Richmond Cliques

Twenty-something life in RVA means navigating the world of Richmond cliques.

The uniqueness of Richmond’s many faces can be seen on its residents … well, faces.

Smiles and frowns, sleepy eyes or a cigarette butt in the crook of one’s mouth. These are the daily sightings that one can expect walking down Cary Street or VCU’s Monroe Park Campus.

But the real question is: Who are these people? Should I be afraid of that guy with the Mohawk walking out of Plan 9? Why do I recognize that girl in the sundress and big sunglasses?

These people make up a small portion of the many cliques that populate the Capital City. From drum-slapping rock stars to preppy young professionals, the city has many different cultural cliques for any and all to fit into.

Let’s begin with the biggest factor to Richmond’s cliques: there’s a huge university right in the belly of the beast. Art, theater and music draw students from around the country to Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as future doctors and engineers.

Students and residents make up a huge part of the first clique being examined: the Art Scene.

The Art Scene

Art and creativity can be divided into many different subcategories, ranging from actors and actresses to budding Picassos and Paul McCartneys. We can see their works at First Fridays and hear their beats from garage-turned-studios. Local art, music and theater are an important part of this city and its heartbeat, one that prides its multifaceted talent base that can spit out superstars and swallow up the dreamers.

The Hipsters

In a similar subgroup, that can often be almost Venn-diagramed into a combination of the two groups lie the Hipsters. These skinny-jean wearing, v-neck sporting, retro-square sunglass donning shaggy-haired residents reek of a sort of "essence of cool" vibe that permeates through the pores and rises out of them mixing with the smoke from their Marlboro Lights.

Yeah, these guys are also the folks who we have to slow down and change lanes when they cruise with one jean leg rolled up on their road bikes, but hey, it saves money and the environment, right? These free thinking, counter culture cool kids make up huge geographic sections of Fan duplexes and front porches in the Museum District, expanding even to kids wearing Weepies t-shirts and rocking Toms on Monroe Park Campus. Hipsters are here to stay.

The Young Professionals

Travel down Cary Street from the Fan and you can arrive at the towering skyscrapers that house the Young Professionals of the River City. These YPs can transform from slick suit wearing Mad Men lookalikes to Rainbow sandals and a fresh polo shirt at the chiming of happy hour. They travel in packs, usually with members of the opposite sex (most times their significant others), and are almost always checking their Blackberry or iPhone even if no one just called or texted. They are always up for a beer, wearing sunglasses and tracking their portfolios through E-Trade.

The Townies

This final clique that is explored is sometimes hard to spot. "Townies" blend in with their surroundings, mostly because they’re so comfortable with said surroundings. These "townies" always have a recommendation or a favorite place to: drink the best milkshake, find a free parking deck, route the best run, scarf down the best burger and find the cheapest cocktail. Some older, some younger, these Richmond regulars know the way from point A to point B downtown better than anyone else.

All of these cliques make up the giant casserole that is Richmond. Now you have to ask yourself: are you in?