Small town near Richmond? (Roanoke, Charlottesville: crime, daycare, homes)

[dizliz0925]

Good afternoon....

My wife and I are thinking of moving to the Richmond area, and are looking for a small town, with lots of charm, and a great place to raise kids (we have a 2 year old). Basically, if anyone has seen the show Gilmore Girls, we are looking for Stars Hollow.

We currently live in North Florida, and we are tired of the heat, and basically two seasons (spring and summer). We want nice falls, occasional snows, good culture.

I will most likely be working in downtown Richmond, so something like a 45 min commute would be reasonable (currently I live in Jacksonville, and live in the Riverside historic area, and have a 3 mile communte to downtown).

I have heard a little of Hopewell and Ashland, but do not know much about these towns...

How is the overall education, crime, housing, etc?
(As far as education, we have planned on Catholic school here in FL...how are the Catholic schools in the area?).

Thanks in advance to everyone who replies!

-Dean

[dizliz0925]

27 views, no replies?
Any small town, main street charm near Richmond?

Thanks,
Dean

[SmerkyGrl]

I have a feeling people are going to slam me for this but many people I know (including myself) hold the opinion that Richmond and the surrounding areas are pretty crime-ridden and crappy :/ You ever considered the Roanoke area?

[jensen beach gal]

There are some nice towns outside of Richmond. My brother lives in Richmond and loves it-my parents live in a small town outside of Richmond-Goochland-I have visited many times its a very nice area. I think the comments about the crime are a bit exaggerated-the crime is concentrated in certain areas of Richmond, so i've been told. I think there is a lot to offer in terms of culture, shopping and education & there are some really pretty areas just outside of the city.I would consider moving there with my son-but i am a single Mom and need to do a little more research to find what would be affordable for me. My brother has worked at VCU many years now and has given me a lot of good advice regarding good schools in that area. good luck to you.

[jensen beach gal]

Not that familiar with Ashland-driving through it was pretty-we went there for halloween-they had an unbelievable haunted house, my son loved it.

[jensen beach gal]

dizliz-we are also from florida (south florida) unfortunately we moved to eastern north carolina. I really think you would like the Richmond area-lots to do.

[dizliz0925]

Thanks for the info...the more the merrier
As far as the crime, i think it can be exageratted as well.
We live in JAcksonville, FL, and the city just had it's highest murder rate in a long long time...so much so that we were getting national attention about it.
However, I have lived here 20 years, and have not experienced any crime.
Most of it's gang/drug related in confined areas of town (Springfield and Northside). Most of the other murders were domestic. probably only 5% were 'random' homocides.

We are really looking for a change, and first thought about Charlotte, but we really like VA. Charlottesville is a little too pricey for the pay scale, so we thought Richmond would be a good fit (I am in finance).

Thanks again, everyone, and keep those comments coming!
-Dean

[EricD]

Hello Dean,

I hope I can help a little. I live in Ladysmith, which is a little north of Ashland. It is a 30-45 minute drive to downtown Richmond, because not many people commute from north of Richmond, so there isn't as much back-up heading into the city. Up until a few years ago, Ladysmith was a very small town... actually, more of a cross-roads. Now there are two very large developments going in, one north and one south of the cross roads of Ladysmith road (exit 110 on I-95) and Rt. 1. The one south of the intersection is Pendleton. It is a golf course community being built by Tricord Homes. (http://www.tricordhomes.com/Communit...ton/info.shtml) The one north of the intersection is called Ladysmith Village, being built by Newland Communities, and several different builders. (http://www.ladysmithvillage.com/)

Both are going to be town-style communities, with shopping in the area closest to Rt. 1 and the intersection, then office space, then town homes, and then single family homes, and then single family homes on slightly larger lots as you go further from the center. Both communities will have multiple entrences, multiple community centers, and all of the usual ammenities.

I live in Ladysmith Village, and have posted a few pictures in this thread: https://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...ne-county.html

So far I have been very happy with my purchase. Right now there is a lot of construction, but once the area builds up, it's going to be the ideal small town, with everything within walking distance. It already has that small town feeling, and people take a lot of pride in their homes... something that seems to be less common now-a-days.

As for Christian Schools, you'd have two options. Fredericksburg Christian, which is in Spotsylvania County, just north of the area, and there's another down here in Caroline County that would be closer, but I forget the name. If you are thinking of public schools, next January they will have finished the new, "$20 million" elementary school inside Ladysmith Village. It's going to be state of the art, and hold around 900 students. The YMCA is also going to be in Ladysmith Village, offering daycare and other kid's activities.

[onevthoki]

You might very well like Ashland. It is the home of Randolph Macon College. I have a cousin that moved from the Mechanicsville area of Hanover to Ashland because she felt Mechanicsville was a litle too crowded. As far as I know they have no complaints; they home-school one and the other will be starting Hanover Academy soon - not sure if it is Catholic based or not. You might also look into Amelia County. It is on the south side of Richmond past Chesterfield county. Good luck!

[shellytc]

Within the commute time you specify, you have just had all the suggestions. North is Ashland and Ladysmith. West is Goochland and Manakin-Sabot. South is Powhatan and Amelia. You can go east to Varina, but most folks don't.... Not really a quaint town.

Crime is in the city. But most of the city is awesome. I love the Fan District and Churchhill. If you like historic districts you should check it out. And plenty of families live there as well. There are parks and shopping and restaurants and cultural activities. Plenty for everybody.

shelly