Son is heading to Richmond.... any suggestions?

My son will be starting med school this summer (MCV).

He will need a place to stay. What are the bad areas to avoid?

Is the real estate market strong there now? Or still a buyer's market? We have considered buying a house and letting him live there and have one or two roommates.

Or, he may just rent a place.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

What are his tastes? How young is he? What is his ghetto tolerance? What is his hipster tolerance?

Congressman Randy Forbes when I was talking to him about my Daughter wanting to go to VCU he said she should live on campus and not go out alone after dark outside the campus. I have heard short pump is a good place to get an apartment, and the drive isnt too bad but if he is in med school hours will be huge, I do have a friends son who will moving to VCU for Pharm school and staying inthe area. I will let you knw where they settle on.

My sister graduated VCU last year as an RN. She went there throughout her college career. She said several times people were stabbed or shot in broad daylight right in front of dorms, school buildings, the hospital, etc. Richmond is not safe no matter where you are. Beware the homeless people camping out by trash cans...they are a territorial breed. You couldn't pay me enough money to live in that crap hole. Then again the population is high enough that the chances of something bad happening to you are lowered. When I went VMI myself and a few others missed the bus for the xmas parade there. We had to run across the city in full kilts. That was not a fun experience.

Congratulations, MCV is a good school. I'd look for somewhere in the Fan or near west end. Just stay south of Grace and North of Main and probably west of Lombardy definitely west of Belevedere. There are a lot of grad students and young professionals in that area, plus lots of restaurants and bars, but it's not too crazy. It's also reasonably safe.

One thing I'd recommend is thoroughly inspect the place before moving in. Quality of the houses varies significantly and it may not be evident from a quick tour. Check water pressure, lights, etc. Offstreet parking is a huge plus as finding a close spot on weekend nights can get really tough.

Wow, you guys are paranoid..

Yeah, make sure all your windows are rolled up and doors are locked if you have to drive anywhere near the big scary city!
Especially not after dark!!

After some more discussion with him today he is leaning toward living alone, so an apartment may be the way he wants to go.

There seem to be nice ones available close to MCV. I suggested off street parking both for convenience and security.

Thanks for the street references, that will be of great help.

I have emailed him some of the responses in this thread.

I want his situational awareness to very high, no matter where he is in the city.

Thanks

Appreciate it... how long before he goes? Next fall?

My son will begin this August.

I wanted to comment on this because I live near Short Pump. It'll be a long haul to get to class - at a minimum a 30 minute commute. Most of the apartments around here are really nice, but the demographic is also probably not what he'd be looking for. I know he's there for school and it's going to be rigorous, but there is likely to be some steam being blown off from time to time. After grabbing some drinks with classmates after an exam, I'd much rather walk back to my place than have to hit the interstate. Cabs are available, but a challenge in the RIC.

Thanks again.

I doubt he is going to have time (or the inclination) to spend an hour a day in the car if he doesn't have to.

There appear to be some nice apartments within walking distance of MCV.

If you can, start taking him now. You make it sound like he's some small town hick that never saw more than 20 people at a time.

It's a city... barely. Yeah, there's crime, but keep your head on a swivel, don't go someplace where your neck hairs stand up, and don't mouth off like you're a bad ass, cuz you're not.

I grew up near LA. Had no problem living in LA, Philly, or Detroit for my various colleges.

I work about 12 blocks from MVC in Church Hill. It is NOT as bad of a place as people are making it out to be. Even Church Hill these days is relatively safe. The bulk of the crime is concentrated near the public housing units. There are some apartments called Jefferson Mews i think? on mosby street across the MLK bridge from campus, has a big security fence and is pretty quiet. A great deal of the people living in the complex are med students and they walk/bike to the hospital from there. They have also recently built several new apartment buildings in Shockoe Bottom. Richmond Cold Storage lofts and several others in the area. Again these buildings are basically dorms. As others have said off street parking is a big plus and a lot of these new buildings have underground parking. If I were going to school at MCV with the hours they put in I'd want to be as close as possible. Shockoe Bottom area or Church Hill proper (south of say Marshall Street and west of about 30th) is a good neighborhood and close. The crime here is nothing compared to what it was 10 or 15 years ago, and I think the massive expansions of both VCU and MCV have an awful lot to do with it. Good luck.

My bro went to MCV (absolutely hates getting lumped into VCU). He loved the Pharm D program, but comparing his experience to being a VT student....he said the there was much more crime....lots of homeslices to prey on the students. He had his car (a lackluster ole Nissan Stanza) broken into and also had some stuff stolen out of his dorm room (despite all the facility secruity). Even if you don't draw attention there's a good chance you will get ripped off.

Richmond is a great city and I enjoyed living in the area for 8 years. It is definitely not as scary as people are making it out to be. Look at the tobacco row apartments, they seem to be close and nice.

I'd be looking for a place near the campus or maybe somewhere around monroe park(which is around the business and engineering buildings and the normal dorms). You have a few apartment buildings around there with underground parking. Traffic can be a bitch so I'd stay away from short pump as that is a pretty good drive. I went to vcu and drove from the west end. I should have stayed in the dorms.

This august as well I am getting apartment info later this week..

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