I'm looking into options for purchasing a home, more than likely early next spring. The D.C. area is incredibly expensive, and w/ my work schedule, I have the luxury of living pretty much anywhere that I want, as long as I'm willing to make the drive 7 days a month.
I'm not the biggest fan of living in the hell of suburbia and strip malls, and would prefer more of a 'downtown' environment where I can walk to bars, restaurants, nightlife, etc. That being said, a nice suburban neighborhood relatively convenient to the 'city' would be just fine. Think, Arlington County's relative proximity & convenience to D.C., and it's own Clarendon, Ballston area. I love those areas, I just can't afford Arlington outside of tiny condos.
Notice: I don't need to live in in an antiseptic neighborhood, but I don't want to worry about being robbed & having my car & house broken into on a nightly basis. I want to live in a nicer area, not 'the 'hood'.
So, Richmond is one of my options, and I know little about it. What can you tell me? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thank you.
- Greg
gay, gay, gay, for RJ
Fyrfytr Wrote:I'm looking into options for purchasing a home, more than likely early next spring. The D.C. area is incredibly expensive, and w/ my work schedule, I have the luxury of living pretty much anywhere that I want, as long as I'm willing to make the drive 7 days a month.
I'm not the biggest fan of living in the hell of suburbia and strip malls, and would prefer more of a 'downtown' environment where I can walk to bars, restaurants, nightlife, etc. That being said, a nice suburban neighborhood relatively convenient to the 'city' would be just fine. Think, Arlington County's relative proximity & convenience to D.C., and it's own Clarendon, Ballston area. I love those areas, I just can't afford Arlington outside of tiny condos.
Notice: I don't need to live in in an antiseptic neighborhood, but I don't want to worry about being robbed & having my car & house broken into on a nightly basis. I want to live in a nicer area, not 'the 'hood'.
So, Richmond is one of my options, and I know little about it. What can you tell me? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thank you.
Say hello to the "Fan" district of Richmond. It starts from downtown/VCU and heads west for like 8 miles, fanning outward and ending up in the suburbs of Henrico County. It's by far the most unique part of Richmond to occupy IMHO.
The heart of the Fan (Belvidere to Boulevard) has lots of great old historical "row houses" like much of DC but at a fraction of the cost. Nice clean streets and alleys, plenty of shopping and strip malls nearby (Broad Street) but not right in your face, tons of excellent small bars and restaurants everywhere, etc.
The center/upper Fan (Boulevard to 195) has much of the same but with the influx of slightly more small apartment buildings and standalone houses with some property around (instead of 1 foot apart like the "row houses" further in.)
The way upper Fan and the near West End (195 to the city line / Three Chopt / U of R / Country Club of VA area) has more standalone houses on a bit of land, but still very much fits the characteristics of the area. The houses are generally newer and bigger, but not necessarily more expensive.
There's some poverty and crime on the outskirts of the Fan (i.e. the northern and southern ends nobody ever visits), but right down the center (i.e. all the "main drag" streets that go east-west, some of 'em go all the way to Charlottesville, like 250 and Rte 6) are very safe. I have no problem leaving my car door or front door unlocked at night and have done so many times. (For reference I live in the "Museum District" of the upper Fan, 2 blocks west of Boulevard, and it's the best place I've ever lived.)
Any other questions? Happy to help... :wink:
Jon
PS- The clubs are on the other side of downtown, aka "Shockoe Bottom" which is a 10 minute drive from the Fan. Most of the bars/restaurants in the Fan are small friendly independent neighborhood places, and most of 'em are awesome. There are also two areas of boutique shopping (the very big Carytown area and Libbie/Grove on a smaller scale) where you can find all sorts of cool stuff for sale.
Also, if you're into such things, Richmond just happens to be equidistant between Summit Point and VIR (<2.5 hrs each way) and <40 minutes from the upcoming DragonsRidge road course if they ever finish it. There are two active autocross clubs in town providing more than 20 autocrosses and/or road rallies a year. There are also two popular dragstrips within 30 miles.
