Moving to Richmond, what are the high crime areas to avoid (Chester: homes, neighborhood)

[Octa]

It's pretty obvious who does and doesn't live in the city and it's also pretty obvious what these supposed scary places are supposed to be code for.

[richmondpics]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

Cool and beautiful as these areas are they bump up against really scary areas. I never understand why that doesn't make sense to people.

It's sad to me that neighborhoods w/ old growth trees and really old, gorgeous homes are surrounded by crime. . . but they are.

Alley

Tell me... What really bad area does the area tucked in behind Stony Point bump up against? Bon Air?

What about the areas near U of R? Are we saying Westham and River Rd are really scary?

Frankly, I think telling someone to avoid a Richmond Va mailing address is misguided advice... there are plenty of places in the recently rebranded mailing address areas of Henrico and Chesterfield that I would absolutely avoid.

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by Dalayy

One neighborhood in one zip code does not negate the fact that if you have a Richmond mailing address, 9 times out of 10 you're not in a great neighborhood. Sorry.



And 5 minutes away, you're in the hood. In two different directions.

This is nonsense. Easily provable as wrong - look at property values. Hint, most of the expensive houses are in the city of Richmond.

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

Cool and beautiful as these areas are they bump up against really scary areas. I never understand why that doesn't make sense to people.

It's sad to me that neighborhoods w/ old growth trees and really old, gorgeous homes are surrounded by crime. . . but they are.

Alley

No, most of them don't actually. What's the bad area bumping up against the fan? Or the museum district? Or Stony Point? Etc. etc. etc.

[Charlesaf3]

If the crime was so bad, it would show in the house prices. Yet many of the places we are talking about cost well more than short pump or glen Allen. How could this be true? The prices are provable, so the assumption looks a little shaky...

The fact is, most of the expensive housing in the Richmond area is in the city of Richmond. The times dispatch publishes a list of top 10 sales every month. Note how often a Richmond Va address appears... And most of the ones that are not actually in the city are right up against it.

Clearly, people's assumptions about the city, while true 20 years ago, are not so true now

[ric75]

No offense, but it's obvious that avoidance and fear factor heavily into the lifestyle decisions of the most vocal City naysayers. They get their reality from the 6 o'clock news which go figure, leads with any crime, fire, or car accident that has occurred in the area. Their life centers around the family SUV, driving kids to and from activities and to the stores and restaurants with ample, well-lit surface parking so they don't have to walk. To them, sidewalks are a nuisance and would unduly encourage strangers to pass back and forth in front of their house. If you fit that description your best choice is to buy a house in the newest subdivision in far western Henrico or western Chesterfield and keep your fingers crossed that you pass away before reality comes in to ruin your "Utopia". You also may get pretty bored out there so be sure to spend a lot of time online telling people how terrible the City of Richmond is (even though you really know little about it) on this site and on the timesdispatch.com.

[540_804]

Originally Posted by ric75

No offense, but it's obvious that avoidance and fear factor heavily into the lifestyle decisions of the most vocal City naysayers. They get their reality from the 6 o'clock news which go figure, leads with any crime, fire, or car accident that has occurred in the area. Their life centers around the family SUV, driving kids to and from activities and to the stores and restaurants with ample, well-lit surface parking so they don't have to walk. To them, sidewalks are a nuisance and would unduly encourage strangers to pass back and forth in front of their house. If you fit that description your best choice is to buy a house in the newest subdivision in far western Henrico or western Chesterfield and keep your fingers crossed that you pass away before reality comes in to ruin your "Utopia". You also may get pretty bored out there so be sure to spend a lot of time online telling people how terrible the City of Richmond is (even though you really know little about it) on this site and on the timesdispatch.com.

I agree.
It's a good thing I didn't put too much weight into some of these types of threads when I was choosing my own home or I would have never found my great "South of the James" neighborhood.

The scariest thing that's happened to me since I've been in this neighborhood is when I came home and my package that should have been delivered was missing. It turns out my neighbor had taken the package and stored it in his mudroom until I got home so that it wouldn't be destroyed in the rain.

[sls76]

That poster has 3 posts. Take his opinion for what it's worth. And I'm not sure why it's necessary to then essentially insult those of us who prefer the suburbs (more convenient and better schools IMO).

BTW, many subdivisions in the suburbs have sidewalks. That's a big selling point. People walk to the neighborhood schools, pools, playgrounds, etc.

[ric75]

Originally Posted by sls76

That poster has 3 posts. Take his opinion for what it's worth. And I'm not sure why it's necessary to then essentially insult those of us who prefer the suburbs (more convenient and better schools IMO).

BTW, many subdivisions in the suburbs have sidewalks. That's a big selling point. People walk to the neighborhood schools, pools, playgrounds, etc.

That's why I qualified the sentence with " the most vocal city naysayers". It wasn't an attempt to characterize everyone in the suburbs, just those who seem to spend a lot of time bashing the City of Richmond. People choose suburban life for many different reasons... schools and big yards to name a couple... but I suspect the loudest city critics are exactly as I described... afraid.

[sls76]

Originally Posted by ric75

That's why I qualified the sentence with " the most vocal city naysayers". It wasn't an attempt to characterize everyone in the suburbs, just those who seem to spend a lot of time bashing the City of Richmond. People choose suburban life for many different reasons... schools and big yards to name a couple... but I suspect the loudest city critics are exactly as I described... afraid.

Fair enough : )