Richmond is ranked the sixth-best place in the nation to start over

If you're one of those Richmonders looking for a good place to make a new start, just look out the window.

Richmond is ranked the sixth-best place in the nation to start over for someone who has been laid off or is just looking for a career or lifestyle change, according to BusinessWeek.com.

To be sure, the region has suffered plenty of lumps in this economic downturn, with job losses across many business sectors. But its diverse mix of employers, relatively low jobless rate and good quality of life make it a top 10 choice for people trying to navigate the changing course of the economy, based on the BusinessWeek list.

If you are looking for the absolute best place to start over, you'll will have to go North -- way, way North -- all the way to Anchorage, Alaska, which was ranked as the top place for a new beginning.

Find out why the Richmond area made the list and what local experts have to say about it:

Why we're on the list:

• Unemployment: The Richmond region's unemployment rate in March was 7.8 percent, seasonally unadjusted. While that was more than double the rate of the previous March, it was still below the national rate of 9 percent. In April, the region's unemployment rate was 7.6 percent, compared with 8.6 percent for the nation.

• Diverse economy: The region has a good mix of industries such as food, chemical and tobacco manufacturing, along with biotech.

• Home prices: At $167,185 in January, the average home price in the Richmond area was well below the $313,796 average price in Anchorage.

What some local experts say:

• The BusinessWeek report should give people who have been laid off here some hope for finding work, said Gregory H. Wingfield, president of the Greater Richmond Partnership.

"There are opportunities . . . on the horizon," Wingfield said. "There's a good mix of jobs in those areas" cited by the BusinessWeek.com report.

• The report "sends a message that the economy's strongerhere than other places," said Kim Scheeler, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber. "That's a good thing for businesses looking for places where they want to locate. They'd rather be in a market where the economy's doing better. . . . That creates opportunities for other businesses."

• "If you actually know how to do it, Richmond is a good place to look for a job," said career coach Bud Whitehouse of Career Management of Virginia. "There is a lot here, a lot of diversity.

"Companies keep starting up here and keep growing," he said.

• "I imagine Richmond probably made that list a lot because of the cost of living," said Meg O. Wagner-Diggs, director of communications at the Richmond Human Resource Management Association. "The quality of life here is definitely good."

Wagner-Diggs said companies are hiring, but she is not sure if they are hiring enough to absorb all the employees that were part of large layoffs that hit the area at the beginning of the year.

• "That's great for Richmond to be in the top 10," said Nancy Thomas, president of Richmond's Retail Merchants Association.

"If they're saying that, then hopefully, more businesses will come to the area," Thomas said, "and those [already] in the area will gain more business and hire more people."

• "I wouldn't dispute [the Richmond area] being in the top 10," said Brett Vassey, president and chief executive of the Virginia Manufacturers Association. "For the baby boomers that are looking to start over mid-career, we are a great location, because we have fantastic health care and low housing costs, and still pretty good job opportunities."

"The future is my concern," Vassey said. "We have a lot to plan for. How do we position ourselves" to capture the next big growth industries?

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or .

Contact Peter Bacque at (804) 649-6813 or .

Staff writer Emily C. Dooley contributed to this report.