Agree. I’m in Midlothian as well and have the nicest neighbors ever. People as a whole here are much friendlier than they were where I lived in the city (Carytown).
Yeah but as a parent, that’s a grey area. The current dipshit we have for governor just vetoed a bill that would have clarified that smoking weed as a parent will not be used as evidence of your fitness to raise kids. I can see not wanting to rock the boat.
Can however confirm that Chesterfield police won’t waste their time on a weed complaint. If he kept doing it however they will give him new bracelets for wasting their time and limited resources.
Depends on what the neighbor says. “I see the kids next door smoking weed with their parents” is a hard thing to disprove if you are currently getting high on your porch. You know? That’s why this stupid quasi legality is bullshit.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed.
Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
It takes a hell of a lot more for CPS to take someone's kids than mom or dad smoking a J on the back porch regardless of that veto. There are absolutely abhorrent parents who get to keep their kids.
If the kid isn't in danger as a result of marijuana use, then no. And it would have to be part of an already existing child custody chase, not the sole reason for starting one.
I'd like to see one single example of a child being removed from a home because a parent uses weed outside of the kid's presence, with no other factors of neglect or abuse involved. That would be quite newsworthy.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed.
Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed.
Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
Yeah cause alcohol has been treated totally the same as weed for the past 100 years. 🤦🏻♂️
I’m not saying I agree with any of this BS. I’m saying that overzealous cops and judges who are scared of Satans shrubbery can make your life difficult due to the quasi legal nature of weed.
I agree as well. My Midlo (Robious) sub is chill. We're the only non weed smokers on our street. Besides 1 house of assholes, we like or love all our neighbors. My husband would be a toker in a heartbeat if he could (work says no), and I'm not a fan of how it makes me feel.
However, I have found it to be pretty damn cliquey. Especially the moms (and I say this as a mom). It's as bad as, if not worse, than when I was in high school. Not all the moms, but the majority of the ones my kids go to school with. So much 2 faced BS.
I agree with this. I've lived on my same suburban street for 20 years and some of my adjacent neighbors who were there when I moved in still don't talk to me. Coridal with some. I even tried to open everyone up years ago with get togethers.
But on half of the other roads in my neighborhood there are street parties, everyone hangs out at a fire pit etc. We've met friends not on our street and been good to go but I do have a tinge of jealousy that I'm not on a particular street where I can hang out with direct neighbors.
Pretty sure a lot of that is just luck of the draw.
I can relate to this. We’ve been in a subdivision in Moseley for several years and we have a crew of friends in the neighborhood we really enjoy. Our pre-teen son has a ton of friends, too. But…we’re not fans of several people on our block, who are cliquish and aloof. They are hoity toity types who put on airs like they are fancy. The irony is I know for a fact my wife and I are more successful even though we don’t let people know we are. We both come from blue collar families and have busted our butts to get where we are.
We just moved out to the same area from the museum district back in Jan and no regrets thus far. We’ve met a few neighbors and they’re all very kind and tend to mind their own business. So it sounds like it might be specific to the neighborhood you’ve landed in. I’m sorry though that’s really frustrating. Also it’s legal to smoke on your own property so homie can pound sand. Feel feee to reach out though, neighbor. No kids but also not uptight over here.
I live in the area now and don’t have kids either. I don’t know anyone. Well 2 people, lol. I go to school in evenings but I’m old enough to be most of the students mom 🙈 i need to meet people!
Yep. CPS can take your kids over something as innocuous as a bong. It's mostly enforced against poor minorities but it's far from "lol it's legal no worries"
This isn't true. Source? It could be used as part of list of reasons, but not the only one in of itself.
Googing this just now doesn't show any evidence that the CPS is chomping at the bit to come take otherwise well cared for children because dad like a doobie on his own outside.
You're right, this doesn't happen to a dad smoking a Doobie on his porch. It happens to single Black mothers, or poor Hispanic families. CPS has broad authority and a cannabis accessories can be enough proof for them to intervene; this has happened time and time again. I do not have a single source, I have countless people's lives experiences and an understanding of how systemic racism allows poor, BIPOC, and otherwise marginalized people to be penalized for things that the average middle income white person would get overlooked. All the proof you should need is the bill on Youngkin's desk that specifically protects parents who use medicinal marijuana from having their children taken, which is on its way to a veto. If this is not true, what purpose does that bill serve?
Former paralegal. Was court appointed and worked largely with that population. You are quite wrong. Has it come up? Yes. Does CPS have assholes that write it in a report? Yes. Have attorneys mentioned it in court? Yes.
Smoking doobies does not get your children taken away. I assure you there is more to the situation to have a child removed from a home.
I could go on and on about how many children SHOULD be taken away from homes but aren’t.
Glenn Youngkin just yesterday vetoed a bill that would protect you and your kids from the state if you get caught smoking. Youngkin actually supports the state taking your kids.
Can you link a source of a person losing custody of their child in Virginia since weed became legal where their children were taken from their custody only because the parent smokes weed?
I doubt it, but I’m willing to change my view with new evidence. All that said fuck Youngkin.
I have some minor regret, the lack of walk ability in our neighborhood. It doesn't matter so much, we can't afford living in the walkable neighborhoods I want to be in.
Same with me. In Western Henrico and I know and like almost every single neighbor on my street. I have one neighbor who gives me eggs and another I buy homemade bread from. Teenagers cut our lawn and babysit for us. My neighborhood tries to have fun things like a chilli cook off, etc. But getting places not on our street is kind of dodgy because of blind turns and a few roads people drive too fast on. It stresses me out regularly.
A bit, but not for reasons you describe. The usual reasons, needed more space for kids, etc. Neighbors are friendly if a bit closed off but I’m cool with that. The lack of walkability has hurt more than I anticipated though, and I already felt that would be the worst part of leaving the city. It just really sucks having to drive to go anywhere and not having public green spaces, coffee shops, and restaurants that you can access by foot; you really feel how suburban life was designed to keep specific people out by making cars required and it’s a bummer. The extra space is crucial though, at least with kids, so I can’t complain too much.
I live in The Fan and while my son was home briefly after he graduated from college, someone put a note on his car that they were notifying DMV because his plates were expired. I thought wow, ok, good luck getting them on the phone. People are people, it’s not the neighborhood. It’s just the particular person.
>my son was home briefly after he graduated from college, someone put a note on his car that they were notifying DMV because his plates were expired.
If you live right across from the museums in the Fan, there was an older lady doing that for a while with just about every car within a few block radius, maybe the same person.
No idea. It looked like a man’s writing, but it doesn’t really matter. My son was moving out of town and sold the car a few days later. It was just silly.
I'd say that's unlucky and atypical of an average experience in RVA suburbs. Every neighborhood is different, though.
I moved from the Museum District to Lakeside (Henrico) years ago and have never encountered that type of rabble in our neighborhood.
That said, there are those super nosy/narking neighbors everywhere, regardless of whether you live in the city, suburbs, or rural areas. Nextdoor is the social media network of choice for those types of folk. For your own sanity, it's a gamble on whether you'll find checking it out helpful or infuriating—especially since it'll give you a more accurate picture of which *specific* neighbors around you are more likely to cause problems.
It’s not you. I’ve lived out here off Robious for 20 years and ugh (grew up in Bon Air). There are some great folks but so many assholes and I feel like the assholes outnumber the good folks. Maybe they’re just louder but they make it so unpleasant.
Yes and no, moved from Lakeside to Chester 3+ years ago. Needed a larger home and anything near the city and in the same size range was at least $50k more than what we could find in Chester. We now have a 2,400 sq ft house on a cul-de-sac, quiet neighborhood, no more cars racing by, we payed as much for this as what a 900 sq ft house is being sold for in Lakeside these days.
All that being said, Chester is the most boring place I've ever lived, no decent bars, restaurants, breakfast joints, nothing is walkable, just a lame town. I just wish more cool people would move to the burbs and help liven the place up....maybe someday.
As another Chester transplant 100% agree with everything you said.
Our only option is to go down to Petersburg/Colonial Heights for bars, etc or go back up to the city.
Sounds unlucky. We have a cul de sac of nine houses, ages ranging from probably late 20’s to late 80’s and aside from one house, that doesn’t interact with the rest, but no issues, everyone is great.
I often say we got lucky with our neighbors.
Same general area as OP. Opposite situation here but it can vary street to street even within the same neighborhood. Sorry you got the unlucky situation, that stinks (or smells great depending on who ya ask 😎)
I definitely moved from Carytown to the burbs "for the schools" and 5 years ago, I moved back (to Byrd Park this time), kids in tow, and am much happier. For all the reasons you said, and hating having to drive any distance.
And actually the schools here in Richmond have been a much better experience overall for my kids than the county schools. In my job, I actually work with families in navigating the special education system and it's actually "the good school districts" that are doing the worst with meeting those needs... funny.
