of breaks for cramming in all the delicious food I can. On my most recent trip, as I scouted out museums, restaurants and historic neighborhoods, I was curious to feel the city’s pulse, to see how it was recovering.

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GandhiOwnsYou t1_j1v00e1 wrote

Like it or not, yeah. Every smaller city gets pigeonholed with some stereotype, we got “burned down in the civil war.” Every time I see a Richmond article it’s always the same thing. I’m not saying there’s not an element of truth, but you’d think after 15 years of the same thing, people wouldn’t be playing the rebuilding/wrestling-with-the-past bullet points in every single article.

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1v0arm wrote

Modern journalism is all about phoning it in

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goodsam2 t1_j1vl5ut wrote

Lack of budget these days to deal with harder hitting stories.

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crankitup29 t1_j1vsm9h wrote

The NYT has a dang good budget

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goodsam2 t1_j1vsz8x wrote

But the deep dives on some local issues. If they want to spend the money they can but their revenue is down by 2/3 since 2006 and the Richmond local papers aren't laying some ground work for them in the same way.

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loptopandbingo t1_j1vvl0t wrote

Every Times Dispatch article about NYC should start with "New York City, a haven for Loyalists fleeing the American colonies, was occupied by the British until the absolute very end of the Revolution and will forever be defined that way. It's really coming into its own now though."

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pocketdare t1_j1wn477 wrote

Speaking of which, has Boston recovered from it's history of revolutionary zeal and anti-taxation propaganda activists?

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darockerj t1_j1vjkqy wrote

Right? I realize every article needs an angle, but “how it was recovering?” The specters of the civil war and institutional racism loom over the city, but you’d think there were buildings still smouldering from 1865.

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crankitup29 t1_j1vtii1 wrote

I wondered if the recovery was from covid? It was vague.

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GandhiOwnsYou t1_j1w5gjc wrote

Recovery being vague is kind of the thing. Richmond is always viewed in a lens as “recovering” from something. Civil war, reconstruction, world wars, “economic troubles” of various varieties, our “troubled past.”

On the one hand, it’s good because we always seem to get a little bit of a pass. On the other, it’s really fucking condescending. “Aw, look at this little city, it’s so cute how they have these adorable cafes and microbreweries even though just yesterday they were a bunch of murder capital racist drug corridor confederates!” These articles read with the same good natured superiority as when you compliment a little kid for being dad’s big helper working on the deck.

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TheCheeseDevil t1_j1uytxb wrote

until very recently I couldnt walk the dog without running into folks waving confederate flags and trying to goad me into arguments, it definitely flavored the environment

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DefaultSubsAreTerrib t1_j1vc98r wrote

Until about two weeks ago there was a Confederate monument down the street from me. Until about two years ago there was a street named Confederate Ave just a few blocks from me.

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dsbtc t1_j1vneb5 wrote

New York is an incredibly myopic city, some lifelong citizens there view it like Europeans view their capital cities, as the lens through which the rest of the world is to be viewed.

Which is weird to me because NYC is an extreme outlier as far as American cities go. It's like 10 cities mushed together.

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pocketdare t1_j1wnebl wrote

I lived in NYC for 15 years before moving to Richmond 2 months ago. I've asked many people there where they would like to retire or which city they would prefer moving to if they could move anywhere and often I get a look like I have two heads. Why would you live anywhere other than New York?

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Rs90 t1_j1wjj3n wrote

With 10 cities worth of garbage dumped on top to blow around in the wind.

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freetimerva t1_j1vlttj wrote

I grew up with confederate flags in the christmas parade.

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I_AM_RVA t1_j1x0vrx wrote

Yeah from the article you would think that the City has a bunch of massive statues commemorating slave owners and treasonous seditionists but I mean come on we haven’t had that for like at least three weeks.

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ShuRugal t1_j1x9kek wrote

>Is that really how big city people view us?

I hope so. It's probably the only reason we aren't already NOVA.

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Ok-Owl6515 t1_j1vbpd2 wrote

Those damn Yankees failed at Reconstruction!

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jodyhighrola t1_j1zevkf wrote

>Is that really how big city people view us?

Tbh, Richmond is not even on the radar of most Americans. I talk to people from all over the country in big cities (through work), and most raise their eyebrows when I say I live here and not Austin, NYC, DC, Denver, Bay Area etc. I get the "what's it like there?" question often. The most common thing people say is "I have heard it's beautiful out there". My hometown in the Midwest can't even find Virginia on a map.

Exception being people who have visited UR for campus tours etc. That school draws fancy folk from all over it seems.

