Are People Friendly in Richmond's West End Area?? (Mechanicsville, Short Pump: how much, house)

[FLBoy123]

Ok no Richmond ( West End ) isn't BAD! Please insurance high? Uh no I am from FL talk about insurance being high compared to here oh no. Housing here is cheap! where I lived 300,000 got you a shack. I moved back here to finish med school plus my parents live here and wanted to come back for a bit. Good luck but if you have a family I would bring a kid here to bring up. Richmond has changed on people being as nice as they used to be. They were nice when I grew up here but the 4 years I have been gone good lord people have changed. Fake yuppies who think they are better than everyone else. Life is to short. My parents moved to Lake Anna they got so sick of it in the west end short pump area. I feel like I need to remind them it is only Richmond. But god bless and good luck.

[sarad]

I live in the Tuckahoe school district (2 years now) and we love it. My kids have made a ton of friends, everyone in area neighborhood is very friendly...people we just met even wrote us a pool recommendation. There are some snotty people in Richmond, but they are also in the town I grew up in.

Tuckahoe Elem. is a great school, tons of family involvement. The houses can be a little pricey, but you are basically paying for the school district, and the location (close to the city, without the city taxes/crime/Mayor). Plus close to grocery, CVS, coffee, and Peditrican's office and the interstate.

I'm not a fan of the Short Pump area...too much development and traffic. but I have friends that love it, just depends on what you are looking for.

I think if you are nice and friendly, you will meet nice and friendly people.

[Richmond Commuter]

As a transplanted Yankee, I can rate my experience in Richmond favorably. I live in the "Far" West End and work in the heart of downtown Richmond. As AHR relates, there are certain parts of Richmond I would not recommend - the City proper certainly has more than its fair share of crime it seems - yet there are also some very nice neighborhoods within the city limits.

But in a nutshell yes, the folks around here tend to be very friendly.
The specific question was about the friendliness of people in the Tuckahoe area. I would say fear not - a heck of lot of the people in the West End are originally from somewhere else anyhow! Yes, you will undoubtedly find a few dyed-in-the-wool Virginians who will express a dislike for northerners, even right to your face (when I first moved down here, I did have an experience in which a guy only half-jokingly called me a Yankee). But there's not a whole lot of that around in the West End.

Of course, I think it helps that people can't tell right away that I'm originally from the northeastern U.S. - I do not have that awful accent (let's go for a wawk and have some cawfee and tawk while we drive to New Yawk) and I am not pushy, arrogant or obnoxious. I can say these things as a native New Jerseyan who lived there for 35 years before escaping to Virginia. It is the unfortunate reality that the stereotype of New Jerseyans and New Yorkers has more than a degree of validity to it.

[ddteti]

I moved from Phila to the West End to Milbrooke section. The neighborhood is awesome. And not just the other transplants (and there is alot). There are people from Boston, New York, PA, Florida. They were all great. As were the neighbors that were born and raised there. I loved my neighborhood. We recently had to move and I miss it. My house is still for sale/rent and my neighbors are the ones taking care of it! But not just for the sale of my place, the area is the best. We were right near Innsbrook and Short Pump. Innsbrook has concerts every wed in the summer that were so much fun. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hootie & the Blowfish, Train, Blondie, Hall & Oates, Sugarland, you name it. They were so much fun. Short Pump shopping is the best too. Now the plug on my house.....4bdr, 2.5ba, cul de sac, fenced in yard with wooden playset. Seriously, if you are looking it's an awesome house but check out the neighborhood. Oh, and the preschool my son went to was unbelievable. We really loved it there.

[DKVA]

People are very friendly here.( Originally from NY). Here people always greet you or wave, at first it felt odd because in NY every one is in a rush and has their head down doing their own thing. Here it is more laid back and conversational.
DKVA

[farhadazari]

friendly or not friendly, all depends on your mindset.

[Debaroo]

Originally Posted by Richmond Commuter

As a transplanted Yankee, I can rate my experience in Richmond favorably. I live in the "Far" West End and work in the heart of downtown Richmond. As AHR relates, there are certain parts of Richmond I would not recommend - the City proper certainly has more than its fair share of crime it seems - yet there are also some very nice neighborhoods within the city limits.