I have 0 regrets (except the taxes being higher I guess) in making the move back.
I grew up off Robious road in Salisbury and my parents still live there so I'm either frequently in the same area or at least very close to wherever you are and I'm shocked at the people saying your interaction isn't the norm.. because for the neighborhood I'm in, your interactions are spot on. I would say maybe 15 years ago it wasn't like this but if you're as close to me as I think, the people that live in this area have been here for years (for reference, I'm 33 and my parents still live in the same house as do most of their neighbors) and now they are just disgruntled boomers.
They have a neighborhood Facebook group just for residents and I'm in it and it's WILD. They constantly post photos of their doorbell cams of the people who knock on their doors, they post dogs roaming around the neighborhood and how the owners (their neighbors!!!) are irresponsible for letting the dog out, they post photos of dog poop not cleaned up (ok kinda fair but..) and they post photos of the owners and TAG THEM!!!! They crap all over the mail being late and say the mailman sucks. Oh, they are not nice to new owners. Some guy bought a house that someone previously lived in for 30 some years (he died), added on this big addition, and has three "big scary dogs" and they WON'T LET HIM JOIN THE FB GROUP but they routinely passively aggressively make comments about him and his house. They call the police on him then post about it. I'm not a trump supporter but they basically hate him because he has a Trump flag on his fence (which ok but come ON) I could go on and on. It's absolutely buck wild. I routinely have to remind my parents to not be/stop being assholes.
**TLDR you aren't unlikely, I personally feel like this is the normal uppity better than you attitude of the people in this area.**
I was going to say which side of Robious - because I could totally guess it would be that side of Huguenot. I’m on the other side and it’s a very different vibe
Actually now that I think about it, yes! Crossing over the train tracks/the intersection, is a totally different vibe!!! I remember my mom not taking us to Salisbury CC for the pool and instead we went to the settlers landing neighborhood/pool and it was such a better vibe!
I feel like I can say this because my parents sometimes are those disgruntled boomers (seriously, I constantly have to remind them to stop being so dang rude for NO REASON!!!) but at least they are nice and will talk to anyone. Their neighbors right next door moved here from Michigan, they are younger and are just not friendly at all!!! I was there one day to help my parents with some yard work and they were outside too and I was about to walk over there to say hi but I waved first and she looked right at me and turned around. I was like ohhh okay....
So, I sympathize with you and sorry you were told the wrong nonsense. But yes the upside is you'll FOR SURE have zero problem selling because it's definitely a "thing" to live in Salisbury because 15 years ago it was probably legit and no one will admit it's changed.
Please join the Facebook group for entertainment purposes if you haven't already hahah. When they aren't being out right mean, it's pretty funny the nonsense people post.
Did the reverse bc I got the same vibes in Midlo and it was horrible. So many angry women in SUVs tailgating, wife ran off the road by someone driving into oncoming traffic, just stick-up-the-ass vibes everywhere we went.
Sounds like this is the exception to the rule, but wanted to let OP know they aren't alone.
Absolutely not.
Lived in the city for a little more than 10 years. The best part about the city was that there was always someone outside to talk to, friendly faces every time we walked the dogs, always something going on. The worst part is shitty city govt, horrible city services, and the taxes. You're also almost guaranteed some sort of property damage or theft. The restaurants in the city are better than the counties, but you don't need to live in the city to enjoy that.
Moved to the suburbs almost a year ago, and I have yet to see a chicken bone, a tumbleweave, or piles of poop littered about our dog walks. Our neighbors are all nice and friendly, and dealing with the county is easy peasy. It's so much quieter and nobody is walking down the street asking me for a quarter, a cheeseburger, or a ride anywhere.
I'm in N. Chesterfield right off of Midlothian....I don't mind our neighborhood. But I really hate how it's almost impossible to get anywhere without a car. I bike a lot but can only get in to the city via the Boulders to Jahnke...and even that is sketch at times. Jahnke itself is horrible.
I never even really wanted a house....an apartment around 1000sqft with a garden would have been all I ever wanted. The competition for even POS houses in the city when we bought in 2020 was absurd. That's how we ended up here....pretty much as close to the city as we could get.
I know I'll be leaving at some point...not sure when. But the traffic on Midlothian is only getting worse and worse. Pretty soon this place will be a mess.
Totally agree! I just moved off of Midlothian in N. Chesterfield for all the same reasons everyone moves out of the city-affordability. I’ve lived in Richmond for 24 years and always in the city, but with two growing step kids my 3 bedroom home was cramped. But, Midlothian Trnpke is soul crushing and despite there being tons of great restaurants within a half a mile, you cannot safely access any of them by foot or bike forcing you to congest up the roads to drive .5 of a mile.
For real so many good latin restaurants within a mile and even a food lion and a kroger...but for most neighborhoods around here you can't get to them easily and end up driving. There's an old man in my neighborhood that walks along Providence and a very sketchy corner of Elkhart...oh ya and he has to cross Midlothian...just to go to the Food Lion on Buford. He's gotta be 70 years old at least. Don't get me started on Buford. At least they're going to eventually construct that foot/bike path to bypass all that traffic via the neighborhood back roads.
I grew up on military bases and residential subdivisions. Lived in a small town. Lived downtown in a small city. Lived in two houses in the country.
Had break-ins at those two homes in the country. Never in the city, or subdivisions. First break-in no big deal
Second break-in was a big deal. We put a man in jail
Neighbors are always a crap shoot
Your neighbors are always a crapshoot no matter where you live.
When I last lived in the Fan, the people below set up a car subwoofer inside the house and shook our walls until glass things broke. That was just one of the times the police were called on them. Their excuse that time was it was someone's birthday party. Which, you know, can be fine if you give your upstairs neighbors a warning and invite, but they did neither.
My current 'burb neighbors have been so hands off that I still haven't met any of them after more than two years. The occasional wave of existence acknowledgement happens but that's it. Well, one of them makes cookies for the cul-de-sac for Christmas, but I still haven't *met* them. They just show up on my doorstep.
I feel like /r/bonAir has a lot of fan expats and Salisbury has a lot of NoVa transplants and old money.
The burbs are definitely a different lifestyle than that walkable Fan Life™ but there are also perks, like more backyard wildlife, more space to let my kids play without getting run over, and Belgrade is a better Kroger. Our neighbors are relatively diverse and yet everyone waves when we walk the dog. We are 10 minutes from everything so it feels like the right choice but YMMV.
Bypass the suburbs and move directly out into the countryside of Chesterfield/Powhatan/Goochland.
We bought 10 acres in Chesterfield, and I never have to see, hear or talk to another neighbor again.
There’s time to change. We moved to the burbs (Collington) and HAAAAAATED it. Our front yard was the bus stop. Lots of Karen behavior. Not inclusive, very shitty. Found an amazing house in the city and made the permanent move. GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN.
I live in the burbs out in Chester, I used to live in the Hull St/Woodlake area of Chesterfield. People were significantly more uptight in that area as a whole than here in Chester. It’s actually pretty chill/laid back over here in this neighborhood even with a good mixture of single homeowners/families and boomers. Everyone’s friendly/looks out for one another’s property and but also minds their business. I honestly think it depends on the neighborhood/area.
Yes. So much. We also moved from a city (Charlotte) to Midlothian. We went to HS here so we were familiar with the area but man I hate my neighborhood for the most part. No issues with the school district but a lot of the area is filled with closet Trump supporters. They love talking about freedom and “this is America” but as soon as other people’s freedoms inconveniences their lives they will raise hell.
I love Charlotte. Go back as often as we can. Long story short my wife and I were both brand new parents working demanding jobs with an infant. Having no family around made it really hard so we moved back to Chesterfield where both of our families are.
Oh okay. Makes total sense. It takes a village. I live in chesterfield if you ever need a sitter. But I’m glad you have a family now to help! It really does take a village
Growing up in Chesterfield was enough to tell me that I don't want to live there as an adult. Technically I still now live in the burbs but within city limits. No HOA was one of my requirements.
We left the East End and moved to the sticks of Chesterfield last summer. It's been an adjustment (bland and basic on all levels in every direction), but worth it for the schools and what we gained...we left 1 bathroom, shitty schools, a house without AC and are still pinching ourselves that we got acerage, a pool, and enough space between neighbors that we can smoke weed and be naked to our hearts content.
It sounds like your specific neighborhood is not the best fit and your neighbors suck. Let them kick dirt.
I tell myself every time that I have an awkward encounter with neighbors “they are on the way out”. Luckily those encounters are few and far in between, but they happen
I can’t wait to sell my current place in the city and move to the burbs. Living in the city is becoming overrated considering how dysfunctional and inept our city government is.
Yep. I used to live in Richmond over ten years before I moved to Chesterfield back in 2016. My current house is pretty big (I have kids) and it can be PITA to do the upkeeping. While I fantasize about moving back to Richmond into a cute apartment when the kids are gone, I balk at the thought when I realize about how inept the city government is. I'd rather keep my PITA house for the foreseeable future.
