Title says it all. I live in NoVa and really hate it.
The biggest plus up here is the weather, but I really want  more of a "southern" atmosphere.
There was a recent thread on how ghetto Richmond is. I can't imagine it being more ghetto than the city of Atlanta.
Come on Arfcom give me the lowdown.

I lived in NOVA from middle school until i was 29 and then moved to Richmond.   Richmond is SOOOOOO Much better in my opinion than NOVA.
WAY less traffic, people are much more laid back and nicer.
RIchmond isn't that ghetto, sure drive into Gilpen court and it's ghetto.  But drive into downtown DC and it has the same crap.  Every big city has bad areas.  
I live in a great area.

I lived there for two years and prefer NoVA. Small cities just suck . Go rural , suburb , or big city. Just my opinion. I lived on the corner of Grace and Allen. Prime pick up spot for tranny hookers.  

Richmond has good areas and bad areas. Personally I'd go for one of the counties around it. The west end of henrico is nice as are parts of mechanicsville.

It all depends on what you're looking for.
I agree (for me anyway) that downtown Richmond sux, but then again I like country living away from the burbs and the noise.

I grew up in Silver Spring Md., and dealt with the traffic for waaaay too many years. I've been down here for 20 years and there's no way I'd go back except to visit.

So the positives here are more friendly laid back people, less traffic, better real estate prices (even better in this market).
The negatives would be fewer job opportunities, less cultural venues, more "good ol boy" networks.

Gotta take the good with bad......

I'm a temporary resident of Chester, about 15 miles south of Richmond.  Having just moved here from Columbus, GA (Ft Benning) this area is a stark improvement.  I've seen some bad parts of Richmond,  but the whole city isn't a ghetto (like baltimore or something).  Most of the surrounding communities are very nice, excluding Petersburg and most of Colonial Heights.   Having not been here long, I cannot comment on the weather much beyond saying that it's nice out today.

I have been in the Richmond area since 2004 and love it. I currently live in Hanover county and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Need more info.   Where you gonna work/do?   Price range buy/rent?  What you like to do in your off time etc.

I came to Richmond in the mid 90's for school and stayed until 2006.  I've been all over the country for work and seen many cities large and small.  I went home to MD for a few years, but recently moved back.  Needless to say, I think Richmond's a great place.  I know there are some ghetto areas, but I never see them.  They are not hard to avoid at all.  

Depending on what you are into, here a couple strong points:

- There are a ton of great restaurants in the Fan, downtown and surrounding areas. Much better options than most cities of comparable size.
- There is a decent music scene with more national acts coming around (especially with the addition of The National) and bigger concerts can be found within a short drive.  There are also a lot of great outdoor summer concert series like Innsbrook Afterhours, Friday Cheers, etc.  
- There are a lot of good, affordable public golf courses
- A lot of sites for the history buff
- Comparatively very easy commutes
- Affordable housing
- Nice malls in DTSP and Stoney Point


To be fair, there are some negatives:
- No major league sports, but there are a few minor league teams and local college sports.  UR were the 2008 football champs and cracked the top 25 in basketball this year.  VCU basketball is also pretty good. I also make it up for quite a few Ravens games each year - it's not a bad drive.
- There are not a lot of local public shooting options.  I was used to shooting at the county ran range for $30/year in MD.  I recently joined Black Creek, but had to wait several months until they opened up for new members in January.

I lived in NoVA for years and moved down towards the Richmond area a few years ago.  Living down here is infinitely better than NoVA.  My perceptions:

1.  You can live 30 miles outside of Richmond on the I-95 corridor and the commute into town is only 30-45 minutes (versus twice that into DC from much of NoVA).

2.  Cost of living is much lower.  You can buy a big house on good acreage for less than a townhouse at an easily commutable distance from Richmond.  Lots of rural places to live close to town.

3.  People are more polite.