moving to richmond (Chester, Bon Air, Williamsburg: apartments, for rent, insurance)

[Andrea Aragbright]

My husband and I will be moving to Richmond in July 09 His work is south east. Where are safe areas for young white couple with 2 small dogs? We found a townhome in The Communities of Southwood that's affordable. (under $800) Is this a good place? North of Richmond is to far for him to drive. I personaly wanted to move toward Williamsburg but can't find anything in our price range. Idealy $700 a month which is what we pay now. Any help? ---Anz---

[PaliBoy20]

Do NOT go to The Communities of Southwood! That is probably one of the worst areas in all of Richmond. I say this from first hand experience. I went on a ride along with Richmond City Police last week and he was covering the areas of Broad Rock, Warwick and Southwood communities. We had atleast 15 calls for Southwood that night alone! From hit and runs to gunshots to a fire. The officer I was with said this is one area you do NOT want to live in. It's full of illegal immigrants (which is why he said there are a lot of hit and runs, they have no license more than likely or insurance so they run) and illegal activity (drugs, prostitution, etc.) He told me one night (10 hour shift) he NEVER left the Clarkson Rd area. And from what I saw, it was terrible. I think while I was with him, we responded to a shooting, a fire, prostitution, and hit and run (about 3 of those). Southwood and safe are complete opposites of one another. I talked with a couple of Jamaican women from there who were moving their stuff to their van and they saw the officer and myself and asked what was going on (this was during the shooting call) and I quote her "yeah this area not good, always something going on!". Sorry for the lenghty response but I figure it was best you know the truth about that area and why it was so cheap.

[stva]

There are many good and affordable places to live in the greater Richmond area. It is also an easy area to drive around, with little traffic compared to most cities, so don't worry about having to live extremely close to his job. The Southside has many bad areas, per the poster above. I'd recommend looking for something off of Huguenot, or Midlothian Turnpike/Hull Street (West of Chippenham only!). The Bon Air area is nice, if you can find something within your price range.

[richmondpics]

Also, look for options closer to Chester.

[rccola]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll be looking west and north west. What about northwest henrico county? I saw some apartment-townhomes up there on-line.

[Richmonder27]

Originally Posted by rccola

Thanks for the info. I think I'll be looking west and north west. What about northwest henrico county? I saw some apartment-townhomes up there on-line.

You may consider Short Pump. There is a RT 288 that connects that end of the county with Chesterfield County to the SE.

Also, like someone said, traffic in Richmond is a breeze compared to most places. Especially Northern Virginia. I was in a hurry to get some place around Rush Hour Traffic in Richmond, I was there just as quick as I would be if it had not been Rush hour.

[thevogels]

I have a house for rent about 30 miles from Williamsburg. It is just outside the city towards Williamsburg. But we are asking a little more a month for the rent. If you are interested, befriend me and we can talk about the specifics.
Good luck on your search! And welcome to Richmond!

[graciefromVA]

If you like the city life, the Fan district has some options. I actually live in a small 2 bedroom apartment in a quad for $700/month without utilities included. Comes out to about $900 with the high cost of gas in the winter. The apartments in the Fan are usually historic (built between 1890-1930s) and in a nice liberal area with more culture than many other parts of Richmond like Short Pump or the West End where everything is a chain store or restaurant. Keep it in mind.