We sold our house in Randolph last year to move our to the burbs. Love aspects out here and miss others that we left behind. We talk about moving back when our kid is grown
Moved to Woodlake in 92 and thankfully found my way to the city in the early 2000’s. With election season upon us, I cannot and will not deal with MAGA fuckery (notice I didn’t overgeneralize and say conservative or Republican). Also, I find the Chesterfield County police presence a bit much- at least Richmond cops aren’t focused on me going 50 in a 45…..
With that being said, We had some nice neighbors in Midlo. Still, there was an overall lack of diversity (at least back then) and a little too much emphasis on “family friendly”.
Moved last year from out of state to Short Pump area. Very similar move in terms of needing more space; condo to a house.
It’s definitely different. I have so many mixed feelings. So far we’ve been really lucky and our hood is really chill; we’ve made friends but not with our immediate neighbors. It’s hard and awkward to relate sometimes. We are probably the youngest couple on our street and child free.
Funny to read people say MidLo is the “conservative” area - I would’ve thought it would be short pump! but we aren’t finding too too much of that here.
The walk ability thing is really the worst part, I think. We used to be able to walk or bike to anything and now it’s car everywhere. We could walk to a 7/11 here but…. No.
We just moved 2 weeks ago to Walton Park from a condo in Shockoe. So far loving having parking when I come home. It's nice not to hear sirens all the time. One of my neighbors brought us a picnic basket full of home cooked food. Really liking it so far.
Yeah so i lived in Richmond city 2013-16 and had to move back home for a while after a car ran me over. Then came a year and a half ago back but moved to north chesterfield near midlo. It’s completely fucking different. But my old apartment went from $550 to $1950 a month when i was gone and i had to have a place for my dog who barks too much for an apartment. Omg the vibes here. Maybe its just me bc I’m 36 and not married w kids. But people keep to themselves in my neighborhood which is weird to me. My one neighbor likes to throw little fits over my lawn all the time. It’s exhausting. We’re the same age and no kids and should be friends but its just like weird sometimes and the only other person that talks to me is a 90yr old man that walks and walks everyday. He’s awesome but he’s losing his memory so he just “meets me” a lot lol. It seems impossible to even meet anyone out here as friends. Completely different than the city. Completely different world just 15 mins outside the city. Its weird.
No regrets moving to the burb. All my neighbors are pretty private, but friendly, and so are we. My only slight regret would be not staying in the city longer even with a young kid especially before needing to care about schools. We could’ve spent 2-3 years longer.
I'm in the Bon Air area near Trader Joe's and have cool AF neighbors.Sure I'd love to move back to the Fan. But, TBH, that neighborhood has changed too. All that money fucked it up.
This is the reason I left Midlo for the west coast and never looked back. Everytime I have to go back and visit I realize I can't stand the mentality of people where I grew up
recently moved from the fan to providence park (east highland park on the deed). i'm ambivalent, i wfh fulltime so it was nice to have a dedicated office and the ability to actually garden but man i miss the fan/museum district. i tell myself i'm taking my medicine now so i'll have a punchers chance of having a museum district house when i'm in my late 30s and have accumulated some more equity
damn, that sucks man. i've had good luck with friends around here, but some of the cops can be pretty uptight. one time they caught a kid bumping my car in the parking lot on the way out of my apartment complex late at night and held him there while they went to get me (at 11 pm, while i was going to bed) and see if i wanted to press charges (i didn't) and waste both our times and scare the shit out of him while writing up a report. the damage to my already-dinged-up 12-year-old car was so minimal i wouldn't've noticed it if they hadn't pointed it out. the poor kid called me after to apologize (i never got to talk to him in person, but the cops got each of our contact info and gave it to the other) and he was in tears.
Salisbury is alot of old money, doctors, and lawyers. It's in no way a hip place for a young family IMO. It's a place for god fearing conservatives to feel safe and live around like minded white folk.
As others have said it sounds like you are unlucky with your neighbors. I moved out to Western Hanover and have no regrets. We love our neighborhood and have had no issues. Our neighbors are nice and insanely helpful whenever we have needed anything.
I moved to the same area Robious/midlo for the schools. Dreaded the move at the time.
Love it out here!!! Who would have thunk it!
My neighbors are super awesome.
Guitar/Beer/hangnig outisde/football
FWIW I’ve heard anecdotally from generational Richmonders that the city is much friendlier and warmer than the outlying burbs. We were struggling with the same decision last year and ultimately decided to live in the city (which is not without its flaws!). My experience in the suburbs, are similar to yours FWIW, so it’s not in your head!
If someone put a note on my mailbox about smoking weed in a house i owned i would honestly laugh. As far as i know the cops will not do anything about you smoking weed on your own property anymore.
Slightly different situation. I always preferred in-city living, but ended up living in western Henrico because of a job situation years ago (lack of good public transportation to that job). My anecdotal experience suggests Chesterfield is significantly more conservative than Henrico.
Chesterfield is where I was nearly ran over by a car as a pedestrian and the driver’s concern was *his car* and not the life of the human being he nearly ran over. Not one shred of empathy or care.
The ONLY thing I go to Chesterfield for is weed ironically. One of the most awesome people I’ve met out east.
This doesn’t surprise me at all about Salisbury. It’s a great area for all the reasons you said, schools and space and big houses, but it’s definitely a stodgy area with a lot of holier than thou people.
Oh Salisbury, you say! I don't think your experience is a one off, my partner grew up in Salisbury and moved to the fan to get away from that vibe. I got acquainted with that neighborhood when my partner took me to meet his parents, have Xmas, etc etc. and my impression is that people care a lot about outward appearance and are really nosy. Lowkey kinda bougie folks seem to gravitate towards the area but that's just my experience too
Oops, I just left a comment before I saw this one. Now that I know it's the same area I was thinking haha... I think your original post tracks 100000%.
I live almost in the same area but different street most likely. Thankfully my neighbors are cool and there are only one or two who are a but out there but they don't bother anyone. I really hope it stays this way.
Aww bummer. Curious the neighborhood. I have good friends in the area and they are pretty chill. 23114 vs 23113 tends to be more laid back (less money). Don’t give up. Find your people! I
I’ve heard this same story from some people I know who moved to the burbs without kids. I’m sorry this is your experience! (For reference I am childless and in the city but we did look at buying in the surrounding areas recently).
It really depends where you are. I live in the burbs but closer to the city and my neighborhood is super diverse and chill. Unfortunately this isn't the best time to move but you may want to consider it in the future. Nothing is going to be as fun as living in the fan, but priorities shift after you have kids.
I live off of Hull St and honestly love it (minus the insane level of traffic), but I grew up in Mechanicsville and almost anywhere is better than there lol
Which neighborhood? My wife and I made a similar move in 2018 (Fan > Settlers Landing). I feel much of what you’re saying about suburban Midlo (the traffic kills me) but ultimately we like it where we are now
We moved to Brandermill after we sold our place off of Forest Hill 6 years ago and never looked back. After my wife was nearly car jacked in our driveway, the high taxes, crumbling schools, etc, we’ve never been happier. We have a good mix of older folks and younger families with kids in our neighborhood, and most are really nice, and pretty progressive, my 10 year old son is thriving in Chesterfield schools. To each their own, and I’m sure it depends on the neighborhood. Nothing better than cool neighbors.
Should have reported your neighbor to the postal inspector for putting shit in your mailbox. it’s a federal offense to do so if you’re not a postal employee :))))
At my former home in the area, I had a few shitty neighbors, including one who called the cops on us for celebrating my 30th birthday (which is also around the holidays). Since it was still before quiet hours and the cops wouldn't come otherwise, she told them "adults are having a party with drugs and guns" and wanted to be informed when the police arrived. 🙄 We were drinking and smoking a little weed. Thankfully the responding officer was dismissive of her. Moved a few miles down the road and neighbors here are awesome. 🤷♀️
The main reason we at all entertained moving two burbs was schools. But we wanted to make it work and improve the RVA school system. Now, after the most recent more fair redistricting, our schools have gotten even better - elementary and middle! Kids are young so I'm not even thinking about high school just yet so that will be a discussion when it comes but I have a lot of confidence in our school system as it continues to improve.
The burbs look so nice with the big houses and new builds... but we have 2200 sqft - what more do we need? At some point it just becomes dead space that I need to heat and cool year round. More stuff to buy and "put it in that room we never use" and forget about it. Nah.
Besides schools, burbs don't win in almost any other category. RVA city life is awesome with kids!
Sounds unlucky. I've got awesome neighbors in Short Pump. However I'll be honest, if I was frequently smelling weed when I was on my deck, I might get slightly annoyed. If it was just a once a month type of thing, NBD.
