Relocating to Hampton Roads--help! (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: house, find a job, neighborhoods)

[drdj90]

Hi-I am a mother of four school age kids, married and a professional considering relocating to the Hampton Roads area with my family late this summer. the job opportunities that I am considering are in Norfolk on the Virginia Beach border and one in Newport News. I could probably work in either place, but can't decide where to live. Looking for good schools, sense of community, cultural activities and cultural diversity as well as a reasonable commute. We are relocating from sw PA. Any ideas out there?
Thanks

[Alanboy395]

If you do NFK/VA Beach do, VB or chesapeake both have good schools. if you do Newport News, York Co. has the best schools in HR, also consider Menchville area in NN it is the nicest area in NN and the schools are decent. parts of NN and Hampton are safe and decent but the schools aren't the most impressive compared to York Co. housing is a little more resonable on the peninsula.

[williamsburgfan]

williamsburg/james city county schools are some of the best in the area. If your professional salary allows you to live in JCC and work in NN (do NOT live in NN) you will have a great situation. The commute from w/jcc to NN is 10-25 min depending on start/stop locations. I would put living in YC second, then smithfield or gloucester.

[shellytc]

If you choose Norfolk, most folks choose to live in Va. Beach or Chesapeake. I think you might want to look into the 23456 zip code. You can check out the schools on www.greatschools.net.

[irisheyes13]

I presently live in the Tabb section of Yorktown and this is also a great school district and family area. Don't know what price range you are looking at but the zip for this area is 23693 if that helps in your search.
Good luck.

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by irisheyes13

I presently live in the Tabb section of Yorktown and this is also a great school district and family area. Don't know what price range you are looking at but the zip for this area is 23693 if that helps in your search.
Good luck.

I second Tabb, very nice area a stones throw from the Hampton City line (the safe side). a lot easier to get to NN than JCC. i think it's way better than JCC.

[drdj90]

Thank you all for your kind responses. Will definitely look up the "great schools" website. Should have a good professional salary to afford good housing in a good area, but--and I'm not sure how to ask this without offending--one of the reasons we are leaving sw pa is that we have bright, talented kids who are tired of going to school and living with people who do not look like them. While we know that we will always be a "minority", it is important to us to live/attend school where our family/kids won't be "the only ones" who are African American. What areas best exhibit diversity?

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by drdj90

Thank you all for your kind responses. Will definitely look up the "great schools" website. Should have a good professional salary to afford good housing in a good area, but--and I'm not sure how to ask this without offending--one of the reasons we are leaving sw pa is that we have bright, talented kids who are tired of going to school and living with people who do not look like them. While we know that we will always be a "minority", it is important to us to live/attend school where our family/kids won't be "the only ones" who are African American. What areas best exhibit diversity?

Speaking as an AA, i'd say that Cheaspeake is the best area for diversity with great schools. I'm also a big fan of VA beach schools. A realtive of mine bought a house in that area (Rt. 58 near the Portsmouth line) a couple of yrs ago and i considered that a diverse area. Hampton and NN has a half white and half black population, i'd wouldn't say this area was horrible for raising a family, u just need to be very careful with picking the neighborhood. An area of Hampton that i consider family friendly and diverse is Michael's Woods, an area of NN that i would think about is Menchville. These areas have somewhat decent schools and are reasonably priced and are the best areas in their respective cities. I'd be willing to say that moving to HR will solve your diversity problem.

[drdj90]

Greatly appreciate your response, Alanboy395. This is such an excellent career opportunity for me and we believe my husband will be able to find a job in his field there easily--but the kids are the highest priority right now.

Thanks for the tips on the neighborhoods--will look them up when we visit again next week.

[irisheyes13]

If you do consider the NN area, I would suggest looking at Tabb again. This is a farily diverse area I because of the military presence, and the schools are great. good luck in your decision!