Is moving from Birmingham AL to Richmond VA worth the move?

Richmond has been on my radar for a while for various reasons. I’m looking for a city in a blue state that’s around 10 hours away from where I am now and Richmond keeps coming up.

I’ve travelled to Roanoke and Charlottesville and for various reasons, didn’t really like either area. I also stayed in Staunton for a while and, though cute, it’s a little small and there aren’t a lot of people around the same age as my wife.

Would anyone be able to offer any insight into the big differences between the 2 cities? Either from moving between the two, or just from visiting them? Is it worth leaving family to go there or is it like, I dunno, a 10% net benefit?