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we are moving to rva for my wife’s job.
people seem hyped on richmond, feels about 12-15 years behind to us. the beer scene is a bit too fruity and weak for me (was not able to find a strong local ipa, sadly)-will need strong recomends in this department, please.
is there hope for this dirty-ass town with a regional airport that calls itself “international”. the food scene seemed ‘aight and people seemed cool enough. the only positive is that it is shit-cheap compared to SLC.
we were looking at forrest hills to build or buy in, as there are trails there. anywhere else anyone can recommend checking out (we have two kids, 9 and 6) to buy/build.
thanks.
DN
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Look on the bright side!
Richmond seems to be pretty progressive in terms of maintaining plenty of bike-legal singletrack in the city, which should be a plus. And the Dominion Riverrock outdoor festival is unique for such a large, east coast city. (It’s happening in less than 2 weeks.)
If you like West Coast style IPAs, this one from Richmond looks legit: https://hardywood.com/beers/great-return/
Richmond is no SLC, but among east coast cities, it’s a pretty good choice for mountain bikers.
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Welcome to town. I hope you’ll find it tolerable. Forest Hill is a good area to live for a mtb rider as it does have a trail system that is part of the larger James River Park System. About 25 minutes south of town is Pocahontas State Park which has something like 30 miles of singletrack and continues to grow. With about 2 hours in the car you can find yourself in the Blue Ridge Mountains where you will find miles of back country riding. RVAMore is the local club here in town.
As for the beer scene there are, as of last count, 31 craft breweries in the metro area the vast majority of which are in the city limits. There is a Richmond beer trail map somewhere in the ether of the internet
I’m not much of a foodie but my understanding is that the restaurant scene here is strong. I can say that almost every restaurant I go into has a good craft beer selection.
Have fun
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Thanks, Jeff for the input and links. We will be there during Riverock Fest looking for house rentals. I’ll be sure to check that out, as our kids are avid climbers. And that beer link… god bless you, Sir ????
And Johnny0805 thank you, as well, for the info on RVAMore-will be looking to ride with some new friends, hopefully. This seems like a good way to meet some good folks. I’ve been watching a lot of RVA and VA trail vids on the ol’youtube-and I’m pretty stoked on what you guys have going on. And Asheville really looks fun, too. And I appreciate your guidance on the West End. We are looking there, as well as the Musem District/Fan areas
Finally, Dr Sweets-with a handle like that-you could be our new dentist (you never know)-my apologies for the “Impressively snobby BS…” post. Rereading my original post, I do come across as a bit dick’ish, apologies again to all who are seeking therapy over my words (and I promise to chuck myself in front of a bus on your behalf… eventually).
A few more questions, if any of you have the time to answer-thank you in advance:
1. Best public schools for a first and fourth grader? It’s out understanding that you have to live directly in your public school’s zone in order for your kid/s to attend that particular one.
2. We are also looking at St. Bridgett’s, they seem very receptive Anyone know anything about them? St. Catherine’s still won’t return our calls or emails, seems strange-is this a school that anyone can recommend pursuing.
3. Also, if anyone knows of anyone selling a mid century home or a post modern style home, please let us know.
Thank you all again for the help and information.
DN
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Opening up the discussion by cutting down the place is probably not the best way to solicit help and advice from the locals. I’m not from there, but I’m sure the folks who call it home like it, even with its flaws.
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Richmond
Good bike park downtown. Some good riding within driving distance in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia.
Green grass and leaves on trees are beautiful too. Fishing isn’t half bad either (and you can drive to the beach)
Think positive and Richmond can be a good place
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Wow. Impressively snobby BS. I am sure you will hate RVA so go ahead and jump in front of a city bus preemptively and save us the bitching. That said, RVA has a great cycling scene. There are more than 25 miles of singletrack weaving through the city that are a part of JRPS and some rogue stuff too as well as breweries/restaurants/coffee shops galore that you can dip off the trails and be at in minutes. The singletrack is classic tight east coast gnar versus much of the long flowy junk that the kids seem to dig these days. You may do better out in the West End as far as schools go, but there are some great places around Forrest Hill Park. Have an awful experience, cheers.
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@DirtNeck: “Finally, Dr Sweets-with a handle like that-you could be our new dentist (you never know)-my apologies for the “Impressively snobby BS…” post. Rereading my original post, I do come across as a bit dick’ish, apologies again to all who are seeking therapy over my words (and I promise to chuck myself in front of a bus on your behalf… eventually).
A few more questions, if any of you have the time to answer-thank you in advance:
1. Best public schools for a first and fourth grader? It’s out understanding that you have to live directly in your public school’s zone in order for your kid/s to attend that particular one.