Anything else? :wink:
Jon
Fan property values? Location is key. If you want to live on or right near the very old and historical Monument Avenue, prepare to spend $400k+ for anything worth having. But there are plenty of nice big 2-3 bedroom houses around here for under $250k. And some under $150k... but those are the smaller ones and/or the ones closer to the questionable areas on the north and south sides of the Fan. I think everything around here appreciates in value... that is, I've never seen or heard of anyone losing money on a Fan house...
What else? :wink:
Jon
of two friends i have in richmond, one can't wait to get out. i've done some hanging out and while not as bad as baltimore, i'd still much rather dc.
I Am Mike
4 wheels: '01 RAV4 (Formerly '93 Civic CX, '01 S2000, '10 GTI, '09 A4 Avant)
2 wheels: '12 Surly Cross-Check Custom | '14 Trek Madone 2.1 105 | '17 Norco Threshold SL Force 1 | '17 Norco Revolver 9.2 FS | '18 BMC Roadmachine 02 Two | '19 Norco Search XR Steel (Formerly '97 Honda VFR750F, '05 Giant TCR 2, '15 WeThePeople Atlas 24, '10 Scott Scale 29er XT, '11 Cervelo R3 Rival, '12 Ridley X-Fire Red)
No longer onyachin.
Mike Wrote:of two friends i have in richmond, one can't wait to get out. i've done some hanging out and while not as bad as baltimore, i'd still much rather dc.
For what I'd pay for a decent sized 2BR condo in Arlington, I could have a 3-4 bedroom single family home w/ a garage 20 minutes outside of Richmond. That same home in the D.C. suburbs would be completely unaffordable for me.
- Greg
gay, gay, gay, for RJ
20 minutes outside in which direction/area?
Jon
getfast Wrote:20 minutes outside in which direction/area?
Jon
Henrico, Chesterfield mainly, then heading south to Petersburg, etc.
- Greg
gay, gay, gay, for RJ
i like richmond a lot. lots of culture and personality. pretty good nightlife, and home of the museum of the confederacy! yeeehaww!
in this area you are SOL
richmond is nasty - all my friends that live down there are waiting to get out.
-Paul
"If you can't dazzle em with brilliance, baffle em with bullshit"
.paul Wrote:in this area you are SOL
richmond is nasty - all my friends that live down there are waiting to get out.
Must be where they live in Richmond. A few hundred thousand of us who've been here most of our lives would beg to differ. The last thing I'd ever call my neighborhood is "nasty." Then again, opinions are like assholes... :wink:
Jon
Fyrfytr Wrote:getfast Wrote:20 minutes outside in which direction/area?
Jon
Henrico, Chesterfield mainly, then heading south to Petersburg, etc.
Some of those areas are ghetto as fuck.
Jon
Evan Wrote:i like richmond a lot. lots of culture and personality. pretty good nightlife, and home of the museum of the confederacy! yeeehaww!
Hahaha I live 2 blocks from the "United Daughters of the Confederacy" national headquarters. Plenty of nightlife right around here too :wink:
Jon
Fyrfytr Wrote:Mike Wrote:of two friends i have in richmond, one can't wait to get out. i've done some hanging out and while not as bad as baltimore, i'd still much rather dc.
For what I'd pay for a decent sized 2BR condo in Arlington, I could have a 3-4 bedroom single family home w/ a garage 20 minutes outside of Richmond. That same home in the D.C. suburbs would be completely unaffordable for me.
do you need a sfh?
I Am Mike
4 wheels: '01 RAV4 (Formerly '93 Civic CX, '01 S2000, '10 GTI, '09 A4 Avant)
2 wheels: '12 Surly Cross-Check Custom | '14 Trek Madone 2.1 105 | '17 Norco Threshold SL Force 1 | '17 Norco Revolver 9.2 FS | '18 BMC Roadmachine 02 Two | '19 Norco Search XR Steel (Formerly '97 Honda VFR750F, '05 Giant TCR 2, '15 WeThePeople Atlas 24, '10 Scott Scale 29er XT, '11 Cervelo R3 Rival, '12 Ridley X-Fire Red)
No longer onyachin.
