Submitted by YorozuyaSoulForever t3_126sq1i in rva

Hi everyone,

I am interested in signing a lease with them. Can you guys please share your experiences, that would be great ☺️

My only alternative is ascend because I am an international student and have to use leap easy as a guarantor.

1

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

VCUBNFO t1_jeaqwk3 wrote

I would recommend Ascend over The James if you don't plan on having a car.

If you have a car, The James is a fine apartment building and conveniently located within a short drive to most things you'll want.

If you don't have a car, Ascend is a convenient walk away from Monroe Park Campus, a grocery store, and the only good mass transit line in the city.

9

YorozuyaSoulForever OP t1_jear5ys wrote

I don’t have a car and would take the shuttle or public transport. The problem is ascend charges 1030+ for shared accommodation and with the James I got 749 dollar lease

2

VCUBNFO t1_jeaw50b wrote

The James would not be convenient to public transit at all. You would pretty much rely on the shuttle that they or VCU provides.

If you choose to walk from The James to the library, it's ~30 minutes. Also you would pass "Gilpin Court" which is a very sketch neighborhood that you might feel uncomfortable walking by--especially at night.

10

BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jeb92ec wrote

> Also you would pass "Gilpin Court" which is a very sketch neighborhood that you might feel uncomfortable walking by--especially at night.

From Leigh St to Laburnum Ave Chamberlayne can be rather unpleasant to walk. Nice neighborhoods flanking either side, but Chamberlayne itself sucks.

Gilpin Court is a public housing project.

5

VCUBNFO t1_jef0b41 wrote

It’s pretty close. And hearing gunfire on your walk home would be very likely.

1

himynameisjay t1_jebt5h3 wrote

If you stick to Belvedere you don’t have to pass Gilpin to get to VCU.

2

BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jebueh5 wrote

The way people drive between Leigh and Bacon Streets is the far bigger danger to pedestrians than anything coming out of Gilpin Court.

1

VCUBNFO t1_jefheds wrote

I think for most people hearing gunfire on their walk home at night would make them feel uncomfortable

1

BureauOfBureaucrats t1_jefk5ko wrote

There isn’t a single neighbourhood in the city, where I haven’t heard gunfire at night. Celebratory or otherwise.

1

VCUBNFO t1_jefm5ng wrote

You never hear it in the near west end or Windsor Farms.

You can live in the fan for a year and easily never hear gunfire.

Saying that gunfire is similar in gilpin as the fan is as laughably inaccurate as saying income is similar in the two places.

I’ve been here for over a decade and never heard gunfire in the fan.

1

ConferenceOk2873 t1_jebki2h wrote

They have a GRTC bus on chamberlain outside the James that goes near vcu

2