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Old 03-23-2016, 09:38 AM
 
7 posts, read 13,893 times
Reputation: 11

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I have just accepted a job and will be moving to Richmond in the next six weeks. Rather than wasting the time of a realtor or relocation expert looking for a condo/townhouse/home in an area I have not yet had the time to explore, I was hoping that maybe I could get a quick education about a couple of areas I have in mind. While I would prefer to buy a place, since I plan on living here long term, I am willing to rent the first year until I get to know the area better myself.

By checking out past posts on this forum, The Fan and the Museum District sound like very interesting areas to me. Also, the areas west of I-195 to Libbie Avenue look like good values if you are planting roots, but I'm not sure if I'm getting too far away from work. I have not had the opportunity to ask my future colleagues if they all seem to live in any particular area. I would if I could but I am four states away and since I know no one yet, the potential for is next to none. That, and the fact that I am really pressed for time in selecting my housing, I feel like I'm going into this quite blindly (the arguement in favor of renting initially).

A little bit about me: I'm a mid-late 20's female and will be living alone. I keep to myself but make friends easily. I've had some city living experience and am aware of how to carry myself in unknown neighborhoods, but have concerns about walking to and from my car in the middle of the night for rotating shift work.

Both neighborhoods sound good on paper but It would be so helpful if you could give me a truer picture of each -- or maybe even suggest a different area that maybe I should consider. Are there pockets in those neighborhoods that are safer or "shadier" than others? More isolated or friendly? Speaking of friendly, pet-friendly is not a deal breaker but that is something I would take strongly into consideration. Which areas are more rundown vs more renovated? Any areas that you wouldn't want your BFF or sister living alone or, for that matter, areas that you would give your stamp of approval? Bonus points if you have any idea where employees in the medical field tend to like to live!

So looking forward to hearing your responses!
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Old 03-23-2016, 10:37 AM
 
132 posts, read 190,177 times
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Fan and MD are fantastic. Very walkable, very safe. Both rental and sales markets are tight, but manageable if your budget works. You might also consider Scott's Addition - lots of new apartments and a lot to do. For some reason crime looks bad there from stats, which is baffling, because the whole area is basically warehouses, breweries, some fun restaurants, and brand-new apartment buildings - I'm wondering if there's something weird throwing the stats off.


A couple of questions:


(1) Where will you be working (rough area is fine)?


(2) What is your budget to rent? To buy?
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Old 03-23-2016, 11:17 AM
 
7 posts, read 13,893 times
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Hi ny-guy..... Thanks for your reply.

(1) I'll be working at the medical center which, I take, is probably not the best place to live for a young-ish, single woman. Ideally I'd like to live within a ten minute drive, no more than twenty minutes taking into consideration traffic at peak hours. I only have a RWD vehicle. Commuting in Richmond, that shouldn't be an issue should it?

(2) At this point in my life, I'm thinking about $1500 a month, give or take $500 for rent (or mortgage on $260,000-320,000). I'm hoping to find a two bed/two bath but I'm flexible on that. I'll trade a higher monthly cost for safety, walkability, parking availability, recent renovations, and close proximity to dining/shopping. Some green space nearby would give extra points.

One more thing, I definitely would not like to live in a building where undergraduate students live.

Last edited by AlmostRedE2Buy; 03-23-2016 at 11:26 AM..
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Old 03-23-2016, 11:29 AM
 
132 posts, read 190,177 times
Reputation: 174
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlmostRedE2Buy View Post
Hi ny-guy..... Thanks for your reply.

(1) I'll be working at the medical center which, I take, is probably not the best place to live for a young-ish, single woman. Ideally I'd like to live within a ten minute drive, no more than twenty minutes taking into consideration traffic at peak hours. I only have a RWD vehicle. Commuting in Richmond, that shouldn't be an issue should it?

(2) At this point in my life, I'm thinking about $1500 a month, give or take $500 for rent (or mortgage on $260,000-320,000). I'm hoping to find a two bed/two bath but I'm flexible on that. I'll trade a higher monthly cost for safety, walkability, parking availability, recent renovations, and close proximity to dining/shopping. Some green space nearby would give extra points.
I assume you mean the VCU medical center - in which case, yes, staying within a 10-min commute should be easy enough. RWD should be fine for Richmond. We get snow sometimes but I wouldn't say it's that big a deal.


