Moving to Richmond from Stafford (from Miami) (Mechanicsville, Chester: real estate, apartments)
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Hello, Richmond dwellers. My girlfriend and I moved up to Stafford from Miami 2 years ago for a job offer. The job ended up being horrible, and since then we've been stuck in the armpit of North Virginia. We miss the city life and have been contemplating moving to Richmond. We've been a few times, but never got the chance to really look around until yesterday on our trip to the Chili Cook-off (Cake was amazing). We didn't get to see much, just the drive from Midlothian through The Museum District and up to the Racetrack. We liked most of what we saw, but would like to get some inside information.
We are looking to rent a Studio/1BR/Efficiency with a max budget of $800/mo, sweet spot being $600. A small townhouse/house would be ideal, of course (would need a yard if we are to have dogs, which we want to very badly).
We are first generation Cuban american in our mid-20's and have 2 cats. We both work at PetSmart, and will most likely be transferring stores. I haven't been able to take any management offer due to the fact that we work in the same store, so we will probably go to separate stores. Looks like there are PetSmarts in The Fan, Short Pump, Montrose, Glen Allen, Mechanicsville, Chesterfield, and Midlothian. We're looking for a place to live that fits our budget with a reasonable commute to these (preferably one within biking distance, since we only have 1 car)
I've done some digging on these forums, and the general consensus seems to be East and South Richmond are kinda ghetto, while anything North/North West is more fancy pants. When I put up my filters on PadMapper, most of the results are in The Fan, and a few scattered throughout the area West of 95 and East/North of 150. Are these areas sketch? From my drive yesterday, I noticed that once we went North of 64 on 301, things got a little sketch. Is this the dividing line from ghetto/non ghetto?
We don't have kids, so schools don't matter to us. However, we would like to take a few classes and/or get some certificates (the 4-year thing isn't for us). Is there a good community college in the area, or would VCU meet these needs? And does anyone know of a good cosmetology school in the area?
We were also wondering if there is somewhere with a strong Latino (not Mexican) demographic? If so, is this one of the "ghetto" areas people talk about? We miss the food (especially the Cuban bakeries!), and it's always nice to visit a little Latino grocery store when we feel home sick
Any information would be helpful! We plan on visiting Richmond a few more times between now and September (when our lease is up) and get more of a grasp, but leads from locals would speed up the process. Thanks a ton!
Many of the Latin groceries are in South Richmond along Rt 360. There are others throughout the area though.
Regarding classes, there is VCU, but there are also two community colleges in Richmond - J. Sargent Reynolds and John Tyler CC. there are many trade schools in Richmond as well.
Richmond is a fairly car dependent town. You could live in the Fan/Museum District and bike along Monument Ave to the Libbie Ave PetsMart though. Living there, you would be walking distance/biking distance to shopping, dining, grocery, etc. (close to Carytown).
Come down and visit a few more times to get a feel for the place. Richmond doesn't compare to Miami when it comes to a latin community, but maybe you'll find it to be a good fit for you.
If you are looking for city life and looking for heavy Latin community your best bet would be moving further North closer to the NOVA/DC beltline, not South to Richmond. I went to college in Miami and am familiar with the Latino community, the heavy Cuban-American dominant culture/population of Miami and South Florida in general, including the food, bakeries, (Don Pan anyone ?). My advice would be move further North or relocate to Miami.
This coming from a guy who is a transplant to Richmond and loves Richmond and loves Latinas. Not trying to be hostile or negative at all. Living in Richmond you won't get the festive, party Latina atmosphere and the kind of diversity you find in Miami or even in Northern VA. Richmond Latin demographic is heavily Mexican or Central American-based, the type I know Cubans don't always see eye to eye with!! So think before you jump !! If you ultimately decide Richmond is right for you, feel free to post here for further info etc. lot of good people post useful information here.
RonyUSA, I feel I painted a false picture of what I wanted. I don't want to live somewhere like Miami. I HATE Miami. We were so miserable there that we were willing to move ANYWHERE in the US to get away from it, and it just so happened that there was a job offer in Stafford that I took. My gf and I are NOT your traditional Cubans (by a long shot), and we aren't looking to live somewhere that feels like home. All I wanted to know was where I could find some authentic Latin food and maybe drive around the Latin hoods a bit, and RichmondPics delivered a home run I figured it was mostly Mexican, but I'm glad to see some nice Cuban cuisine in the area. My GF will definitely be happy.
We considered moving North, but the cost of living goes higher the more North you go, and our plan is to lay it low and save up a bit of cash before our next move (moving to Stafford was our first move and took only a month of planning; very sloppy), but still live in a large city. We're planning on traveling and living all over the US, and we don't want to spend more than 4 years somewhere. We're pretty set on Richmond (was contemplating Baltimore and even Pittsburgh, but we'd like to stay in Virginia so we don't have to wait another year to go to school).
The more research I do, the more I'm leaning towards The Fan/Museum District for its convenience and charm. However, I can't seem to find info on the living situation in the area South and West of the James River and East/North of 150 (Westover Heights, Midlothian, Broad Rock, etc). Is this considered Bon Air? There seems to be a handful of affordable single family homes for rent in that area, and we would prefer that to apartment living, which is holding us back from certain hobbies we want to pursue. Any info on this area?
