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We have heard that Colonial Heights would be a nice place to raise a family and would be about a 45 minute commute from my husband's new job in Emporia, VA. We would appreciate any information anyone could provide about the Colonial Heights area, such as activities for young children, schools, shopping, cultural activities, any gyms/fitness centers, dining, etc. Any information to COMPARE Colonial Heights, VA to Roanoke Rapids, NC would also be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance to anyone with information to share!
Unfortunately, I cannot answer about Roanoke Rapids, but I grew up about 50 minutes from Colonial Heights, and now live about 15 minutes from there. Many of the CH residents are folks that are either active-duty or retired military, as you have the Fort Lee Army installation right down the road in Prince George County. One of my friends is a teacher in the school district, and she seems to really like teaching there; she used to teach in Chesterfield County and made the switch maybe 7 years ago. There is a mall that has Sears, Penneys, Macy's and Dillards as the anchors. And you also have Wal-Mart,K-Mart, Target and others. There is also an American Family Fitness facility.
I think you will see the Colonial Heights and surrounding Tri-Cities areas grow with the impending growth of Fort Lee from BRAC decisions. Probably will be a good thing.
Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions let the Forum know. Good luck with your research!
I loved living in the Chesterfirld/Colonial Hts area and only moved because I got married. The people there are friendly and welcoming. There are little league baseball teams, dancing lessons, football, soccer, basketball and all sorts of activities for kids. Plus where I used to live kids actually did something seemingly novel in this day and time, they went outside and actually played with each other. Games like hide and seek and such.
There are active churches in the area with all having youth groups. The sponsor overnight trips, slumber parties and that sort of thing. If you would like I can answer specific questions about The Catholic youth activities, but I had protestant friends who had lots of choices for their children too.
I lived in the Hyde Park apartments until I had a house built and during that time I had a teen aged boy who also liked it.
The area has several library's and Richmond, which is about 40 minutes away has museums and Broadway shows. Tho one thing I did find lacking however is that the shows don't stay around long because there aren't as many people so things don't run as long.
Fort Lee Army post is there and there might be a high turnover of neighbors depending upon where you live. The military families are supportive and neighborly. Also they are from all areas of the country and will provide an eclectic cultural mix.
I am a black person and prior to leaving my northern city to relocate I was told horror stories about how prejudiced and and unaccepting people there would be towards me. BA HUMBUG! My son played sports and I had activities in which I engaged, I can honestly say I never felt rejected because of my race.
People tend to like others who enjoy whet they enjoy. Whatever your likes and hobbies you'll fing kindered spirits in Colonial Heights/Chesterfield. I would like to move back, but life holds other treats for me. Good luck and enjoy.
Thanks so much to everyone who has answered! We are looking at a house near Tussing Elementary. I think the neighborhood is called White Bank Landing. Any information about those?
I grew up in Col Hts and I can say it has definately changed since I moved 20 years ago. The mall has been a good and bad thing but overall it is still a nice town. The school system is good and many of my former classmates are school system employees. And even better, a lot of the teachers that were good and well liked when I was student in the 80's are still at the High School and are still good teachers.
White Bank Landing is one of the newer subdivisions and while the area is good, it would not be my first choice simply because of where it is located. It is just down the road from White Bank Park so you may get more traffic than you want to deal with. But that whole end of Conduit Road is fairly quiet (I lived on Ridgecrest Lane in Gills Point) because there are no businesses down there. Its all residential between the Library and Tussing. I was able to walk to Tussing and walk to the High School.
The south end of town isn't as nice as it could be but has gotten a little bit of a boost the last fews years retail wise. As for growth due to Ft. Lee and BRAC - Col Hts really has no where else to grow to. I've seen a lot of formerly large lots in the old sections split for new homes and older homes torn down and new ones built. Some of the Craftsman style homes have been refurbished and I'd really like to see more of that personally.
I don't much about Roanoke Rapids but from what I have seen it is about the same as CH, just more rural and would be closer to Emporia.
As for racism in Col Hts: back when I growing up, it was majority white with some Asians and Indians. The year I graduated was the first time a black student actually graduated from the high school. Since the mid-80's more and more blacks have moved in but it is still a majority white town. That said, the people in CH are no different than anywhere else. You are going to find some who could care less if you're purple with yellow polka dots and others who will hate you because you're different. The majority are really just average people who want a good safe town and a good school system for their kids. I would have raised my kids there, but was never able to find housing I could afford available from agents I was willing to rent from.
On that note: stay away from Shanel Properties. The owner does not have a good rep.
Thanks so much to everyone who has answered! We are looking at a house near Tussing Elementary. I think the neighborhood is called White Bank Landing. Any information about those?
Hi there! I might be a month late in responding to your question, but I think I'm pretty qualified: my family regularly visits Roanoke Rapids and I've grown up in Colonial Heights.
About White Bank:
White Bank Landing is a nice little community nestled right next to the nicest neighborhood in CH (Conjurer's Neck), so if you buy a home there, I guarantee you'll feel safe. The neighborhood is very nice and relatively new, and Tussing is right across the street. Tussing is actually one of the best elementary schools in CH, but honestly, all of the schools in CH are excellent. It's also a short walk away from White Bank Park, a grassy public park where people go to fish, have cookouts, play volleyball, or bring their kids to the playground there. It's quite safe and very well maintained.
