I can't speak to "best" neighborhoods, or to crime and relative ranking of schools. On crime, go to the Richmond Police website and look there. You can also look at statistics by precinct. On schools, you have to go to some of those sites like "Good Schools," or ask parents on the /rva subreddit what their opinions are on the topics. Real estate agents can't give you that kind of subjective information.

On most space or best value or something like that, I can tell you some neighborhoods I feel are undervalued and a bit overlooked in this market, like Randolph, Carillon, Maymont, Rosedale - all north of the river. But you will get best advice by figuring out your "must haves" vs. your wants and needs. Things like what your budget is, how much square footage do you need, how many bedrooms and bathrooms, do you have to have a big yard for dogs 🐕 or kids - those are the objective terms that will drive your home search.