Good advice re: Richmond
Here's a testimonial for Richmond and for great advice received from Fodorites about 15 months ago!
I used this site to gain insight on neighborhoods, went by it, and I am a happy resident of Midlothian. I live in a new development called The Grove
near Midlothian Turnpike and Woolridge
(that's next to the YMCA mentioned, btw). The opening of I-288 enables you to live south of the James River (west side) and be at Short Pump/West End areas in 10-20 minutes.
I'm from Orange Co/CA, transferred to Atlanta, now here. I'm here to say, the people in general are the most polite, friendly souls I've ever encountered. My Chicagoan husband (who works in Hopewell - we had to be south of the river) has lived a dozen places, and he agrees. Crime is very low in this area, schools are top rated, traffic's a breeze compared to Atlanta. And a lot of bang for your real estate buck! Love it. Welcome to Richmond. Maybe we could have a VA gtg for Fodorites sometime soon....

I am a "born native" of the Greater Richmond Area. The suburbs are definitely much more pleasant for the family life. We live in Midlothian (zip code 23112, Woodlake, Hampton Park, Fox Croft area). Three of our four children attend Clover Hill Elementary School. I love the area and the neighborhood of Woodlake. I am a graduate of Chesterfield County Public Schools and Virginia Commonwealth University. I absolutely love Richmond, Virginia. I am afraid to say, the closer you reside to the county/city line, the worst your educational experience may be. The Monument District of the city is a fantastic place to live if you can afford private school for the children. Saint Gertrude and Saint Benedictine are only two of the many great private schools available. I love Richmond and cannot imagine raising a family anywhere else. Good luck to you!

Wow, I feel very lucky to have found this web site. My husband and I just got an offer to relocate to Richmond, and by reading all the postings, I feel much more confident about the move. We currently live in San Diego, CA and have 2 children. Our 5-year old goes to Kindergarten and our other daughter just turned 1. We are definitely going to look for a house in Midlothian, and girlonthego I will follow your advice to look in the Weaver/Robious areas. I have a few questions though: 1. Do you know a good, reliable and knowledgable real estate agent? Preferably someone that is very familiar with the Midlothian area. 2.We are considering renting for a few months until we find a house we truly like. Do you know of any apartment complexes or houses for rent? I looked on apartents.com and found the Hunter Chase Apartments locaated on Huntmaster Drive. Is it a safe place to be in? 3.How big a city is Midlothian? 4.Girlonthego, you mentioned Salisbury as being a great area. Is it a community, a city, or a street? Where on the internet can I find more info about this?
Anyway, I appreciate all the help possible. We are really looking forward to moving, especially to having seasons. We are kind of tired to spend the holidays in shorts and sandals! (and I am barely exagerating) We want to cuddle by the chemney and drink a hot chocolate while it's cold outside!! But most of all, I hear so many nice things about people in VA, that they are so nice and friendly, and this is definitely a plus!

I live in Wellington Farms, a subdivision in Chester (Chesterfield). The original areas that you mentioned...Chesdin Landing, Woodland Pond and the Highlands are excellent areas. I have lived in Chester for 15 years and grew up in Midlothian. The schools in this area are very good, especially Ecoff. I am a CCPS teacher. Come and check it out!

Saholy - Welcome to Richmond! We live in Hanover County and wanted to let you know what wonderful schools and neighborhoods we have here. Hanover (http://www.co.hanover.va.us/)is NE and NW of Richmond. It seems that most people who have responded to this post thus far either have lived or currently live on the Southside of Richmond. My husband works on the southside, but we have lived in Hanover for more than 10 years. It is not too bad of a commute for my husband. Our children are 8,6 and 1. They attend Hanover public schools and we have been very pleased with the results. There are also several wonderful neighborhoods up here (both new construction and resale). If you are looking for an agent in this area, I would recommend Patty and Tripp Hogg (www.trippandpatty.com). They live in Hanover and know the area intimately. Good luck and welcome to Virginia!

Saholy: I am glad I checked Fodors today! Yes I do know of a great realtor. Her name is Linda Moody (804-794-4531)office number, and she is with Napier Realtors in Midlothian. Her cell number is 804-937-5558.
I am biased to Midlothian because I have lived here for the last 8 years and have had a great experience. The zip code 23113 is the highest income per household in the entire Richmond area. (I got that from a magazine). It has grown greatly in the past 8 years. The schools are tops. Salisbury is a development(rather larger area). There is a country club if you want one. Their school system is Weaver Elementary, Midlothian Middle and Midlothian High School. These three are the best in the county. Robious Elementary, Robious Middle and James River High are also excellent. You can tell your realtor, you would like to see homes in the Robious Rd area. There are new and older homes in Salisbury/Rosemont developments. Most have an acre of land and sit back from the road. Here is a list of developments to look at: Salisbury, Rosemont(newer), Founders Bridge(new), Tarrington (new), Powderham, Roxshire, Walton Park, the Grove(newer). These all are in the area. Some go to Robious schools, and some go to Midlothian schools.
The people are very friendly here. The public schools are good. The Blue Ridge Mountains are about an hour and a half west. The ocean is an hour and a half east. Williamsburg is an hour east. If you have any questions, please call my friend Linda Moody. She has lived here for over 15 years. She is originally from NJ. Good luck!!

