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I'm a Richmond native who's lived away for many years and is now eagerly looking toward a relocation to the Raleigh area. I've visited Raleigh many times in the past and loved it, but don't know for sure where to look to buy a home (though I'm getting loads of great suggestions here!). I wondered if there are any other Richmonders on the forum who could draw comparisons of neighborhoods, that sort of thing. Anyone?
We aren't natives, but we lived in Glen Allen from 11/02-5/05. To me this area feels much larger. I love the playgrounds and green space here. This area is a little prettier (more hilly and more trees) in my opinion. The job market is bigger. The things I miss about that area are in my opinion the schools there (at least in the area we lived) are much better, especially since they're run at the district level. Glen Allen has more of a small town feel which I miss. Taxes are slightly cheaper in VA. Shopping malls here aren't that great.
I know Glen Allen! I do like it's small town feel.
There seems to be a bit more green space here, as the previous poster said. Quality of schools varies, as it does in VA from county to county, and even within a given county.
I do find the shopping malls to be everything I could ask for. I may have to drive a bit to get to a specific one, but there's one very large one close by and I can find most anyting I'm looking for there. We have been especially impressed with the ease of getting around - the layout of the roads and highways makes sense, and it's not hard to catch on how to get from here to there.
There are lots of comparisons to be drawn. What area of Richmond would you most want to find something like in Raleigh? Fill me in on what you're looking for (or not looking for), and I'll try to do a Richmond-Raleigh correlation for you.
Rosemac, I was getting ready to ask the same question. I grew up in Richmond too, but know that comparing Raleigh to the Fan or to Midlothian or Short Pump would be too different things!
I am not a Richmond native but I did live there for over 4 years (1999-2003). I lived out in the West End area (near parham road / west braod intersection). I also lived closer to downtown on West Franklins Street (near malvern). I find North Raleigh to be very similar to the west end and Short Pump Area of Richmond. Glenwood avenue in N. Raleigh reminds me of west Broad Street out in the West End. I find Raleigh and Richmond to be very similar, but I must admit I do like Raleigh more. I feel that there are quite a bit more employment opportunities here and a great mix of people. While in Richmond I felt like everybody I knew worked at Capital One!
That being said, I do think downtown Richmond has quite a bit going on for it. I really enjoyed downtown Richmond. I would hit shokchoe slip a lot (Richbrau Brewing and the Tobacco Company in particular). I also enjoyed Carytown and went to the Byrd Theater often! Downtown Raleigh is growing, but I don't think it has quite as much going on as downtwon Richmond yet....but I expect Raleigh to leapfrog Richmond in the regard within the next couple of years with all the development happening in Downtown Raleigh.
What specific questions do yo have about the Raleigh area? Where are you planning to work if you move to Raleigh? That will play a large role in what part of the Triangle could be the best place to live based on the commute you want.
Here is the old place I rented on West Franklin street (I loved that place!)
I am not a Richmond native but I did live there for over 4 years (1999-2003). I lived out in the West End area (near parham road / west braod intersection). I also lived closer to downtown on West Franklins Street (near malvern). I find North Raleigh to be very similar to the west end and Short Pump Area of Richmond. Glenwood avenue in N. Raleigh reminds me of west Broad Street out in the West End. I find Raleigh and Richmond to be very similar, but I must admit I do like Raleigh more. I feel that there are quite a bit more employment opportunities here and a great mix of people. While in Richmond I felt like everybody I knew worked at Capital One!
That being said, I do think downtown Richmond has quite a bit going on for it. I really enjoyed downtown Richmond. I would hit shokchoe slip a lot (Richbrau Brewing and the Tobacco Company in particular). I also enjoyed Carytown and went to the Byrd Theater often! Downtown Raleigh is growing, but I don't think it has quite as much going on as downtwon Richmond yet....but I expect Raleigh to leapfrog Richmond in the regard within the next couple of years with all the development happening in Downtown Raleigh.
What specific questions do yo have about the Raleigh area? Where are you planning to work if you move to Raleigh? That will play a large role in what part of the Triangle could be the best place to live based on the commute you want.
Here is the old place I rented on West Frankline street (I loved that place!)
Have you been back recently? Short Pump is much different now. To me it's more like Cary with better shopping--houses on small pieces of cleared farm land. I can't believe how much it has changed since we moved there in 2002. Anyway, as far as the job market being dominated by Capital One (and the State of Va), that is very different now (that's exactly how I felt when we moved there). A lot of companies have moved in and Capital One has cut a lot of its Richmond staff. I was very nervous when Capital One announced massive cuts that the housing market would be devestated, but that didn't even come close to coming true because the job market there is much more diverse than it used to be.
Thank you for your replies! I guess I'm thinking about what might be more like the near west end--not the fan, but not as far out as Glen Allen. I still have family there and they're in Glen Allen. I spent many of my childhood years in the fan and then in the Westham area over by U of Richmond. I'd love to find something like that. I would not really want another Short Pump or Glen Allen, I don't think. I remember Raleigh as very green and hilly, too, and that's what is attractive to me.
My husband will be working in downtown Raleigh. I am taking a sabbatical from work or getting my realtor's license fr NC (am licensed in FL now). Not sure yet. We have 2 small elementary aged kids. I'm a little torn between wanting something in a new 'planned' community (which I'm sort of tired of here in FL) and an older established neighborhood like in Richmond's near West End. Ultimately, I want my kids to feel safe riding their bikes and to have a ton of kids nearby to play with.
and that Franklin St. house...gosh, I think I lived really near there too--in the mid 90s!! I lived all over the fan in the early/mid 90s and as a kid in the 70s
Last edited by annesg; 01-14-2008 at 04:45 PM..
Reason: add more
I'm not a Richmond native (and I know nothing about Raleigh), but I lived there for several years in the mid-90's-00's. This thread is making me miss it! We lived off Parham for a while, by Byrd Park for a year, then in a great house on Floyd, just two blocks from Carytown. I miss having such a walkable neighborhood, and I miss Monument when the leaves start changing.
You're making me homesick, too!! My family has been there since, well, as long as it has existed just about. So you can see why I'm eager to get to the Carolinas, which have such a nice resemblance in architecture and landscape. Enough palm trees already
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I do like it's small town feel.