Thanks for the info, everyone. I really appreciate it.
I think it will be hard to find a free-standing home in a safe area for $600/month. If you find a place that is pet friendly, there are several dog parks and other areas nearby to take your 4 legged friend(s) and they would love a walk along the river trails..
After spending some time in Richmond and doing some more research, we discovered something awesome: loft apartments. In Miami, loft apartments like the ones in Shockoe Bottom and Manchester are considered high-end luxury (most affordable lofts look like motel rooms). The exposed brick and concrete/wood beams just catches our eyes.
Long story short, we had no idea they existed, and now we want to live in one. We still haven't ruled out The Fan/Museum District (or even Short Pump), but it seems Shockoe Bottom area is the place to be for loft apts, and depending on how nice the place is and what amenities it has, our budget is more flexible (would prefer to stay under 1k though).
So besides Tobacco Row and Pohlig Box, what other buildings do you guys suggest we check out? We have 2 cats, and they're like our children, so the place would need to be cat friendly. Any relocation agents you guys suggest?
Our lease is up in mid-September. When would be a good time to start applying for these places and what not? I read somewhere that rentals have a high demand in July/August and some nice deals are to be found afterwards. I feel that's a gamble, though. Any advice on this?
I also remember reading that East Richmond is "ghetto". How far East exactly? How is the Highland Springs area? I'd still prefer a house over a loft, and I saw a few affordable ones in that area
Thanks again for all the info, everyone! Pretty stoked about getting out of Stafford
Maybe I can give you a better idea since I'm somebody that moved here not too long ago but knows the city well enough at this point. I moved here from NY because I got a job with a fairly big company, so I accepted. I knew nothing about Richmond, I never lived in the south before. I'm european so my ideas are pretty different than most of the other people you can talk to. I also have 2 cats, they usually do this retarded thing in Richmond of making you pay extra rent if you have animals, you can simply ignore that and just don't mention it to the real estate people, if you want to have dogs it's a different story. You won't find a place with a yard for less than 700-750, I live downtown and pay 650 for a spacious 1 br. I don't go out much because I'm older and I'm married but the west end or short pump will bore me out of my skull. You sound like 2 young kids you'll have more fun closer to the vcu area, downtown, the fan where there are bars, clubs and LIFE. Shockoe Bottom would cost too much for what it's worth, stay away from Manchester and the southside, I have friends that relocated there from other cities now they found themselves paying a lot for a renovated loft and they have armed robberies outside their doorstep. A lot of people in Richmond have cars, I don't and I live just fine. I bike pretty much everywhere, and if I really have to, I rent a zipcar every once in a while. A used Scooter is another affordable solution as well. I hope this was helpful and good luck with your move. Don't listen to suburban people telling you where it's dangerous and where it's not, you're from Miami you'll be just fine.
Maybe I can give you a better idea since I'm somebody that moved here not too long ago but knows the city well enough at this point. I moved here from NY because I got a job with a fairly big company, so I accepted. I knew nothing about Richmond, I never lived in the south before. I'm european so my ideas are pretty different than most of the other people you can talk to. I also have 2 cats, they usually do this retarded thing in Richmond of making you pay extra rent if you have animals, you can simply ignore that and just don't mention it to the real estate people, if you want to have dogs it's a different story. You won't find a place with a yard for less than 700-750, I live downtown and pay 650 for a spacious 1 br. I don't go out much because I'm older and I'm married but the west end or short pump will bore me out of my skull. You sound like 2 young kids you'll have more fun closer to the vcu area, downtown, the fan where there are bars, clubs and LIFE. Shockoe Bottom would cost too much for what it's worth, stay away from Manchester and the southside, I have friends that relocated there from other cities now they found themselves paying a lot for a renovated loft and they have armed robberies outside their doorstep. A lot of people in Richmond have cars, I don't and I live just fine. I bike pretty much everywhere, and if I really have to, I rent a zipcar every once in a while. A used Scooter is another affordable solution as well. I hope this was helpful and good luck with your move. Don't listen to suburban people telling you where it's dangerous and where it's not, you're from Miami you'll be just fine.
hm when i was apartment hunting all of the shockoe bottom places were cheaper than the fan and vcu area due to the bottom's proximity to the "bad" part of town. i live in shockoe bottom now, though, and despite the rough areas being a few blocks away I haven't had any problems. they don't come over here and i don't go over there. being near the river is a nice plus
hm when i was apartment hunting all of the shockoe bottom places were cheaper than the fan and vcu area due to the bottom's proximity to the "bad" part of town. i live in shockoe bottom now, though, and despite the rough areas being a few blocks away I haven't had any problems. they don't come over here and i don't go over there. being near the river is a nice plus
Never said that the Bottom was dangerous (I said Manchester and the southside) just that since all the apts are new and renovated they tend to cost more than the downtown apts for example. What I've seen is that you don't get that much space in the bottom. Another problem is that the bottom isn't close to anything but restaurants and bars, no post office, no supermarket, no market, no ymca, no museums, no Byrd theater nothing useful. It really depends on your living standards, if you're fine with driving every time you need milk, that's ok by me.
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