March – April 2026
After a cold yet enjoyable stay in Atlanta, we packed up our Honda Fit, Pebble and headed north for Richmond, VA, a city that piqued our interest on our previous leg south from Portland, ME to Atlanta in 2024.
Journey from Atlanta to Richmond
Why Richmond? Well, while making our way south from our November 2024 stay with friends at Fort George Meade, MD, to stay and work for the week en route to Atlanta, we stopped for lunch at this random restaurant in Richmond called Goatacado. I had only heard bad things about Richmond and Paloma didn’t have much of an opinion aside from a potential place to go to college in Senior year, so we were definitely not expecting much. However, this restaurant was delicious and in a cute part of town and frankly, in the span of 45 minutes, we fell in love with Richmond and decided we needed to try staying there for a month.
On the drive up from Atlanta, we stopped in another familiar city that blessed our route on the year-prior’s trip south from Maine: Greensboro, NC. I mentioned Yokai in the previous post linked above, but it is an adorable little Izakaya/Sake bar with delicious fried chicken and Japanese-Southern fusion fare. So of course we decided to split the journey north with a stop in Greensboro. Our stop was nightcapped with a visit to the Yokai bartender’s favorite local pub Neighbors, where we were once again floored with how much this pretty much unheard of town has to offer.
The next day, slightly hungover, we got back in our fully loaded Pebble and continued north and after an unremarkable drive, we arrived at our Oregon Hill neighborhood in Richmond, VA, nestled up a large hill from the James River.
Oregon Hill, RVA
Paloma and I both place this neighborhood on the top of our list of favorite neighborhoods we’ve stayed in, right up there with the Garden District in New Orleans. It is a medium-density, highly walkable neighborhood that is bordered by the James river to the south, the bustling VCU campus to the north, the Hollywood cemetery to the west, and the only large street being Belvedere to the East. The neighborhood is like a walkability peninsula, meaning folks are always walking around, smiling, and saying hi to each other. Aside from Belvedere and a turnpike that runs under a bridge to VCU, there is very little vehicular interference. Having the James River so close meant we got our fill of nature walks and hikes every day the weather permitted. Being near the college campus meant there was an abundance of coffee shops and restaurants all within walking distance.
As for our living situation, we were in a townhome, which is usually not our aesthetic choice, however, the size and layout worked perfectly for our work-from-home requirements. It was set along a walking trail that was separated from Belvedere street by a large brick wall, making it feel a bit more isolated from traffic noise, and allowed easy access to the river trail system directly south of us. The Hollywood Cemetery (not to be confused with the Hollywood Forever Cemetery which I lived near in LA for 5 years), is an extremely placid and quaint cemetery full of headstones dating back to the 1700s in some extreme cases. The cemetery adds a quietness to the Oregon Hill neighborhood that was very appealing.
Rock Climbing Adventures
Several months before, while climbing at one of my favorite climbing gyms on the entire roadtrip thus far, New Orleans Boulder Lounge, I met a fellow climber named Jeremy who mentioned he lived in Richmond. Since we had already been planning on making a stop there, we exchanged contact info and set tentative plans to do some outdoor bouldering.
You know how it goes; you meet someone, make tentative plans for months ahead, and then completely forget the person and the conversation. Well, one of the first days of our stay in Richmond, while Paloma and I were on exploring further down our local James River hike nearby to our townhouse, we happened upon a young man doing some really cool outdoor bouldering with his crashpads all set up, and low and behold, it is the friend that I made in New Orleans, doing some solo-bouldering on the trail that runs to our neighborhood.
These moments of serendipity really feel like a wink from the universe. Needless to say, we reconnected there and I spent way more time bouldering outdoors with Jeremy than I spent inside the rubbery-scented climbing gym. Outdoor bouldering and climbing in Richmond is spectacular. There are fascinating granite boulders all throughout their hundreds of outdoor parks, hikes, and river spaces.
Richmond: Outdoor Wonderland
This city is full of amazing parks, river walks, hikes, and outdoor activities. Our most frequent walk was about a five minute jaunt from our front door: Belle Island. The big street, Belvedere, runs over a bridge several hundred feet above the James River. Directly beneath, the city planners had the genius idea to set a pedestrian bridge suspended from under the Belvedere bridge.
Richmonders from all over flock to hike over the beautiful James river to Belle Island Park, which is one of the many outdoor spaces the city has invested in. It is a couple mile long loop that runs along the river and gives access for river wading, mountain biking, and hikers. While there is parking on the other side of the James, and a little further upriver on the other side, no cars can access Belle Island. This is one example of the vast outdoor investment that the city has made for its citizens, but there are countless others.
Aside from the vast quantity of parks and outdoor spaces, Richmonders exude an outdoorsyness that was really reminiscent of people from the Bay Area or Pacific Northwest. People clearly love outdoor rock climbing in Richmond, as there are even several bolted top-rope routes that have placards placed by the city itself. We found one of our favorite small-businesses to be the outdoor co-op Trail Hut Gear Exchange where I was able to rent rock climbing gear for a great price.
Neighborhood Vibes
The Trail Hut was located in the downtown area which we could walk to by crossing the big street, Belvedere. We found the downtown to be adorable, with old brick buildings, cobblestone streets, and high-density living. The restaurant scene there is great; three downtown restaurants worth mentioning are Perly’s, Nami, and Cafe Rustika.
As with many downtown areas and state capitals, there seems to be some economic issues going on. On Broad St., which is really the heart of downtown in terms of location, you will find a surprising number of boarded up business fronts that are not for sale, nor occupied. This creates a bit of a dystopian feel. But this dystopian feel only represents one pocket of the urban vibe of Richmond. The restaurants I recommended in the previous paragraph are in a part of downtown that feels great, and then across Belvedere there is the Fan district and Careytown which have excellent vibes, somewhere between the Garden district in New Orleans and the Aves of San Francisco.
As mentioned, on our side of Belvedere, near the VCU campus are two super cool neighborhoods: The Fan and Careytown. On a weather-permitting weekend day, there will be hundreds of people walking around getting coffee, lunch, or shopping. The architecture is beautiful, and the city layout is fairly pleasant for pedestrian access. I will stick to the three-restaurant maximum for recommendations in this part of town so as to not overwhelm you, my beloved reader: Beaucoup, Beauvine Burger Concept, and Goatacado. Needless to say, we were only there for a month and half, but there were many other delicious restaurants and cafes.
Day Trips
Another highlight of our time in Richmond was a quick day-trip to Harpers Ferry, WV, where we met up with our Fort George Meade, MD friends Kenzie and Chad and explored this ancient town. I will make a separate post about Harper’s Ferry since its history involves one of my favorite American heroes and abolitionists: John Brown.
We also took a weekend trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and stayed on Roanoke Island in the truly ancient and mysticizing town of Manteo in which an entire colony of 16th century settlers vanished seemingly into thin air. Sitting in a Manteo wine bar after birthday dinner listening to local musicians playing a rendition of Carolina On My Mind by James Taylor will forever stand out as one of my favorite memories on our entire roadtrip.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, I did not expect to fall in love with Richmond. Even people that I met from Richmond raise an eyebrow at that notion, but this is another city that punches above its weight class. Home prices are relatively low; groceries, gas, and other expenses haven’t caught up with the coastal elite price gouging going on elsewhere, and ultimately, the people seemed happy to be there. I would rate this as one of the top contenders for a city to raise a family and perhaps one of the most surprising cities that I never would have expected much from. I am so glad we decided to stop in Richmond on that fateful drive back south in 2024.
I will forever keep an open mind for cities; you never know what you’re going to get.
-RoamingRushka
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