I am considering relocating my family out of CT, possibly to Virginia. We are looking at southeastern VA, but I have been to the Tidewater area enough to know that I do not want to live right in there (although I might possibly work around Newport News or Norfolk). Conversely, I am also looking in Richmond for employment, so what about splitting the difference?

I've had a hard time finding web sites that tell me much, so I need help from my Fodorite friends. Anyone know what it's like on the western side of the James R., say across from Williamsburg in Surry (or Isle of Wight) County? I am interested in fairly rural with access to hunting/fishing, where I might get 20+ acres at a decent price. (Though I don't see any state parks or lakes on the map...) Is it flat & swampy there? What are the economy and demographics like? We homeschool so public school's not an issue. Any thoughts/advice?

It can be a tough commute from that side of the river over to Newport News and Surrey is very rural. You may be home schooling but what about rec activities such as sports. If you haven't decided between NN and Richmond splitting the difference actually lands you in New Kent County or West Point. Both still fairly rural but seem to be a little more family oriented.

What about Charles City County? It's very rurual, but there's a bridge into Williamsburg, you could even commute to Newport News in 45 minutes or so depending on traffic. West Point/Norge/Toano/Lightfoot are all great options too. I love Williamsburg, CW has fantastic opportunities for homeschooling, and just enough ammenities to life easy. I still save major shopping for Richmond once every two months or so.

I'd hesitate to be across the river, but if you're going to work in Norfolk Surry might be the better choice.

Great, thank you both for your input. I hadn't thought much about any of those options, so I will look into them. Yes, Birdie, we do like to have access to parks & that kind of thing for the kids; our girls run cross country and do ballet, so we don't want to be entirely out in the sticks. I just don't want to be in a very busy area, either, and like I said, I'd like to be able to get some decent land.

kmchick, Wmsbg is one of the things we love about the area, too. We've been there several times & the kids love it. In fact we were there for First Night a couple weeks ago - wonderful!

Thanks, both of you, for all your advice. Anyone else?

Hi Sweens,
We moved from NJ seven years ago and we love it in Midlothian. Funny enough, we have great public schools(mine go), but I have several neighbors that home school. This is my first experience with this type of thing. The kids are nice and seem to be quite happy. Okay enough said about that. I can only tell you what I know. My area is west of Richmond and is a very nice area. It is getting pricey to buy land here because it is developing rapidly. The area that I would recommend by me that is still somewhat country and a quick 10 minute drive into Midlothian/Richmond would be Powhatan County. It is rural, but close enough to our area. It would still be a hike to Norfolk area from there. My parents happened to live in Williamsburg. They live off of RT. 5 which after their neighborhood is very rural. (I believe it becomes Charles City County). Williamsburg is a touristy area. I was there yesterday 70 degrees (highly unusual this time of year) for a field trip with the fifth grade. We did the colonial tour. It was great. The town is growing. They now have a Ukrops which is the premier grocery story in central VA. They pack your groceries and carry them out. No tipping please! It is strictly prohibited. It is just their service. (a very nice one). I personally do not recommend moving east of there. It gets very city like in areas and you would not like it.
There are also a lot of army/navy bases east of Williamsburg. That may or may not be to your liking.
Surry is extremely rural. My mom said there is a nuclear power plant there that is huge. (She didn't like that)
Immediately east of Richmond is not a great area. The airport is about 10 minutes east of Richmond city. Than you hit New Kent which I know nothing about except that I doubt there is much there. Than there is Williamsburg area. Which I did not say before, but is very nice. Now there is also Hanover County where you can still get a nice piece of land. My neighbor moved there recently to have more land. It is just north of Richmond. I don't know too much about this area personally, but like I said, a neighbor moved there and bought a house with ll acres. It would be an easy jump on the highways to the east.
Hope I helped you a little bit. Just a side note. I know you home school (I am assuming k-12), but the colleges in Virginia are awesome. Good luck and feel free to ask questions. I would be happy to answer if I can.

