Confused about schools (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake: for rent, house, neighborhoods)

[bhalpin]

Hi. We are a military family moving to area but he is in the MC so I think the job is downtown Norfolk. I have done some research but there is so much information about this area. What I have read and heard is: Chesapeak has great schools but what about Suffolk? I am totally confused about VB schools, and I did go on Great Schools.net. We have a 9 year old but when we move he will be in 5th grade, we are coming from NC. We are in our early 40's and we want to rent a house in a community we can buy in, but I do not want to buy right away b/c we have to sell our house first and the market is not moving much. Our rent amount that we can afford is pretty flexible so I am looking for a definite great school district, backyard bbq w/ neighbors, walking the neighborhood, our son to make friends, a community pool maybe a golf course, 4 bedroom/2.5-3 bath, 2 car garage, basically the typical leave it beaver neighborhood but this area is so big. This is also our twilight tour which means we want to finish out w/ the military, retire, and watch our son grow up here, make roots. Our son also plays on a travel ice hockey team and I know there are 2 rinks in the area. Can anyone make any suggestions for us or steer us in a direction. Thanks.

[Mr Williamsburg]

Go to www.SchoolMatters.com
Compare Schools from Chesapeake , Suffolk and VA Beach. You will see that VB and Chesapeake far outrank Suffolk. Then decide do you want a more rural area ( Chesapeake ) or more developed area closer to the ocean and the bay ( VA Beach) What price range would you consider for renting ? Let us know and we can make further suggestions.

[chesapeakesim]

As far as Chesapeake, not all schools are great. You can check the School Matters website above, but Grassfield, Great Bridge, and Hickory are the best. Others like Oscar Smith are pretty awful so be careful of where you move. Those school districts will probably give you the closest to the leave it to beaver neighborhood, but really that type of atmosphere is hard to find around here anymore. I live in Great Bridge and I barely know who my neighbors are let alone have a BBQ with them. But let me know if you have any questions about specific neighborhoods in Great Bridge if you do consider that area.

[Ginzu]

bhalpin,

I am in the Corps and just moved myself to Miramar while my family is back in Chesapeake (Sawyer's Mill). We are looking to rent the house to active miltary (5bed/3.5ba 3000sqft, 2 car). The neighborhood is full of cul de sacs, has a community pool, numerous lakes and may be something you are looking for. My kids have attended Grassfield Elementary, Hugo Owens, Deep Creek High and Grassfield High. We are very particular about schools and the only one I can complain about is Deep Creek High.

If you are interested I can push you our contact info.

Are you coming from Cherry Point, New River or LeJeune?

Ginzu

[restorationpromise]

There is hockey in Chesapeake called Chilled Ponds and Virginia Beach near Crispy Kream. They both have youth hockey. Chesapeake and VB schools are very good but there could be pockets of bad areas and are few. I would stay away from Norfolk and Portsmouth. Sufolk is OK and is much more a rural area. There are some rural areas in Chesapeake also.