Richmond magazine’s February issue is our largest of the year. This annual Sourcebook is designed not only as a comprehensive guide to Richmond for newcomers but also as an indispensable yearlong resource for everyone who lives in the region. Even if you were born here, we hope you will learn something new about your hometown within these pages.
Each year, we choose a theme to guide our Sourcebook story selection, and this year’s theme, “Here We Grow,” was inspired by the 2020 U.S. Census results, which revealed that the population of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area has increased by about 10% — 130,000 people — since 2010, rising to 1.3 million.
We meet some of these newcomers starting on Page 28, in a series of short profiles written by Paula Peters Chambers. It was fun to read the stories of people who have moved to Richmond by choice over the past few years, many coming from larger cities. They’ve come here seeking a lower cost of living and a better quality of life, and as I read their stories, I was reminded of the city’s much-maligned “Easy to Love” slogan that was unveiled in 2001.
Although it was a bit bland and generic — and somewhat of a rip-off of “I Love New York” — there was also a lot of truth to it: Richmond is easy to love, and in many ways it has become even more lovable as it has grown, with more options than ever for dining, culture and recreation.
As the pandemic has shifted the labor market and many jobs have gone remote, the Richmond region, which has become a sought-after location for young professionals, stands to attract even more newcomers. On Page 102, Scott Bass explores the great migration of workers and shares that in 2019, 64,000 people migrated to the Richmond region, according to U.S. Census data compiled by the Greater Richmond Partnership. It will be interesting to look at this figure post-pandemic.
I have lived in Richmond since 1989, when I began attending the University of Richmond. Much of my time there was spent within the UR bubble, but I stayed after graduating, moved to the city and quickly got to know the region as I drove to all corners to cover stories as a reporter, armed with a bound ADC Metro Richmond atlas. I never expected to be here more than 30 years later and probably would not be had Richmond not evolved. Some of the growth is tangible, in areas such as Short Pump and Scott’s Addition where construction is booming, while other growth is more abstract — changing attitudes, policies and priorities that acknowledge our past and point to a more enlightened future.
