Popularity of The Locker Room explained in one photo and a discussion on Southside
I kinda look at southside as the Shelbyville to our Springfield.
The above image was on Reddit and morphed into Southside sucks comments. It is worth noting the time of the receipt.
Best quote in that thread describing The Locker Room, “It’s anything you want it to be, like Fantasy Island but on the south side.”
South of the River then asked this question.
Can someone explain to me why there is such a negative attitude about living south of the river? I am a transplant, so maybe I am missing something. I have lived in various parts of the RVA area (the Bottom, the West End, and now Westover/Forest Hill area). There seems to be relative equality in quantity of losers and general doucheitude on both sides of the river. I honestly like my current location better than any other place I have lived in Richmond. It is close to downtown, the farmers market, Byrd Park, the interstates, Carytown…I guess I don’t get it.
So, native Richmonders, fill me in.
Best answer so far by gonzoimperial, “I kinda look at southside as the Shelbyville to our Springfield.”
Image: Imgur
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Richard Hayes
When Richard isn’t rounding up neighborhood news, he’s likely watching soccer or chasing down the latest and greatest craft beer.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
Instead of wasting time and effort arguing over where one should live in the City, a matter for one to decide for oneself, the energy would be much better invested in demanding that City Council remedy the arrogant, unaccountable, imperious, inefficient, negligent, ineffective, and inattentive morass that purports to be a city administration. Then Richmond might become a desirable place to live, raise a family, and more employers paying living wages might be attracted.
I’m not a native Richmonder, but after spending a decade+ in the Museum District and Church Hill, I was amazed at the regionalism I encountered moving to the Greater Forest Hill-Westover Hills Area. I’ll never forget the conversation I had one morning at the long-shuttered Good Stuff coffeeshop, wherein someone active with the Westover Hills Neighborhood Ass’n, when I asked about membership and such, glared at me, turned up her nose and sneered that since I lived *SOUTH* of WH Blvd, I was ineligible to be a member, before abruptly ending our conversation.
Alas, I found that attitude to represent many of my inter-neighborhood encounters. If I still lived over there, I’d wanna be hammered before 10AM myself.
Whenever I hear “Southside” I assume it refers to that part of Chesterfield that lies directly south of the river. I live in “South Richmond” (Westover Hills).
I grew up in the West End of Richmond and have lived in the “Southside” of town for the better part of 20 years. I do have a theory on the social division of town. Most of it does have to do with working and economic class that was essentially bordered by Westover Hills/Forest Hill ave which is obvious when you see the home values. Post Civil War , many native Richmonders were forced south due to northern opportunists and lack of ability to afford housing . I think this is a pretty good guess as to why there has always been a division and may also explain why the southern half of Richmond has been able to maintain it’s “southern charm” more so than most other parts of town and there is no place i’d rather be.
I am totally adding “doucheitude” into my vocabulary. It’s funny the perceptions folks have of what they are calling southside. In my 45 years here, it seems most folks I know that diss southside are referring to anything that is east of Chippenham and south of Midlothian turnpike. I also have found a segment that is referring to the entire trek down Hull St. into Manchester/Blackwell. It’s odd because some refer to all southsiders as rednecks and others bring the term white trash into it and it’s basically all BS.
I’ve always heard that it was because the wealthy and elite English lived north of the river, and eventually moving westward as the city expanded. The swampy and less desireable south side of the river, including Manchester, was left for Welsh & Scottish laborers and miners, as well as “dirty” French Hugenots, fleeing religious persecution in their own country. There has always been a classist animosity between these groups, and over time, evolved into the Southside vs West End rivalry that exists to this day. Anyone remember the Bumper Sticker Wars of the mid-1980s?