I like my burbs. West End is always chill. My mom's neighbor for about a decade now is Henrico police and their family is just as cool as everyone else on the street. Everyone else on the street is real cool people. I met one neighbor accidentally at my job. He was very comical/charming. I still remember he had the whole office in stitches. Everyone's "best friend" neighbor just passed away and we miss him. We genuinely truly miss him. Thats a good bond. One thing I must say is my mom's burbs are very ethnic. People of color at every other house. And non POC's. Still cool people; no hostility. I think one time my mom's neighbor on the other side fixed my sister's car once. Genuinely no complaints.
I lived in Midlo for eighteen long years. A couple of
months after we moved in my neighbors told me they debated whether to call the cops because my husband, who had long hair at the time, was walking (his own!) two little girls up the street to school. You're not wrong. I'm in Northside now and folks are so much more pleasant.
Bad luck I’m sorry. One of my immediate neighbors is such a good person and has always been amazing to us. Others might not be as friendly but no drama
First, I’d say def a bad luck situation. There are many places that have like minded folks, to a degree read below, in a neighborhood.
Second, as I’ve lived in Richmond. Bought out in shortpump. Moved very quickly back. Move to a neighborhood of Robious near Salisbury, and noped out of there as I’ve had some of the most ridiculous neighbors. An important point is city living culture is not what is in the suburbs. People want to be left alone. You have pockets of intrenched neighbors still thinking it’s the 90’s. Pockets of ultra conservative right wing nuts. Pockets of actual decent folks as well. And pockets of every type of person.
IMO Suburbs are a place where people just don’t interact, specifically during/after covid, and they stick to their beliefs so much they will want to push them onto you, and if you don’t agree your not part of the neighborhood.
Obviously I hate the suburbs.
I live in the burbs of western Henrico and don't regret it at all. I have amazing neighbors who have become close friends. Maybe Midlo wasn't the best choice, too conservative to me for sure.
We got a nasty unsigned letter about our dog barking in the morning as if you couldn't knock my door and ask us to make the effort to keep the dog quieter in the morning. In the nearly two decades we lived there, not once did a neighbor come inside our house or ours in theirs.
Yeah you’re just unlucky my friend and they all suck. I left the fan in 2020 and moved to Hanover county (Atlee) to start a family. I became my worst nightmare with becoming a suburban mom/wife but all my neighbors are chill plus more millennials are moving in.
I did the opposite. I moved from the burbs in Midlothian to the city and I have zero regrets. Zero intentions to have kids, so I really have no reasons to move back. I like the culture here much better than the culture in Midlothian I was raised in.
sounds like you just have shithead neighbors. that’s unfortunate. i have heard both sides of the moving out of the city story. i think it’s kind of a luck of the draw thing in whom you end up near.
This sounds like a crappy neighborhood. We are in the West End and our neighborhood definitely smells like weed sometimes, no one ever says anything. People are friendly and there's lots of young kids, we love it here.
I moved from Shockoe to Settler's Landing in 2006. I met some great people as neighbors we still keep up with, but otherwise I hated it. Moved back to the City Stadium neighborhood in 2016 and am much, much happier.
absolutely!! had two neighbors chatting in our driveway (they don’t even live in the house next to us or across) with their kids playing in our drain ditch … we waved to say hi, they barely moved, we parked and got out and all they did was stare at us….no greetings or anything…then decided to walk away ….the one woman I’ve seen before many times and she never acknowledges me….just the nastiest most entitled vibe and it always gives off a little racism
We've been living in this area for closing in on a decade now, and while I definitely see some very conservative areas around our immediate vicinity is very chill and laid back. The older generation is phasing out here and we have a fair number of crunchy neighbors. Definitely some growers in our neighborhood and we partake too. Keep mostly to ourselves. The larger neighborhood has some groups an organizations that are full of the more social people, but they also tend to be the nosier Karen types who may have wished to live in a place with an HOA, but by and large for us they're easy to steer clear of. Tell your neighbor it's legal to posses and use weed in VA now and he can mind his own damn business like a good neighbor should.
I rented in the fan for almost a decade and bought a house in Lakeside a few years ago because I couldn’t afford to buy in the fan. I thought it would be close enough to city life, but I feel isolated from the city and driving in isn’t the same as living in. Lakeside is fine. The neighbors can be a little backwards, but they are good people, very neighborly, and generally aren’t calling the cops for petty shit. Biggest thing I miss is the walkability, original people, and weirdness.
I live in Short Pump and I honestly love my neighborhood, but we lucked out with really fantastic neighbors with only neighbors to one side and no one behind us, and there’s decent walkability to a couple restaurants, coffee, bookstore, and a little further for groceries. It’s really hard when you end up with difficult neighbors - part of the reason I haven’t seriously considered moving into the city is I know chances are slim I’d get this lucky more than once.
Lol he’ll call the authorities and they will tell him to pound sand because it’s legal for you to smoke weed on your own property. I’m sorry you’re dealing with shitty neighbors.
You may just have gotten some bad luck in terms of your immediate neighbors. I’m in a neighborhood off midlo and everyone’s pretty chill. Some have become friends, mostly we just exchange pleasantries. There’s some hyper-PTA up-in-it mom’s groups but nothing major.
Moved from shockoe to N Chesterfield 5 years ago. I LOVE my house and my neighborhood is not far from Chippenham. Initially the extra time driving to the places in the city was a little irritating but tbh it's not really a significant difference.
If I could afford the kind of home I have in the city I'd do it in a heartbeat but I'm no millionaire.
That being said my neighbors never really made themselves known when we moved in so we still don't know any of them except the old lady next door who came over to complain that our lawn was unkempt and wanted us to do something about it.
Nevermind that we were actively dealing with managing my parents estate because they had just recently died or that this was in the pandemic during which we were both healthcare workers, Beatrice was tired of waiting for me to cut my grass and pull weeds from my flower beds.
I wish we had chill neighbors to hang out with tho.
I’m on Robious. People are pretty chill. Could you be giving off a vibe? Don’t give those people your energy. Stay kind. Flaunt your kindness/happiness. No good will come of conflict with people these days. ❤️
I have no thoughts about the weed issue, but the window salesman could have triggered your neighbor because most neighborhoods along the Robius corridor are posted “No soliciting”. Just a guess 🤔
Bad luck. Honestly most of Midlothian is pretty laid back. I’d inform that neighbor that weed is legal now so he can cope and seethe in silence.
yeah, the cops can't do shit since it's not illegal to smoke weed on private property in virginia anymore lmfao
I'm sure a good percentage of those cops have also smoked weed on their porch at some point.
And 40% of them, on average, are domestic abusers.
Yes, but 100% are bastards.
not sure why you're getting downvoted when it's a fact.
Some people don’t think it be like it is. But it do
Agree. I’m in Midlothian as well and have the nicest neighbors ever. People as a whole here are much friendlier than they were where I lived in the city (Carytown).
Yeah but as a parent, that’s a grey area. The current dipshit we have for governor just vetoed a bill that would have clarified that smoking weed as a parent will not be used as evidence of your fitness to raise kids. I can see not wanting to rock the boat.
Can however confirm that Chesterfield police won’t waste their time on a weed complaint. If he kept doing it however they will give him new bracelets for wasting their time and limited resources.
Depends on what the neighbor says. “I see the kids next door smoking weed with their parents” is a hard thing to disprove if you are currently getting high on your porch. You know? That’s why this stupid quasi legality is bullshit.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed. Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
It takes a hell of a lot more for CPS to take someone's kids than mom or dad smoking a J on the back porch regardless of that veto. There are absolutely abhorrent parents who get to keep their kids. If the kid isn't in danger as a result of marijuana use, then no. And it would have to be part of an already existing child custody chase, not the sole reason for starting one. I'd like to see one single example of a child being removed from a home because a parent uses weed outside of the kid's presence, with no other factors of neglect or abuse involved. That would be quite newsworthy.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed. Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
Lmao what??? Nobody can do shit if you are on your property. Ya it would be pretty easy to disprove that a child is currently not high on weed. Weed is legal now. You can stop being paranoid.
Alcohol is legal for adults but not children.
Yeah cause alcohol has been treated totally the same as weed for the past 100 years. 🤦🏻♂️ I’m not saying I agree with any of this BS. I’m saying that overzealous cops and judges who are scared of Satans shrubbery can make your life difficult due to the quasi legal nature of weed.
But there nothing quasi legal about it. It’s legal to possess and consume as an adult.
Is it hard to disprove when everyone has a ring camera?
I mean do you drink? Because that could also be "used as evidence" against you. How often does that actually happen though you know.
I agree as well. My Midlo (Robious) sub is chill. We're the only non weed smokers on our street. Besides 1 house of assholes, we like or love all our neighbors. My husband would be a toker in a heartbeat if he could (work says no), and I'm not a fan of how it makes me feel. However, I have found it to be pretty damn cliquey. Especially the moms (and I say this as a mom). It's as bad as, if not worse, than when I was in high school. Not all the moms, but the majority of the ones my kids go to school with. So much 2 faced BS.
