connemara

My husband and I will most likely be moving to the Richmond area soon. We currently are in Minnesota. We've looked into the Highlands, Chesdin Landing, Woodland Pond developments. We love the homes and the locations, but when viewing the public school scores on-line...I'm not sure I like what I see. Can anyone give some info on all levels? We have children who would be attending elementary, middle and high school. Also any other helpful tips would be very welcomed! Thanks to all who can help!

kmchick

I don't know a lot about the school situation, only second hand information from a couple friends who grew up there. Based on what they've told me the only "good" public schools in Richmond aren't in Richmond-they're out in the burbs. One friend came out unscathed, goes to a good college, will likely graduate Phi Beta Kappa, but she has some real horror stories. The other has taken a few years to get his life on track, but will do well in the end.

girlonthego

I live in Midlothian, a suburb of richmond. We have wonderful public schools here!!! Look at the Bettie Weaver Elementary school district, Midlothian Middle and Midlothian High School. These are top schools. James River High is also an excellent and newer school. The subdivisions you are talking about are not in the greatest districts. Ask a realtor to view homes in Salisbury, Rosemont for the Weaver-Midlo-Midlo track. Powderham,Charter Woods,Roxshire, Founders Bridge, Tarrington, River Downs, and Riverton for the Weaver or Robious Elementary, Robious Middle, James River High. All of these areas are located in the Robious Rd area. These are great schools and my kids are attending them. Please ask questions if you want. I came from NJ and blindly bought. We based our neighborhood on the SOL scores. You will find that these schools are the highest in the county. They are currently crowded, but very good schools. This area is also a very nice area to live in. You are close enough to everything, and yet it seems country like. We also have a wonderful grocery chain called Ukrops. They pack you, load you and bring it to your car. No tipping allowed. It is a very nice shopping experience.
The West end of Richmond is a more crowded area to live and is very much a Richmond native area. We live on Southside, but not as far south as you are looking. Ask away.

rightted

Anyone have anything else to add? My wife and I also are considering a relocation to Richmond from Northern Virginia. Although I love the housing prices down there, I'm still apprehensive. I'm definitely a Northerner, and my wife's from Ireland, so we're just wondering about the "southern" way of life.

We'll have a new baby, so good schools are important. But because housing is so cheap compared to the DC area, we're considering private schools.

Anyway, my wife's job would be on the southside of Richmond. Seems to be between Powhite Parkway and Chippenham Highway, south of Chippenham Medical Center. I want her to be able to get to and from the office within a maximum of 20 minutes.

So can anyone suggest a wonderland where my wife would have a great commute, there are great schools, and parks/trails, coffee shops/restaurants to walk to? I'll be a stay-at-home dad (another benefit of moving from a high cost area), so I don't want to be isolated.

We'd like to find something under $400k, but can go up to $600k for the right location/house.

rightted

My wife has been asking people at the office where she has the offer, but they've all been positive about EVERYTHING because they're really trying to convince her to take the job. We'd like to know the good and the bad so we can make an informed decision. No one there also seems to take seriously the fact that we want to be near things, and not just stuck out in the suburbs where you have to drive to EVERYTHING. So any help would get greatly appreciated.

GoTravel

I can't tell you about neighborhoods because I lived in town on Monument Avenue but as far as the climate, Richmond is one of those cities that is northern and very southern at the same time.

It will not be a big culture shock like a smaller southern city would be.

Leona

Do your research carefully, connemara. A survey came out yesterday of the safest and most dangerous cities in the country. Richmond was cited as the 9th most dangerous city.

girlonthego

Richmond city has some bad neighborhoods. I have lived here 7 years and have never been to those neighborhoods. Just like I lived twenty minutes to Newark all my life and never went there once. I would look in the Midlothian area. It is southside. Our public elementary school was ranked in the top five in the state. We have the highest SOL scores in the county. (State testing is the SOL) I would ask your realtor to show you homes in the Salisbury area. Homes range from about 300 to 1 million. The newer the home, the pricier. The older homes were built in the 70's and 80's. Ask for the Weaver Elementary/Midlothian Middle/Midlothian High district. Another good district would be Robious Elementary/Robious Middle/James River High. These are excellent public schools. It would also be a short commute for your wife. I live in this area and would highly recommend it. Richmond city has it's nice streets and it's not so nice streets. Just like DC. Any more questions? Please feel free to ask.

girlonthego

Just a couple of more things. There are excellent private schools also. The public schools are so good because most people attend public. There is great support for the public schools. The above posters are correct in be careful where you buy. (Do not buy in the city of Richmond.) Some neighborhoods to ask a realtor to show you are: Salisbury, Powderham, Glamorgan, Charter Woods, James River West. Some newer neighborhoods are Tarrington, Founders Bridge and Rosemont. They are located in the 23113 zip code if you want to check prices on Realtor.com. These are all nice, upscale neighborhoods with good schools. If you want restaurants and stores to walk to, you will have to live in the city area. I wouldn't buy there. (Very Richmondy-You would be a northerner coming from DC) Living in Midlothian, you will live with everyone from someplace else and some locals. We are from Jersey and feel at home. There is a neat part of town called Carytown which is artsy, with restaurants, shops. But I wouldn't live there. Hope this helps.

GoAway

Connemara - If you tell us what part of Richmond you will be working in, it might be easier to help.

Rightted - as Girlonthego has mentioned, the Midlothian area would be a good area for your work location. But, since you are looking for a neighborhood where you can actually walk somewhere, you might want to consider the Fan or near West End area.

amyvt98

I'm putting my vote in for the West End. It's just north of the James River (the midlothian area that people are talking about is south of the river), and has some wonderful older neighborhoods and great schools.