You should be fine pretty much anywhere with that rental budget. Buying in the Fan/MD in that range will be a little more difficult. If you're open to buying, check out The Warsaw at 1443 Floyd - it's an absolute prime location, it's a beautiful building with a pool and it's gated and has parking inside the gates, so you won't be worried about safety (there's a condo on the market there now in your range). That being said, that's a little close to VCU and you might get some student noise.


I'd also consider Lee School Lofts in the Museum District, a rental that may be a little quieter and has parking although it isn't gated (it's in a great part of the neighborhood, though- I wouldn't be too worried about crime). Or the Collection Midtown, although I have heard mixed things about their places.


You'd probably be pushing 10 minutes on the other side of 195, but not significantly (maybe it'd be 15 or so).
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Old 03-24-2016, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Richmond, VA, from Boston
1,513 posts, read 2,764,435 times
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Simple answer - Fan museum is where you should live. 7-10 minute commute to MCV. Doesn't matter where you live there.

Scotts addition would work if you want a big complex with an urban feel
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Old 03-24-2016, 07:58 AM
 
132 posts, read 190,177 times
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I also just realized that there's one other option outside Fan/MD/Scott's Addition that might work if you want a more suburban feel (just trying to give options) - some people really like Malvern Manor. It's a pretty complex and it's in a nice area just outside the Museum District, but more boring/suburban and less walkable than Fan/MD/Scott's. FWIW, I live in the MD and love it so this wouldn't be my choice, but I've heard good things about it.
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Old 03-24-2016, 11:16 AM
 
38 posts, read 70,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ny_guy View Post
You might also consider Scott's Addition - lots of new apartments and a lot to do. For some reason crime looks bad there from stats, which is baffling, because the whole area is basically warehouses, breweries, some fun restaurants, and brand-new apartment buildings - I'm wondering if there's something weird throwing the stats off.
Scott's Addition includes the bus station, strip club, pool hall, liquor store, bingo parlor, hobo train track murder central, and some other creepy abandoned properties. That's probably where the crime statistics come from.
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Old 03-24-2016, 11:51 AM
 
7 posts, read 13,893 times
Reputation: 11
Wow, I really appreciate all of the advice you have given.

Last night I was able to get in touch with a friend-of-a-friend who once lived in Short Pump. Not exactly the area I am in need of at the moment, i.e., no children, so selecting based upon school districts not one of my needs yet. He seconded your opinions that Fan/MD would be a great first place to start out to rent until I get my feel for the city. One of my concerns, from what I've read, is that although a neighborhood can be desirable, it can vary greatly from street to street within that neighborhood. I'm not seeing that as much of a concern especially in MD or even the Fan, but some of the other places he suggested (such as Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom, and Westover Hills) look fine but seem to have pockets of both good and bad. I know this is a city that has a made quite a turn around for the better crime wise, yet it is still a city and I am not naive to think that anywhere is a perfect utopia. That being said, are there any streets in Fan/MD that are more or less desirable than others? Do college undergrads typically live within a couple of blocks from their campus or are they evenly disbursed throughout that area? I do like living near universities and I do like to have friends over frequently, I just don't want to live in party central, IYKWIM.

I've been looking at Malvern Gardens and Willow Lawn... Much more house and outdoor space for the money the further you go west, for sure, and the difference in commute time is not very much more. I've pretty much settled on renting at first and buying the following year, and that leaves a whole lot fewer choices out there though.

A couple of more specific questions:
* Can you jog in the Fan/MD? Even after sunset?
* Is parking an issue, especially for guests?
* Any major grocery stores nearby?
* Are there designated bike lanes?
* How useful is public transportation there? Is it available all through the night too?
* Hypothetically, if you do not have a yard, where to you walk your dog to, you know...
* Having been raised in the south and not knowing how to drive in snow, how worried should I be?

Again, thanks for your replies. I'm getting really excited to move here!

Last edited by AlmostRedE2Buy; 03-24-2016 at 12:19 PM..
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Old 03-24-2016, 01:32 PM
 
132 posts, read 190,177 times
Reputation: 174
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlmostRedE2Buy View Post
Wow, I really appreciate all of the advice you have given.