Sorry I did not read everything you wrote. I don't know where Hunter Chase Apts are. They could be really close. I am not familiar with apartments. Midlothian has three zip codes and is spread out. Salisbury is a neighborhood and if you go to realtor.com and type in 23113, it will say Salisbury in the listing. Homes in the area cost from low 300's to a million + depending on where and how big and how old. Prices have gone up quite a bit over the years. Are you coming to visit the area? If so, arrange to view the elementary schools to see what they are like. The public schools are large. Weaver has about 800 kids in K-5. My children go to Midlothian Middle and there are about 1500 in 6-8th grades. My kids are fine with the large enviroment. The classroom size average is 25. Some are smaller and some can be larger(in the middle schools). Go to Chesterfield County Schools and you can get test scores on the school. VA has a SOL or Standards of Learning tests that start in third grade. They make sure all the kids are at a certain level. The schools I gave you score the highest.
Good luck and let me know how it is going!

wingding5 and girlonthego - thank you for all the valuable information! Moving is a scary thing, and I am glad to have found you! Today my husband signed his offer, so now it is official, and the reality has hit me! I already called a real estate agent, Dianne Long, who is also with Napier Era. She seems very knowledgable about the area, and very nice too. She was telling me that Midlothian was voted 37th safest city in the US. My husband and I will take a trip to Richmond in early December in order to get familiar with the area, the schools and decide whether we want to rent or buy immediately. How do the newer homes compare to older ones? Are the newer ones usually well built? I looked on realtor.com, but it is hard to fully appreciate the homes. The pictures are either too dark or I don't know what they look like inside. Or, they look beautiful outside, but what were they thinking on the inside!
Well that's it for tonight, and thank you again for all your help.

By the way, I called Bettie Weaver and Robious Elementary, and there are no apartment complexes in their areas... too bad! Is Watkins a good school?

There is a an apartment complex in the Robious elementary district. I have to drive by it to see the name of it. I think they are townhomes. Maybe they aren't rented.
No, there are no apartment complexes for Weaver. Maybe Dianne Long can find you a house to rent. Dianne Long has a good reputation.
The older homes have larger lots. Some have been remolded and are very nice. They are mostly colonials and are quite a good size.
I need to go cook the turkey. I will try to write again this weekend.

This may sound like an odd suggestion, but if you are interested in finding out what the residents of a specific area of Richmond are like, go to one of the local Ukrop's grocery stores, buy a cup of coffee or a coke (most have a small cafe area), sit and do a little people watching. The early morning will show you the retirees, the afternoon will show you the soccer moms, and post 5 o'clock will show you the professional residents of that area. It's also very easy to strike up a conversation with strangers (Ukrop's is like a second home to some) and if you let them know you are interested in the area, they will more than likely flood you with first hand info.

Woodlake looks like a beautiful area! I love the community feel, the lake and all the kid-firendly amenities. I am assuming that most elementary schools are great in Midlothian. Is Clover Hills a reputable one?
Anyway, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving

I've been in Richmond now for 6 months, and am glad we made the move. We bought a house in the city, and I'm so glad we made that decision.

Chesterfield is the least expensive area, but there also is a fair amount of traffic, at least for Richmond, and there just seem to be an awful lot of strip malls around. That's not to say there aren't any in the Far West End (Henrico County), but if we didn't live in the Near West End, I'd live in the Far West End.

We're close to what I've been told is the best elementary school in the city, Mary Munford, and about the same distance to several Catholic schools, which are only about $3,000 a year. Not sure how much the high schools are.

We can walk to shopping and non-chain restaurants and a small movie theatre. The big box stores and some malls are with a 15 minute drive.

There are a ton of things to do with children in Richmond. There are playgroups everywhere, Stroller Strides (an exercise group for moms with babies still in strollers--www.strollerstrides.com), About Town Moms (a company that does cultural tours of Richmond specifically aimed at parents and small children--www.abouttownmoms.com), one of the best children's museums in the country, a children's farm at Maymount Park, tons of playgrounds and parks, and just a lot of different events and such. We have too much to do, actually.