But in a nutshell yes, the folks around here tend to be very friendly.
The specific question was about the friendliness of people in the Tuckahoe area. I would say fear not - a heck of lot of the people in the West End are originally from somewhere else anyhow! Yes, you will undoubtedly find a few dyed-in-the-wool Virginians who will express a dislike for northerners, even right to your face (when I first moved down here, I did have an experience in which a guy only half-jokingly called me a Yankee). But there's not a whole lot of that around in the West End.

Of course, I think it helps that people can't tell right away that I'm originally from the northeastern U.S. - I do not have that awful accent (let's go for a wawk and have some cawfee and tawk while we drive to New Yawk) and I am not pushy, arrogant or obnoxious. I can say these things as a native New Jerseyan who lived there for 35 years before escaping to Virginia. It is the unfortunate reality that the stereotype of New Jerseyans and New Yorkers has more than a degree of validity to it.

I can't wait to escape too!!! It's people like the one that called you a Yankee that started it. But, I refuse to move anywhere and all of a sudden have a southern accent and try to fit in a hide the fact I am from NJ. They can take me or leave me. I get along with everyone. I can handle a snob or a redneck but won't be either..I'm just me We have snobs, trash and great people here too. From what I have read I think all this talk about Richmond is done on purpose to keep the people out. They are out numbered...we're all coming there LOL LOL Y'all look out, here comes those awful Jerseyites!! LOL LOL

[pak152`]

It really all depends upon what part of Richmond you move to The Fan is nice and funky but you definitely run into inner-city problems there

The West End is a really broad term. Some consider it to be the Short Pump area others consider it to be at Gaskins. Just depends upon how long you've been in Richmond. I suspect some folks consider Willow Lawn to be the West End

Native Richmonders are definitely insular what! yup very insular. I live south of the rivuh off the Huguenot bridge in Stratford Hills, a very nice country like area. when I moved here we would be told by parents who lived north of the rivuh that they didn't drive south of the rivuh. as if the area was really bad.

Best bet is to find a real estate agent who will sit down with you and find out what you are looking for and what you like to do. I love Stratford Hills as I can walk to the rivuh and I'm equidistant from the Pony pasture and Huguenot flats parks

[ClarkStreetKid]

I just bumped into another LIer at Dick's today. Plenty of Darn Yankees here in the Short Pump area.

[klatimer]

I am from Richmond and I have lived here my whole life! I used to live in north side but I started high school in the west end four years ago and moved here two years ago. I am also very familiar with the other parts of Richmond as well as I went to school in the city for 5 years and worked there for 2 years. my church is in southside. I would say that people here can be very friendly, but there are also a lot of people who like to keep to themselves. like with any place, it is a little of both. I know I am not very close with my neighbors (I live in the short pump area), but one of my friends (who lives in the tuckahoe area) says that her neighbors sometimes have block parties. if you neighborhood is not enough, if one chooses to join any organization (such as the JCC, the Y, any religious organization) they will surely be welcomed there. I do feel that the west end can be a little white bread, but the diversity here is growing each year. I think that the west end is one of the safest places to live. when I lived in north side we would constantly hear police sirens and we triple locked our doors every night. here I feel much safer. I also feel that it is cleaner and the schools are of better quality. I would certainly choose to live here. if you feel people are not friendly enough the other areas of richmond are very close bye, you could easily live in the west end and enjoy the security while becoming involved in the community of another area.


don't listen to people saying it is not friendly. there are a TON of friendly people in richmond!

I would also like to say that although many people are complaining about crime in richmond, and I did mention not feeling as safe in northside, as long as one is safe and take the necessary precautions they will be fine. I was a very young girl working retail alone in carytown (an area popular for its shops and restaurants) in the city of richmond and I did not feel in danger and neither I nor the people working in the area around me had trouble with crime. I feel like our police force is very efficient and they are cracking down on crime. there are (of course) some bad areas, but that crime does not filter into all parts of richmond.

I would also like to say that richmond is great for its location and weather. it is only two hours from the beach, and mountains, the river, and the country. it has amazing shopping, a great city, and UKROPS (the best grocery store in the world). we have four seasons, and it is rarely TOO hot or TOO cold. most kids say that after college they want to get out of their hometown. but I have every intention of moving here and raising a family here. and believe me, I am no homebody, it is just THAT great.