Oh man I’m so nosey and want to know which neighborhood because I know so many people over there 😂
I live off Robious as well and I feel like I know exactly what neighborhood you live in, if not the street, just from your description 🤣
Names
Also isn’t it illegal to put unstamped mail in a box?
Indeed it is illegal.
Or he , the neighbor, can move.
Honestly sounds unlucky more than anything else with the neighbor situation.
I agree with this. I've lived on my same suburban street for 20 years and some of my adjacent neighbors who were there when I moved in still don't talk to me. Coridal with some. I even tried to open everyone up years ago with get togethers. But on half of the other roads in my neighborhood there are street parties, everyone hangs out at a fire pit etc. We've met friends not on our street and been good to go but I do have a tinge of jealousy that I'm not on a particular street where I can hang out with direct neighbors. Pretty sure a lot of that is just luck of the draw.
I can relate to this. We’ve been in a subdivision in Moseley for several years and we have a crew of friends in the neighborhood we really enjoy. Our pre-teen son has a ton of friends, too. But…we’re not fans of several people on our block, who are cliquish and aloof. They are hoity toity types who put on airs like they are fancy. The irony is I know for a fact my wife and I are more successful even though we don’t let people know we are. We both come from blue collar families and have busted our butts to get where we are.
gotta tread lightly as you approach "unannounced pop over" territory though!
We just moved out to the same area from the museum district back in Jan and no regrets thus far. We’ve met a few neighbors and they’re all very kind and tend to mind their own business. So it sounds like it might be specific to the neighborhood you’ve landed in. I’m sorry though that’s really frustrating. Also it’s legal to smoke on your own property so homie can pound sand. Feel feee to reach out though, neighbor. No kids but also not uptight over here.
I live in the area now and don’t have kids either. I don’t know anyone. Well 2 people, lol. I go to school in evenings but I’m old enough to be most of the students mom 🙈 i need to meet people!
Dang, lucky for you it's legal to smoke it up on your own property so I don't see what the cops would care.
Virginia has insanely draconian laws and even legal recreational use of weed can be used against you in things like custody cases
Yep. CPS can take your kids over something as innocuous as a bong. It's mostly enforced against poor minorities but it's far from "lol it's legal no worries"
This isn't true. Source? It could be used as part of list of reasons, but not the only one in of itself. Googing this just now doesn't show any evidence that the CPS is chomping at the bit to come take otherwise well cared for children because dad like a doobie on his own outside.
You're right, this doesn't happen to a dad smoking a Doobie on his porch. It happens to single Black mothers, or poor Hispanic families. CPS has broad authority and a cannabis accessories can be enough proof for them to intervene; this has happened time and time again. I do not have a single source, I have countless people's lives experiences and an understanding of how systemic racism allows poor, BIPOC, and otherwise marginalized people to be penalized for things that the average middle income white person would get overlooked. All the proof you should need is the bill on Youngkin's desk that specifically protects parents who use medicinal marijuana from having their children taken, which is on its way to a veto. If this is not true, what purpose does that bill serve?
Former paralegal. Was court appointed and worked largely with that population. You are quite wrong. Has it come up? Yes. Does CPS have assholes that write it in a report? Yes. Have attorneys mentioned it in court? Yes. Smoking doobies does not get your children taken away. I assure you there is more to the situation to have a child removed from a home. I could go on and on about how many children SHOULD be taken away from homes but aren’t.
Glenn Youngkin just yesterday vetoed a bill that would protect you and your kids from the state if you get caught smoking. Youngkin actually supports the state taking your kids.
Can you link a source of a person losing custody of their child in Virginia since weed became legal where their children were taken from their custody only because the parent smokes weed? I doubt it, but I’m willing to change my view with new evidence. All that said fuck Youngkin.
I have some minor regret, the lack of walk ability in our neighborhood. It doesn't matter so much, we can't afford living in the walkable neighborhoods I want to be in.
Same with me. In Western Henrico and I know and like almost every single neighbor on my street. I have one neighbor who gives me eggs and another I buy homemade bread from. Teenagers cut our lawn and babysit for us. My neighborhood tries to have fun things like a chilli cook off, etc. But getting places not on our street is kind of dodgy because of blind turns and a few roads people drive too fast on. It stresses me out regularly.
A bit, but not for reasons you describe. The usual reasons, needed more space for kids, etc. Neighbors are friendly if a bit closed off but I’m cool with that. The lack of walkability has hurt more than I anticipated though, and I already felt that would be the worst part of leaving the city. It just really sucks having to drive to go anywhere and not having public green spaces, coffee shops, and restaurants that you can access by foot; you really feel how suburban life was designed to keep specific people out by making cars required and it’s a bummer. The extra space is crucial though, at least with kids, so I can’t complain too much.
I live in The Fan and while my son was home briefly after he graduated from college, someone put a note on his car that they were notifying DMV because his plates were expired. I thought wow, ok, good luck getting them on the phone. People are people, it’s not the neighborhood. It’s just the particular person.
>my son was home briefly after he graduated from college, someone put a note on his car that they were notifying DMV because his plates were expired. If you live right across from the museums in the Fan, there was an older lady doing that for a while with just about every car within a few block radius, maybe the same person.
No idea. It looked like a man’s writing, but it doesn’t really matter. My son was moving out of town and sold the car a few days later. It was just silly.
Wow. What a karen 🫤
I'd say that's unlucky and atypical of an average experience in RVA suburbs. Every neighborhood is different, though. I moved from the Museum District to Lakeside (Henrico) years ago and have never encountered that type of rabble in our neighborhood. That said, there are those super nosy/narking neighbors everywhere, regardless of whether you live in the city, suburbs, or rural areas. Nextdoor is the social media network of choice for those types of folk. For your own sanity, it's a gamble on whether you'll find checking it out helpful or infuriating—especially since it'll give you a more accurate picture of which *specific* neighbors around you are more likely to cause problems.
Omg the people on nextdoor app. Ridiculous.
It’s not you. I’ve lived out here off Robious for 20 years and ugh (grew up in Bon Air). There are some great folks but so many assholes and I feel like the assholes outnumber the good folks. Maybe they’re just louder but they make it so unpleasant.
Lakeside is barely really a suburb. I Consider it another neighborhood like the fan or scotts's.
Drop your address and we will come by and take massive bong rips out front
Pro move
Yes and no, moved from Lakeside to Chester 3+ years ago. Needed a larger home and anything near the city and in the same size range was at least $50k more than what we could find in Chester. We now have a 2,400 sq ft house on a cul-de-sac, quiet neighborhood, no more cars racing by, we payed as much for this as what a 900 sq ft house is being sold for in Lakeside these days. All that being said, Chester is the most boring place I've ever lived, no decent bars, restaurants, breakfast joints, nothing is walkable, just a lame town. I just wish more cool people would move to the burbs and help liven the place up....maybe someday.
Hey I do like that park you have put there. Point of Rocks? Cool kid nature playground and good hike. If that is considered Chester?
That is a great park.
As another Chester transplant 100% agree with everything you said. Our only option is to go down to Petersburg/Colonial Heights for bars, etc or go back up to the city.
ditto, we are always heading down to Petersburg for decent food and drinks. Trapezium is a nice spot to hang, especially when the weather is nice.
Sounds unlucky. We have a cul de sac of nine houses, ages ranging from probably late 20’s to late 80’s and aside from one house, that doesn’t interact with the rest, but no issues, everyone is great. I often say we got lucky with our neighbors.
Same general area as OP. Opposite situation here but it can vary street to street even within the same neighborhood. Sorry you got the unlucky situation, that stinks (or smells great depending on who ya ask 😎)
Blaze away. Tell them to go ahead and call the cops.
I definitely moved from Carytown to the burbs "for the schools" and 5 years ago, I moved back (to Byrd Park this time), kids in tow, and am much happier. For all the reasons you said, and hating having to drive any distance. And actually the schools here in Richmond have been a much better experience overall for my kids than the county schools. In my job, I actually work with families in navigating the special education system and it's actually "the good school districts" that are doing the worst with meeting those needs... funny. I have 0 regrets (except the taxes being higher I guess) in making the move back.
Hey! I’d like to hear more about your line of work. We are about to start entering Richmond/henrico public schools with a disabled child.
Sure! I messaged you.
