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Possible move to Chesapeake/VA Beach area, need rec...
Hi.. DH & I are considering a move to the Chesapeake/VA Beach area for his job. (He is down there today & tomorrow checking things out and then he & I will go down in a few weeks if things progress)
Does anyone have any recommendations on where to live? We are 37/40 years old (but don't feel that old at all!) and have a 4 1/2 month old son. While school is a few years off I'd like to plan for the future and try to move into an area that we'll stay in that has good schools.
We like to go out and do things, dinner, water, outdoor entertainment, shopping etc... we don't know anyone at all down there so we want to be in an area where there are others around our age with young children.
Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated! This move is making me very nervous (we are moving away from all of our family in upstate NY) but very excited about the possibilities.
Thanks so much!!
Re: Possible move to Chesapeake/VA Beach area, need rec...
I'm not really familiar with the VA Beach school district but the best school districts in Chesapeake are Great Bridge, Hickory and maybe Grassfield (this school is very new so I'm not positive on the stats). I personally live in GB and I love the area. It's quiet and more suburban life than Va Bch is but easily accessible to the "major" cities if you need a little more excitement.
Be prepared - there are a ton of bridges and tunnels in this area as it is a major intercoastal waterway area and at times you'll feel like you're living on an island because you have to cross a bridge to get anywhere - I would avoid living anywhere near tunnels (mostly Norfolk, Hampton, Portsmouth areas) as traffic gets heavily congested. I264 (Virginia Beach) is a madhouse of an interestate during the summer time due to an increase in tourist traffic.
This area is also a melting pot of different Military branches so you're going to see hodgepodge of traffic behavior. Just be fore warned.
Not sure what cost of living is like for you where you are now - but housing is definitely expensive around here - and generally what you pay is what you get as far as neighborhoods go. If a home is on the "cheap" end - there is probably a reason. The townhomes in my GB neighborhood are going from $150-$200k - and they are older probably 70s construction. The newer townhomes and condos are going for a minimum of $200k. Single family homes are anywhere from $300-$400k for new construction and the desirable well established neighborhoods probably start from the $400s.
Just so you can get a basic idea of what to expect
there are a ton of parks, beaches, historic sites, museums, etc. so always something to do with the kiddo when he gets older. Best wishes to your family!!
I agree with the above stated.
Grassfield is an amazing school, but you have to watch out for what elementary schools you child would go to first. Some are not as good as others.. Some "great bridge" schools (Cedar Road Elementary, Great Bridge Middle) still filter into Grassfield, which is the newest highschool with the newest technology.
Hickory is def. more "country" than GB or Grassfield, but is being built up a lot from what it was.
VB also has some great schools though. Cox, Princess Anne, Kempsville are really good high schools and have good lower schools too.
I would google the school systems and read about them. Also, you can do a search on realtors websites, like remax.com, and see what the cost of living would be in what zip codes.
My Planning Bio
Thank you ladies for the input!
DH & I were down in the area this past weekend and are leaning towards living in Chesapeake. We drove ALL over the place and like the nieghborhoods and location of Chesapeake (DH would like to be close to work which is in Ches.). There were neighborhoods in VAB that we liked but I think it'll be tough to get what we want in our price range. (we are looking to stay under 300k for a 4 bedroom). We did go into Suffolk but I think it's a bit too far out and some of the areas looked a little shady to us.
We are looking to move this fall, once our house up here sells but DH goes down to live in an extended stay and then travel up here on weekends until I can get down there. Once I'm there we'll live in an apt. for about 6 months while we get used to the area. This will give us some time to really look around for the right house.
I'm excited but at the same time very nervous about this.. we've never lived away from family other than college and we both come from large, close families... I just hope we are doing the right thing!!