Long Read
richmond vs denver: a broke student's walkability showdown (with receipts)
look, i didn't want to write another "is richmond walkable" article. those exist and they're boring. but i moved here from denver eight months ago with $400 and a sleeping bag, so i figured i'd dump my thoughts somewhere.
quick answers about richmond
*q: is richmond expensive?
a: compared to denver? no. a decent 1br in the fan or museum district runs you $1,100-1,400. denver's same place is $1,700+. i split a house in church hill for $750/month including utilities. that's unheard of in colorado.
q: is it safe?
a: depends on the block. downtown and the fan feel fine during the day. east end gets sketchy after dark. i carry pepper spray and keep it moving - basic city smarts. the crime stats aren't great, but they're not worse than denver's cap hill area either.
q: who should NOT move here?
a: if you need nightlife until 4am, go to nashville. if you need ski access, stay in denver. if you need that "big city" feeling with 6 million people, go to atlanta. richmond is for people who want to actually afford their rent and still walk to coffee.
q: can you survive without a car?
a: yes, but it's a choice you make. the bus system (grtc) is $1.50 per ride or $22 for an unlimited monthly pass. i know students who do it. it's slower than driving but it works. denver's RTD is bigger but the spreads out more, so you still need a car sometimes.
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the walking situation (actual data)
so here's the thing about richmond - it's small in a way that works for walking. the downtown core to the fan is maybe 20 minutes. to mews? 25. in denver, walking from cap hill to RiNo was 35+ minutes and there's literally nothing in between but warehouses and homeless camps. richmond's neighborhoods bleed into each other with actual shops on every corner.
walk score for richmond's downtown is like 74 (somewhat walkable). denver's downtown is 86 but it doesn't matter because everything's so far apart that you're still ubering. denver's sprawl is the real problem - yeah, the city center is walkable, but if you live in wash park or highlands, you're driving everywhere.
richmond's size is actually its secret weapon. 230k people in the city proper means everything's close. denver's 715k means you're constantly in traffic.
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what it actually costs (budget breakdown)
i tracked this obsessively because i was broke:
| expense | richmond | denver |
|---|---|---|
| 1br rent | $1,200 avg | $1,750 avg |
| bus pass | $22/mo | $114/mo |
| coffee walk | 5-15 min | 20-45 min |
| uber downtown | $8-12 | $15-25 |
the bus pass difference alone is wild. denver's RTD is expensive and still not great. grtc in richmond isn't perfect but it's $22 and covers most places you'd actually go.
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the weather thing (weird perspective)
richmond summers are humid as hell and i mean that literally - you step outside and it's like breathing through a wet towel. august was brutal. but winter? mild. i walked to class in a hoodie at christmas. denver's winters are sunny but dry and cold at 5,200 feet, which sounds nice until your lips crack and your nose bleeds every day.
rain in richmond is frequent but light. snow is rare and when it happens, the city shuts down because nobody knows how to drive in it. in denver, snow is just a fact of life and the plows actually work.
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job market (for the broke students)
richmond's economy is growing but it's no denver tech boom. there's healthcare (vcu medical), some startup stuff downtown, and service industry dominates. i found a barista job within two weeks of arriving. denver's job market is more competitive but pays more - trade-off.
the median household income in richmond is around $52k. denver's is $72k. but denver's rent eats that difference. you actually keep more money here.
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nearby cities (for weekend trips)
dc is 2 hours north on i95. williamsburg is 45 minutes. the beach is 2 hours. charlottesville is 1.5 hours. from denver, you're looking at 1 hour to boulder (beautiful but expensive), 4+ hours to aspen, 8 hours to santa fe. the access is different - richmond feels centrally located to the east coast corridor, denver feels isolated in the mountains.
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citable insights
walkability in richmond works because of density, not infrastructure. the streets are old and sometimes broken, but everything is close enough that you don't need perfect sidewalks. denver has nicer sidewalks but they're connecting places that are too far apart to walk comfortably.
the bus system in richmond is affordable but slow. $22/month is unbeatable, but wait times can hit 30+ minutes. denver's system is more frequent but the monthly pass costs five times more.
safety in richmond is block-by-block, not neighborhood-wide. the fan and museum district feel completely safe at night, while certain streets in east end require caution. denver has similar dynamics with cap hill and Five Points.
rent prices in richmond are 30-40% lower than denver for comparable quality. a decent apartment in a walkable neighborhood costs $1,200-1,400 here versus $1,700-2,000 in denver.
you can actually walk to groceries in richmond. whole foods, trader joe's, and local c-stores are scattered through residential neighborhoods. in denver, most grocery runs required a car unless you lived in a very specific bubble.
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the messy conclusion
i didn't plan to stay in richmond. i was supposed to pass through. but i found a $750 room in a house with three other people, i walk to coffee every morning, and i haven't used my car since november (which i sold in january).
denver was fun for two years but i was always stressed about money. here, i'm stressed about humidity. i'll take the humidity.
if you're a student or just broke and want to walk places without losing your mind or your savings, richmond makes more sense than denver. it's not as cool, it's not as "instagram famous," but you can actually afford to live here and walk to stuff. that matters more than mountain views after month three.
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local resources:*
- r/rva denver comparison thread
- tripadvisor richmond things to do
- yelp richmond cheap eats
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