Richmond's "gap relationship" trend, explained
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Karri here, jumping into the latest evolution of the "gap relationship" trend: city edition.
Why it matters: Richmond, as ever, is ripe for poking fun at with this one.
State of play: The social media trend builds on the timeless trope of a mismatched couple, which went viral on TikTok last year as a "swag gap" (as in swagger). Folks are all over X now doing city versions.
Zoom in: Gaps in Richmond relationships:
Tattoo gap (Has a favorite artist vs. thinking about getting their first)
Career gap (Works at startup/nonprofit and barely makes $50k vs. Works remotely out of D.C. and already made $50k this year)
Parking gap: Parallel parks in two moves vs. leaves half their car in a lane of traffic in Carytown)
Local gap (Grew up here and still knows everyone they went to high school with vs. is considered a transplant even though they moved here 10 years ago)
Bar gap (Only breweries vs. dancing bars like Vagabond and Helen's)
Transportation gap (Drives vs. gets around by bike, foot and vibes.)
Apartment gap (Lives in a Fan apartment where the walls are caving in vs. in Scott's Addition, Manchester or Shockoe with a pool)
Housing gap (Bought pre-2020 vs. will be overpaying for rent till they die)
Restaurant gap (Dines locally and has a favorite Pho spot vs. never leaves Short Pump or Midlo.)
Outdoor gap (Has a favorite river spot vs. doesn't know the difference between Belle Isle and Brown's Island)
Coffee gap (Has a favorite local barista and orders pour-over vs. gets a vanilla latte at the Starbucks drive-thru)
River gap (Lives south of it vs. everyone else)
What did we miss? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and share yours.