If you like older houses, check out Westham -- it's just across the street from University of Richmond and is in one of the best school districts in the area (Tuckahoe Elm, Tuckahoe Middle, Freeman High). This area is also adjacent to the city, so it's convenient to downtown, but very safe.

Also in the far west end are some newer developments -- Wyndham and Twin Hickory are two to consider.

Ann41

Well, I appear to be joining the crowd moving to Richmond.

My husband's office will be moving north of the city, but is currently SE of the city. We were thinking about the West End, and other areas NW of the city. Can anyone else expand on Amy's suggestions?

girlonthego

Amy's suggestion on the area near the University is great if you are a native Richmonder. That area is pretty and old,and very Richmond. The far west end Wyndam, etc is great for newer homes and for the out of towner. Midlothian has many new neighborhoods also. It has great schools and is a nice area. 288 is a highway that has joined the Midlothian area with the west end and you can be north of Richmond in 10 minutes. Look into the zip code 23113. This area has the highest rated school systems and the nicest homes. Welcome to the area! Both the west end and the midlothian area are the best areas to live. I am not sure where you are relocating from Ann. We came from the north and we feel right at home in Richmond. The area around the University would probably not accept the Yankee neighbor as well. Southerners can be very cordial, but it doesn't mean they want to be friends.

kauaibound

I grew up in Brandermill (a sub in Midlothian) and now live in the fan (what you would call downtown) I think that you should definitly go where your heart takes you, but I WOULD NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES rule downtown (meaning the fan and surrounding areas) out. I know every inch of this city like the back of my hand, and though there is some crime in the city, you really have to seek out those areas. The fan is a magical place. Schools are not great, but if you can afford private you will be close to the best schools in the city. The culture within the city is fabulous. It is right on the river... great resturaunts, great people, great history. The homes are fabulous. Beautiful parks nearby.
As you can probably tell, I do not like the monotony of suburb living. It does have some pros, but nothing can compare to the fan area.
Westover Hills is right over the river and a great area too. Lots of families, beautiful homes... during the summer you see families gathering for cookouts and they close off the streets. All in front of the most gorgeous backdrop that the city affords. I have known several people that have grown up in the burbs and several that have grown up in the city. Everyone that grew up in the city appreciates and loves it... the majority from the burbs resented it and found the boringness of life comforted by the upper white crust past time of choice, drugs.
As far as traffic goes, there is no real traffic... not as compared to other areas. If you live in the city, you will never find traffic, because you will always be going against it.
I hope that this was helpful

jack1163

Wow, all the Richmondites here. I guess I need to take up for the west end. But my response is really geared to the mentioning that Richmond is a dangerous city....Yes it gets that rating from danger in the "hood", but all these folks writing in here make good points about the suburbs, which do have very nice neighborhoods, I would stay away from the city, and concentrate on the Midlothian area and of course, the Short Pump area, Wyndham area, U of R area

KandKsmom

I, too, live in the Midlothian area and have taught in Chesterfield County schools for 20+ years. Both of my kids are products of CCPS and we have been very pleased with their educations. girlonthego, small world ! All of these suggestions are great thus far. I will add my two cents worth.

The area's county public schools all would be a better choice than in the city IMHO. Hanover County is also an option for connemara. They are very a progressive school system and have a great reputation among educators. In Chesterfield we are all biased to certain areas. The Stonehenge, Smoketree, Ashley Woods areas feed into some very nice schools- W. W. Gordon, Midlo Middle. Gordon's test scores rank along with Weaver's, but please don't let that factor be the only one in the choice of the schools. If you could possibly visit a few of the elementary schools prior to your decision in order to get a feeling for the administration and/or the school itself, that would be helpful. In Chesterfield, the high schools also offer site-based specialty schools for kids who are inclined to pursue a particular area, i.e. the humanities, IB, leadership, etc. All 8th graders can apply. See the school system's website for more information on it.

The subdivisions you looked into all are very nice and I think feed into Gates Elementary and Chester Middle. Matoaca HS was built just last year and is beautiful with state of the art technology and classrooms.

Please don't base your opinion solely on scores- it is the child, parent, teacher triangle that will determine your kids' educational success no matter what school they are in! (I will get off my soap box now!

girlonthego

KandK'smom>another midlothian poster!!I agree with the area of Smoketree and Stonehenge as very nice also. Chesterfield county in general has great schools. I am more familiar with my elementary school. We moved here blindly and we picked our area to buy in based on school test scores. In NJ, we did not do this and bought a house in a terrible school district (didn't have kids then). I agree it is not all about test scores, but it will gear you towards a nice area in a town. If the scores are on the high side, you will have a good school district and therefore good neighborhoods. Some of my daughter's best buddies in middle school came from Gordon...Such a small world!

connemara

thanks to all who have posted great info. I know I wrote my 1st message months ago, but now it seems like things are quickly going into motion. I Will most likely be making another trip to look for houses. After my last trip, and doing lots of internet surfing, I am leaning towards Hampton Park. It seems to be very welcoming for kids of all ages. I have two 13 year olds and a 10 year old. The school reports and scores look very good. Did not really look at homes in the Midlothian area last time, but would like to put it on my list. Can you name developments that you know of that are vey family friendly? Some just seem so much more so than others, and if I can eliminate the bad ones, I would. SOme areas we looked at, we never saw any kids outside, no basketball hoops, no bikes. It was strange. I welcome all comments and thank those who have replied thus far. PS. My husband will be working closer to River's Bend than Hampton Park,,,, anyone up for debating the two?

connemara

Should Have mentioned that my husband prefers the feel and closeness to work of River's Bend. I prefer the family feeling of Hampton Park. We are already having our "debates" among the two. Insider info would definetly weigh in! THANKS!

artstuff

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