Other neighborhoods you might consider:
Another nice neighborhood that is even more affordable is Sherwood Hills. It's on the other side of the city and has an interesting mixed of retired folks and young families here. House prices there are a bit cheaper than in White Bank Landing, but it's only because those homes were built in the 50's and 60s. The elementary school for that neighborhood is Lakeview Elementary (hoot, hoot, hooting!), which was a nice little school with a good gifted program when I went there. I'm sure that's still the case.
Dunlop Farms is also a nice neighborhood, but I don't live there or know anyone who does, so I can't say much about it.
About CH:
CH itself is a nice little city. It's not the most exciting place, but it's a great place to raise children and it's very safe. The fact that it's a short drive to the booming army base in Hopewell means that your home's value will be positively affected by Ft. Lee's growing population (they just opened some sort of military academy there, so home prices around here have been holding up pretty well, despite the economy).
Schools in CH:
I mentioned it briefly above, but I'd like to reiterate that CH has one of the best school systems in Virginia. In fact, we're up to par with Northern Va schools, which is quite an accomplishment. CH has a reputation that top state schools like University of Virginia (the number 1 public university in America) and William and Mary (I believe it's ranked 25th out of all universities, but I'm not sure) recognize, and they regularly admit a good number of top CH graduates every year.
Shopping in CH:
CH also has a really convenient commercial shopping area that sprouted up around Southpark Mall in the 90's. Pretty much any middle-class orientated store you can think is a 5+ min drive away from your home. The mall itself has seen a few of the "better" stores close down because of a problem with young and wild Petersburg kids coming to the mall and starting fights, but the city has enacted some successful ordinances to discourage that kind of behavior. Those stores haven't returned, though, which is a shame, and have instead been replaced with stores targeted at those same kids which ruined the mall.
If you prefer upscale shopping, a 30+ min. drive to Short Pump Town Center in Short Pump (near Richmond) should do the trick.
Culture in CH:
If you like theater, there's a little playhouse on the east side of the city called Swift Creek Mill Playhouse, and they have cute little diner-and-a-show events.
Social aspects of CH:
CH has a really conservative, predominately white, Christian population. There are churches on almost every corner here, and almost everyone that lives here goes to one of them. It's how most people get to know each other and get to know their neighbors, so just keep that in mind as well.
People in this city know each other because there's just too few people here not to. The result is that everyone knows everyone else's business. The CH gossip mill is infamous, but it can also be put to good use. For example, if someone in your family suffers a back injury and can't work for a few days, expect church members to show up at your door with flowers and food, as well as offers to help out around your house.
If you have any other questions about CH, just let me know! I've lived here pretty much my entire life and know the place like the back of my hand.
As for Roanoke Rapids, as far as I've seen, it's a bit of a dying city. It used to be that the locals worked at nearby mills, but those have since closed and nothing's really risen in their place to give people jobs down here. I imagine that means home prices are pretty cheap (can't say for sure, though), but it also means that there's an uncertain future ahead for the city.
At one point, there was talk that Dollywood would be opening an amusement park in Roanoke Rapids (the rumors alone caused new restaurants and hotels to sprout up around the city), but those plans have since died because of the economy.
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If I had to choose between one or the other, personally, I'd choose CH because you're more certain to get a good price when you resell your home because of its proximity to a booming military base and the fact that CH has one of the best school systems in the state.
Good luck and I hope my post was still helpful to you!
Last edited by tkennedy; 03-03-2010 at 07:48 PM..
Reason: Added more info, broke my paragraphs into manageable sections.
Wow! Thanks for all the great information! It's definitely not too late. My husband has begun working and has rented an apartment in RR, but is finding that the town probably won't suit our family. The kids and I have stayed behind for my daughter to finish preschool while we try to sell our house. It has turned out to be a blessing in disguise that our house didn't sell right away , since it gives us more time to explore our options! (We had an offer very early on, but it fell through.)
We're actually going house hunting in CH again this weekend. We had already picked a few to see in both Sherwood Hills and Dunlop Farms. We're also seeing homes in Gill's Point and Huntington Hills. Any info on these? By the way, we were shocked to find that house prices in RR are actually quite expensive for what you get!! If I understand it correctly, the Randy Parton Theater caused some financial strain on the city, who had promised not to raise taxes to pay for it; so they raised home values instead, which in turn raised property taxes! We looked at a home that would have been over $500 a month JUST in property taxes!!
A few more questions come to mind . . . My sister is in the army and I used to live and teach in a military town, so I know they move a lot. Are there certain neighborhoods/schools in CH that have a lot of turnover? Do any of the aforementioned neighborhoods have a lot of rentals? How active are parents in the PTA/PTO at the various schools? Are there a lot of cliques among parents at the schools or are they welcoming to newbies? What sort of volunteer opportunities are available in the city?
Thanks again to everyone who has gotten involved in this discussion! I'm so thankful for the internet for opening up so many more avenues for researching a relocation!!!
Can you tell me where a good farmers market is and also good fishing. I heard there is a big lake in Chester for fishing and boating, but will be moving to CH and am looking for a lake close to home. What other subdivisions are in the area, we are renting a home and may buy in a year or two, we also like the Chester area, but heard the schools are much bigger so we may stay in the Colonial Heights area. thanks
Hmmm, there is a Farmer's Market in Chester at the Chester Village Green, but not sure if they have set it up for the season. You might want to contact the local extension offices, they could give some more information.
Then you asked about schools. Mine are in Chester and we really like it. I think you will find some of the elementary schools are smaller, but as they begin to feed into the middle and high schools, they will definitely get larger.
Hope this helps and good luck with your decisions!
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Col Hts