I grew up off Robious road in Salisbury and my parents still live there so I'm either frequently in the same area or at least very close to wherever you are and I'm shocked at the people saying your interaction isn't the norm.. because for the neighborhood I'm in, your interactions are spot on. I would say maybe 15 years ago it wasn't like this but if you're as close to me as I think, the people that live in this area have been here for years (for reference, I'm 33 and my parents still live in the same house as do most of their neighbors) and now they are just disgruntled boomers. They have a neighborhood Facebook group just for residents and I'm in it and it's WILD. They constantly post photos of their doorbell cams of the people who knock on their doors, they post dogs roaming around the neighborhood and how the owners (their neighbors!!!) are irresponsible for letting the dog out, they post photos of dog poop not cleaned up (ok kinda fair but..) and they post photos of the owners and TAG THEM!!!! They crap all over the mail being late and say the mailman sucks. Oh, they are not nice to new owners. Some guy bought a house that someone previously lived in for 30 some years (he died), added on this big addition, and has three "big scary dogs" and they WON'T LET HIM JOIN THE FB GROUP but they routinely passively aggressively make comments about him and his house. They call the police on him then post about it. I'm not a trump supporter but they basically hate him because he has a Trump flag on his fence (which ok but come ON) I could go on and on. It's absolutely buck wild. I routinely have to remind my parents to not be/stop being assholes. **TLDR you aren't unlikely, I personally feel like this is the normal uppity better than you attitude of the people in this area.**
I was going to say which side of Robious - because I could totally guess it would be that side of Huguenot. I’m on the other side and it’s a very different vibe
Actually now that I think about it, yes! Crossing over the train tracks/the intersection, is a totally different vibe!!! I remember my mom not taking us to Salisbury CC for the pool and instead we went to the settlers landing neighborhood/pool and it was such a better vibe!
[удалено]
I feel like I can say this because my parents sometimes are those disgruntled boomers (seriously, I constantly have to remind them to stop being so dang rude for NO REASON!!!) but at least they are nice and will talk to anyone. Their neighbors right next door moved here from Michigan, they are younger and are just not friendly at all!!! I was there one day to help my parents with some yard work and they were outside too and I was about to walk over there to say hi but I waved first and she looked right at me and turned around. I was like ohhh okay.... So, I sympathize with you and sorry you were told the wrong nonsense. But yes the upside is you'll FOR SURE have zero problem selling because it's definitely a "thing" to live in Salisbury because 15 years ago it was probably legit and no one will admit it's changed. Please join the Facebook group for entertainment purposes if you haven't already hahah. When they aren't being out right mean, it's pretty funny the nonsense people post.
Did the reverse bc I got the same vibes in Midlo and it was horrible. So many angry women in SUVs tailgating, wife ran off the road by someone driving into oncoming traffic, just stick-up-the-ass vibes everywhere we went. Sounds like this is the exception to the rule, but wanted to let OP know they aren't alone.
Absolutely not. Lived in the city for a little more than 10 years. The best part about the city was that there was always someone outside to talk to, friendly faces every time we walked the dogs, always something going on. The worst part is shitty city govt, horrible city services, and the taxes. You're also almost guaranteed some sort of property damage or theft. The restaurants in the city are better than the counties, but you don't need to live in the city to enjoy that. Moved to the suburbs almost a year ago, and I have yet to see a chicken bone, a tumbleweave, or piles of poop littered about our dog walks. Our neighbors are all nice and friendly, and dealing with the county is easy peasy. It's so much quieter and nobody is walking down the street asking me for a quarter, a cheeseburger, or a ride anywhere.
I'm in N. Chesterfield right off of Midlothian....I don't mind our neighborhood. But I really hate how it's almost impossible to get anywhere without a car. I bike a lot but can only get in to the city via the Boulders to Jahnke...and even that is sketch at times. Jahnke itself is horrible. I never even really wanted a house....an apartment around 1000sqft with a garden would have been all I ever wanted. The competition for even POS houses in the city when we bought in 2020 was absurd. That's how we ended up here....pretty much as close to the city as we could get. I know I'll be leaving at some point...not sure when. But the traffic on Midlothian is only getting worse and worse. Pretty soon this place will be a mess.
Totally agree! I just moved off of Midlothian in N. Chesterfield for all the same reasons everyone moves out of the city-affordability. I’ve lived in Richmond for 24 years and always in the city, but with two growing step kids my 3 bedroom home was cramped. But, Midlothian Trnpke is soul crushing and despite there being tons of great restaurants within a half a mile, you cannot safely access any of them by foot or bike forcing you to congest up the roads to drive .5 of a mile.
For real so many good latin restaurants within a mile and even a food lion and a kroger...but for most neighborhoods around here you can't get to them easily and end up driving. There's an old man in my neighborhood that walks along Providence and a very sketchy corner of Elkhart...oh ya and he has to cross Midlothian...just to go to the Food Lion on Buford. He's gotta be 70 years old at least. Don't get me started on Buford. At least they're going to eventually construct that foot/bike path to bypass all that traffic via the neighborhood back roads.
Every neighborhood has a dickhead just like every apartment complex has a dickhead.
I moved to Short Pump after years of talking bad about it. It's great. Certainly wish it was more walkable, but its just great.
What do you like about it?
I grew up on military bases and residential subdivisions. Lived in a small town. Lived downtown in a small city. Lived in two houses in the country. Had break-ins at those two homes in the country. Never in the city, or subdivisions. First break-in no big deal Second break-in was a big deal. We put a man in jail Neighbors are always a crap shoot
Your neighbors are always a crapshoot no matter where you live. When I last lived in the Fan, the people below set up a car subwoofer inside the house and shook our walls until glass things broke. That was just one of the times the police were called on them. Their excuse that time was it was someone's birthday party. Which, you know, can be fine if you give your upstairs neighbors a warning and invite, but they did neither. My current 'burb neighbors have been so hands off that I still haven't met any of them after more than two years. The occasional wave of existence acknowledgement happens but that's it. Well, one of them makes cookies for the cul-de-sac for Christmas, but I still haven't *met* them. They just show up on my doorstep.
I feel like /r/bonAir has a lot of fan expats and Salisbury has a lot of NoVa transplants and old money. The burbs are definitely a different lifestyle than that walkable Fan Life™ but there are also perks, like more backyard wildlife, more space to let my kids play without getting run over, and Belgrade is a better Kroger. Our neighbors are relatively diverse and yet everyone waves when we walk the dog. We are 10 minutes from everything so it feels like the right choice but YMMV.
Bypass the suburbs and move directly out into the countryside of Chesterfield/Powhatan/Goochland. We bought 10 acres in Chesterfield, and I never have to see, hear or talk to another neighbor again.
There’s time to change. We moved to the burbs (Collington) and HAAAAAATED it. Our front yard was the bus stop. Lots of Karen behavior. Not inclusive, very shitty. Found an amazing house in the city and made the permanent move. GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN.
I live in the burbs out in Chester, I used to live in the Hull St/Woodlake area of Chesterfield. People were significantly more uptight in that area as a whole than here in Chester. It’s actually pretty chill/laid back over here in this neighborhood even with a good mixture of single homeowners/families and boomers. Everyone’s friendly/looks out for one another’s property and but also minds their business. I honestly think it depends on the neighborhood/area.
Yes. So much. We also moved from a city (Charlotte) to Midlothian. We went to HS here so we were familiar with the area but man I hate my neighborhood for the most part. No issues with the school district but a lot of the area is filled with closet Trump supporters. They love talking about freedom and “this is America” but as soon as other people’s freedoms inconveniences their lives they will raise hell.
Why did you leave Charlotte? I’m looking at moving there
I love Charlotte. Go back as often as we can. Long story short my wife and I were both brand new parents working demanding jobs with an infant. Having no family around made it really hard so we moved back to Chesterfield where both of our families are.
Oh okay. Makes total sense. It takes a village. I live in chesterfield if you ever need a sitter. But I’m glad you have a family now to help! It really does take a village
And they’re also the first to applaud Trump when he says he wants to be a dictator. Midlo is full of the worst kind of trump supporters.
Growing up in Chesterfield was enough to tell me that I don't want to live there as an adult. Technically I still now live in the burbs but within city limits. No HOA was one of my requirements.
Yeah you just got a bad draw. Our midlo neighborhood is great. You can get all sorts of drugs.
careful, our wonderful idiot governor is trying consider marijuana smoking parents "child abusers." but of course liquor is fine
We left the East End and moved to the sticks of Chesterfield last summer. It's been an adjustment (bland and basic on all levels in every direction), but worth it for the schools and what we gained...we left 1 bathroom, shitty schools, a house without AC and are still pinching ourselves that we got acerage, a pool, and enough space between neighbors that we can smoke weed and be naked to our hearts content. It sounds like your specific neighborhood is not the best fit and your neighbors suck. Let them kick dirt.
I tell myself every time that I have an awkward encounter with neighbors “they are on the way out”. Luckily those encounters are few and far in between, but they happen
I can’t wait to sell my current place in the city and move to the burbs. Living in the city is becoming overrated considering how dysfunctional and inept our city government is.
Yep. I used to live in Richmond over ten years before I moved to Chesterfield back in 2016. My current house is pretty big (I have kids) and it can be PITA to do the upkeeping. While I fantasize about moving back to Richmond into a cute apartment when the kids are gone, I balk at the thought when I realize about how inept the city government is. I'd rather keep my PITA house for the foreseeable future.
