Anyone familiar with the Richmond, VA area?

[JJ2016]

I'm considering taking a job near Chester, VA which from what I understand is south of Richmond. Can anyone recommend a nice area to live? And around what I'd expect to pay for something decent? I'm moving from the Raleigh-Durham area; according to most cost-of-living calculator Richmond appears to be around 15% less expensive.


Thanks in advance.

 

[shortylickens]

Welcome Newb!

I'd like to help but I dont get down there much anymore.
The only person who could advise me is my Uncle Chuck and he passed away last year.
He would probably tell you to stay out of Richmond and find a nice place in the country.

 

[acheron]

I went to a concert in Richmond last year.

That's all I got.

(in before free ipod)

 

[HardcoreRobot]

went there a couple years ago for a VCU graduation. not impressed.

 

[Pepsei]

yea.. chester is cheap to live. but most of the city growth for richmond is now northwest of richmond in the shortpump area, which is where the property value are raising. i'm not too familar with that area since it's where most of the 'country' folk lives. it's near "colonial whites" (a colloquialism of colonial heights area)

 

[JJ2016]

Thanks for all the insight.

 

[GCS]

Richmonder here.

Yep the Chester/Hopewell/Petersburg/Colonial Heights area is not exactly a boomtown.

Don't get me wrong it's not a slum area either.

How far do you want to travel to get to work because there are various areas of Richmond you could live in and travel say 20-30 mins to get to work.

The booming areas are as the OP mentioned Short Pump, but also the Stony Point area of southside, the FAR southside known as the Chesterfield area, and then Mechanicsville (where I live) which is East of Richmond.

A lot of things depend on what you want to be near, how busy you like things etc.

Greg

 

[JJ2016]

Originally posted by: GCS
Richmonder here.

Yep the Chester/Hopewell/Petersburg/Colonial Heights area is not exactly a boomtown.

Don't get me wrong it's not a slum area either.

How far do you want to travel to get to work because there are various areas of Richmond you could live in and travel say 20-30 mins to get to work.

The booming areas are as the OP mentioned Short Pump, but also the Stony Point area of southside, the FAR southside known as the Chesterfield area, and then Mechanicsville (where I live) which is East of Richmond.

A lot of things depend on what you want to be near, how busy you like things etc.

Greg

Thank you for the information. I'd like to stay within 15-20 minutes of Chester. To be honest, I'm tired of the 30-45 minute commutes. I'm just looking for a safe, clean, reasonably priced area. Nothing too fancy.

 

[RazorsEdge]

I've lurked here for years, and this finally brought me out, so Hello World!

I've lived in Richmond for the past 15 years. We live near Stony Point, which is just south of the James River, but still in the city. It depends on your family situation where you want to live. If you're single, there is probably more to do in areas like the Fan, or Downtown. If you have a family and school aged kids, look for something in Chesterfield county - schools are good, but more traditional suburban developments and malls. We have a 2 year old that we'll need to make some decisions about where he'll go to school, because the city schools are not that great. Chester is probably a good bit more "southern" than Richmond, but I don't get down that way very much. I would think if you picked somewhere west of Richmond (Short Pump) - you'll have a pretty decent commute again to Chester - probably at least 30 minutes again.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have questions about a specific area

 

[buck]

I was familiar with one of their hospitals there when i was a kid. I got hurt at my grandparents lake house a lot. The following trips took place three years in a row....

Snakebite
Burnt plastic got on my eyeball (no permanent damage)
broken arm


Sorry thats of no help.

 

[JJ2016]

I guess I'll go check it out over the weekend and try to get a good feel for the area.