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wereworfl t1_j1zjr1r wrote

You know, we were a crime capital 15 years ago

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RVABourbonRunner t1_j1up4v6 wrote

If you don’t like chicken wing bones and a cat at Lowe’s then you can just GTFO

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lycosid t1_j1uvb8l wrote

Chicken wings bones, The cat at Lowes

These are a few of my favorite things

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swwws t1_j1vq27t wrote

Note to self, go by Lowe's and pay respects to cat next time I see y'all.

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goodsam2 t1_j1vlzqt wrote

Whenever these articles come up I'm always thinking we are patting ourselves on the back and not thinking systemically about what is happening.

IMO I think it's more important that lower class disproportionately black Americans get into good housing with good schools than statues.

I think BLM's moment at least for now has come and gone (negative approval rating now vs March it was overwhelmingly positive) and we mostly renamed schools and tore down some statues and learned more about how we did/are segregating.

I think the race problem is always painted as worse in the south when I think the north has multiple marks they are dramatically worse.

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crankfurry t1_j1w5n3t wrote

If you look at data, the north is actually more segregated in schools and housing than the south.

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wulxf wrote

Old line is south was segregated by law, but lived together, north was integrated by law, but lived apart. Contains truth.

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illixxxit t1_j1wxkow wrote

Connecticut’s schools, for example, are precisely as segregated as those in Georgia — 84% of Black students in mostly minority schools according to Connecticut Public Radio. New York and New Jersey rate in the top ten; Virginia does not.

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goodsam2 t1_j1xrtmw wrote

The other piece is the Pacific Northwest banned black people for awhile there or at least Oregon...

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darockerj t1_j1vjpys wrote

> Saison is always worth a visit

so much for that

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wur35 wrote

you don't expect them to actually do journalism do you? Sweet summer child, lets talk.

I'm impressed the author even visited richmond before writing the article.

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njbrews t1_j1vjqnf wrote

Here comes the “should i move here” posts

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jacksonwarg t1_j1w3vav wrote

Hi! My partner and I are planning a move, and Richmond is currently our #1 choice! We are curious about safety in the Fan neighborhood, and whether we can find something that fits our budget. We are both remote DC workers, and have a cash budget of up to 900k for a starter home, maybe more if we finance :) Where is the best brunch in RVA? Also, how is the school district? We are currently DINK, and if we do have children we will probably send them to private school- I am only asking really because I hate poor children and want to talk about it. Thank you, we cannot wait to make Richmond our forever home!

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jimmybilly100 t1_j1vr2pi wrote

"I'm from NY and WFH and want to move somewhere I can buy an overpriced condo so I still feel like the city, does Richmond have that?"

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Oenonaut t1_j1w3ku6 wrote

"1,000 square feet for under a quarter mil? Sign me up!"

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testingforscience122 t1_j1vasjw wrote

Definitely better than New York!

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dj1200techniques t1_j1vespx wrote

Lol adorable

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wv2ac wrote

I like NYC. Family is from there. Plurality of my friends live there.

I'd still rather live in Richmond. City is great to visit but a pain in the ass to live in

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testingforscience122 t1_j1vmr29 wrote

Been to new york a handful of times and the place smell like sh*t on a hot summers day and everything was triple the price and 5x worse quality wise. It always amazes me how many people are willing to put up with living in such a miserable place.

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1vpbuu wrote

Grew up in Richmond. Lived in NYC for 11 years. Moved back to Richmond 2 years ago. You put up with the prices and the smells and the noise and the crowds and the taxes because you have access to some of the best museums in the world, some of the best restaurants in the world, an unparalleled nightlife scene, vast public transit, and a well-paying job market.

With that said — if there comes a point where those things are no longer your primary wants in life, then yeah it becomes less worth it.

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Hedgecore138 t1_j1vouxl wrote

...you have been along the James River in August, right?

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1vqf5k wrote

The smells you find in Shockhoe Bottom rival anything my nose encountered on a long July day in NYC.

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testingforscience122 t1_j1vqzug wrote

I would say not really, but you believe what you want

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1vr9m1 wrote

Hey, man — people can have different opinions.

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testingforscience122 t1_j1vrvak wrote

Exactly if Richmond is to small for people, they should leave, and move to a bigger city. i meet a lot more people moving from New York than people moving to new york from Richmond. Plus your the one commenting on my comment. I just wanted to express my personal opinion that Richmond offer a much better quality of life for Virginia than New york does for new yorkers….

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1vsi2d wrote

I could throw a rock in Brooklyn and hit someone from Virginia. A lot of people from York, PA too for some reason I never figured out.

