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A bit about us:
We both have professional jobs, and 4 kids aged 6 to 12. We currently live in Southern CA, but neither of us loves it or is native. We love the proximity to the ocean and a big city but we do live in the suburbs, a good hour from LA most days. We are expecting a relocation to the Richmond area in the next few months and we'll be visiting soon to get a general feel for the metro area. I have been trolling this forum for neighborhood information (so much good stuff here!) and we are narrowing the field but there are still some lingering questions.
We are looking to spend ~$400k but could go up a bit from there for the right neighborhood. At this point, Midlothian (ideally, Salisbury Lake area) and Glen Allen look like the front runners. I'd love to live in walkable downtown, but we can't afford private school for 4 kids so we're exclusively looking in the far West End. Trees, space, schools, and community are our top "wants". Honestly, we were looking at a "starter" home in our area for $650k and we can't believe how inexpensive these gorgeous houses are in comparison.
In Midlothian area, is James River High that much less of a good school than Midlothian High? Our district here allows kids to choose between any school in the district -- is this an option in Chesterfield area school district?
What is the story of being north or south of the river? For example, we love the Salisbury Lake area for the trees and large lots, established older neighborhoods, etc, but is this really a thing? I saw someone post that it is generally considered "lesser folk" who live south of the river. If the majority of our peers, for example, lived in Glen Allen, would they say "ew, we don't want to go visit south of the river?" This is something of an issue where we live now, and since we can afford to live pretty much anywhere in the area (yay lower cost of living vs CA!), if it's going to be a reasonably present status-indicator, I'd rather know ahead of time.
In these areas, does everyone go to the country club? There seem to be so many of them. I have only lived in one place (Oklahoma) where clubs were big, and most "regular" people (i.e. people not born with huge fortunes) didn't go/couldn't afford it. I'm not sure we're country club types...maybe we are, I don't know.
There was an unfriendly poster on here a week or so ago who was all crazy about people having tattoos and that got me thinking...is this a thing too? I was a little punk in my teen years (and got tatted up somewhat) but am a conservative-dressing professional (with hidden tattoos) now. Everyone in CA has tattoos and I really did forget that this can be a weird social thing, especially on the occasional pool visit. What do you guys think?
What's the job market like for technical professionals? Is it hard to find a job as a newcomer? We will travel to one guaranteed job, but I'm not sure if my job will transfer with me or not.
How family friendly are the suburbs? It's a weird question, but here people have 1 or 2 (at the most) children. People get nervous when they see 4 kids in tow on our way into restaurants, and it's hard to hang out with people who have no concept of what life is like with 4 children because they have one very well-policed, silent child. One of the biggest reasons we are keen to move is to give our kids some room to roam and have a childhood more like we had in the 70s/80s. By contrast, two of our kids were born in Utah, where we were the smallest family on our block and, while there are things we don't miss about it, having loads of kids to play with and people smiling at us in restaurants is something we miss.
It is so scary to be making such a huge decision virtually sight-unseen, so thank you so much in advance for any assistance/advice! We are very much looking forward to this new chapter, and all the adventure that a major move can bring.
I live in Midlothian, right where you are looking. My sons went/go to James River. Great school! It takes a ding on Great Schools because it draws from a much larger, more diverse area - some of the wealthiest neighborhoods and some of the poorest. We LOVE the school. Very dynamic, excellent academics, Honor Band for 20 years, Huge crew team, State Champion baseball team etc etc. Midlothian is a good school too. Smaller and more homogeneous on all counts.
Ah, the South of the River thing...I think that really applies more to people born in Richmond, when there was nothing out this way, no 288 and no reason to come here.
Some people belong to the Country Club. We don't golf so we didn't even look at that option. ACAC is a very popular pool/gym/tennis option that is on Robious Road (and also Short Pump).
I find my neighborhood to be extremely family friendly. The kids all have paths through the woods and back yards to each others houses. Lots of cooking s'mores, catching fire flies nights in the summer...
Tattoos - well I think RVA was #3 for most tattooed city in the country - you won't find as many in the suburbs but there isn't a stigma.
Oh, regarding High Schools - there isn't an open "choice" issue but all High Schools have a specialty center that kids can apply to. There are also two regional schools - Maggie Walker and Appomattox that kids from all over Richmond can apply. Leadership at James River has been one of the most competitive options, Clover Hill for Math/Sci is also also a popular pick followed by Cosby's Health Sciences.
I've always heard that James River is the best school in the Richmond metro.
No one will look down at you for living in Salisbury. It is a very nice area and everyone accepts that. Any neighborhood along the river and west of downtown is comparable. North of the river may be a bit more old money but south of the river is just as wealthy. My personal preference (of the two) is north of the river. You will have much better access to interstates on that side of the river. Just getting around in general is much easier north of the river. The houses and trees are very pretty. The land seems a bit more hilly north of the James and the country is prettier but the land around Salisbury and west along the river is very nice.
Practically everyone in the city is tattooed. I imagine that tattoos are very prevalent in the suburbs too. Some people aren't going to like it but they will be few and far between.
The families south of the river are probably a tad bit larger. Families of six aren't considered freaky on either side.
