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Old 07-08-2010, 09:21 PM
 
170 posts, read 581,049 times
Reputation: 108

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or does it...?

I'm a 25 year old single professional who just moved to Richmond, VA for a new job. I'm from DC, and I am having a major culture shock trying to adjust to the Richmond lifestlye. It seems like it's really hard to meet new people. Everyone in Richmond seems to already have their friends and they already seem to have known all of each other for years. I keep hearing that everyone in Richmond knows each other. I need some help meeting new people and having fun in this town. There has to be stuff to do here!

What do you girls and guys do on the weekend?

Bars: I've frequented the bars in the fan, shockoe bottom and even out in the West End.
Outdoors: I've seen enough of Maymont Park, hiking trails and even kayaked the James River.
School: I've thought about maybe going back to school to meet new people, perhaps grad school at VCU or UR.
Out of town: You can go to C-Ville, DC, Williamsburg and the Beach, but it's not Richmond, and I'm getting tired of driving out of Richmond to do stuff.

I've started reading blogs like:
http://carolinesplate.com/2009/04/01/richmond-hardly-a-mecca (broken link)
http://jackgoesforth.blogspot.com/se...%20Bar%20Guide

Is it me, or is it just really hard to date in this town?
How do you all meet new people?
What do you do on the weekends?
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Old 07-08-2010, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Cesspool of human excreta aka DC
244 posts, read 624,078 times
Reputation: 108
Its the south dude. Full of close minded people. What else did you expect when you moved?
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Richmond
631 posts, read 1,285,722 times
Reputation: 222
How long have you lived here? And it's always a good idea to meet people that you work with.
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Old 07-09-2010, 07:31 AM
 
370 posts, read 1,005,694 times
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It seems like the big go-to for meeting new people is Meetup.com and the River City Sports and Social Club. I definitely know what you mean. Everyone is friendly here but since this isn't like DC where people come and go constantly, you don't have a ton of people in the same boat as you looking to make new friends. It doesn't sound like you enjoy the outdoors too much which is a shame because I feel that's one of Richmond's strong suites. Have you considered volunteering for a cause you care about or joining a club that interests you? Also check rvamag.com... a more artsy publication with events that may interests someone in your age group.
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Old 07-09-2010, 08:55 AM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,825,837 times
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It's like any environment post-college...to meet real people, you have to do something that's of interest to you. Meeting people in a bar is hit-or-miss, and I find it's often a bad place to meet someone you can have a long-lasting friendship/relationship with. Try joining the VMFA as a member (if you like art) and go to the Thursdays get-togethers. There are also First Fridays (also art). Try joining the Richmond Road-runners if you like running. Try searching for clubs in Richmond and the surrounding area.

It is a very small city, so I understand your culture-shock, and you will likely have to put more effort in here. I've also heard people talk about people in Richmond having their circle of friends, but I don't buy that (from my experience). I've found that when I meet people while doing productive extra-curricular activities, that I meet people very easily.
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Old 07-09-2010, 08:21 PM
 
1,292 posts, read 4,687,723 times
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Did you research before you moved? What is your professional skill/job? What made you pick Richmond?
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Old 07-10-2010, 12:56 AM
 
170 posts, read 581,049 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbhaskar002r View Post
Its the south dude. Full of close minded people. What else did you expect when you moved?
Lame reply and not true at all. Thanks for your contribution...

Quote:
Originally Posted by RVA-Jsn20 View Post
How long have you lived here? And it's always a good idea to meet people that you work with.
About 6 weeks. I decided to join a club at work for career development, it's aimed towards young people just starting their career. I work for a big company, so hopefully I can meet some other people in the same boat as I. But for now, I mostly just go to happy hours with my team at work, who I already spend 50-60 hours a week with. Not sure if I'm going to pull any close friends out of my coworkers. However, due to my type of job, I stay pretty busy and don't have a lot of down time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ric75 View Post
It seems like the big go-to for meeting new people is Meetup.com and the River City Sports and Social Club. I definitely know what you mean. Everyone is friendly here but since this isn't like DC where people come and go constantly, you don't have a ton of people in the same boat as you looking to make new friends. It doesn't sound like you enjoy the outdoors too much which is a shame because I feel that's one of Richmond's strong suites. Have you considered volunteering for a cause you care about or joining a club that interests you? Also check rvamag.com... a more artsy publication with events that may interests someone in your age group.
Do people really do those things like meetup.com? Anyone here had any personal experience with it that went well? I really do enjoy the out doors, but for making new friends, I usually kayak with my buddies and run with a friend or solo, kind of hard to meet people out on the water or trail. I do like being outdoors though. I haven't looked at other clubs. Thanks for rvamag.com - seems interesting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AJNEOA View Post
It's like any environment post-college...to meet real people, you have to do something that's of interest to you. Meeting people in a bar is hit-or-miss, and I find it's often a bad place to meet someone you can have a long-lasting friendship/relationship with. Try joining the VMFA as a member (if you like art) and go to the Thursdays get-togethers. There are also First Fridays (also art). Try joining the Richmond Road-runners if you like running. Try searching for clubs in Richmond and the surrounding area.

It is a very small city, so I understand your culture-shock, and you will likely have to put more effort in here. I've also heard people talk about people in Richmond having their circle of friends, but I don't buy that (from my experience). I've found that when I meet people while doing productive extra-curricular activities, that I meet people very easily.
VMFA sounds like a good idea. Thanks! I love art and music. What other productive extra-curricular stuff can you recommend?
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Old 07-10-2010, 12:59 AM
 
170 posts, read 581,049 times
Reputation: 108
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anders15 View Post
Did you research before you moved? What is your professional skill/job? What made you pick Richmond?
I researched the area, to the point where I picked to live in the fan, which I am so glad I did. The job made me pick Richmond though, and lower cost of living. I'm the the finance/investment industry, work long hours, have the work hard party hard mentality going.

I really like the Shockoe Slip area, actually went there tonight and had a great time!
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Old 07-10-2010, 01:09 AM
 
1,292 posts, read 4,687,723 times
Reputation: 433
Try the Richmond FOlk Festival. I think you may have missed it for this year but there is a lot of youth during those times. There are many events:

Richmond Events Calendar- RMCVB- Richmond Virginia Event Schedule, VA Sites

Venture Richmond

those sites are actually helpful for looking for events and organizing stuff.
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Old 07-10-2010, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Richmond, VA
1,799 posts, read 6,291,269 times
Reputation: 673
River City Sports and Social Club might be a good call (as mentioned above). Do you play soccer? Tons of indoor/outdoor soccer leagues and maybe signing up on a co-ed team could help in the dating department.
SCOR Sports Center of Richmond
RISE: Richmond Indoor Sports Experience
Central Virginia Soccer Association - Richmond's Premier Adult Soccer League

Have you heard of HYPE (Helping Young Professionals Engage)?
HYPE: Home
It's been over a year since I've gone to any of the events, but pretty good. Good way to network professionally and meet some folks for "extracurricular" activities too.
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