Moving to VA, Need to Find a "Family Friendly" Area with Good Schools

S. ~

Welcome to Richmond! This is a great place to live! We have the mountains to the west, the beach to the east and the nation's capitol to the north. So much rich culture here - so much to do!

The southside of Richmond has been developing greatly and there are so many areas to live. Chesterfield County is the county you want to be in - known for great schools! Several areas off Rt 360 (Hull St) include: Deer Run, Brandermill and Woodlake. There has been so much development, that I'm sure there are many more. I live in Midlothian, which is still considered southside, and is off Rt.60 (Midlothian Trnpke). This area is a little further north, but we love the schools. Chester is also a great area with alot of new development, and a little closer to the Hopewell area. It is the closest to the Courthouse area of Chesterfield County.

Good luck and I wish you the best!

Wow, fortunately for you, you are going to hit the jackpot here. In Chesterfield County, you will find nothing but family friendly with excellent schools. The further west and north in Chesterfield you go, the better the schools will be, but his commute will be a little longer. There are churches, sports leagues, pools, hospitals, gyms--yoga and pilates and great shopping very close. Good luck!!

I am a special education teacher. I do not live in Chesterfield I only know what I have heard in my field about the schools. I have one friend who is a gen ed teaching (1st grade) and loves it. I have a few other friends who are special education teachers and do not like it. It really all depends on what schools you are going to. In a larger system like Chesterfield you will have good and bad. You can always do some research once you have a better idea of where you want to move. I live in Henrico County (West End) and work in Hanover.

Good luck! I love Richmond and there are many nice places to live around here!!

Hey S.,

My husband and I along with our 3 boys have lived in Midlothian. VA for 14yrs. We are a homeschooling family so the only thing I know of Chesterfield County Schools is what I hear from others. And they all seem to believe the schools are great here. There are a TON of schools around here I can tell you that much! LOL

Tom & I use to live in Hopewell right after we first were married. It has really changed a lot since then. I really wouldn't go back to Hopewell to live with the kids now days. I don't mean any harm but I just wouldn't. My friend actually grew up in Hopewell and went to Hopewell High School and would not put her child in Hopewell schools. (That's a sign to me.)

We lived in Chester, VA for a year too. But honestly, we were not happy there either. Midlothian has a lot to offer families. Lots of kid friendly places to go and play. Lots of churches, parks and shopping. We enjoy the closeness to downtown Richmond and Hopewell is only a 30min drive maybe (depending on which area). I worked in Petersburg (just a little to the side of Hopewell) and it was 25miles one way. Not bad at all really.

I would be glad to give you some neighborhood names that maybe you could look up on the interent and ask your realtor about. Do you currently have someone that you are working with here? Just let me know how I can help you best, okay?

Welcome to VA!

Take Care,
N. :) SAHM homeschooling 3 boys and married to my Mr. Wonderful for 15yrs. Last Friday we joined so many other families in the unemployment line. My husband was laid off without any warning what so ever. Thanks be to God for this opportunity to grow our own business and to show our sons how we stand firm in our faith no matter what and how to make lemonaide out of lemons!

I would look into chesterfield county. They have the best school system and more of a family friendly area. The drive to hopewell is about 20-30 minutes. I would not want my kids in the hopewell school system. Chester is also a nice community and is close to all the interstates and hopewell.

Good Luck
K.

S.,
We moved last June to Chester, VA from New York and absolutely love it. We are in the Stoney Glen housing development off of Rt. 10 and Harrowgate Rd, we are about 15 minutes from Hopewell and Richmond. The school that my 10 and 6 year olds attend is C.C. Wells Elementary and we are very pleased with it. There are alot of children in our neighborhood and they are always out and about. I also know there are many houses in the development for sale. Good luck in your search and move.