• Richmond's climate is classified as modified continental and there are four distinct seasons. Summers are warm and humid and winters generally mild.
• The mountains to the west act as a partial barrier to outbreaks of cold, continental air in winter. The cold winter air is delayed long enough to be modified, then further warmed as it subsides in its approach to Richmond. The open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean contribute to the humid summers and mild winters.
• The coldest weather normally occurs in late December and January, when low temperatures usually average in the upper 20's and the high temperatures in the upper 40's. Temperatures seldom lower to zero, but there have been several occurrences of below zero temperatures. Summertime high temperatures above 100 ºF are not uncommon, but do not occur every year.

A wide variety of housing types and styles are available, in city, suburban, and rural locations. Choices include downtown apartments in renovated warehouses, historic townhouses, golf course and waterfront communities, and farms.

The area's unique neighborhoods include

• Church Hill, one of the best preserved 19th Century neighborhoods in the country
• The Fan District, one of the largest designated historic residential areas in the U.S.
• Jackson Ward, one of the nation's oldest intact African-American neighborhoods
• Grayson Hill, a luxury townhome community in Henrico that won four national honors in the Best of 50+ Housing Awards
• Monument Avenue, the only street in the U.S. that is a National Historic Landmark.

• The Richmond Region has more than 3,500 physicians and 17 acute care and specialty hospitals with nearly 4,000 staffed beds, including VCU's Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Hospitals with more than 600 beds and McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center with 427 beds.
• MCV Hospitals is the most comprehensive teaching medical center in Virginia and is regularly ranked among the top hospitals in America.
• VCU Medical School is one of the nation's largest medical schools and houses one of the nation's oldest transplant programs.

• Richmond Kickers, member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL)
• NASCAR auto racing
• Kings Dominion theme park
• Class I through IV urban white water rafting and kayaking
• Richmond Marathon
• 28 public golf courses
• Pocahontas State Park with 7,700 acres of park and forest land
• More than 100 local parks and 6,500 acres of park land
• Youth and adult sports programs

Performing Arts

• Richmond Symphony
• Richmond Ballet
• Virginia Opera
• Barksdale Theater
• Broadway touring productions
• University productions

Museums and Galleries

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• Science Museum of Virginia
• Virginia Historical Society
• Virginia Holocaust Museum
• Virginia Aviation Museum
• Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
• Black History Museum and Cultural Center
• Edgar Allan Poe Museum
• White House and Museum of the Confederacy
• Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
• Children's Museum of Richmond
• Visual Arts Center of Richmond

• Museums, monuments, battlefields, and historic homes commemorate Greater Richmond's 400-year history.
• Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death..." at Richmond's St. John's Church.
• Thomas Jefferson designed the Virginia state capitol, located in downtown Richmond.
• The capital of the Confederacy was located here.
• Pocahontas lived here, two presidents -- James Monroe and John Tyler -- are buried here, Edgar Allan Poe wrote here, and Arthur Ashe learned tennis here.