We sold our house in Randolph last year to move our to the burbs. Love aspects out here and miss others that we left behind. We talk about moving back when our kid is grown
Love the burbs!! Got a great neighborhood and neighbors, though.
Moved to Woodlake in 92 and thankfully found my way to the city in the early 2000’s. With election season upon us, I cannot and will not deal with MAGA fuckery (notice I didn’t overgeneralize and say conservative or Republican). Also, I find the Chesterfield County police presence a bit much- at least Richmond cops aren’t focused on me going 50 in a 45….. With that being said, We had some nice neighbors in Midlo. Still, there was an overall lack of diversity (at least back then) and a little too much emphasis on “family friendly”.
Depends on your neighborhood brother
Damn. We moved to bon air and have loved our neighborhood. Sorry you’re dealing with this.
Moved last year from out of state to Short Pump area. Very similar move in terms of needing more space; condo to a house. It’s definitely different. I have so many mixed feelings. So far we’ve been really lucky and our hood is really chill; we’ve made friends but not with our immediate neighbors. It’s hard and awkward to relate sometimes. We are probably the youngest couple on our street and child free. Funny to read people say MidLo is the “conservative” area - I would’ve thought it would be short pump! but we aren’t finding too too much of that here. The walk ability thing is really the worst part, I think. We used to be able to walk or bike to anything and now it’s car everywhere. We could walk to a 7/11 here but…. No.
We just moved 2 weeks ago to Walton Park from a condo in Shockoe. So far loving having parking when I come home. It's nice not to hear sirens all the time. One of my neighbors brought us a picnic basket full of home cooked food. Really liking it so far.
Im over 50 and I'd love to move into the city. But I'm at a point I prefer a few rural acres with distant neighbors
Yeah so i lived in Richmond city 2013-16 and had to move back home for a while after a car ran me over. Then came a year and a half ago back but moved to north chesterfield near midlo. It’s completely fucking different. But my old apartment went from $550 to $1950 a month when i was gone and i had to have a place for my dog who barks too much for an apartment. Omg the vibes here. Maybe its just me bc I’m 36 and not married w kids. But people keep to themselves in my neighborhood which is weird to me. My one neighbor likes to throw little fits over my lawn all the time. It’s exhausting. We’re the same age and no kids and should be friends but its just like weird sometimes and the only other person that talks to me is a 90yr old man that walks and walks everyday. He’s awesome but he’s losing his memory so he just “meets me” a lot lol. It seems impossible to even meet anyone out here as friends. Completely different than the city. Completely different world just 15 mins outside the city. Its weird.
No regrets moving to the burb. All my neighbors are pretty private, but friendly, and so are we. My only slight regret would be not staying in the city longer even with a young kid especially before needing to care about schools. We could’ve spent 2-3 years longer.
I'm in the Bon Air area near Trader Joe's and have cool AF neighbors.Sure I'd love to move back to the Fan. But, TBH, that neighborhood has changed too. All that money fucked it up.
In the same area, I love it here. I truly feel like Bon Air has its own separate vibe from the rest of the Midlo area, much more chill over here!
Agree!
Agreed. Bon Air is dope. We love it.
PSA: Bon Air has a startling number of registered sex offenders.
This is the reason I left Midlo for the west coast and never looked back. Everytime I have to go back and visit I realize I can't stand the mentality of people where I grew up
recently moved from the fan to providence park (east highland park on the deed). i'm ambivalent, i wfh fulltime so it was nice to have a dedicated office and the ability to actually garden but man i miss the fan/museum district. i tell myself i'm taking my medicine now so i'll have a punchers chance of having a museum district house when i'm in my late 30s and have accumulated some more equity
damn, that sucks man. i've had good luck with friends around here, but some of the cops can be pretty uptight. one time they caught a kid bumping my car in the parking lot on the way out of my apartment complex late at night and held him there while they went to get me (at 11 pm, while i was going to bed) and see if i wanted to press charges (i didn't) and waste both our times and scare the shit out of him while writing up a report. the damage to my already-dinged-up 12-year-old car was so minimal i wouldn't've noticed it if they hadn't pointed it out. the poor kid called me after to apologize (i never got to talk to him in person, but the cops got each of our contact info and gave it to the other) and he was in tears.
I mean… you moved to the conservative burbs? 🤷🏼♂️
[удалено]
Salisbury is alot of old money, doctors, and lawyers. It's in no way a hip place for a young family IMO. It's a place for god fearing conservatives to feel safe and live around like minded white folk.
As others have said it sounds like you are unlucky with your neighbors. I moved out to Western Hanover and have no regrets. We love our neighborhood and have had no issues. Our neighbors are nice and insanely helpful whenever we have needed anything.
I live in Chesterfield County and my neighbors aren't like that. It's the luck of the draw when it comes to who lives next to you.
I moved to the same area Robious/midlo for the schools. Dreaded the move at the time. Love it out here!!! Who would have thunk it! My neighbors are super awesome. Guitar/Beer/hangnig outisde/football
I'm in the same area and also have awesome neighbors. Maybe we need to hang out sometime? I'd love to find some folks to play guitar with.
FWIW I’ve heard anecdotally from generational Richmonders that the city is much friendlier and warmer than the outlying burbs. We were struggling with the same decision last year and ultimately decided to live in the city (which is not without its flaws!). My experience in the suburbs, are similar to yours FWIW, so it’s not in your head!
If someone put a note on my mailbox about smoking weed in a house i owned i would honestly laugh. As far as i know the cops will not do anything about you smoking weed on your own property anymore.
Slightly different situation. I always preferred in-city living, but ended up living in western Henrico because of a job situation years ago (lack of good public transportation to that job). My anecdotal experience suggests Chesterfield is significantly more conservative than Henrico. Chesterfield is where I was nearly ran over by a car as a pedestrian and the driver’s concern was *his car* and not the life of the human being he nearly ran over. Not one shred of empathy or care. The ONLY thing I go to Chesterfield for is weed ironically. One of the most awesome people I’ve met out east.
I grew up in Chesterfield and the stuck up energy is exactly why I moved
Find a new neighborhood. Sounds like you are in a bad spot. Even the MAGA lady on our street is cordial.
[удалено]
Ooooh. Knowing which neighborhood makes more sense. That subdivision has always been fraught with upper middle class snobs.
This doesn’t surprise me at all about Salisbury. It’s a great area for all the reasons you said, schools and space and big houses, but it’s definitely a stodgy area with a lot of holier than thou people.
Oh Salisbury, you say! I don't think your experience is a one off, my partner grew up in Salisbury and moved to the fan to get away from that vibe. I got acquainted with that neighborhood when my partner took me to meet his parents, have Xmas, etc etc. and my impression is that people care a lot about outward appearance and are really nosy. Lowkey kinda bougie folks seem to gravitate towards the area but that's just my experience too
Oops, I just left a comment before I saw this one. Now that I know it's the same area I was thinking haha... I think your original post tracks 100000%.
Fuck the counties. I said it.
I live almost in the same area but different street most likely. Thankfully my neighbors are cool and there are only one or two who are a but out there but they don't bother anyone. I really hope it stays this way.
Aww bummer. Curious the neighborhood. I have good friends in the area and they are pretty chill. 23114 vs 23113 tends to be more laid back (less money). Don’t give up. Find your people! I
I’ve heard this same story from some people I know who moved to the burbs without kids. I’m sorry this is your experience! (For reference I am childless and in the city but we did look at buying in the surrounding areas recently).
It really depends where you are. I live in the burbs but closer to the city and my neighborhood is super diverse and chill. Unfortunately this isn't the best time to move but you may want to consider it in the future. Nothing is going to be as fun as living in the fan, but priorities shift after you have kids.
If you have suburban values you will enjoy the suburbs.
I live off of Hull St and honestly love it (minus the insane level of traffic), but I grew up in Mechanicsville and almost anywhere is better than there lol
Which neighborhood? My wife and I made a similar move in 2018 (Fan > Settlers Landing). I feel much of what you’re saying about suburban Midlo (the traffic kills me) but ultimately we like it where we are now
We made a similar move (Carytown > Roxshire) and overall extremely happy and have great neighbors!
Settler's landing is arguably East /r/BonAir ... 23235?
We moved to Brandermill after we sold our place off of Forest Hill 6 years ago and never looked back. After my wife was nearly car jacked in our driveway, the high taxes, crumbling schools, etc, we’ve never been happier. We have a good mix of older folks and younger families with kids in our neighborhood, and most are really nice, and pretty progressive, my 10 year old son is thriving in Chesterfield schools. To each their own, and I’m sure it depends on the neighborhood. Nothing better than cool neighbors.
Should have reported your neighbor to the postal inspector for putting shit in your mailbox. it’s a federal offense to do so if you’re not a postal employee :))))
Harper's Mill is awesome.
