The Best of Richmond, 2008-2010

We moved to Virginia in 2008. It's a different place from Houston and Huntington Beach. We've had some great - and terrible - experiences. Here's by list so far (in no particular order).

• Virginia Commonwealth University. This is a great University, with good people, and attractive facilities. The VCU Math Department is uncommonly collegial - a great place to work.
• Richmond restaurants: Millies, Juleps, La Milpa, Tex (the Texas BBQ guy), Picollas - mmm... all good, can't wait to go back.
• Virginia History - a lot of things happened in Richmond - it's neat to be able to go and see these places.
• Respect for and Preservation of Old Buildings -I love that so many old buildings have been preserved here. VCU has a bunch of them - they are now used for various academic departments and administration.
• Woodland Heights and Forest Hill neighborhoods - there are great friendly people here.
• Richmond Ballet - this is a fantastic regional company - I'm really impressed with everything we've seen from them.
• Richmond traffic - it's basically non-existent compared to LA and Houston!
• Humpback Rock - this is a great short hike with an incredible view at the end.
• The James River Park System. There's great hiking along the river, and Riverside Drive is exceptionally scenic for a city drive.
• The Byrd Theater. This is a gorgeous movie palace from 1928 that still shows movies every nite.