What's bad about Richmond? (Charlottesville, Mechanicsville: apartment, houses, landscaping)

[MaryBB]

I lived in Richmond, now Petersburg. You'll find good schools in Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield. The area is growing pretty rapidly but maybe with real estate boom slackening it might slow a bit. (prob not here tho') If you like country more, try Hanover. Ashland is a beautiful, still fairly rural town, but houses cost more. Very good schools there I hear. Mechanicsville used to be much more rural than it is now. You can find lots of country roads out there, but I find lots of tailgators on those country roads.

Now that I live south of Richmond I hear from people who live in Prince George county which is nearby. That is still very rural down there - much more so than Richmond -and yes there is still a very nearby Walmart in the area. Schools are considered good in Prince George too, I had teacher - neighbors who taught in Prince George and sent their kids there.

What I find very noticeable about where I live now is the way people drive- not so aggressively down here as compared to Richmond. It's funny because it's not that far away.

But there is still tons of farmland here, not being encroached upon- yet...

Good luck!!

[Pacmom]

Hello... Have you considered the Prince George / Colonial Heights area south of Richmond. I current work in Richmond and live in PG... it is a 30 minute drive on 295 with very little traffic..95 has much more traffic.. We are 20 minutes from Colonial Heights where you would get your Mall, Super Walmart, Target, etc. but 5 minutes to grocery, pharmacy, restaurant, etc. Schools are fully accredited too ..so that is good for the kids. I have two and both are in advanced classes (one in 3rd and one in 9th)...[moderator cut]

[lucky123]

I'm from Richmond, the east end. I went to Varina High.
Like any city there are good and bad points.
Most people don't live in the inner city (crime)but on the outskirts. The east end to me is the best but I'm biased too.
Sandston & bottoms bridge and Mechanicsville area are great too.
When I was growing up the West end was where all the rich people lived and had alot more traffic than the east end.

But you have to remember that while Richmond is an old southern city with it's share of crime it's nothing compared to the drama of bigger southern cities like Atlanta. I'm a history buff too so I love all the historic sites in Richmond (and all over Va). and like the other poster said living in Richmond depends on your financial situation too.
Me I can't wait to get back home!! (shake shop here I come )

[Electron]

Don't listen to any of these doom and gloom guys, Jennifer. Come to Ashland and western Hanover. You won't be disappointed with skools, shopping, real estate, or anything really, 'cept maybe them 'skeeters.

[htlong]

electron,
i agree with you i would choose ashland over midlothian, or the west end,glenn allen,short pump. but i like it out here in the elko area..lots of peace and quiet, but its growing faster than i would like it to.

[Jennifer Parschauer]

thanks!

And the Chesterfield area? Looking for the most bang out of our buck, but definately some open space and please, nothing snobby. Will there be no countryside left of the east and south end in the next 10-20 years? Sounds like lots going up, new communities etc. And I'm curious, with all the real estate that is available, why are all these folks selling and moving out? Am I missing something, because it sounds like such a great place to live, so many residents who write in seem so happy there yet there are scores of homes for sale...

[htlong]

chesterfield is a good place lots of urban sprawl but not near as bad as the west end.
chester is a nice area with lots of new stores and more coming.
its all about how close you want to be to your neighbors houses and all the big stores.
i like it out here on the far east end but its growing out here also , but very slowly in comparison.
i see deer, turkey and bald eagles , i have good neighbors but we have min. 1 acre lots so we have room to breath

[Jennifer Parschauer]

If I remember correctly, you're in the Varina area? Wish there was someway to see video or more pictures of your area somehow - we won't see it in person until summer. What are the new communities in your area, and do any have decent size lots without high cost? thanks!

[treena]

My husband and I moved to Richmond over 8 years ago. Be very careful to check the zipcodes for the most crime. If the zip code is 23224 - do not move there. The one area we lived in was so bad for crime that it was beyond belief. Richmond's west end is the nicest. Check the richmond police website to read about the daily crime and get an idea of the areas you don't want to move. I lived in the 2nd precinct area and it was terrible and the police just can't keep up with all the robberies and shootings and crime. They respond but I know they look at certain areas with less concern since there is continual crime and they can't seem to stop it. I had to call the police so many times and lived with perpetual fear there. There are trashy areas so bad in pockets on the south side that it often made me wonder how people could be so dirty and not care about their area.
Personally, don't move to Richmond unless you can afford to live in the most expensive parts that do not have these issues. It is a strange city.

[treena]

Originally Posted by Phish Head

The bad: Run down sections of Richmond were RUN-DOWN. Like someone said before, the worst parts of Philly, Baltimore, and Detroit are just as bad in Richmond, although smaller. Bad sections run right into nice areas. Southside was particularly bad- many cars with no wheels sitting on cinder blocks parked right in the street. West end of Richmond was very nice, especially around the University of Richmond. It was easy to find myself driving with the windows down through a gentrified area, only seconds later to be in a complete ghetto. Many people standing around giving menacing stares, obviously unemployed and poor, many with alcohol bottle. It is a segregated city, but not unlike any northern segregated city. Unlike northern cities and towns, the towns I traveled through have no downtown core. Richmond is sprawled out and the new development is not centered on a downtown, other than Richmond's downtown, which is not well kept. Powhatan and Amelia counties were very, very rural- not at all what you'd expect in a metropolitan region. Also, depending on your temperature tolerance, it was 96 degrees and almost 100% humidity when I went this weekend. It feels like a dog breathing on you. For my taste, it was too hot.

All in all, it is a nice place to live, but I have scratched it off my list. It just wasn't for me. If I had to recommend a nice area, I would say Glen Allen, Short Pump, Montpelier, Rockville, and Hanover. Or Charlottesville, if you can afford it.

You are giving very good advise. We lived on the Southside where gun shots were frequent and people would just throw trash as they walked down the street or right out of their car windows. It would pile up and I had to take a large black garbage bag just to pick it all up. We had a corner house and got it all. Lots of crack heads walked the street day and night and often they were loud. Prostitutes and crack houses were riddled around us and every night when I was driving home it was a common scene to see Police cars with their blues on either arresting someone or investigating a robbery that just happened. There were always dozens of beer quart bottles thrown all over the streets and by the bus stops along Jeff Davis. I lived a block from that Hwy and saw it all 24/7. Police would respond to calls but it never stopped the open crack dealing. I was shot at and they even shot my dog at 1:30 in the afternoon when I had her tied out. The three young thugs who did it didn't even run. By the time the police would always get to the scene it would be too late. We did manage to take one thug to court who threatened to "come and shoot up in our house" and that was a good day for us. It never stopped the harassment though of the thugs and the druggies and the bums who hung out. Totally high on crack and cheap beer all the time. Those people who gave you the looks were the same people who would come and try and car jack you. That happened frequently where I lived. Four stolen cars were dropped off right in front of my house over the 8 years I lived there. Neighbors came and went who were often just getting out of jail. People go on the web and see all the pretty pictures and hype about Richmond but they never show the extreme danger that exists in certain areas. My husband was robbed at gunpoint at 5:30 in the afternoon while attending a telephone box as a phone man. They never catch these people and don't seem to work very hard at it. So much of it happens that I think they are overwhelmed.