Relocating to Richmond- traffic??!! (Mechanicsville, Chester: apartment, crime rate, homes)

[coolmeg]

I am relocating to Richmond VA from Tampa, FL. I wanted to know how is the area of Glen Allen and Mecahnicsville. I have a job in Downtown Richmond - so wanted to know how would be the traffic on I-64E from Glen allen? Are there any other places preffered over those two...?

[coolmeg]

Originally Posted by coolmeg

I am relocating to Richmond VA from Tampa, FL. I wanted to know how is the area of Glen Allen and Mecahnicsville. I have a job in Downtown Richmond - so wanted to know how would be the traffic on I-64E from Glen allen? Are there any other places preffered over those two...?

Also wanted to know the education part - how are the schools and colleges here in Richmond?!

[whynot?]

I would say it takes about 40-50 minutes from Glen Allen to Downtown in rush hour traffic. (But Glen Allen is kind of a vague area, actually.) Oddly, the traffic seems worse in the afternoons, going west on I-64. There's rarely gridlock unless there's a serious accident. (I lived in DC for 20 years; Richmond's traffic is mild by comparison.)

Mechanicsville and Glen Allen are both suburbs of Richmond, but they have a very different "feel." Richmond and the principal surrounding counties (Chesterfield and Henrico) have lots of neighborhoods; it really depends on what you want and your budget.

Public school ratings and reputations are all over the place -- depends on how old your kids are. There are lots of private schools, too. Colleges and universities are good, some with good graduate programs.

It's a great, reasonably-priced area, but it's not a big city. It just thinks of itself as one.

[richmondpics]

I think of Richmond as a place where one has access to many big-city amenities yet the pace of life is that of a smaller town. Traffic in general isn't bad. Spend time up around DC and hearing people complain about traffic here is humorous. A co-worker gets from Wyndham to downtown in under 30 minutes.

[NJRAMAL]

Originally Posted by whynot?

, but it's not a big city. It just thinks of itself as one.

Hmmm, thats funny. IMO Richmond is actually bigger than the citizens think it is. I dont think they feel like it is a big city. Actually they like to try and make it a small town type situation. They want the Gone With The Wind old south but the city does not reflect that IMO.

[whynot?]

Originally Posted by NJRAMAL

Hmmm, thats funny. IMO Richmond is actually bigger than the citizens think it is. I dont think they feel like it is a big city. Actually they like to try and make it a small town type situation. They want the Gone With The Wind old south but the city does not reflect that IMO.

I meant that Richmond -- partially because of its location, partly because of its history -- kind of thinks of itself as being in the same league as Washington, which has a metro-area population of about 5 million (v. Richmond's metro population of just over 1 million).

The regional population puts Richmond more in-league with cities like Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, and Jacksonville. Even (the dreaded comparison) Charlotte and (more to their liking) Indianapolis are larger by almost half.

I completely agree with your opinions about their wanting the smaller-city profile, and about their wish for having an Old South kind of atmosphere. But the obvious cities that have actually done that, say Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA, are much smaller, at 603,000 and 320,000 metro populations respectively. Richmond is much closer in population, actually, to New Orleans, (at 1,300,000 metro). Still, I'd say it identifies more with Atlanta, which is much larger (3,800,000 metro).

The numbers don't really matter so much. I lived in/around DC for 20 years before I moved to Richmond. Their struggle with how to move forward without giving up their past is fascinating.

[minor_swing]

I travel 95 south to a downtown Job. If I leave prior to 7 am it is a 25
minute drive. IF I leave after it generally be another 15 minutes. Same with the trip home. If I am out before 4pm it is cake. IF I am out after 4:00 it can be easy or possibly a short nightmare. Parking downtown tends to be a pain in the arse. most people pay. I find free spots on the street and generally have to walk 10 minutes or so to work. Beats $40 a month though.

WE selected Hanover/Glen allen because:

Decent grade school.
Decent home prices
Fairly pleasant life with minimal crime.

We moved here last summer. The way the public schools kind of graded out, for us, were such that Henrico County Schools scored fairly well with relative low incidence of violence. Except those feeding Hermitage (sp? I forget). Hanover schools around Ashland scored fairly well with low incidence of violence. Maybe not quite as well as Some of the Henrico Schools but pretty good. The Mechanichesville area scored less well in both areas and as a result we did not look in that area. Several Richmond city grade schools do very well but everyone I know that has kids in Richmond City schools send their kids to private school once passing grade school. WE did not want to deal with that.

I work downtown and find it a pretty safe place to work during the day. The city looks to be rebuilding inch by inch. It has a long way to go and is still struggling with a lot of issues but I really do think it is creeping forward. It is full of potential with the River and all. We will see if it is realized.

[coolmeg]

After reading many posts here - i am kinda scared to settle in Richmond - i am coming from Tampa and the crime rate is much less compared to Richmond, also considering that Tampa is lot bigger than Richmond. But again every city is dealing with Crime. I also looked for apts in Glen Allen - if i find a decent neighbourhood they are too pricey...

[richmondpics]

I'm not sure how the Richmond region compares to the Tampa region, but here is how it compares to several regions in the southeast in various categories, including crime. (October 2007) It's also relevant to the side conversation as to which cities are considered peer cities by the Greater Richmond Chamber.
http://www.grcc.com/files/2007_Compe...ct07_Final.pdf


Crime in Richmond for the most part is highly concentrated. Glen Allen is a very safe area.

[minor_swing]

Originally Posted by coolmeg

After reading many posts here - i am kinda scared to settle in Richmond - i am coming from Tampa and the crime rate is much less compared to Richmond, also considering that Tampa is lot bigger than Richmond. But again every city is dealing with Crime. I also looked for apts in Glen Allen - if i find a decent neighbourhood they are too pricey...

Let me just say that we have been here for almost a year and have been living very pleasantly. There are certainly some issues in some areas but I have not had one second of concern for my safety or my family regarding safety. I personally think the price of homes in the area is a problem. My wife and I earn a very middle of the road income. As we looked for homes in the west end Henrico area we were very discouraged at what we saw. The "better" school district (and I use that term loosely it is really very subjective). home prices were crazy. Nothing below $300,000. And then when we got into the "affordable" housing it was in an area that we were just not comfortable with. Understand that I grew up in the woods. Not used to urban settings, crime, even neighbors for that matter.

We since managed to buy a home in a new neighborhood near Ashland and my little girl will go to a nice little elementary and on to a decent school system if we stay. So, we feel a little more comfortable now but I will agree with your concern a little bit. We were getting concerned as well. And I have no idea what the apartment setting is like. You might want to consider Ashland.

But again, I will also say that I have been working down town. I am perfectly comfortable with it. And, really all the people I have met have been fine and perfectly friendly. SO some of it is perception. But some of what I take in, visually, is a little hard to deny!