Most important city in Virginia? (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: credit rating, buy, schools)

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by aquest1

To clarify my comment, I never said any of those specific politicians were from Richmond, just that they were heavily involved in Richmond local politics, which they were...and yes, that includes HENRICO. Henrico is a county, like Fairfax and it is a critical part of the region to which Richmond remains the center. Even as Henrico has developed its own sort of identity and even post office address, you find most of the major F500 businesses keep those Richmond addresses. People refer to themselves as being from the Richmond or the Richmond area, and unlike the 90s, there is palpably less animosity between the county and city who, at least on the political level, have began doing more things constructively. Henrico is no more its own thing than Fairfax is in Northern Virginia, (or Arlington). It is not a city.

Richmond remains the center only in their mind, it is Chesterfield and Henrico that drive the regions economy.

The reason the post office addresses had name changes was because tax revenue collected in the counties was being sent to the city by mistake, (whats does Targets home office in Minnesota know of the region) and wasn't being sent back to the counties as required although they claimed that they did. The first year after the name change Henrico got a $17m boost in tax revenue, the city was short $17m in their budget that year, what a surprise.

Henrico may not be a city form of government but Richmond proper should take lessons from her. Less animosity or the counties choose not to participate in projects with the city, how's the ballpark coming?
Fortune 500 companies are shown as the Greater Richmond Region but more are outside the city limits then in and I doubt Car Max of Goochland has their mail going to Richmond....

[NOVA_guy]

I get the premise of this thread but due to weird Virginia laws many, many years ago cities saw their power weakened (Dillon's Rule) the question should've been posed as which county is most important since they tend to have the most power in VA -- in that sense it's Fairfax County. The population is 1.1M. Northern Virginia's economy is $228B... Fairfax County is responsible for a large portion of that. The average weekly wage in Fairfax is $2,019 making it the 9th highest in the country (Arlington County ranks #7 with $2,173). Median income is $145,164 making it the seventh highest in the nation. It's home to 11 Fortune 500 companies. Fairfax County Public Schools is the 10th largest school division in the US.

All that said, Richmond definitely carries its own weight too as spelled out in this thread. These days, Hampton Roads, Richmond and Northern Virginia are all doing pretty well but in terms of the most important county in Virginia that's always going to be Fairfax County. If you remove Fairfax County, I think Virginia would be a completely different state, honestly.

[webster]

A side by side comparison between Fairfax County, Henrico County and Richmond City:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...inia/PST045222

[aquest1]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Richmond remains the center only in their mind, it is Chesterfield and Henrico that drive the regions economy.

The reason the post office addresses had name changes was because tax revenue collected in the counties was being sent to the city by mistake, (whats does Targets home office in Minnesota know of the region) and wasn't being sent back to the counties as required although they claimed that they did. The first year after the name change Henrico got a $17m boost in tax revenue, the city was short $17m in their budget that year, what a surprise.

Henrico may not be a city form of government but Richmond proper should take lessons from her. Less animosity or the counties choose not to participate in projects with the city, how's the ballpark coming?
Fortune 500 companies are shown as the Greater Richmond Region but more are outside the city limits then in and I doubt Car Max of Goochland has their mail going to Richmond....

You’re missing my point: https://www.carmax.com/help-center
See, corporate address.

It isn’t that the location of the office is in Richmond proper, it’s that they choose to use Richmond instead of Henrico in the official address. Outside of this region, no one even knows how to properly pronounce Henrico. While I agree that it is an impeccably well-run county, it and Chesterfield, etc, are a part of the Richmond region and would not be what they are on their own. People identify these counties with the city of Richmond.

[VTinPhilly]

Richmond---no other city is even close. Norfolk is a distant second followed by Roanoke. Virginia Beach is basically a suburb of Norfolk and Alexandria is but a dot in the massive suburban sprawl of Northern Virginia.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by aquest1

You’re missing my point: https://www.carmax.com/help-center
See, corporate address.

It isn’t that the location of the office is in Richmond proper, it’s that they choose to use Richmond instead of Henrico in the official address. Outside of this region, no one even knows how to properly pronounce Henrico. While I agree that it is an impeccably well-run county, it and Chesterfield, etc, are a part of the Richmond region and would not be what they are on their own. People identify these counties with the city of Richmond.

Then here's where we disagree, first Carmax is in Goochland not Henrico and the post office never changed its name, at that time there was little development out that way. I don't see Henrico or even Chesterfield working with the city, yes they may be the recognized name but they pretty much burnt all the bridges that did exist. I feel sorry for the residents having to deal with 2 inept governments that seem to accomplish little but the taxes keep going up.

Yes Richmond is the recognized name but that as far as it goes just as Norfolk is for South Side even though VB is the larger city. Looking online Lego shows their new location as Chester VA.

[aquest1]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Then here's where we disagree, first Carmax is in Goochland not Henrico and the post office never changed its name, at that time there was little development out that way. I don't see Henrico or even Chesterfield working with the city, yes they may be the recognized name but they pretty much burnt all the bridges that did exist. I feel sorry for the residents having to deal with 2 inept governments that seem to accomplish little but the taxes keep going up.

