Relocate to Richmond?
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Anonymous
Yes! Both places are horrid and should be avoided at all costs. |
Anonymous
One of these below and yes, my DC is in a good med school program. His friend went to the Tucker center, then Brown and he's starting HLS and my neighbors' kid just got into CalTech from the IT Program at Deep Run. We've been very happy with HCPS, they go above and beyond to meet the advanced kids' needs and they routinely bus middle schoolers to high school for math if they need to, without the parents having to pull teeth. However, my neighbor told me that they are very ill prepared to deal with any learning disabilities, so she sent hers to private for dyslexia. https://henricoschools.us/specialty-centers/ |
Anonymous
Yep, $240K more since 2019 here. We'll probably sell when the high speed train starts operating. https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/09/27/amtrak-trains-virginia-richmond/ |
Anonymous
Caltech? I’ll have high hopes, then. The medical school program is very rigorous. |
Anonymous
Specifically, get the raspberry chocolate chip ice cream at Bevs. |
Anonymous
I didn't know about this train. If visiting, how easily could you get around without a car from this station? |
Anonymous
Nothing compares to Proper Pie. Nothing. https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/proper-pie-co-named-best-pie-place-in-virginia/ |
Anonymous
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Bumping this chain back up to see if anyone has updated info or experiences on moving from DC to Richmond?
Its something we’re considering due to cost of living and more affordable private school options. |
Anonymous
My partner and I moved to Richmond last year from DC. Overall it's been a good experience. We live in the Fan/Museum District and there's tons to do - seems like there's always a street festival, music festival, or sports event going on. Richmond bats above its weight for culture, partly because of VCU providing a steady stream of artists and musicians. The Symphony is pretty good, and both VCU and U Richmond host classical and jazz concerts, as well as speakers. Physically the older parts of the city (east and west of downtown) are beautiful, with lots of trees and late-19th/early-20th century homes. That said, I'd only be happy living in the city. The surrounding suburbs are really dull, and very politically conservative. I suppose the schools are better but since we don't have kids we don't have to worry about that. Compared to DC, traffic is a non-issue. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get from downtown to Short Pump, and maybe 10 minutes to get "across town" from the West End to Church Hill. There's also a new Bus Rapid Transit system along Broad Street that's free and runs every 10 minutes. Although by the numbers Richmond's crime rate is high (comparable or higher to DC's), the crime is extremely concentrated. Richmond still has the "old" model of public housing, with 5-6 large low income complexes more or less isolated within particular neighborhoods. One could argue that this approach disadvantages the residents economically and socially, but it also means crime is generally isolated to those housing complexes. Unlike DC, it hasn't spread to the wealthier areas of the city. The main cons are the city government and housing costs. Richmond's city government is even more dysfunctional than DC's. As one example, the Public Works office will simply not answer the phone. Ever. To get something fixed you need to visit City Hall in person to put in a request. There's also rampant corruption, nepotism, etc., and some businesses are fleeing to the surrounding counties. Maybe a new mayor will help but it's not at all certain. Housing has also gotten extremely expensive, mostly due to old farts like me moving from NOVA and DC and buying up the limited supply of desirable downtown properties. Row houses in the Fan that might have gone for $400K pre-pandemic are now at least $1M. As a result the population of some areas is shifting - fewer students and artists; more wealthy retirees. That probably doesn't speak well for the future vibrancy of the city. Can't speak to schools or where you'd find the best private schools. The Near West End (around Patterson and Libbie) is popular for families and is sort of a classic near-in-suburb. Other people find more affordable options out toward Short Pump. |
Anonymous
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Thank you for this! Would welcome any additional experiences!
We do have children so schools are a consideration although we would very likely go private. We do want an established neighborhood feel with young families. Any neighborhood recs are welcome! |
Anonymous
| PP - For established neighborhoods with families, I’d look at Bon Air, the West End, and Three Chopt. Forest Hill and Westover Hills might work as well. Bellevue is a cute neighborhood with lots of kids, but the houses tend to be smaller (think Takoma Park) and it’s near some run down areas. |
Anonymous
| What is the crime really like? Any time we have visited it seems fine but I know the crime rate is generally high. Would RVA suburbs be similar to Bethesda/Potomsc crime rate or higher? |
Anonymous
| Public schools are terrible in Richmond. Will need to send your kids to private school. |
Anonymous
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Yes, that is part of our consideration. We need to move our kids from public to private anyway and the privates in Richmond are so much more affordable. We could send both kids for the price of one here.
The slower pace and lower cost of living seems very appealing. But, grass is always greener… |
Anonymous
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I have some friends with a young child who just moved there. The DW is from there, though. They were living in Kingman Park in DC and I think got sick of the crime. I've wondered if something happened, because they kind of just up-and-moved suddenly.
But they just bought a house after living with her parents for awhile and seem to love it. |