Move to Richmond from Indiana (Petersburg, Chester: real estate, 2011, renting)

[BGParsons]

My wife and I are looking to relocate to the Richmond area provided our current employer offers positions at their Richmond office. This would be a very quick move (within 3-4 wks from now) if offers are made and everything works out. That said, we are moving from a small town of about 50k to a big city. Naturally, we are excited about moving to a bigger city as we are both young (28-30 y/o) and feel that there would be a lot more for us to do, see, and enjoy.
However, with the short amount of time we won't have a lot of opportunity to research the area and determine the best places to live. That's where we are hoping some of you on this forum can help us.
We would like to find a newer subdivision/neighborhoods with homes 10 y/o or newer, in the 2000-3000 sq ft range, and with some yard space (1/4 acre or more). We are definitely looking for garage space (2 car plus) as well. We would like a quiet location with close access to retail, entertainment, recreation, and other amenities, but not actually in the city. We have searched online and Midlothian, Chesterfield, Petersburg, Glenn Allen and others all seem to have newer homes within the price ranges we are looking for and with most of the conveniences we want. But without knowing the area, we don't know anything about the subdivisions, the surrounding communities, length of the drive, etc. We don't have children, so schools are not a deciding factor right now.
We are looking to visit Richmond next week/weekend and would like to visit some of the subdivisions/neighborhoods. If anyone can suggest good areas to look at we would greatly appreciate it. Oh, if you know of any good realtors too that would be handy!!

Thanks.

[sls76]

I'd recommend checking out Twin Hickory and Wyndham in Glen Allen. We moved to this area before we had children and we love it because it's convenient for shopping and my husband's job. Do you happen to know where your employer's office is? I would pick an area based on an easy commute because there are plenty of nice areas here--no need to be in your car over 30 minutes, especially w/ gas prices on their way back up. Additionally, I'd recommend you consider renting for 6 months to a year before you buy. That way you'll get a better feel for the area.

[onevthoki]

I think the main thing would be to let us know where your office will be located. With gas prices once again rising and the tolls in the Richmond area, you'll want to find an area fairly close.

Also, even though you do not have children and schools may not play a factor now, it will definitely come into play with resale. Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover counties all have good reputations as a whole, but some areas may be more desirable than others.

Again looking at resale, I would say the eastern end of Chesterfield may be the area with the strongest potential for holding in real estate value and hopefully growing. Fort Lee, located in Prince George County, is getting ready to experience tremendous growth due to BRAC; the growth has actually already started. By 2011 Fort Lee should gain 5000 active-duty troops, and with that will come family members, contractors, GS employees and of course the retirees that will end up staying. The projections show that Chesterfield will gain more than 30% of the residents moving to the area.

I realize I may have gotten a little off-topic, but am hoping all of the extra info may explain why I think Chesterfield is a great investment right now!

[BGParsons]

My wife and I are will actually be part of that growth if we are offered these jobs. We work for Parsons and the office is located on Boulders Parkway in Richmond. I understand completely about the growth and buying now when prices have a greater potential to increase as areas further develop. This move would potentially be something long-term as well, so yes, my earlier statement for us may not be so important, but when/if we are ready to sell, it will be for others.

Being that we have such a short time-frame if everything works out, renting might be necessary just because we likely won't be able to close on a house and move in less than 15 days. But we do want to see the some of the areas when we go next week to see if there is anything that even interests us.

Thank you for the replies and if there is any other information that will help, let us know.

[sls76]

Originally Posted by BGParsons

My wife and I are will actually be part of that growth if we are offered these jobs. We work for Parsons and the office is located on Boulders Parkway in Richmond. I understand completely about the growth and buying now when prices have a greater potential to increase as areas further develop. This move would potentially be something long-term as well, so yes, my earlier statement for us may not be so important, but when/if we are ready to sell, it will be for others.

Being that we have such a short time-frame if everything works out, renting might be necessary just because we likely won't be able to close on a house and move in less than 15 days. But we do want to see the some of the areas when we go next week to see if there is anything that even interests us.

Thank you for the replies and if there is any other information that will help, let us know.

That's a good 30 minutes from Wyndham/ Twin Hickory, so you probably want to disregard my first post. Seems like Chesterfield County would be more convenient for your employment. Good luck.

[puffcream]

Hi BGParsons.....do you want websites & info on subdivisions that might fit your needs for your move to Richmond? Just email me & I'll get them right out to you!

[onevthoki]

Working over at the Boulders will give you lots of options... you could look over in Midlothian at the Charter Colony area (to give you the 10 year old time frame).

There are also some subdivisions in Chester/Enon that might work for you and would still get you closer to Fort Lee for the resale aspect. Depending on your price range, there is The Highlands, Mount Blanco at Meadowville Landing (new construction), Rivers Bend (newer section), and many more.

Give us an idea of the price range you're desiring and we can probably offer more suggestions...

[BGParsons]

We will be looking at some homes in Hanover, Chesterfield, and Henrico counties tomorrow and Friday.
Sorry for the delay in replying, my wife and I were traveling last week for her surgery and with storms in Chicago, we got really side tracked getting home. Nevertheless, we made it to Richmond and thus far are really intrigued by the downtown area. I am curious to see what the areas we could live in look like.

Puffcream, if you don't mind emailing me the info I will be glad to review it.

Onevthoki, our home in Indiana is just at about $200k in todays market(2450 sq ft, 3 bd/2 bth, open concept ranch, 2 car attached, 3 car detached garage, 0.886 acres, septic/well, total electric (2 zone), built in 2001). Something comparable seems to start about $300k and up. We would ultimately like to stay close to the $300k, but understand that some of the conveniences we are used to will run closer to $400k.

[onevthoki]

Hanover and Henrico are not really my area of expertise, so I'll leave it to others on the forum to chime in.

With eastern Chesterfield you could find something in Rivers Bend and Mount Blanco as I mentioned, and maybe the Highlands. And my guess is Charter Colony would have something, the only thing will be that those lots are smaller than what you currently have. Plus there is tons more in Chester that would work for you. For a commute you would be able to hop on I95N, pick up Chippenham and then over to Midlothian, which will put you pretty close to the Boulders. The good thing about that route is there would be no tolls.

Good luck in your search and if you see something and have questions, just give the Forum a shout-out!

[BGParsons]

The Highlands was beautiful. Almost exactly the atmosphere, yard size, house size, everything that we wanted. We made the drive from there to work and low and behold, about 20-25 minutes. It seems that everything is about 20-30 minutes drive time. The roads and infrastructure are developed so much better than I am used to here in rural Indiana.

I hope something works out with the job because my wife and I were both very impressed with the area and we truly feel we could enjoy living in the Richmond area.