If you find yourself on a compressed timetable for moving into Richmond, Virginia, you may not have a lot of time to visit the city and become familiar with it before you're living in the thick of everything. This can be overwhelming, especially if you've got to spend the better part of your day operating a protein skimmer and don't have time to explore. To help ease the transition process, we've created this guide to the Richmond area. It should give you a decent idea of what to expect once you're there.

The People

Richmond is one of the largest cities in Virginia, with a population of over 200,000 and more in the surrounding metro area. You'll meet people of many ethnicities here, in fact, African Americans make up more than 50% of the population. The median age is 34, so it's a fairly young city, one that is slightly weighted toward females rather than males. People in Richmond work at a variety of jobs, from state government to industry to selling estate jewelry but averaged out they each make about $20,300 per year.

The Landscape

The city of Richmond is located in what is known as the Piedmont Region of Virginia. The Piedmont is known for its rolling hills, which are actually foothills to the nearby Blue Mountains. Former owners of Oakville real estate will recognize some of the plant life in the area, as many trees and shrubs that are common in Ontario grow here as well. Crops traditionally grown in this area include cotton and dairy. Access to natural water is limited to lakes and rivers, of which there are many. The James River runs through the city and the Appomattox and Chickahominy Rivers lay nearby.

The City

Richmond, though not as old as the Virginia coastal cities, still has roots that go back several hundred years. The original street grid (which now forms the downtown area) was laid out in 1737. Many historic buildings and battlefields are found in and around the city, giving it aspects of colonial and antebellum character as well as the feel of a modern city that comes from large numbers of office workers strutting around with their TREO leather cases on their belts.

The Weather

Humid subtropical is the climate classification for Richmond, which means you get four seasons without the huge temperature variations between summer and winter that you'll find further north in Canada. You'll find construction crews still at their slurry mixers in December at times, since the average temperature is between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius, with chances of rain or snow. In summer, expect temperatures to vary between 20 and 30 Celsius and high humidity.