 

[Pepsei]

ah yes stony point area is improving... but i 'm a little sad that the moe's that's near by closed down. after wendy's went out of bussines.... we still have plenty of other place to eat i guess. i live around this area and commute to innsbrook in just 20 minutes for work thanks to the highway.

since chester has 'chesterfield' on the way to richmond. you're pretty much stuck with southpark (yes southpark) mall area as the only mall near you. but maybe I-95 can get to Virginia Center Commons fast as your other shopping area (i heard it is pretty rough area ??? but i wouldn't know)

perhaps you'll get more bites if you also ask for people who lives near Chester/Hopewell/Petersburg/Colonial Heights

 

[JJ2016]

Originally posted by: Pepsei
ah yes stony point area is improving... but i 'm a little sad that the moe's that's near by closed down. after wendy's went out of bussines.... we still have plenty of other place to eat i guess. i live around this area and commute to innsbrook in just 20 minutes for work thanks to the highway.

since chester has 'chesterfield' on the way to richmond. you're pretty much stuck with southpark (yes southpark) mall area as the only mall near you. but maybe I-95 can get to Virginia Center Commons fast as your other shopping area (i heard it is pretty rough area ??? but i wouldn't know)

perhaps you'll get more bites if you also ask for people who lives near Chester/Hopewell/Petersburg/Colonial Heights

I think I've been past Southpark mall. It's along the highway? Seemed decent.

 

[JJ2016]

bump

 

[miri]

if your gonna work in chester, you probably want to get a place in chester or maybe midlothian, in the brandermill, woodlake area. Richmond suburbs are pretty quiet and boring which you might like. If you get a place in Richmond, it would be a pretty hefty commute to chester and i would not recommend moving to the west end/short pump area if you work in chester unless you want to commute 2+ hours a day although the new part of 288 might have reduced that a bit.

A warning though, traffic is pretty bad in the Richmond suburbs due to inadequate roads. i was surprised how light the traffic is in orange county compared to Richmond although 288 which goes from midlothian to chester is pretty decent from what i remember.

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
went there a couple years ago for a VCU graduation. not impressed.

VCU is in the shittiest part of Richmond.

- How Many VCU Grads does it take to change a light bulb?
- None, Downtown Richmond looks better in the dark.

Great college, some good commerce, but as far as wanting to live there, I have to rank it pretty low.

 

[lupi]

Third largest area of the state and a dump at that. The definition of armpit, and if not for all the political offices being located there it wouldn't receive nearly as much money as it does (to the detriment of the other areas more in need).

 

[LS8]

OP, check out www.city-data.com and post on the Richmond forums.

 

[JJ2016]

I'm surprised how expensive the rental market is here ($850 for a 1b/1b). I was expecting it to be much less than the Raleigh-Durham area. I haven't been too impressed with some parts of Richmond (lots of strip malls). However, some of the suburbs seem pretty nice.

 

[miri]

I miss the prices in Richmond, we were paying $895 for a 2 bedroom/2bath in 2006, currently we are paying $1500/month for a 1 bedroom in orange county.

 

[zzuupp]

Originally posted by: JJ2016
I'm surprised how expensive the rental market is here ($850 for a 1b/1b). I was expecting it to be much less than the Raleigh-Durham area. I haven't been too impressed with some parts of Richmond (lots of strip malls). However, some of the suburbs seem pretty nice.

I think you now have a good idea of the area.

As a relatively frequent visitor:

west is better than east
north is better than south
within 1 mile of anywhere, it can be much better or worse
all the new big roads have tolls. Sometimes they are worth it.

 

[JJ2016]

Originally posted by: zzuupp

Originally posted by: JJ2016
I'm surprised how expensive the rental market is here ($850 for a 1b/1b). I was expecting it to be much less than the Raleigh-Durham area. I haven't been too impressed with some parts of Richmond (lots of strip malls). However, some of the suburbs seem pretty nice.

I think you now have a good idea of the area.

As a relatively frequent visitor:

west is better than east
north is better than south
within 1 mile of anywhere, it can be much better or worse
all the new big roads have tolls. Sometimes they are worth it.

I've also been surprised at the number of toll roads! I need to remember to have change with me at all times. Is there a fancy suburb? I know every major area has one.

 

[Pepsei]

Wendy's: Free Junior Frosty with any purchase for a year.

if you donate $1 to Richmond spca, they'll give you a key tag that's good for free junior frosty with any purchase for a year.

 

[krazydimund]

I actually grew up in Richmond, VA, over in the west end of Henrico county. If you have children, that is the place to live-the schools are much better there. Try for the short pump mall area if possible. Unfortunately, thats about 12 miles northwest of Chester, but you'll be pretty close to 64 there.