Mike Wrote:do you need a sfh?
need?
No, I do not.
But when they only cost as much as this one does...
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..it's an option.
Optimally, I'd prefer to be closer to the city though.
At times, I think that living in the 'burbs like Manassas, Fairfax County, etc, wouldn't be all that bad. I've been in them for the last 15 years. But in NoVA, it's sooo damn expensive. The 'burbs of Richmond, I can get that house for what up here would only get me an old townhouse in Dale City.
- Greg
gay, gay, gay, for RJ
Fyrfytr Wrote:Optimally, I'd prefer to be closer to the city though.
For the record, that neighborhood is a good 20-30 minutes from anything in the "city proper" and may involve $2.50 in tolls round-trip.
Seriously, way out there... not what you want, from what I read in your original post... not really "Richmond"... not near anything but strip malls and characterless suburban commuter traffic areas...
IMHO of course,
Jon
If you are looking into the city part it's been covered above. Around richmond is pretty diverse depending on where you go. west is the West end, which gets high dollar depending how far west you go. Near 295/64 northern interchange is pretty much the highest part, it trickles down as you go closer to the City, and gets teh ghetto on the east end of richmond. Then it gets nice again as you leave the city. South is Midlothain, which has the Midloathian Turnpike (rt 60) among others which is a slightly ghetto version of broad street (rt 250). It has some good neighborhoods too, but isd about a 15-30 minute trip depending into the city. The fan is a great place to live, close to everything, not really any crime if you stay aware. lock the door, keep bikes inside, and you're set, tons of places around top chill out, around VCU will get a lot of the college crews hanging there too. Broad Street between Bowe and Belvedere have been imporved and updated nicer a great deal, college kids mostly though. Shockoe bottom and Shockoe slip remain the club place for the city, but search around the West End and city and you're bound to find something. All price ranges and all styles. A lot of people can't wait to get out of the area for different reasons. I know friends who want to leave, cause they find it boring, don't like the stuff to do, etc. Ask them their reasons and create your opinion. A lot of things are within walking/biking distances in the fan. Which is good, cause parking is a bitch. Cramped and full of restrictions, limits, and reserved spaces. Traffic is bearable, and nothing close to NoVa, SoVa, or Baltimore. Someone mentioned proximity. it is basically in the middle of everything. 2 hours to both NoVa and SoVa, I've made a trip to JMU in 1 hr 36 minutes from here in the west end. Tracks and courses are close. Northeast and Southeast close too. If you do travel, and want to fly, take BWI or Dulles, much cheaper than Richmond. Although cheaper airlines are trying to start to hook up in Richmond.
I probably have more. If you have questions just ask. There is a lot to offer here if it fits you.
RVA, tearin' it up!
Mouse
Myuki Wrote:A lot of things are within walking/biking distances in the fan. Which is good, cause parking is a bitch. Cramped and full of restrictions, limits, and reserved spaces.
That's deep-Fan, VCU area. Upper fan, where I live, couple blocks from Boulevard, I can park on the street at my front door until at least 9-10pm every night. Late night parking is never more than half a block away... door locking is optional around here... and I am within <10min walking distance of 3 convenience stores and 8 bars/restaurants. Not to mention 5min biking distance of Carytown (supermarket, ATM, pharmacy, post office, 99% of anything I could need if I had no car.)
IMHO, the VCU area gives the Fan a bad name. Lots of shit-hole apartments and too many cars and homeless guys begging for change and soforth. Go about 10 blocks west and start to see what I mean.
PS- touching on earlier statements, I'd bet that most people who "can't wait to get out" feel that way because they can't afford any of the fun activities or living in the decent parts of town... which are still remarkably cheap compared to NoVA or many other places I've seen.
Jon
When my sis lived in the fan I never had a problem parking. So much easier than parking in DC.
hmm... might have to reconsider Richmond myself. My impressions have mostly jived with the "can't wait to get out" attitude. Admittedly an uneducated attitude with the few times I've been there. Good to see at least a few of you think it has good areas.
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