Moving to Richmond from San Francisco??? (Mechanicsville, Forest: high crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[camperdude]

Hi y'all!

I'm a life-long Californian - 20-year San Francisco resident - who has an opportunity to move to Richmond (my company is opening a shop out there) in the fall of 2009.

I've been to Richmond twice and been shown around by a local and I liked it very much.

My question is... any ideas as to neighborhoods or towns which might be a good transitional area for me?

I have been toying with the idea of leaving California for a while; I am tired of the crowding, the traffic, the noise, and as a San Franciscan let me tell 'ya there IS such a thing as being too liberal and too diverse. I am looking for a place that has cafes and neighborhood hangouts and, ideally, mixed-use areas where walking to such places is possible. I don't own a car here in S.F., but I plan to if I go to Richmond. Or anywhere but S.F.

People who I've told my idea to always go "aren't you going to miss the wackyness and the diversity?" The answer is NO. I want to leave S.F. for a reason! However, thinking about it, it might be an easier transition if I lived in a somewhat diverse area.

I'll read through the other posts and see what's on there and ask for your opinions if something looks promising.

Thank you all!!!

David

[PickPatrick]

David:

You will have soooooo many choices of areas to explore and eventually live in. In terms of "neighborhoods w/restaurants etc" your primary choices will be highly urban (jackson ward, Shockoe Bottom, Manchester, downtown), "historic" Churchill, The Fan, and Oregon Hill. Near westend and Bellevue (nothside) will provide a bit more suburban feel though not the typical suburbia. I think from the tone of your posting these options may proved to be the best transition spots for you to consider.

[WillV]

Take a look at the "Fan District" - one of my all time favorite neighborhoods....

[JD984]

The Fan District has a large concentration of beautiful older homes and row houses, and it's walkable. Another good area for shops is the Carytown area - here's a link with information about some of the amenities in that neighborhood.


Welcome to Carytown (http://www.carytown.org/index.htm - broken link)

[richmondpics]

What type of shop?

The Fan is a neat are, as is the Museum District, of which Carytown is part of. There are some neat neighborhoods on Northside, and on Southside near Forest Hill Park. There are also newer developments like Rockett's Landing popping up along the riverfront near downtown. The better options tend to be in the city itself. Unless you move to a new urbanism community in the suburbs, walking to your fave neighborhood bar or to shops out int he burbs is very difficult.

Good luck!

[camperdude]

Thanks so much for your responses!!!

My local guide when I'm out there is a Richmond lifer who lives in Mechanicsville, which I'm guessing is solidly in the 'burbs! There's nothing that I saw to do out there except go to the CVS or Cold Harbor. I'm sure he would be the first to admit that it probably wouldn't be the area for me. We did a little walking around in Carytown on my first trip, and spent some time in Shockoe Bottom as well, which I thought was really cool, though not what it would be like to live there. Never been (as far as I know) to Oregon Hill or Churchill. I may make another trip out before I make the decision - it's a BIG decision for me, never lived outside of California!!!

THANKS AGAIN!!!

[PickPatrick]

Dude:

Many of the neighborhoods we mention, ie the fan, churchill - are described in wikipedia.org (vhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_district) and this may give you a generalized feel for the areas.

Come visit and I'll give you a quarter tour!

[terp4ever]

Moving from San. Fran. to Richmond? Personally, San Francisco is one of the places I would most want to live, Richmond is one of the places I would least like to live. If you're from SF you're probably familar with Oakland. Think of Richmond as being boring, spread out, and very conservative compared to SF (typical Southern city), but with Oakland's high crime.

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by terp4ever

Think of Richmond as being boring, spread out, and very conservative compared to SF (typical Southern city), but with Oakland's high crime.

There's the problem.

[terp4ever]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

There's the problem.

Whatever, maybe I was a little extreme, but that's my opnion. Don't feel like arguing.