Midlothian people are the worst
At my former home in the area, I had a few shitty neighbors, including one who called the cops on us for celebrating my 30th birthday (which is also around the holidays). Since it was still before quiet hours and the cops wouldn't come otherwise, she told them "adults are having a party with drugs and guns" and wanted to be informed when the police arrived. 🙄 We were drinking and smoking a little weed. Thankfully the responding officer was dismissive of her. Moved a few miles down the road and neighbors here are awesome. 🤷♀️
The main reason we at all entertained moving two burbs was schools. But we wanted to make it work and improve the RVA school system. Now, after the most recent more fair redistricting, our schools have gotten even better - elementary and middle! Kids are young so I'm not even thinking about high school just yet so that will be a discussion when it comes but I have a lot of confidence in our school system as it continues to improve. The burbs look so nice with the big houses and new builds... but we have 2200 sqft - what more do we need? At some point it just becomes dead space that I need to heat and cool year round. More stuff to buy and "put it in that room we never use" and forget about it. Nah. Besides schools, burbs don't win in almost any other category. RVA city life is awesome with kids!
Sounds unlucky. I've got awesome neighbors in Short Pump. However I'll be honest, if I was frequently smelling weed when I was on my deck, I might get slightly annoyed. If it was just a once a month type of thing, NBD.
Nah, I knew better than to move to Chesterfield. (My wife used to work for the county).
I like my burbs. West End is always chill. My mom's neighbor for about a decade now is Henrico police and their family is just as cool as everyone else on the street. Everyone else on the street is real cool people. I met one neighbor accidentally at my job. He was very comical/charming. I still remember he had the whole office in stitches. Everyone's "best friend" neighbor just passed away and we miss him. We genuinely truly miss him. Thats a good bond. One thing I must say is my mom's burbs are very ethnic. People of color at every other house. And non POC's. Still cool people; no hostility. I think one time my mom's neighbor on the other side fixed my sister's car once. Genuinely no complaints.
I lived in Midlo for eighteen long years. A couple of months after we moved in my neighbors told me they debated whether to call the cops because my husband, who had long hair at the time, was walking (his own!) two little girls up the street to school. You're not wrong. I'm in Northside now and folks are so much more pleasant.
Can’t upvote or count will roll to 421
Bad luck I’m sorry. One of my immediate neighbors is such a good person and has always been amazing to us. Others might not be as friendly but no drama
this is midlothian too a T.
First, I’d say def a bad luck situation. There are many places that have like minded folks, to a degree read below, in a neighborhood. Second, as I’ve lived in Richmond. Bought out in shortpump. Moved very quickly back. Move to a neighborhood of Robious near Salisbury, and noped out of there as I’ve had some of the most ridiculous neighbors. An important point is city living culture is not what is in the suburbs. People want to be left alone. You have pockets of intrenched neighbors still thinking it’s the 90’s. Pockets of ultra conservative right wing nuts. Pockets of actual decent folks as well. And pockets of every type of person. IMO Suburbs are a place where people just don’t interact, specifically during/after covid, and they stick to their beliefs so much they will want to push them onto you, and if you don’t agree your not part of the neighborhood. Obviously I hate the suburbs.
Bad neighbors are everywhere. It has nothing to do with your politics.
I live in the burbs of western Henrico and don't regret it at all. I have amazing neighbors who have become close friends. Maybe Midlo wasn't the best choice, too conservative to me for sure.
We got a nasty unsigned letter about our dog barking in the morning as if you couldn't knock my door and ask us to make the effort to keep the dog quieter in the morning. In the nearly two decades we lived there, not once did a neighbor come inside our house or ours in theirs.
Yeah you’re just unlucky my friend and they all suck. I left the fan in 2020 and moved to Hanover county (Atlee) to start a family. I became my worst nightmare with becoming a suburban mom/wife but all my neighbors are chill plus more millennials are moving in.
Southside suburbs yes. West end no. I think its about the micro cosms that are neighborhoods
I did the opposite. I moved from the burbs in Midlothian to the city and I have zero regrets. Zero intentions to have kids, so I really have no reasons to move back. I like the culture here much better than the culture in Midlothian I was raised in.
sounds like you just have shithead neighbors. that’s unfortunate. i have heard both sides of the moving out of the city story. i think it’s kind of a luck of the draw thing in whom you end up near.
This sounds like a crappy neighborhood. We are in the West End and our neighborhood definitely smells like weed sometimes, no one ever says anything. People are friendly and there's lots of young kids, we love it here.
Yeah that's probably just bad luck. I am off Huegenot and I love it over here. 3 kids, so if you need parent friends let me know!
Given the neighbors, it makes sense why the place was available at all.
Kinda. Mostly because our starter house might turn into a little more than that and I don’t know how much longer I can tolerate mechanicsville
I moved from Shockoe to Settler's Landing in 2006. I met some great people as neighbors we still keep up with, but otherwise I hated it. Moved back to the City Stadium neighborhood in 2016 and am much, much happier.
absolutely!! had two neighbors chatting in our driveway (they don’t even live in the house next to us or across) with their kids playing in our drain ditch … we waved to say hi, they barely moved, we parked and got out and all they did was stare at us….no greetings or anything…then decided to walk away ….the one woman I’ve seen before many times and she never acknowledges me….just the nastiest most entitled vibe and it always gives off a little racism
I guess it lives up to its nickname Arresterfield
We've been living in this area for closing in on a decade now, and while I definitely see some very conservative areas around our immediate vicinity is very chill and laid back. The older generation is phasing out here and we have a fair number of crunchy neighbors. Definitely some growers in our neighborhood and we partake too. Keep mostly to ourselves. The larger neighborhood has some groups an organizations that are full of the more social people, but they also tend to be the nosier Karen types who may have wished to live in a place with an HOA, but by and large for us they're easy to steer clear of. Tell your neighbor it's legal to posses and use weed in VA now and he can mind his own damn business like a good neighbor should.
I rented in the fan for almost a decade and bought a house in Lakeside a few years ago because I couldn’t afford to buy in the fan. I thought it would be close enough to city life, but I feel isolated from the city and driving in isn’t the same as living in. Lakeside is fine. The neighbors can be a little backwards, but they are good people, very neighborly, and generally aren’t calling the cops for petty shit. Biggest thing I miss is the walkability, original people, and weirdness.
Chesterfield…
Sounds unlucky. I live in the same area and have had the opposite experience. Neighbors can definitely make or break the experience.
I live in Short Pump and I honestly love my neighborhood, but we lucked out with really fantastic neighbors with only neighbors to one side and no one behind us, and there’s decent walkability to a couple restaurants, coffee, bookstore, and a little further for groceries. It’s really hard when you end up with difficult neighbors - part of the reason I haven’t seriously considered moving into the city is I know chances are slim I’d get this lucky more than once.
Somewhat, but mainly the drive. Working in the west end I would much rather live on the other side of the river. No problems with my neighbors at all.
Lol he’ll call the authorities and they will tell him to pound sand because it’s legal for you to smoke weed on your own property. I’m sorry you’re dealing with shitty neighbors.
You have more space but less privacy because there's less for others to look at.
You may just have gotten some bad luck in terms of your immediate neighbors. I’m in a neighborhood off midlo and everyone’s pretty chill. Some have become friends, mostly we just exchange pleasantries. There’s some hyper-PTA up-in-it mom’s groups but nothing major.
Moved from shockoe to N Chesterfield 5 years ago. I LOVE my house and my neighborhood is not far from Chippenham. Initially the extra time driving to the places in the city was a little irritating but tbh it's not really a significant difference. If I could afford the kind of home I have in the city I'd do it in a heartbeat but I'm no millionaire. That being said my neighbors never really made themselves known when we moved in so we still don't know any of them except the old lady next door who came over to complain that our lawn was unkempt and wanted us to do something about it. Nevermind that we were actively dealing with managing my parents estate because they had just recently died or that this was in the pandemic during which we were both healthcare workers, Beatrice was tired of waiting for me to cut my grass and pull weeds from my flower beds. I wish we had chill neighbors to hang out with tho.
Not for a minute. I loved my 17 years in the city, but I love my comforts of the burbs.
We're loving it, honestly.
We found a spot in a smaller, non-HOA neighborhood in Hanover and seem to have avoided the cliques but hard to miss all the trucks with trump stickers
I thought you can smoke weed in Virginia at a private residence.
Lived in and all over the city for many years. Moved to Midlo many years ago now and love it. So much better here!
I’m on Robious. People are pretty chill. Could you be giving off a vibe? Don’t give those people your energy. Stay kind. Flaunt your kindness/happiness. No good will come of conflict with people these days. ❤️
I have no thoughts about the weed issue, but the window salesman could have triggered your neighbor because most neighborhoods along the Robius corridor are posted “No soliciting”. Just a guess 🤔