Suburbs Near Richmond (Chester, Marion, Emporia: loft, low crime, townhouses)

[richmondpics]

No offense... it's a nice area and all but may not exactly be the best fit for someone seeking "the city vs suburb." However, I will say that is a low property tax rate. How far are the nearest commercial amenities in Caroline, like say, Wal-mart? Would the closest be Hanover or Rt. 1 in Fredericksburg?

[EricD]

Originally Posted by richmondpics

No offense... it's a nice area and all but may not exactly be the best fit for someone seeking "the city vs suburb." However, I will say that is a low property tax rate. How far are the nearest commercial amenities in Caroline, like say, Wal-mart? Would the closest be Hanover or Rt. 1 in Fredericksburg?

Well, my wife and I usually shop either in Ladysmith itself (good for the basics, grceries and all that), but if we want to go on a shopping trip, the Spotsylvania exit (old Massaponax exit) is only 16 miles up I-95. We usually just take Rt. 1 up, since our development is right on Rt. 1, then you can easily average 60 MPH and get to the super-target in 15 minutes. I grew up in Spotsylvania, down Rt. 3, and it would easily take us 20 minutes to get to shopping... so personally I think 15 minutes is good. Plus they have added so much to that shopping area... Lowes, super-walmart, super-target, best buy, petsmart, marshals, ross, american family fitness, there's a new carmax... all within the last year. It's really exploded.

As for her looking for 'the city vs suburb', one thing that might give this area a fighting chance is how they are laying out the town of Ladysmith. Origionally it was just a cross-roads, and now developers are turning it into a fairly large planned community, with (going from closest to town out) shops, then office space, then town homes, then homes on smaller lots, and then homes on slightly larger lots... but it will all be connected through sidewalks and walking trails, with a lot of it within walking distance to your home. I think a lot of advantage to living in the city is being able to walk to a lot of places, and where my home is, in a few years I will be 2 blocks away from the YMCA, shops, the community center, the local visitor's center, library, walking paths, comunity playground/park, and one more thing that is in the plannes, but I don't know if I can say it yet.

[shellytc]

jmier,

I would also check out the areas just south of Richmond, just over the "nickel" bridge is a great single family home area called Westover Hills. Homes should be in the range you are looking for. City like living, but in a quieter neighborhood. close to the river running and access to the river. you can also check out the Northside. Some really neat neighborhoods there with some neat architecture.

i love Westover Hills though. When you go for your visit, ask you realtor to show you some places there.

Shelly

[Jmier7]

What are utility costs in the different seasons?
What are winter heat bills if the house heat is let's say 65 deg.
What about summer? If you have air conditioning, what would be cooling costs let's say at 80deg??
Currently I pay about 150 a month in winter elec/gas. and less in summer. I have no air conditioning.

[bigmama]

Great to read all these threads. We too are looking at moving to the area. We are both British with my husband originating from Lebanon, living and working in Dubai, UAE.
We want a place to call home for our 4 children 12,11 and twins of 3.5. We love to be close to the city but not in it. Looking forward to walking, breathing the fresh air and the variety of activities - we are a little restricted here with the extreme heat!
Having never lived in the US I am a little worried about the crime but I think you just need to know the areas to avoid and it always seems worse when you are on the outside looking in.
I think we have to choose our location to live based on the best public schools, lowest crime, great place to bring up a young family with good local facilities.

Am I correct in thinking Chesterfield or western Henrico ticks these boxes?

[richmondpics]

You'd be correct.

[richmondpics]

Originally Posted by shellytc

jmier,

I would also check out the areas just south of Richmond, just over the "nickel" bridge is a great single family home area called Westover Hills. Homes should be in the range you are looking for. City like living, but in a quieter neighborhood. close to the river running and access to the river. you can also check out the Northside. Some really neat neighborhoods there with some neat architecture.

i love Westover Hills though. When you go for your visit, ask you realtor to show you some places there.

Shelly

Shelly, that's a good point. Westover Hills does have some nice homes. And it's not far from shopping on Forest Hill Avenue.

[Jmier7]

Insofar as Westover hills, I see on a map that the railroad runs right through the neighborhood. Is it active? I mean is it noisy? also I asked earlier about
average utility costs. The reason I'm asking is I need to negotiate a salary for the move, and if there is going to be increases in cost of living I will factor that in.
Oregon does not have a sales tax, and the utility costs are pretty low, the property taxes appear lower than Richmond as well.
Thanks all

[richmondpics]

According to a salary/cost of living wizard from salary.com, the Richmond area cost of living is actually about 15% higher. So, hypothetically if you were making 50k in Portland, you'd need over $57,000 in Richmond to maintain the same standard of living.

[Jmier7]

richmondpics--
I ran the cost of living for my job description, and it actually turns out lower for Richmond. Is there something I'm not entering in the salary.com??