3530 Grove Ave

For context, I'm a 3L and I've lived at this same apartment for all three years of law school: with the same roommate throughout 1L and 2L years and now alone my 3L year. I've loved the apartment enough to stay. It's inexpensive enough that I'm able to afford it to myself even though it's a two-bedroom unit. I think the overall apartment for the price point it's offered at is incredible, mostly due to the location, but it's certainly nothing glamorous. I've always been okay with not having top notch maintenance service because of how inexpensive the apartment is, but over the past 9 months or so, the service has been significantly poor when I've had serious, urgent issues. Aside from that, I've had a great experience and didn't have any issues with maintenance for nearly two years, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for now that I've just had bad luck with them, but it's worth noting.

Like the title of my review says, this apartment provides everything you need and nothing more. It is not glamorous by any means. You can tell that the apartment is dated. There are no shiny new appliances and granite countertops to greet you when you walk in the door like some of the big complexes in Scott's Addition and downtown can offer, but it's homey. It's very spacious. Two major downside is that it's only one bathroom shared between two roommates and the washer/dryers are in a common space in the basement and have to be paid for. The location and price are really what make this place one of the best places in Richmond in my opinion. Cary Street and the VMFA are both walking distance and nothing in the Fan or Scott's Addition is more than 15 minutes away. The West End and University of Richmond is just down the road in the other direction. For a two-bedroom just over 1000 sq. ft., you won't find anything even close to this price range in this area. The neighborhood is great. There are always friendly faces out walking and I've never felt unsafe. Also, having access to a storage unit in the basement included with rent is extremely nice. There is a lot behind the building that you get free parking at, which is nice to not have to worry about parking on the street, but each unit only gets one lane, meaning the only way that two cars could park there is if they doubled parked one in so as not to take up another resident's parking space. Finding parking on the street right in front of the building is almost never an issue though and is always free. People considering an apartment in this building should know that one bedroom is significantly larger than the other, as are the accompanying closets. The larger bedroom feels giant and has quite a large closet. The smaller bedroom is pretty small but not tiny. Because of how cheap this apartment is (it's actually on par with many one bedroom apartments in the area, if not cheaper), it's suitable as a one-person apartment, in which case the smaller bedroom would make for a great at-home work/office space.

I love living here because it is an ideal location for me: close to campus (~10 minute drive); walking distance to Carytown, VMFA, and other restaurants and attractions in the Fan District; and close enough to downtown that Ubers/Lyfts to/from Shockoe Bottom/Shockoe Slip area (where nightlife is concentrated) for weekend nights are affordable. The rent is extremely cheap, but this is because water is the only utility included, so even though it's still a great value, it ends up being closer to only comparable Richmond housing options in the area than it may initially seem. Ultimately, though, the apartment itself is just alright. Nice enough for a law student not looking for anything glamorous, but not having a dishwasher or a washer/dryer unit in the apartment is not ideal. There are washer and dryers in the basement of the apartment building so they can be taken care of without leaving the building, but you do have to pay for them. Laundry is reasonably priced, however, at $2.25-2.50/load. The Realty company sucks though. They have not been helpful both before moving in when we had questions over the summer and addressing our concerns since we have moved in. They seem to have very poor communication. Overall, though, I have absolutely loved living here because the location is so great and the low rent makes the few drawbacks worth it. My room is quite large in comparison to the other room. The living room is a good size as well. You also get a storage unit in the basement which is spacious and very convenient to store items that are only used seasonally or otherwise not on a regular basis.