2. We are also looking at St. Bridgett’s, they seem very receptive Anyone know anything about them? St. Catherine’s still won’t return our calls or emails, seems strange-is this a school that anyone can recommend pursuing.
3. Also, if anyone knows of anyone selling a mid century home or a post modern style home, please let us know.
Thank you all again for the help and information.”
St Cats and Bridgetts are both solid. Public schools on the Southside; not so much. The West End is much better as far as that goes, but you are then out in the suburban hellscape that it consists of. I do know a home renovations group that kick ass that may have some leads. I went to VCU (Ramming speed!) for dental school and have visited/hung around RVA for decades, but I currently practice in Georgia. Jeff Friend is terrific though.
Back to the more important things at hand, the riding. I go back to visit friends in RVA, but specifically to ride. The city trails are really phenomenal. I’ve ridden all over the US, in BC, Switzerland, France and Italy and I still think that the JRPS is the best inner city trail network out there. Poca and Poor Farm are decent too and then you are only a hour or so away from tons of stuff in the Blue Ridge up and down 81 from Harrisonburg all the way to Roanoke not to mention Charlottesville or a few hours to Snowshoe to get yr DH freak on.
DN
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Check out Hardywood Brewery. Eric and Patrick are childhood friends of my wife. We spent many Christmas’s in their CT basement sampling what was “Lakehouse” beer which became Hardywood. These guys did their research and learned to brew in Austria. Good folks! Welcome to the right coast. Take a trip to VT for some MTB and brews. Kingdom trails and Hill Farmstead will wet your whistle! Best! Jamie
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My son was stationed just south of Richmond for a bit. I was not impressed with Richmond itself but the history that surrounds the area is immense. I would love to have access to that on a regular basis. I drove my son there from Texas and w/o knowing anything about how much of the area is private property, it seems the building opportunities would be endless since there was so much forest…at least compared to the concrete jungle of SoCal. I’m not knocking SLC but I would love for my kids to grow up back in the Richmond area. Heck, the Waltons loved just a few hours away and they were some quality peeps.
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Living in Richmond you have access to not only the trails in the RVA MTB system but also are day trip distance to other great trails in the Roanoke area and GW Forest/Shenandoah. As for IPAs, you say you can’t find a decent one but did not say where you’ve looked or the style you prefer. RVA is one of the leading beer tourism destinations in the US and gaining a world wide reputation. It is home to beers of many styles. Not knowing your preferred IPA profile (Ex. West Coast vs. NE) I’ll give you a few that stand out in addition to the already mentioned Hardywood (I prefer their stouts but they have good quality up and down the line): The Veil and Triple Crossing are two RVA originals that are renown for their IPAs (both offer many IPA varieties) and San Diego’s Stone opened their east coast brewery and distro center in RVA a couple of years ago with a great taproom just off the river and along the Virginia Capital Trail (RVA to Williamsburg). There are many other great VA breweries with satellite locations in RVA including Three Notch’d and Starr Hill. RVA has a thriving art and music scene. It also suffers from many of the urban issues of mid-sized southern cities. Yes there is decay. Yes there is poverty. There is also dedicated group within the city looking for opportunities to revitalize. If you are new to the SE I can see why you are experiencing culture shock, but try exploring before destroying.
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@kenginnova: “RVA has a thriving art and music scene. It also suffers from many of the urban issues of mid-sized southern cities. Yes there is decay. Yes there is poverty.”
Everyplace has some poverty and decay unless you’re living that upper 1% lifestyle in the vicinity of Palo Alto. One of the huge differences b/t RVA and other cities IS the music and art scene. This has gone on for decades. VCU (Go Rams!) being one of the top ten design schools in the nation feeds this. It is kook central and awesome for it. Believe me, RVA used to be a royal shithole and had the highest murder rate in the nation in the early 90’s (when I lived there…coincidence? Maybe?). The music and art were incredible, but it was sketchy. It has been on a serious gentrification upswing for the last 20 years with no end in sight. Non-official motto was “it’s a great place to go crazy”, however now it’s pretty nice too.
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ok, just flew back home to SLC tonight-my wife and kids flew out to RVA on a redeye last night. i plan on meeting them tomorrow evening, going out to dinner (always up for recommends-we went to some greek place last time that was not bad). not sure if i will be able to get a rental-pedal in this time around… as our kids will be testing for some schools, etc. if any of you have any ideas or recommendations on what to do with a nine and a six year-old, please don’t be shy! i plan on taking them to the two climbing gyms (they are big time climbers), the art museum and whatever else comes to mind.
after that, fly back to SLC, jump on flight to bend to bike, beer and snowboard the rest of their season.
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