Tampa or Richmond? (Virginia Beach, Rocky Mount: jobs, home, cost of living)

[shellytc]

well, I know one neighborhood that is like the old timey neighborhoods. check out hampton Park in Chesterfield. Schools are rated well with GreatSchools.net, they have many amenities, and the folks are great!! It is no secret on this board i love my old home. Check it out.

shelly

[sls76]

We lived in Glen Allen from 11/02-5/05. From there we moved to Tampa where we lived for 13 long months. We moved to Tampa thinking it would be a great move for our young family with lots to do with the kids (plus we'd be close to the grandparents). Maybe it's just us, but Tampa was not our cup of tea. We lived in a great neighborhood, but as soon as we left the neighborhood it was just so dirty. It also had none of that small town feeling I was looking for. The summer was so long. We ended up moving to Cary, NC and may be moving back to Glen Allen. It's an excellent area to raise kids in and the state universities are great.

[Playball40]

Originally Posted by shellytc

well, I know one neighborhood that is like the old timey neighborhoods. check out hampton Park in Chesterfield. Schools are rated well with GreatSchools.net, they have many amenities, and the folks are great!! It is no secret on this board i love my old home. Check it out.

shelly

What is the zip code?

[ms.paula]

greetings playball40. My family and I are also plotting and planning on leaving tampa. We are in the suburbs and really unhappy. I grew up for the most part here and I must say it's not what it used to be. We do ok but it has become harder to save and have the extras. The property insurance just recently went up to 3100.00 dollars on our 2300 sq. ft. house. My poor husband spends half his day getting to and from work. Traffic has become insane in our area in the past 5 years. But I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. We have 3 children 11 & 12 year old boys and my daughter is currently attending the University of Tampa. The middle school that my 12 year old attends has become more and more violent and it is actually rated as one of the A schools. Well anyway we have been in the process of relocating for the past 3 years. We have extensively checked out Northeast Texas, Central Oklahoma, Southern central Kentucky, Southeast Tennessee, North central Tennessee, and last but not least Northern Georgia. Well the the last place we looked at Georgia Turned out to be the most interesting to us. We extensively researched a little town called Mcdonough. Its about 35 miles southeast of Atlanta. and has a really strong family vibe to it. It has historic culture, tons of family events and too much to mention here. Check out their site: McDonough Hospitality & Tourism Bureau » Home it is really well done. But in addition to having that small hometown feel. They have a Sams Club, Target Super Center, Walmart Super Center a 16 show Movie Plex and The Tanger Outlet Mall is only 7 miles away. THe homes there are half of what they are in Tampa with a lot more character. I'm soooo.... sick of stucco. Almost every home I looked at sat on at least .5 to 1 acre. (HUGH COMPARED TO FL. LOTS). The people seemed well educated and friendly. The area is somewhat of a hub for the surrounding towns. The area seems to be growing by leaps and bounds which is always good for business. I think that some of the attraction may also be that its better without being too different from what we know in florida. The terrain is much prettier than fl. And the summers are shorter with more like three seasons and a wee bit of winter. (itty bitty snow if any). Anyway just thought I would pass on our experience. Food for thought. I'm now going to check out Richmond for giggles. Good Luck

[shellytc]

Originally Posted by Playball40

What is the zip code?

23832.

shelly

[metalchic]

And as a single person, Richmond is totally boring, unless you are 20ish and like to go club hopping in the Bottom. I am now 35 and live with my great boyfriend. There's not much for us to do in Richmond. I miss TAMPA! I wanna go to football games and hockey games and baseball games. Unfortunately, for something professional, we have to drive to DC or Baltimore for this. It all depends on what you are looking for when you consider Richmond. I'd consider Charlotte, NC over Richmond or even Boston, MA over Richmond.

Just my 2 cents

[metalchic]

Originally Posted by shellytc

well, I know one neighborhood that is like the old timey neighborhoods. check out hampton Park in Chesterfield. Schools are rated well with GreatSchools.net, they have many amenities, and the folks are great!! It is no secret on this board i love my old home. Check it out.

shelly

I just sold my house in Hampton Park to get away from the horrible traffic. The roads are awful and they are about to build straight through Hampton Park with alot of commercial stuff. I took a huge loss on the value of my property because of it. My next door neighbor has still not sold his house. If you really want to come to Richmond, yes Chesterfield has great schools, but if you go to Hampton Park, you are going to have no different traffic than you do in Tampa, trust me, I sat in both. Check out articles in the Times-Dispatch on Hull Street Road (Route 360) and the Swift Creek area and the traffic problems, it is a nightmare. Two weeks ago I sat for 1.5 hours and moved about a mile on Hull Street during 5:00 traffic. Yes, Hampton Park is a great neighborhood, if you like the traffic and it's only going to get worse.

[Playball40]

Originally Posted by metalchic

I just sold my house in Hampton Park to get away from the horrible traffic. The roads are awful and they are about to build straight through Hampton Park with alot of commercial stuff. I took a huge loss on the value of my property because of it. My next door neighbor has still not sold his house. If you really want to come to Richmond, yes Chesterfield has great schools, but if you go to Hampton Park, you are going to have no different traffic than you do in Tampa, trust me, I sat in both. Check out articles in the Times-Dispatch on Hull Street Road (Route 360) and the Swift Creek area and the traffic problems, it is a nightmare. Two weeks ago I sat for 1.5 hours and moved about a mile on Hull Street during 5:00 traffic. Yes, Hampton Park is a great neighborhood, if you like the traffic and it's only going to get worse.

Yikes.

As far as your other post, I might miss the occassional hockey game but not that much. I have season Bucs tickets and rarely even go.....I do like the Performing Arts Center. I assume Richmond has something similiar.

Oh, and my hubby will kill me if I pick somewhere that has the same traffic as Tampa!!

[FLBoy]

I'm a native Floridian, currently living in Manatee county. Lived in Chesterfield for 7 years and loved it. We have missed it ever since, and have no doubt we will go back some day. I still own a home there. The traffic is laughable compared to Florida. Although, I agree Hull Street is a place to avoid. It is one of the few places that becomes a parking lot at rush hour. If I was commuting down town, I would be in the Lucks Lane area, which is close to Powhite and a 20 min downtown ride. 40, even with the worst rush hour traffic. The other good Chesterfield option is out Robius road (James River HS area). The schools are much better than Florida as well.

4 seasons is amazing...virtually like a clock it is 3 months of each. Fall and spring are just awesome. I always had plenty to do, but we are a simple family. Give me a dozen good places to eat and a handful of movie theaters and I'm good. The only, and I truly mean the only, things I missed there were the Florida offshore fishing and big time sports events.

Oh, and did I mention the cost of living? Houses are virtually half.

[metalchic]

Originally Posted by Playball40

Yikes.

As far as your other post, I might miss the occassional hockey game but not that much. I have season Bucs tickets and rarely even go.....I do like the Performing Arts Center. I assume Richmond has something similiar.

Oh, and my hubby will kill me if I pick somewhere that has the same traffic as Tampa!!

The Salisbury neighborhood is a nice area. The Highlands neighborhood is a nice area and you would still be in the Chesterfield school district. Just not in the Hull Street area where the parking lot of traffic is.

Send me some Bucs tickets Good luck!!