I don't know of anyone with a country club membership. There are a few old clubs in town with coveted memberships but 90% of the population doesn't even know (of care) about their existence. Neighborhoods have quasi country clubs but they are mostly just places where your kids will go swimming. I don't think that there is any culture based around them.
I don't think you'll have any problem fitting in here. My husband and I both have those nicely hidden tattoos from our misspent youth, and we've never heard a peep about them. Most of friends have tattoos, too, and it's just not an issue. Ellie nailed it on the "north of the river, south of the river" thing. If you're a Richmond native or very into social status, it might be important. i would urge you to look closely at both areas, I was extremely focused on schools and we chose to leave the West End and move back to Chesterfield. We're thrilled with the schools so far, and looking forward to him having an excellent education through to high school. One reason we chose Chesterfield is because they offer foreign languages in many of the elementary schools, which was important to us. It probably won't be enough to make our son fluent, but at least he'll develop the skills to learn and appreciate an alternate language and culture. We do still drive up to the West End for swimming, and it takes about 15-20 minutes, so it's really reasonable. We loved living out in the Gayton area of the West End, but ultimately the southside seemed more comfortable to us. Do I miss Trader Joes? Sometimes. But I don't miss the congestion and we can drive there easily if we want to go to a favorite restaurant. We tend to go downtown to eat anyway.
If you're on the Robious corridor, you'll find the neighborhoods rival anything you can find on the West End. Some are cheaper, some are not anymore. We have quite a few friends who live in Salisbury (with kids) and absolutely love it. James River has a more diverse population than Midlothian, which drops the test scores, which lowers their score on things like GreatSchools. But the school delivers a top-notch education and everyone I know who has gone there felt challenged. Chesterfield has high expectations, as does Henrico. You might also check out Hallsley and Rountrey -- there are some lovely houses in those areas, depending on what style you like. The lots in Rountrey are small, though.
The country clubs also tend to be the bastion of old Richmond (CCV) and social climbers or serious golfers, from what I've seen. Salisbury does have a club, and the people I know joined for the pool or golf. Many clubs are really struggling to stay afloat, it's a dying trend here. You can get caught up in the old Richmond snobbery and going to the Rivah, or you can basically ignore it and go on about your life.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me, I'm happy to help. And welcome!
Agree with a lot of the above. And I am one of the only posters from the Chester area of the County, so I always like to say make sure you check us out. Some subdivisions you may want to look into are The Highlands, Woodland Pond, Meadowville Landing and River's Bend. I think that one thing that would help a lot is knowing the general area your spouse will be working. A long commute is never a good thing, and hopefully this forum can help you get close. Love that you are doing your research early!!!
My husband's job will be located between Midlothian and Short Pump, so either really would be fine in terms of his job. I'll not necessarily take my job with me, so what is the commute like from Midlo to, say, downtown Richmond? I honestly think anything in the areas we're looking will be totally do-able, considering that we currently deal with LA commute times.
@ellieb128 -- the paths through the woods, fireflies and s'mores are exactly the kind of lifestyle we're hoping to create for the kids (and ourselves!) which is why this area with the large wooded lots seems so appealing. It's great to know it's really like that, as it's so hard to tell from photos on Zillow.
@novanwbie -- hilarious that you point out Trader Joe's. It is the one drawback I see so far for Midlo. How will we get on when we can't just be there in 5 minutes!? (We currently live less than 3 mins from one.) We'd probably try to hit the city proper for our evening outings as well, so proximity to shopping is more of a weekend family errand where 10-20 extra minutes is really not a major factor.
@onevthoki -- what's the zip code for the subdivisions you're mentioning? I'm not sure I've explored that area virtually yet.
All, and I know this is a somewhat loaded question that I'm hoping not to spark debate with but, is it common for women in this home price bracket to work? Or will I likely be one of the only women with children in our neighborhood (assume Glen Allen or Salisbury Lake area) who keeps a regular full-time professional job? I ask not at all out of judgement either way (I have been both a stay-at-home and a full-time working mom), but from a social perspective it is usually easier to maintain friendships with people in similar circumstances.
I'm getting so excited for our trip next week, and I'm dying to explore!
Almost forgot: any realtor recommendations? I'd like to set up some showings next week if possible.
@onevthoki -- what's the zip code for the subdivisions you're mentioning? I'm not sure I've explored that area virtually yet.
23838 for the first two; 23836 for the latter two. I'm not onevthoki, but I had to respond, since I'm from the area in between -- 23831. It'd be too long of a commute for my liking to get out to somewhere like the Capital One campus, but that's because I'm from the area. Anyone used to LA commutes will find commuting from practically any two places in the RVA metro easy in comparison.
Thanks Jobber! And he is correct on the zips. I think the 23836 locations are a little easier for commuting, with easy access to I95 and I295. And only 22 miles to the airport in the event you have to travel!
On the other issue, I think there are lots of working moms in the area. Like you, I was a stay-at-home mom for a period and then went back to work.
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so we're exclusively looking in the far West End. Trees, space, schools, and community are our top "wants". Honestly, we were looking at a "starter" home in our area for $650k and we can't believe how inexpensive these gorgeous houses are in comparison.