And again — it depends on what you’re quality of life entails.

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wv9rj wrote

I like NYC. Have lived there. Family from there. Best friends are there.

I'd rather live in Richmond. But I visit NYC a lot.

There are a surprising number of people who commute from RVA to NYC for work so they can live in RVA

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guiltyofnothing t1_j1wvtk1 wrote

Same. NYC was great when I was in my 20’s and just wanted to drink my way across Brooklyn. But now I’m wanting to settle down and start a family and you can’t do that in NYC if you don’t make six figures. Still miss it like hell though.

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wws3y wrote

for 20s, NYC hands down pretty much. I'm always a bit bemused when I see Richmond noted as a good place for 2Os people. Its not a town I would have moved to until my 30s. (moved here from Boston).

As for NYC I remember one girl in the west village saying "you can get anything you want... except the basic necessities of life conveniently"

love visiting, would do so once a month if life permitted, but living here is sooo much easier

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testingforscience122 t1_j1vqtyv wrote

Live here my whole life and the river can get fragrant but nothing compared to new york just general stench.

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crankitup29 t1_j1vu0jj wrote

Overall, this feels like an article they write about us every few years. Just a little updated.

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heraus t1_j1z0go9 wrote

Exactly. You can feel the oncoming condescension within the first paragraph and it goes on from there… a spattering of kind platitudes without really ever getting beyond the decided theme they’ve chosen for Richmond, inevitably Civil War/struggling with racism/rebirth and some restaurants. They miss so much.

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gowhatyourself t1_j1ut40l wrote

The New York Times says we are a land of contrasts.

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sleevieb t1_j1v75z1 wrote

Is saison even open?!

Is Lillie pearl the resteraunt where the whole staff walked out of one resteraunt and moved next door to start a competing one?

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JGrizz0011 t1_j1vilis wrote

The comments in that article are a wild ride. Looks like lots of blue blood Richmonders lamenting the loss of their precious monuments. I know a couple of people that fit that mold, but I don't ever hear these complaints in the circles I run in.

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freetimerva t1_j1vm1zi wrote

I had a couple family members move out of the city because of the monuments coming down.

Embarrassing. Their loss though, as their former home values skyrocketed in the year following the sales. Now they live in the county and the new properties have actually decreased in value since they moved out there.

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goodsam2 t1_j1vlgl5 wrote

I remember my coworker wouldn't go to Charlottesville because they tore down the Lee statue... Those kinds of people are out there.

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Opacy t1_j1w13bk wrote

I always get a sensible chuckle when they talk about how the city is a war zone filled with roving gangs.

Like, how do these people get through life when they think anything “edgier” than going to Cheesecake Factory in Short Pump is inherently dangerous?

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tagehring t1_j1z9wm4 wrote

These are the people who consider Olive Garden "ethnic" food.

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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_j1wvf2d wrote

Ironically I only hear it from people from Goochland. And on here occasionally.

People did move out of the fan because of the riots. But others moved in.

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mam88k t1_j1wi1lr wrote

You think people are moving here in droves now? Wait till the Times has a crush on you. Ready, set, go!

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prosttoast t1_j1xhboa wrote

Watched it happen in Portland starting 2008/2009ish. Then Portlandia came out and boom. Droves. We’re on the same path here for sure, hopefully minus a TV show.

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Supaspex t1_j1xdto2 wrote

oh that's cute...a New York socialite known for various posts about food and travel does a random piece about a compelling new chapter (Richmond) then quips about The Jasper in Carytown.

How about an article named after one of your beloved airports from a guy who really hated pinball machines

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Freseper t1_j1vq1ng wrote

The Tony Horowitz book mentioned in the article was a great read 15 years ago and stands out in my memory as perhaps the funniest non-fiction book I’ve ever read.

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CarlCasper t1_j1ww476 wrote

“Mansion-lined” is a little over the top for describing Monument Ave.

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JoeChip2020 t1_j1y4bkh wrote

Grew up in Richmond, spent about half of my career in NYC, the other half in California and Portland.

Why are you all so enraged? Richmond is a speck on the map compared to NYC. A lovely speck I love coming home to, but that’s the realistic context. If you’re the dorkiest kid in college who gets invited out or recognized by a pretty girl, maybe don’t spit in her face.

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[deleted] t1_j1x14j3 wrote

I ain’t reading all that

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i_need_a_lift t1_j1ymwv3 wrote

Judgements on city quality from someone who's chosen to live in NYC? What's next, restaurant reviews from a dog who eats his own vomit?

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