Looking to reside in Chesterfield County (Virginia Beach, Richmond: low crime, homes, neighborhood)

[USMCwifey]

I'm currently living in Hawaii with my husband and 2 girls. We are planning on leaving the military life and looking to reside somehwere in VA close to the city for work but live in a nice neighborhood with good schools for my girls. Does anyone live in or is familiar with Chester? Any information would be greatly appriciated. Aloha..

[Zipperhead]

I'm half joking. But seriously .....moving for Hawaii to central Virginia??? Sorry .....I'm a beach lover.

Inways.......I am currently living in Chesterfield Virginia. Literally; right next door to Chester. Both areas are very nice. Low crime and very good schools here. It can be a little "sleepy" here. Pretty much its rural when compared to previous places I lived. Tampa, Fl. and Boston, Ma.

So depending on your "style" ........meaning, if your looking for slow pace, safe, not much to do but shopping. Then you might like Central Va. I do have to warn you though. Richmond (8 miles from me) has just recently been listed the 5th most dangerous state to live in, in the entire county. That, and being central you are 2 hours from everything. 2 hours to mountains, 2 hours to beaches and 2 hours to Washington DC. Doesn't sound like much, till you have to drive in it. It ain't pretty getting around here sometimes.

Good luck ...and you might want to re-think leaving Hawaii ......insane.

[Northern Virginia Agent]

Hi USMCwifey:

I know it's time to leave the military life behind but any personal reason you opted for Chester? It's pretty urban & quiet living in Chester but yet you are close to Richmond which is different. Moderator cut: soliciting

Virginia is a beautiful state and there are so many great places to live........

Good luck in your decision!

[Snake101]

Hello USMC,

I currently live in Chesterfield County. To be exact, I live SW of the Midlothian area (I live in what you could call the "Swift Creek" area I guess, as I live right next to the resivior.) This is a very nice area and very wooded with lots of trees an nature. I live farther out in the country (Moseley, VA) so it is a little bit more secluded. The schools are really great in the northern part of the county as far as I can tell. The more southern areas of the county (Chester) seem to be a bit more diverse than up here. But from our area, you wouldn't really think we are in a city near Richmond! There isn't much diversity out here in Midlothian. I would recommend this area highly though.

[USMCwifey]

Zipperhead,
I know I know we're insane for tryin to leave here. Actually we got here back in 2000 and we've spent 2 enlistments here. Honestly I LOVE IT here. Great state great people but I have 2 kids and all our family are in NJ. I miss being home for the holidays, the fall foilage, and the ability to drive miles and see new sites. So we wanna live somewhere close to home but not NJ.

[USMCwifey]

Originally Posted by Northern Virginia Agent

Hi USMCwifey:

I know it's time to leave the military life behind but any personal reason you opted for Chester? It's pretty urban & quiet living in Chester but yet you are close to Richmond which is different. Here's a link where you can do your homework: www.chesterfieldchamber.com.

Virginia is a beautiful state and there are so many great places to live........

Good luck in your decision!

Well we are looking for a nice town to bring my kids up in, ages 1 and 12, with a good schools and nice atmosphere. I'm also looking for a good financial district within a driveable distance. I'm currently an operations analyst for a bank here in Honolulu and I feel a big financial district will have more of the positions that I would be looking for. Oh another reason is also becuase my aunt and her husband reside in Chester and they have nothing but wonderful things to say about Chester and its surrounding areas. Chester and it's location sounds alot like what I'm looking for. Thank you for the link. I'll start on my homework right now.

[Zipperhead]

Originally Posted by USMCwifey

Zipperhead,
I know I know we're insane for tryin to leave here. Actually we got here back in 2000 and we've spent 2 enlistments here. Honestly I LOVE IT here. Great state great people but I have 2 kids and all our family are in NJ. I miss being home for the holidays, the fall foilage, and the ability to drive miles and see new sites. So we wanna live somewhere close to home but not NJ.

I have to admit, I'm from heavily populated areas. Massachusetts (Boston) and Florida (Tampa) previously. But hated the snow in Mass and the Hurricanes in Florida. That said, we opted for Virginia. If you like slow pace, you'll love this area. Very genuine people. True Southern hospitality. Nicely priced homes with good sized lots. But you'll love being close to NJ, fall here was gorgeous!! with the color and climate (cool and dry).
So I really think you'd love the area, people, seasons here. But you might have to get use to not being close (2 hours away) from anything like a beach. There are a couple State Parks locally with lakes you can swim in, but Virginia Beach is a solid 2 hour drive from Chesterfield and can be a real pain in traffic.

Any more questions ? Feel free to write me. I'm a wealth of knowledge now, having lived here for a year.

[htlong]

well, chester is no hi...... but to some people it is also paradise, it is a small community that is steadily growing, it has most of the shopping stores such as k mart wally world, lowes homedepot movies etc no malls but one is about a 10 min south. in colonial hgts.
it will be a great place to raise your kids, and most families would be happy in chester, more so than chesterfield

[Ripliancum]

I grew up in Chester, I went to high school there. As far as crime and all that its pretty low, I think it was a great place to grow up because its low in crime, but not out in some remote location. Downtown Richmond is only 30 miniuts away. There have been several new housing developments and construction projects going on in chester. Its turning into a nice little town.

[Snake101]

Let me know what you end up doing....this is a very nice area to raise your kids by the way

We live in a neighborhood called Summer Lake right outside of Midlothian...
URL removed

Good Luck,
Jake