Yes Richmond is the recognized name but that as far as it goes just as Norfolk is for South Side even though VB is the larger city. Looking online Lego shows their new location as Chester VA.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on some points here. Henrico and Chesterfield are ahead of Richmond City in efficiency and governance, but they are now more serious about working with Richmond on regional priorities like transit, tourism and other economic development. For example, they are all participants in some of the eco-dev entities that were crucial to brining Legos to Southside, Wegmans to Hanover, etc, etc. Sure, competition remains (especially regarding sports tourism), but it isn't like the 90s or early 2000s where leaders for one municipality wouldn't even show up to important developments/announcements going on with the neighbors - this happens now. By the end of the decade, Pulse will have a route into Chesterfield and will be extended further into Henrico. (That's in contrast to the barriers the Tide faces in Hampton Roads). Another form of cooperation, the Virginia Capital Trail and the Fall Line Trail.

Also, this is ridiculous, but my point stands that for F500 corporate, it is preferable to maintain Richmond in the business address as it is more easily recognizable even where the CDP or county alternative would work just fine:

See https://www.altria.com/media/images#...%2C%20Virginia.

See, https://investor.genworth.com/compan...dings%2C%20Inc.

See, https://www.performancefoodservice.c...ions/Corporate

See, https://www.owens-minor.com/contact/ (notice the mailing vs. physical address)

See https://www.arkocorp.com/#:~:text=Ba...urant%20brands.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by aquest1

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on some points here. Henrico and Chesterfield are ahead of Richmond City in efficiency and governance, but they are now more serious about working with Richmond on regional priorities like transit, tourism and other economic development. For example, they are all participants in some of the eco-dev entities that were crucial to brining Legos to Southside, Wegmans to Hanover, etc, etc. Sure, competition remains (especially regarding sports tourism), but it isn't like the 90s or early 2000s where leaders for one municipality wouldn't even show up to important developments/announcements going on with the neighbors - this happens now. By the end of the decade, Pulse will have a route into Chesterfield and will be extended further into Henrico. (That's in contrast to the barriers the Tide faces in Hampton Roads). Another form of cooperation, the Virginia Capital Trail and the Fall Line Trail.

Also, this is ridiculous, but my point stands that for F500 corporate, it is preferable to maintain Richmond in the business address as it is more easily recognizable even where the CDP or county alternative would work just fine:

See https://www.altria.com/media/images#...%2C%20Virginia.

See, https://investor.genworth.com/compan...dings%2C%20Inc.

See, https://www.performancefoodservice.c...ions/Corporate

See, https://www.owens-minor.com/contact/ (notice the mailing vs. physical address)

See https://www.arkocorp.com/#:~:text=Ba...urant%20brands.

We will agree to disagree notice the locations on this list https://www.virginiabusiness.com/art...0-companies-2/

Chesterfield owns most of GRTC I am not surprised that Pulse will extend into the county but what would actual ridership be if people have to start paying again? The Tide greatest failure was not providing viable links to the Navy Base, I participated in the meetings back in the day and that was the #1 request. As for linking VaBeach it won't happen those 2 will always be oil & water but we can discuss that another time.

Richmond needs to get 1 viable government and get rid of having 2, the recent fiasco x 2 with the Casino is a perfect example of their waste, fraud and abuse and the residents are paying for it.

[spencer114]

Pulse ridership was exceeding estimates before the rides became free.

[aquest1]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

We will agree to disagree notice the locations on this list https://www.virginiabusiness.com/art...0-companies-2/

I’m clearly beating a dead horse, so this is the last time I’ll bring this up - the physical and the “mailing” addresses are not one and the same. If I have a company with its home office in Henrico, Glen Allen, Goochland or wherever in this area, I could put those respective places as the “city” without issue. But you can also choose to use Richmond. Why is it that all these businesses use Richmond in their official addresses even though they’re physically located in the county and could opt to use that instead? The answer is obvious. It also alludes to why Richmond is a good answer for this poll.

Chesterfield owns most of GRTC I am not surprised that Pulse will extend into the county but what would actual ridership be if people have to start paying again? The Tide greatest failure was not providing viable links to the Navy Base, I participated in the meetings back in the day and that was the #1 request. As for linking VaBeach it won't happen those 2 will always be oil & water but we can discuss that another time.

Putting aside the fact that ridership on the Pulse has exceeded the Tide from its inception, the real point I was making is that Henrico, Chesterfield and Richmond are cooperating on the Pulse’s expansion, which is in contrast to Norfolk/Virginia Beach, re the Tide. I’m sure you’re aware that decades ago, when its modern iteration came to be, Chesterfield’s part ownership of the GRTC system was specifically aimed at keeping the service out. Times change.

Richmond needs to get 1 viable government and get rid of having 2, the recent fiasco x 2 with the Casino is a perfect example of their waste, fraud and abuse and the residents are paying for it.

Richmond could use more apt leadership, but the city grows despite its faults. And it doesn’t impact its significance as the region’s node. They could all do better at working together.

Anyhow, my ranking of most important to the Commonwealth:

1. Washington
2. Richmond
3. Norfolk/Va Beach
4. Roanoke