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Old 10-11-2010, 10:55 AM
 
12 posts, read 27,018 times
Reputation: 14

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I currently reside in Northern Virginia and I am in the process of getting married/adopting my gf's son. We would like to live somewhere less expensive and I would prefer to stay in Virginia. Right now I have two leads in Richmond (Glen Allen area) but I would take a serious pay-cut to about 50k or so. The company is stable, the job is sound. My wife will work part-time but I need/want to know that the family will be taken care of with my salary.

Should I entertain this offer? I don't necessarily need to live in Glen Allen as I do prefer a bit more rural living. I simply want to make sure I can take care of the family and live in a decent neighborhood.. decent schools.

Speaking of which, how is the outdoor life in Richmond? Are there good trails for Hiking/mountain biking/running?
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Old 10-11-2010, 12:48 PM
 
73 posts, read 165,751 times
Reputation: 38
Glen Allen/Short Pump is very NOVA like. I ld say go for it. I am moving to the Richmond area but to the south of the city (job related).
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Old 10-12-2010, 06:24 AM
 
Location: Richmond, VA
2,309 posts, read 2,338,785 times
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We are leaving NOVA to live in Glen Allen. We are building a house. Hard to say if $50K pay cut will hurt you since we don't know what you actually make. But the house we sold in Ashburn was about $500K and 16 years old. (= needed work all the time). The house we are building was a $340K base but witht he options we chose it will be $416K. It's about a $500 difference in our mortgage every month. (maybe closer to $600) Gas seems cheaper and so is daycare. But as you mentioned salary will reflect in that too. We are moving for a slower way of life AND my husban's job is taking him there more and more. Anyway, we are looking forward to it. Should be in by end of year!

Take some time to visit and see if you like it. One BIG plus for us...it will take hubby 9 minutes to get home from work...it takes him 45-1 hour now!

Good luck!
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Old 10-12-2010, 08:00 AM
 
Location: northern Virginia
204 posts, read 667,359 times
Reputation: 120
We are also planning on relocating from northern Virginia (Bristow) to the Richmond area in the spring/summer. We are looking at houses in the Robious Rd corridor of Midlothian. My husband's job is regional, so the Richmond area is already a part of his region, as is the DC/Baltimore area. He works out of a home-based office.

From my past experience of living in Richmond (15 yrs ago), friends currently there, and what we've seen, we are looking forward to more outdoor activities in the area. While looking around in the area a few weeks ago we found a park on the James River within minutes of the neighborhoods we are interested in. Canoeing, kayaking, dog swimming was going on.

I like the whole Short Pump shopping/dining area, but looking to buy a house with a bit more property than the 1/4 acre we have here and not spending a lot more. That's one of the reasons we are looking in Midlothian.
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Old 10-12-2010, 11:30 AM
 
12 posts, read 27,018 times
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Maybe I need to restate. My salary will/would be cut to 50k. I'd lose about 20k in salary to live/work in the Glen Allen area. My wife and I are, and live, pretty low key, enjoy the rural area, outdoors type living. Could we make it? I mean, we make it in Northern Virginia on my 70k which I know isn't great, but would 50k in the Glen Allen/Richmond area be terrible? I have zero debt, not even a car payment. We'd be happy living out a bit if needed.
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Old 10-12-2010, 07:33 PM
 
Location: northern Virginia
204 posts, read 667,359 times
Reputation: 120
Take a look at Powhatan or Hanover County. Both more rural and affordable.
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Old 10-13-2010, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Where my bills arrive
19,339 posts, read 17,263,563 times
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Take a trip one weekend and see how things stack-up. Look online and compare rental costs,I mean your only just over an hour away.
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Old 10-15-2010, 08:15 AM
 
1,797 posts, read 2,397,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pk99 View Post
Maybe I need to restate. My salary will/would be cut to 50k. I'd lose about 20k in salary to live/work in the Glen Allen area. My wife and I are, and live, pretty low key, enjoy the rural area, outdoors type living. Could we make it? I mean, we make it in Northern Virginia on my 70k which I know isn't great, but would 50k in the Glen Allen/Richmond area be terrible? I have zero debt, not even a car payment. We'd be happy living out a bit if needed.
I understood that you would make 50k but I had to read that sentence again to be sure. I lived in Glen Allen for 3 months during the summer of 2006 but I lived in the DC area prior to that. Cost of living is much cheaper and I think you'll be fine on 50k/year since you have no debt and no car payment. And if your wife gets a part-time job you'll be in even better shape so I say go for it! Good luck.
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:42 PM
 
382 posts, read 873,170 times
Reputation: 392
I don't see why you couldn't do it easily with little to no debt. If you look in the county areas of Chesterfield, Powathan, Gouchland, or Louisa you can houses easily in your range and rural living. All thoses areas access major roads (Rt. 288 or I-64) and a LOT of people commute from those areas. The traffic is not bad though, except in very specific areas. A lot of the retail business are moving to the Rt. 288 cooridor so getting what you need is easy. I have a family member in Chesterfiled county that got a nice house for just under 200K. Many neighborhoods in thoes areas have HOA fees, so be prepared. If you truly need the change from NOVA I think you'll be fine.
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Old 10-17-2010, 06:17 PM
 
Location: The Ranch in Olam Haba
23,707 posts, read 30,878,938 times
Reputation: 9985
Quote:
Take a look at Powhatan or Hanover County. Both more rural and affordable.
Also these areas will be lower in taxes than Henrico. If you chose these areas than driving into Glen Allen at the worst may be 35 minutes pure driving (traffic is a rarity here).

You can go further out to Chesterfield where you will get more amenities, but you will lose the rural feel.
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