But we're going to be moving out of the area in the spring because of a job opportunity, so if anyone is looking for a beautiful house in the city of Richmond, please let me know! We picked this house to grow old in, and I hate to leave it so soon.

Mary Mumford is the best public elementary in the CITY, but you must go to private school from there. I agree that the area of the near west end is very nice. The Far West end (Henrico) has more traffic than any other area of Richmond. It is mega crowds!
Chesterfield has always been a better deal because you get more land for your money. That is changing as it is becoming just as pricey as anywhere else in Richmond. Like I said before, 23113 which is Midlothian has the highest income per household in the entire Richmond area. (This drives the West End nuts!)
Anyway, the area of Woodlake is nice, but the shopping around there is very crowded and busy. The schools are the most crowded in the county. Clover Hill High School is packed. They are building a brand new high school (Cosby High school) which will be ready in the fall of 2006. This will relieve this high school.

Sorry, I hit post before I was done. I am not particularly familiar with the schools around the county except for the ones nearby. The Clover Hill High School has the Math and Science Center in it and is therefore a very desirable high school. The area of Woodlake has all size homes. Some very large, and some smaller. The highway 360 is almost impossible on a Saturday because of shoppers. I guess traffic is growing everywhere around here. You really need to come here and spend a few days touring the area. I chose my area because it reminded me of the area I grew up in. I chose the best public school district and only looked at houses in that district. This narrowed down my choices. If you don't like Dianne Long, let me know, my best friend is a realtor and she is a go-getter!

One more thing, Chesterfield and the Far West end have all of the transferees. The near west end is mostly Richmond born and raised. Not to say that you would have no transferees in the near west end (I believe Ann41 is one of them), but it is more common in Chesterfield and Henrico counties. When I moved in, I found a lot of friends from all over the country. We all needed each other for emergency person at school to just needing friends. I grew up in NJ and when I lived there, I didn't need to leave my circle of friends and family that I grew up with. Moving out of state, you will need to make friends and you won't have Grandma to watch the kids. So, living in an area where you will need your neighbor and vice-versa is important.
That is all for me unless you have more questions!! Good luck!

Thank you girlonthego. We are going to rent for a few months so we can become familiar with the area and choose a home we really like. In any case, you convinced me about Midlothian, and many people live there, apparently! I will keep you updated. Take care.

While the people on my street are mostly native Richmonds, in the larger neighborhood, there are many transplants. Many, many young families.

And you don't have to go to private school from Munford. The junior high/middle school is also good, and while the local high school isn't, kids in the city have a lot of options. There is a good public magnet high school in the city, and kids can also go to any of the magnet high schools in the suburbs.

And prices have shot up so much in the suburbs, Chesterfield included, that it's about the same price to live in the city, close to everything. We drove out to a friend's house in Chesterfield over the weekend, and we were out in the middle of nowhere! Beautiful house in a really nice development, but for $450,000 in Richmond, I'd want to be near civilization.

Hello,

Thanks for all the local info. It has been really useful for us moving to the Richmond area.

We are looking to buy a house in the northern part of the Chesterfield county and high schools is a major criterion.

Looking at the CCPS website, James River High seems the most attractive. It is a (recent) Blue Ribbon school, it is built for 2000 students with enrolment of about 1800 (if I'm not mistaken), beautifully situated. Average SAT scores are significantly higher than the county average. It seems a no brainer to shoot for James River High. Is this correct? Is there anything I'm missing? Any "insider info" would be greatly appreciated!

Does it make sense to narrow the house search to JRH attendance area? Monacan doesn't seems that great. Isn't Midlothian really crowded? Their IB program seems to be really good, but for that you can live anywhere in the northern part of C Co.

For those who are moving to the area, having lived south of the river for 6 months now, I have to say that Chesterfield County is really nice if you like peace and quiet. Next to Chestrfld, Henrico seems crowded and is not very tidy-looking. There is lots of undeveloped forested areas around. I guess because of all the little creeks and bluffs, it is going to stay like that.

Thank you!

generic:
Welcome to the area!! James River is an excellent high school. Midlothian High is also excellent. I believe Midlo ranks higher than JR, but believe me JR is a very good school. You can't go wrong with either. The schools all have specialty programs. Midlo's IB is very difficult and I would not recommend it. I have friends whose children have gone through it only to say it was college in high school. Very high stress. James River has the Leadership Program, but it is not accredited by the state. My recommendation would be to pick one of the schools and take a college prep program. Both schools are competitive acedemically. Monacan is not rated as high. You will do better with the other two. Both Midlo and James River are crowded. I think every school in Chesterfield County is crowded!
Good luck in your search. You have chosen a very nice area to live in. If you need a good realtor, let me know. One of my best friends is one.
Good luck.