short pump west broad village (Richmond, Charlottesville: apartment, homes, neighborhoods)

[danno5757]

Just a question for those who live near downtown short pump.

It appears quite walkable. Do you find it too crowded or does the ability to have so much so near win out for you?

My wife and I are considering Short Pump and Farragut, TN. We've read considerably of the pros and cons, but would like to hear from some of the residents. We are in our early 60's, newly retired and residing in the Charleston, SC area.

Any help would be appreciated. Budget is not that important - we've already considered that. We are looking for opinions from residents or those familiar.

Thanks for any responses,

Danny Baker

[webster]

Its all cars...Short Pump Village and West Broad Village are designed to be pedestrian friendly, but the drivers here are not. Going from one to the other across Broad Street takes courage, fast feet and a good eye.

[danno5757]

Thank you, Webster.

Would you recommend living farther away and traveling to the downtown area as needed?

[webster]

When you say farther away, that leaves it wide open. Go west and you are semi-rural with developments and then you are in Charlottesville. Go east, south and north there are many fine neighborhoods and subdivisions. It really depends on what one wants. Richmond is walkable, Byrd Park, the Fan, the Museum District are nice areas despite the current situation. I lived in Richmond for 30 years, but would not go back, primarily because the government there remains inept if one is a homeowner. Keep in mind that in VA, the counties and the cities are distinct, Short Pump is in Henrico which is not part of Richmond even though some Henrico addresses say Richmond, it doesn't make a lot of sense I know. There is only poor mass transit, this a vehicle area. It really depends on what you want in terms of a house, yard (or not), access to health care and so forth.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by danno5757

Thank you, Webster.

Would you recommend living farther away and traveling to the downtown area as needed?

Short pump is not a town or village just an area of Henrico County centered at West Broad Street & Pump Road, in the olden days that's where the general (only) store was. It has developed into the primary shopping area for the region for many people.

West Broad Village which is what I believe you are referring to as Downtown Short Pump is one of the concept/new urbanism communities to give people an urban feel of living without having to living in the city. It gives you a residential are, a main street environment to walk and shop but no jobs that will give you the living wage you need to live there. And as the other poster touched on a suburban type shopping area with oblivious drivers who have to travel through your pedestrian friendly areas.

Living options are extensive and you can choose from high density to horse friendly options and all within 15 minutes so its really up to you how you want to live.

Good Luck

[webster]

Great synopsis above. I avoid the entire area during the week due to the traffic. I venture out there on Sunday mornings sometimes.

[danno5757]

VA Yankee, thank you so much. That is the type of information we are looking for. We currently live in a 55 and older resort community and thought we may prefer a more urbanized/suburban type setting. We've decided against it at this time, but do prefer living close to all the activity. We have several communities we are considering. We are not looking to relocate until January or so and will continue to research.

My wife is from Westchester County by the way. I lived in California most of my life. Neither of us has any desire to return to either state but we do like the what the Richmond area offers and you can drive two hours in just about any direction and find all kinds of things to do.

[webster]

It looks like you are searching for a type of "new urbanism" community. These are being developed all over the nation. For example, Stapleton in Denver and Belmar in Lakewood CO.

There is a lot of innovation going on. In Fairfax is the Mosaic District. Fairfax county is now launching a program to have driverless electric shuttles (called Relay) between Mosaic and the local metro station.

[danno5757]

You are right, Webster. Currently, it is a mile and a half to simply get out of our development and four miles to the nearest grocery store/restaurant. We would love to be able to walk to Trader Joe's or Aldi and be able to walk to a few nearby restaurants.

We also noticed Tom Leonard's which I believe began in Yonkers (Stu Leonard's) and has a little nostalgia for us. We were thinking of some of the homes just south of everything that may fulfill our wish list.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by danno5757

VA Yankee, thank you so much. That is the type of information we are looking for. We currently live in a 55 and older resort community and thought we may prefer a more urbanized/suburban type setting. We've decided against it at this time, but do prefer living close to all the activity. We have several communities we are considering. We are not looking to relocate until January or so and will continue to research.

My wife is from Westchester County by the way. I lived in California most of my life. Neither of us has any desire to return to either state but we do like the what the Richmond area offers and you can drive two hours in just about any direction and find all kinds of things to do.

Well you can tell your wife that I am from across the river in Rockland and I lived in San Diego for a while so I understand where your coming from. Richmond Metro has a good quality of life with most amenities that you find in the NY area about the only thing that falls short is the cultural diversity things seem to be more black & white and some would argue the lack of decent pizza and bagels (I have a good place for bagels..).

There are all types of housing options from 55+ (Crossridge) to just regular neighborhoods with single family/apartment options (Twin Hickery), its really up to you how you want to live. The region is predominantly car centered but even Short Pump is nothing compared to White Plains during the morning commute.

Medical is excellent with multiple choices, all specialties and you don't have to battle your way into NYC to find a good specialist. Washington is about 1.5 hours away if you need something more urban for the day. The best thing is our tax rate is on average 1/4 of most NY areas and there is not school tax! Just take any purchase price and mulitple it by $8.70 per 1K of price, thats it, what a difference from NY & Ca.

Tom Leonard's is the son of Stew Leonard which started in Connecticut..

Feel free to pm me if you ahve questions...Good Luck!