One more thought: In the VA Beach area there are home schoolers that have formed teams. They participate in the VA Athletic Division of Independent Schools, I believe. Some of the areas around VA Beach are pretty rural.

I'm not the expert that the other Fodorites are but how about the west and southwest suburbs of Richmond?It seems to be beautiful country without the Indy500 atmosphere of the Rte. 95 or Rte 64 corridors.Sounded like even Charlottesville would have lots to offer.

Being a frequent area visitor, and having lived in Newport News for 3+ yrs 30 years ago ....

I would never again do anything where I had to commute between the Peninsula and Southside (Norfolk, etc). I would never consider commutes between VaBeach & Norfolk. While things have changed in that area since I lived there, I seem to recall large rural areas on Rt 258 south of the James River. I did commute via Rt 17 from NNews to Portsmouth for awhile, and it wasn't too bad, but I haven't driven in that area recently, and things do change.

Being a "Yankee", I never did get used to the very hot/humid Virginia summers, where I swear that every other afternoon there would be a terrible thunderstorm that lasted only long enough to make things steamy, rather than cool down. Others get used to it, but I really didn't.

Maybe others can comment on areas between Rt 17 (between Yorktown & Fredericksburg) to Richmond ... I think it was Rt 360, Tappahannock?? that used to be rather rural .. I don't recall how far or rough it was to get to Richmond from there.

My brother lives in Goochland County and also happens to be a real estate agent. He says land in Goochland and Powhatan is already getting scarce and that the developers are doing their best to gobble it up. The upside is that onyone buying land there now will definitely see it go up sharply. He really likes the area - close to Richmond and Charlottesville.

Hi. I have lots in common with you. I am building a home in Carrolton, in Isle of Wight County. I also home my kids. If you would like my opinion on anything please e-mail me at [email protected].

I am a local Realtor.

Take care.

Frank Worrell

That should have been "home-school my kids",, lol

Frank

20 years ago we moved to Richmond from Cleveland. We love it! Within approx. 2 hours you can be in DC, the mountains, or the beach! Yes, it does get humid in the summer, but the skies are clear and blue, spring comes early, and winter (mild) comes late! Richmond is divided by the James River, and there's a friendly rivalry between the West End and the South Side. Transplants tend to gravitate to the South Side where housing is generally more affordable per square foot. Goochland & Powhattan are both rural areas that are experiencing alot of growth. Midlothian is near me, and it is very nice, as mentioned above.
There are good web sites that can help you with relocation information, even to comparing cost of living from where you are to where you want to go. I used to work in relocation for a Richmond-HQ'd corporation that transferred folks from CT. You'll be pleased with what you can buy for your money!

Have you considered southWESTERN VA? You might want to take a look at the Roanoke website. There are quite a few northern transplants here. I'm one of them. It's a great little city with a beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain setting and much to offer the outdoorsman/woman. You didn't say what line of work you are in. That might help narrow your search. Good luck!

Thanks, all. Discussion slowed down on this thread for a while, so I haven't been checking back much.

As far as my line of work, I am an engineer (specifically, marine engineer, which is basically mechanical engineering for shipboard applications and lots of electrical thrown in). But it's easily transferrable to land-based applications like power plants and other industrial businesses.

I am sticking to eastern VA because of family & friends that live near there, plus we do enjoy the ocean; however, I would otherwise be perfectly content in the Roanoke area, cactushugger. But because of my line of work, most of the opportunities are closer to Richmond and Hampton Roads (GE in Roanoke notwithstanding).

Thanks for all the tips! If anyone has any other information I'd love to hear it.

Isle of Wight County is really nice...the land prices are getting king of steep, though. 20+ acres anywhere near a body of water would be a fortune.

It is, however, a very nice county. Smithfield is a great little town.

Isle of Wight is fairly close to NN, so it would certainly not be a bad commute. There are some really nice homes in the area, and in Surry.

Another nice county is York County, up on the peninsula. May be too far, though. Not sure about its proximity to Richmond.


Do you want waterfront or water axcess? That makes a big difference in price of the land...


Good luck in your search!!!