Good places South to relocate (Clay, Union: unemployment rate, moving, beach)

[BigMike50]

Originally Posted by ClarkStreetKid

I'll give a quick pitch for the CVA/Henrico county/Glen Allen/Short Pump area. The area has some very good schools so no need for private school, but some good private schools too if you want that. Shopping is fantastic with a excellent outdoor mall with plenty of surrounding shops and restaurants. We're 20+ miles from Richmond proper so crime isn't much of an issue. The location is great for doing things with DC 2 hours North, Virginia Beach 90 minutes East, Charlottesville and the mountains 45 West, and a few hours South will have you on the beaches of NC. Williamsburg and Busch Gardens is 45 minutes away and Kings Dominion is 30 minutes away. We just bought a new convertible to do some road tripping around the area in.
Housing? Take your pick. Apartments, town homes, patio homes, big houses with acreage, smaller houses on good size plots or even country living is still close to civilization.

I just moved to Midlo, right off the 288. We love the short pump mall but looks like were getting our own new shopping center @ westchester commons

[ClarkStreetKid]

Midlo is a real nice place, even has a town celebration each year. Had a good pizza place and seafood restaurant in town but I haven't been there in awhile. 288 is a great road, really makes getting from the Southside to the West End much less of a chore.

BTW Mike, Any trouble adjusting to Southern living? Notice any quirks and customs that are different from what we were used to back on the Island? Any favorite spots yet? I always enjoy hearing what my fellow ex-pat Islander's think after moving down here.

[BigMike50]

CSK,
The biggest adjustment is the slower pace. No rat race down here, which I like. The Pizza @ A N.Y. Slice around the corner from me is good and last night we ate at Carrabba's good Italian food. Pescados, Zen's Asian Bistro and Crabby Louies were also better than I expected. I found a local watering hole The sports page cold beers and excellent wings... what else could I ask for

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

Give Erik Estrada a call. He is always pushing some random new building plots and developments in some of the oddest locations throughout the country. Plus, he usually throws in a free flight and 2 day stay with no commitment or obligation!
Ha Ha!

Arkansas. That's where you're going, isn't it karl? You're going to Erik's development!

[hotkarl]

Nope. I passed on Erik's deals. Don't need Sasquatch or Luke & Duke for my neighbors

[nancy thereader]

short pump mall

What kind of mall is this?

[ClarkStreetKid]

Hey Big Mike, Crab Louie's was the place I was thinking about, used to eat there all the time when my wife worked in Midlothian.
If you think the pace is slow now you should have seen it 20 years ago, it was down right glacial. Eventually I learned to love the laid back pace and take a little more time, but it did take toning my Islander attitude down a bit.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Hi Nancy,
It's a really nice outdoor mall. Here's a few pictures and a touristy video of the place. But there is enough shopping to keep most Islanders happy, such as my wife.

File:ShortPumpTC.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...TownCenter.JPG

YouTube - short pump town center

Short Pump Town Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Has some really good eateries, a lot of shopping, everything from Bahama Joe's to Journeys and Hot Topic. There's even a new hotel in the area with the comedy club and a good number of eateries. I posted

There's also the Stony Point Fashion Mall which is also nice but on the other side of the river. Really nice and they allow dogs though I'm not sure they still let them into the stores.


YouTube - Uno in Fountain

[ReniHope]

Jax has my vote...if your looking for good schools in FLA then Saint Johns County has them..written up many times...stay in Nease HS, Ponte Verda HS or Bartram Trail HS and your good to go...gorgeous area...very Northeast of Florida so you get seasons...landscape beautiful and more of what you would be used to coming from NEast.

[mamapajama54]

Originally Posted by Jay813629

Why make his life miserable if he wants to stay? Let him do his 25, try to be SUPPORTIVE, and then leave. Women.

Ummm...yeah supportive. So unsupportive means that we scrape by with me having to leave my infant with babysitters while i work so we can afford my crappy Levitt house with no dining room, no basement, one bathroom & 5 people and ridiculous taxes all while trying to put 2 through college. Yeah, unsupportive. i support my husband. I work 40 hours a week and leave my baby everyday because we can't afford to live in this box on his income alone. Nope not suportive at all. So unsupportive that i want a better life for all of us...so that he doesn't have to work 70 hours a week so we can pay our mortgage and never see his kids or sleep for that matter. yeah what a be-otch I am.
As for the other comment regarging my future family issues.... I've been a cop's wife for 15 years so I'll be putting in my 20 as well. It sucks not knowing if your husband is coming back to you every time he leaves. He wants to stay only because he thinks that we won't be able to survive financially if he doesn't work like a dog. And that is true if we stay here. 5 more years and we are going to look for a place that is less expensive and not so cut throat. Clearly that is an issue up here.