Move from France to Richmond

[berylmarkham]

My husband and I just moved to Richmond after living in Paris (we are American) and find it a very charming city. We live in the Fan near Strawberry Street and walk to dinner and the market. The museum district is also very nice and convenient for walking -- lots of little shops and restaurants nearby. You may want to look at craigslist.org (like pap.fr) for rental listings. I see many, many children in our area, so I think it might be a good match for you.

Best wishes!

[Franceclaire]

Thanks a lot Berymarkham for your advice. I see some photos from FAN area and it seems to be the right place for us.
Thanks too for your positive mail : generaly people told me "Richmond ..oh my God it's unsafe and not a nice city" what are you doing there?". but I'm sure there is nice areas and friendly people. As you have lived in Paris, I' m sure you will understand that i'm sure that american people are more friendly than French people with new comers.
Now i'm looking for a preschool and a day care for my children. If someone has an idea?
(Sorry for my bad english I need to improve it.)

[lordinateur]

I don't know about a French community here but I've seen at least 5 French flags on houses close to mine in the 'Fan' area. I don't know if those are French nationals or just Francophiles. Supposedly, the French Film Festival attracts French visitors as well.

[richmondpics]

Ahh yes, the VCU French Film Festival held at the Byrd Theatre in Carytown (near the Fan) is the largest French Film Festival in the U.S. if not all of North America.

[Richmond Commuter]

Originally Posted by Franceclaire

(Sorry for my bad english I need to improve it.)

Don't apologize - the vast majority of Americans would not do anywhere near as well in French as you do in English, so you're way ahead of the curve there.

Bienvenue à Richmond!

[ddteti]

Hello

I lived in Glen Allen, VA for the last 3 1/2 years. I live near Innsbrook and Short Pump which has the best shopping and restaurants. In the summer Innsbrook has concerts every Wed night that are outdoors and are great for the whole family or just the adults! There is also movie night outdoors at one of the playgrounds which there are several. All wonderful. Also, I have a 5 year old and a 1/ 1/2 year old. My 5 year old went to a preschool called The Gingerbread Cottage which was the best. The teachers were excellent and the program was perfect! My house is for sale now and I live in Maryland but I miss that area sooo much. We are planning to rent if it doesnt sell soon. Although I have a house to sell/rent the area is really the best. Even if you are not interested in more info from me, check out the area. The house is in Milbrooke section. My neighbor lives just outside of Paris and comes to and fro. He can also give you a referral on the neighborhood. For more info on my house, if you are interested, it is on Prudential. It has 4 bdr, 2.5 ba, fenced in yard with wooden playset, in a cul de sac, the works! Good Luck.

[lordinateur]

I must disagree with the assertion that Short Pump has 'the best shopping and restaurants'. Unless you are familiar with more recent suburban developments in the U.S., I think it would be quite a shock to move into one from Paris. Parisian suburbs tends to be far more dense and village-like than what you will find here. Suburbs here are not at all like a Neuilly or St. Cloud or Croissy, for example, and you really do need a car for most things. From which part of Paris are you moving? Best of luck.

[droseflowers]

I have had a number of interns from France come to work for our company. Most of them have had very good luck finding housing using Craig's List (craigslist: san francisco bay area classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events). Select Virginia and then Richmond (on the right side of screen). I don't know if there are any areas that are predominently french. If there are it is more likely to be Canadian.

[lordinateur]

You might also like to play with this tool to determine the 'walkability' of neighborhoods you are considering: <a href="http://walkscore.com/index.shtml">Walkscore.com</a>

It's pretty neat but there are a few problems with the method used...