Looking for a neighborhood where I know my neighbors and can walk to get a gallon of milk?? (Richmond: HOA, crime)

[mmcg]

But here is my ideal....We are moving from Philadelphia and we currently live right in the city. We love the access to amenities and the tight nit community but we would LOVE a little more elbow room!

Our requirements are the following:

• $250,000 - $400,000 budget
• Detached houses
• No cookie cutter housing developments!
• Sidewalks
• Neighbors who know and talk to each other
• Ethnic and racial diversity (if possible)
• Walkability

btw... I LOVE THIS MESSAGE BOARD!!!

[richmondpics]

Neighborhoods like Bellevue and Westover Hills! Part of the near west end too.

[AJNEOA]

I completely agree with richmondpics. Bellevue (checkout Nottoway, Claremont, Bellevue Ave...all near MacArthur) has about 4 - 5 restaurants within walking distance, includes a couple options for getting small groceries (e.g. CVS and privately owned shop), and a couple of other types of shops. The people in the neighborhood are very friendly and all the homes are detached for the most part.

[PickPatrick]

Hey guys...dont forget the fan~

[richmondpics]

**Looking for detached houses...

[sellnhomes]

With that criteria you will LOVE Richmond! So many charming neighborhood fall under that description: The Fan, The Museum District, BelLvue, Ginter Park, Some parts of the near West End, Westover Hills, and others.
I have brochures on all these areas. Email me if you want a copy

[EMAIL="Sellnhomes@comcast.net"]Sellnhomes@comcast.net[/EMAIL]
Good Luck!

[PickPatrick]

there are detached houses in the fan silly!

[legallyblonde2004]

Westover Hills if you have some cash, Forest View if you don't. I don't recommend the West End. Too many there are looking for work because many corporate entities there have closed down. It's depressed. The South side tends to be small business money, ma and pa heating and ac, plumbing, etc. They tend to have more money in hard times. If you aren't city people, you might want to move all the way out to Chester and drive where ever to work. Brandermill has an HOA that makes a ton of rules and regs. The problem? The do not allow to cut down trees, which means no sunlight and the houses all suffer from damp and moisture problems. My pal who lived there said bugs galore and a 24/7 celing fan on. So not worth it unless you are a golfer.

[mmcg]

Hello All -

Thanks for all the feedback. We were in Richmond over the weekend and we visited Bellevue, Forest Hill, and Westover Hills. I really loved Forest hill for its access to the river and the park. In Bellevue people we talked to seemed really invested in the neighborhood. One thing I heard over and over again was that you needed to be careful where you lived if you chose the Southside because of the projects. I live in Philly and I know projects but my question is this...are crime levels higher because of one's proximity to these projects or do people just not want to live near the projects because of their negative perception?

thanks folks and keep any thoughts you have coming!

Christina

[Hanshananigan]

I know many folks who would love to live in those neighborhoods. Although crime is certainly higher than in HOA burbs and home prices are higher, the main reason they don't live in the city is because of the schools.