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Old 07-05-2007, 09:59 PM
 
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I'm from Michigan but have lived the past four years in Florida. We are eager to leave Florida. I have an interview at Churchland Academy on Monday. When we moved to Florida, I ended up in a terrible school. I don't want to make that mistake again. Any input would be appreciated. If it's positive, where should we live? We would want to rent to start. Thanks
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Old 07-06-2007, 12:57 PM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,323,851 times
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As far as the school goes, I can't tell you much about that, but I live a few blocks from the school so I can talk about that in general. We moved here 4 years ago from Northern Virginia to get away from traffic and taxes. I lived in NoVa all my life and was over it. I knew this area fairly well as my inlaws were born here and moved back down 15 years ago when they retired.

Portsmouth is a funny place - when you tell people you live there you get this look, like "I'm sorry". But when you say you live in the Churchland area everything is good again. There are some bad bad parts to the city - which I would not go to, but stay on the Churchland side and you are fine. Churchland Academy is located right next to the Middle school and the high school is right down the street.

There are nice neighborhoods but I would say the average age is probably older for this area. I drive 10 minutes to the local mall in Chesapeake for my Starbucks/Walmart fix every weekend. We have a number of decent chain restaurants there too. I rarely have to go further than the mall area for shopping. If I need a speciality store, it would be about 20-30 minutes away.

One great thing about Portsmouth is that it is right in the middle of Hampton Roads. Almost nothing is more than 30-40 min away (in non rush hour times).

As far as renting or buying first, I would DEFINITELY rent first in this area. There are pockets of bad neighborhoods right next to good ones and you have to learn the area. You have to see alot of neighborhoods to see what feels right for you. I rented a house after I moved here because I was desparate. I had a place picked out, but I moved here immediately after a hurricane and the place was given to someone who had severe damage to their home. However, we are happy here. We rent a SFH with a large fenced in back yard for $1025 a month. One reason we haven't bought yet is because we are considering a move to Florida due to hubby's job.

Churchland is right next to the Western Branch area of Chesapeake and that is where you might look for an apt or TH to rent. Still only a 10 min drive to the school.

Check out my post on Jenny's questions about Portsmouth. I went into some more detail about my take on Hampton Roads in general.
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Old 07-06-2007, 01:48 PM
 
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Stacylee, Thank you so very much for the information. As far as the neighbors being older, that would be fine with us as we are early fifties. We have not enjoyed Florida at all and people are leaving in droves. The cost of living is terribly high and the schools, both public and private, are terrible. Consider everything very carefully before making a move here. Again, thanks for helping out.
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Old 07-06-2007, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,323,851 times
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Moving on -
You are welcome. If you are in your 50's that is probably perfect! We are in our mid 40's and I do love the neighborhood. The homes are older - many brick ranches built in the 50's and 60's with tall pine trees everywhere.

So many people these days are looking to live in those nice new suburban neighborhoods. Portsmouth is very historic and well established.

As far as Florida goes - from what I have researched, it is nowhere near as costly to live there as Fairfax County, Virginia. When my mortgage pmt went up $250 in 2 1/2 years due to taxes only, I knew I had to leave. We are looking somewhere between Sunrise, Wellington, Boca or Palm Beach. Hopefully before the summer is up, we are going to go down there and look at those places as places to live and not as tourists. I think we would love it!

If we hated it, we would find somewhere else... you only live once!
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Old 07-06-2007, 05:29 PM
 
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Stacylee,

This is so odd. We live in Palm Beach County! Palm Beach Gardens to be exact. The places you named are all very pricey!!!!! If you have children, you will not be happy with the schools after what you had in Virginia. Our youngest son came down here for college. He stayed for two years and returned to Michigan. College was too easy for him here. This county has over 100 different cultures. It is a very difficult place to adjust to. The driving is crazy! Don't get me wrong, we have many friends and a wonderful church, Christ Fellowship. People who have lived here their whole lives are leaving. Rentals are very high and property prices have skyrocketed. People can not get rid of their houses. Many are losing their homes because they can no longer make their payments. Wages are low as well. Crime is high and it gets higher the further south you go. If you don't need to move here, don't.
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Old 07-09-2007, 07:53 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,323,851 times
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Interesting views...
Let's see, in NoVa there was someone from every ethnic group living in our neighborhood. Traffic was horrible - 7 days a week, and I lived in suburbia.
The cost of living was insane - not just housing but services too.

Right now I have one son left in school and he is almost 16. Then he is headed for community college or right into the military. We may not even make this move until he graduates, however in general, Portsmouth schools are not that great so anything has got to be an improvement (he seems to be in the best of the 3 right now). My son is happy in school.

I 'like' Portsmouth. I like it whole lot more than Northern VA. However, I just don't see myself retiring here. I love to take Caribbean cruises, I love Key West and the whole tropical feel. Granted those are 'vacations' and living there is much different, but I think if we had the opportunity to move there due to a job transfer it would be a way to test it. Hubby's job has 35 locations all over the county but there are only 6 or 7 that I would even consider. We could always move somewhere else if we hated it.

Thanks for all the info!
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Old 08-14-2008, 07:31 AM
 
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Stacylee... I have seen several of your posts around the city-data forum and you seem to be the most reasonable person when it comes to Portsmouth. My husband and I are looking at buying a house and have really figured out that you have to go a lot more by zip code than city, especially with Portsmouth. We are looking in the area of Portsmouth just north of Western Fwy (near what is labeled Twin Pines on google maps). I was just wondering if you could give me some input on this area as far as family friendliness... is all of this lumped in as "Churchland." We are looking for the slower-paced small-town feel and it seems like this may be just the place. True?
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Old 08-15-2008, 07:21 AM
 
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I am a teacher, too, looking for a job. My understanding is that Churchland Academy is a lousy place to teach. I hear Churchland Elementary is the best of the bunch. Check GreatSchools.com. Sometimes the comments from parents are a good indication. Not always. Sometimes they smell of parents with kids who don't behave!
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Old 08-15-2008, 07:23 AM
 
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As for rentals, try Waterstone in Western Branch. It has nice newer homes, and with the current real estate market you should be able to find a rental.
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Old 08-15-2008, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,323,851 times
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Responded to your mail
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