2. What did Washington, D. C. and Richmond, Virginia have in common?

There are some similarities to Northern Virginia (which are the southern suburbs of Washington) but the biggest difference between the two is scale. DC/NoVA is a major US city with over 6 million people and very government focused businesses. Richmond is around 1 million with some state government focused businesses but a majority private sector business climate.

they're both capitols in the U. S.