Last night I was able to get in touch with a friend-of-a-friend who once lived in Short Pump. Not exactly the area I am in need of at the moment, i.e., no children, so selecting based upon school districts not one of my needs yet. He seconded your opinions that Fan/MD would be a great first place to start out to rent until I get my feel for the city. One of my concerns, from what I've read, is that although a neighborhood can be desirable, it can vary greatly from street to street within that neighborhood. I'm not seeing that as much of a concern especially in MD or even the Fan, but some of the other places he suggested (such as Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom, and Westover Hills) look fine but seem to have pockets of both good and bad. I know this is a city that has a made quite a turn around for the better crime wise, yet it is still a city and I am not naive to think that anywhere is a perfect utopia. That being said, are there any streets in Fan/MD that are more or less desirable than others? Do college undergrads typically live within a couple of blocks from their campus or are they evenly disbursed throughout that area? I do like living near universities and I do like to have friends over frequently, I just don't want to live in party central, IYKWIM.

I've been looking at Malvern Gardens and Willow Lawn... Much more house and outdoor space for the money the further you go west, for sure, and the difference in commute time is not very much more. I've pretty much settled on renting at first and buying the following year, and that leaves a whole lot fewer choices out there though.

A couple of more specific questions:
* Can you jog in the Fan/MD? Even after sunset?
* Is parking an issue, especially for guests?
* Any major grocery stores nearby?
* Are there designated bike lanes?
* How useful is public transportation there? Is it available all through the night too?
* Hypothetically, if you do not have a yard, where to you walk your dog to, you know...
* Having been raised in the south and not knowing how to drive in snow, how worried should I be?

Again, thanks for your replies. I'm getting really excited to move here!

Agreed re the block-by-block nature of Church Hill / Shockoe, although I wasn't aware that that was an issue in Westover Hills.


Fan/MD there are some streets that are more desirable than others, but not really for crime reasons - more for traffic/house quality/noise reasons. In the Fan I'd probably try to stay west of Lombardy if you are looking to avoid noise (although that takes out of the most central part of the Fan) and I'd probably stay between Floyd and Park. The MD is all reasonably quiet from what I can tell, unless you're really close to Carytown.


True re Malvern Gardens/Willow Lawn - you just won't be walking to anything. If that doesn't bother you, they're nice places.


* You can jog in Fan/MD after sunset.
* People complain about parking but I don't think it's that bad. It depends on whether you or your guests mind walking a block or two. Compared to bigger cities it's a non-issue. Compared to suburbs, well, yeah, it's harder - you're dealing with street parking like any other pre-car city (and, of course, enjoying the walkability that large suburban parking lots destroy).
* Major grocery stores for the neighborhood are roughly at the corner of Cary & Thompson. There are four there. Don't know why that's grocery store central. There is also a Kroger at Willow Lawn and there's a Whole Foods coming to Broad in the next year or two. There's also an Aldi opening on Boulevard soon.
* There are some designated bike areas, but mostly sharrows - not protected lanes - in the western part of the city at least (including Fan/MD). Bike infrastructure is improving but isn't quite there yet in my opinion. It's also legal to ride on the sidewalk in VA, which I see people do a lot on some busier roads.
* Our public transportation is Uber (which, if you're in Fan/MD, is actually probably only a little more than riding the bus). Most people who have the means just drive places - the bus system isn't great and parking, even in more dense areas, isn't that bad. We're getting bus rapid transit, but it won't be a viable alternative to a car for a while (if ever).
* I know of at least two dog parks in the MD. It isn't that big an issue. You can get rentals with yards in the MD if that's important (and probably Fan, although Fan is a little denser so it's probably harder to find).
* I wouldn't be worried about driving in the snow. The city shuts down for snow anyway, and I thought the city did a really good job clearing it this year. Others will probably disagree - but if you're living in the Fan/MD and commuting to MCV you'll live and work along one of the first corridors to get cleared anyway :-)
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Old 03-25-2016, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Richmond, VA, from Boston
1,513 posts, read 2,764,435 times
Reputation: 814
Ny guy nailed it.

I'd just add though, that if you are single and getting to know the city living west of 195 is a bad idea. Though its a few blocks away, the vibe is very different - married couples with children. Same applies to westover hills, though I wouldn't say its block by block, it's entirely nice. There are issues with some adjoining neighborhoods, which are block by block.

My wife jogs after dark in the fan/museum regularly. As do approximately 1000 other girls. Mainly down monument.

By my perspective as someone from Boston, there is no snow here. If it falls at all, the city shuts down. Even if there is nothing on the streets. MCV doesn't shut, but Broad street is plowed first.

Parking is not an issue to me. You can always find a place in a block or 2 of where you are going, even if not out front. This is nothing by city standards, and any place you can park easily is completely uninteresting... The 2 concepts are mutually incompatible.
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