College girl moving to Richmond for summer - need advice! (sublease, apartment)

[maizeandbluegirl]

Hi everyone,

I will be living in Richmond for the first time this summer (I'm originally from the Midwest, so I'm really excited to go somewhere new!) and it'd be great to hear from you all what it's like to live there, as well as get some general advice. I am looking for an apartment near the Federal Reserve Bank (which is where I will be interning) and I was wondering what parts of town I should be looking at to find a sublease. What is a reasonable price range for this area, especially if I'm willing to share a house/apartment? Also, what is the atmosphere like/what are some fun places/events to attend for the college-aged group? Does anyone have any other tips for me? Thanks so much!

[540_804]

WOW...congratulations on an internship at the Fed. Not to stray from the topic too much but what is your major? (sorry im just curious).

Anyway..if you're looking to intern just for the summer then you'll need a short-term contract. In this market, i think that should be no problem. Richmond's rental market is kinda shaky right now so its def. in your favor. You should be able to find a bargain.

I've found that the closer you get to the financial district, the higher the rents tend to be (which is a pretty standard generalization for most cities). That being said it would probably be cheaper to look for something a little farther out and take public transit (i.e. the bus) or walk. And by farther out..i don't even mean that far...literally just a couple of blocks farther away.

As far as parts of town, I would say look downtown first of all.
Second,

Prices vary quite a bit:

For instance: Great spacious two-level loft. June, July (option to renew in August)
This place is a 5 minute bus ride from the Fed building (if that long) and its pretty affordable. Its a sublease for the months of June and July (it may be helpful if you give the timetable during which you will be in Richmond).

This one is also downtown: Studio Apartment avil 06/09 - 12/09
Available from June to December

Heres another Loft Style President's Walk Apartment
...a bit more expensive but can be split between 2 or 4 roomies (maybe other interns)

I would focus my search on the downtown area and possibly the area across the river from downtown (a native Richmonder can help you with the name of that region because its escaping me at the moment). The properties I've listed are on the lower end of the price spectrum but they go up from there...upwards of thousands/month.

Hopefully I've been of some help..or at least didn't do any harm.

[richmondpics]

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