When I first moved to Richmond, I told my Realtor that I wanted to live in the city, but in an area of the city where I could feel safe, walk my dog at 11 pm if necessary, etc. My Realtor at the time said that if I wanted safe, then I didn't want the city. So I moved to the Far West End. Since getting into the real estate business & getting to know lots of different areas, I have myself moved to the Bellevue area in the northside of the city. Here I find that it is really like a neighborhood - people talk across the fence, there is a nice mix of people who have been in the area for 40+ years who have raised kids there while having young couples & families with young kids living there. And having been a Realtor for well over 12 years, I have gotten to know other areas of the city and the county where I think you will find the same kind of neighborliness. Try to explore your neighborhood using the Street View feature on the web-site of Fizber. It feels like walking down the street: http://streetview.fizber.com/