Relocating to Chesterfield County (Richmond, Hampton: new home, neighborhoods, construction)

[tlcdgilmore]

Hello,

My family has been living in Va beach for 3 years - we are originally from New Jersey. We will be relocating to Chesterfield County. I am looking at good elementary schools, as well as planned communities (Woodlake, Brandermill??) that are open to Northerners........ANY help, input, advice is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thank you so much!!

[ex-txohmiva]

I am about to move out of Chesterfield county (relocating), but can highly recommend my neighborhood - Hampton Park. It is about 1 mile west of Woodlake, on the south side of 360. City address is Chesterfield. Very social and friendly. Two pools, a club house, playgrounds, etc. Active Men's and Women's clubs that put on a lot of fun neighborhood events. It is hard to convey how valualbe that "ammentiy" is.

There are some Chesterfield/Richmond natives that live here, but the majority of people seem to be from somewhere else. It is very easy to make friends here, and the place is positively littered with kids. We are excited about our move to NC, but are very sad to leave such a fun neighborhood. We've only been here a couple of years, but are in love with this place.

Hood was started in late 90's, I think, and build out was completed last year. So, you can get a like-new home. Prices are about mid 300's - 400's or higher for some of the bigger/fancier ones. Most have square footage around 2500 - 3500. Many have a third floor (finished or unfinished - look closely at sq ft of some of the ones in the 2000's - they could have a third floor ready to finish), which is really nice when you give up a basement. Also, some homes do have walk out basements.

There is a new neighborhood that will be started (ground doesn't seem to have broken yet) behind us. I think they are to start in the 600's, but not sure. Called Harper's Mill, I think. The "new" elementary school is to be in there. The Hampton Park kids will also go there. There's a couple of other new neighborhoods- both called Fox-something - nearby (Fox Creek? Foxfire? something like that). I think homes about the same size and price point as HP - But I don't know anything else about the neighborhoods.

hth!

[tlcdgilmore]

Thank you for your input - I looked inot hampton park and LOVED what I saw. My concern was the elementary school - Spring Run. read it was overcrowded, had very high demands on students with tons of homework. What has your experience been?

[ex-txohmiva]

'Tis very overcrowded, indeed. (I only know about the elementary school.) But I have to say the school handles it very well. The student-teacher ratios are what you would expect (20-ish kids per class). They just have TONS of trailers. My oldest is in a "mega trailer" - it's actually pretty cool - has a hallway with several classrooms, bathrooms, water fountains, etc. Not what I remember as a "trailer". But the other parts of the school that can't be put into trailers - lunchroom, bus loops, parking lot - suffer. For instance, I think lunch starts around 10:40 and doesn't end till after 1. Parking is horrible - but it is horrible because the parents are so involved - especially HP parents. Every time I go to the school I run into at least two or three of my neighbors - at *least*.

Oh - homework. Homework last year seemed a tad excessive. This year it seems more reasonable - don't know if they changed their policies or what. My kids are young, though. The homework issues may not come into play till the upper elementary grades. I haven't heard any alarming complaints from my neighbors. Most of the people I know well also have the younger kids, though. I have to say that I have been very impressed with the ciriculum so far.

BUT - none of this matters much because we are getting a new school. Yippee! It was supposed to open fall next year, but the start of the construction was delayed (don't know why). I hear it will still open next year, but may not be ready in time for the start of the school year. What I hear is that the HP kids will go to the current elem and start at the new one as soon as it is ready. The new school is in the new neighborhood that is to be built behind us (to the south). I am not sure of the exact location - at any rate, it'll be a heck of a lot closer than the current elementary school our kids go to.

And we have the brand new high school right across Hull St!

eta: Don't know why I'm so excited about the new school ... my kids will never see it! We're moving to NC at the end of this month.

[ceendbe]

I have lived in the Richmond area for most of my life and in Chesterfield for over 11 years. I have two children in Chesterfield county schools, one in elementary.

We currently have our house on the market in Brandy Oaks. Houses in this neighborhood run about 3500 sq ft, 4 bdrms, 2.5 baths. All the homes are on about an acre or more of land. It has been a great neighborhood and Grange Hall Elementary is the top scoring elementary school in the county. My son absolutely adored it! The teachers were great to work with and provided lots of hands on attention. The principal and assistant principal were very caring and it was great to see they knew practically every student by name. We are staying in the vicinity, but my mother is moving in with us, so we needed to find a larger space for her.

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Gee, we're a bit outpriced for this area, but so wish we could live in a community like that. Where can you find something like 1700-2000 sq. feet for under $240K, but enjoy some of those ammenities?

[milldill]

Can anyone provide any insight as to how the various districts handle kids with food allergies and asthma. There is a chance that my husband is going to be relocated to Richmond from Seattle. Our 2nd grader has life threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Chesterfield County is one that I am exploring if the move pans out (would happen in about 2 months). Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

[htlong]

i heard something on the news about no kids were allowed to have any kind of peanuts in their lunches , i think it was chesterfield not sure.
look up their web site

[ceendbe]

Originally Posted by milldill

Can anyone provide any insight as to how the various districts handle kids with food allergies and asthma. There is a chance that my husband is going to be relocated to Richmond from Seattle. Our 2nd grader has life threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Chesterfield County is one that I am exploring if the move pans out (would happen in about 2 months). Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

Chesterfield schools have different tactics to handle situations such as the one you describe. I can tell you what occured in our elementary school. In the beginning of the year, the parents met with other parents in the class their child was in and decided that no snacks would be sent to school that had peanut by-products in them. In addition, for lunch, there are seperate tables for students with peanut allergies to sit at.

[NoVaGal]

tlcdgilmore, i grew up in woodlake - you and your family will love it.