I just got back from a tour of the city by my company. They want me to transfer down there in the spring or so......Obviously the tour I was on was slanted towards having me come down there, so I was wondering if anyone up here could give me some pros/cons to the area......places to look for houses, good school districts, etc. I was driven through Parts of Henrico county and Chesterfield and looked at some houses, but I was also curious about Hanover county.... Any info would be appreciated.
I grew up in Richmond, but I haven't lived there full time in a few years. 1. It's a nice town, some beautiful neighboorhoods, solid restaurants. Nice people. 2. Like a lot of Southern cities, people act like the War Between the States/Civil War occured last Thursday, but in a way it's a bit more civil than other places. 3. Can't help you out with schools. My data would be 10 years out of date. 4. Hanover has really grown a lot in the last 15-20 years.
Research the crime statistics carefully. Richmond was pretty high on the murders per capita list a couple of years ago. Don't get me wrong I've heard a lot of good things about the area too. Just do lots of research on crime & schools.
I have been.......... greatschools.net has been a great source. right now, I'm learning towards western Henrico or Hanover....Flying down again tomorrow for a couple of days, I hope to be able to look around some more..
If you're interested in public schools, you're on the right track. You can live well in Richmond (which really means, "The Richmond area") for a lot less $$ than in 90% of metropolitan areas. But there are a lot of tradeoffs to living within the city limits. The crime rate isn't so bad in most parts of town... much of it is concentrated in places you probably will never go. (I grew up there, and have lived on the west coast for 18 years. But I go back to visit Mom and Dad 2-3 times a year.)
Richmond is terrific three times the house for 1/2 the money and you actually have a yard with more than five feet between you and the next house no traffic two hours from the beach 1-1/2 hour from dc Henrico and hanover are great but the west end of henrico is getting congested. I suggest Powhatan or chesterfield. It is getting ready to explode and now is the time to purchase property in those areas.