New Kent County-Chesterfield County-VA (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake: new home, find a job, neighborhood)

[postparade]

We are considering taking a relocation to Richmond and I have a few questions on what is the best location to live. I have heard that New Kent County is upcoming and has a lot to choose from. I also heard that Chesterfield is nice as well. Does anyone have any suggestions? We would need a 4 bdrm home, 2.5 baths, large lot, for $375-$475k. I have also heard about the planned communities like Patriots Landing and Brickshire. What is the difference?

We don't have to worry about schools as we can send our daughter to parochial schools if we have to.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks.

[richmondpics]

Public Schools in Chesterfield are very good anyways, but private is always an option. It depends on where you'll be working and what you are looking for in a place to live. Chesterfield has more amenities since it has more people (over 300k). Nice quality of life in both.

[shellytc]

How long will you there for up and coming to get going? chesterfield has arrived and will continue to do well and has the amenities. I have heard that the new subdivisions in New Kent are doing well... but do you like/want more around you? Answer those questions and you will know where to live!!

Shelly

[postparade]

Well, let's see. My husband just needs to be within a commutable distance to the airport. His facility is about 5 minutes from there and since he travels every week that's our main concern as far as commute goes. Right now I drive over an hour and a half to and from work so anything less than that for me is a plus. Not sure if I will be able to find a job right off the bat as I am in a specific field and may have an opportunity towork out of my house.

We liked theoption of New kent because my family lives in OBX and this side of town would cut down the commute to the shore. As far as amenities I am not picky. We've lived almost everywhere, rural, urban and in a subdivision. Our daughter is only 2 so we'd like a community where she could meet kids and make friends. I understand that most of the communities down there are planned with golf courses, pools, etc. I think a golf course community would be nice.

Do you have any specific subdivisions in mind? Do they have any websites? I have looked at the parochial websites and checked out the schools. I haven't looked at the public schools yet as I need to narrow down area.

Any suggestions??????????????

Price range-well that's up in the air too. In NJ we can't find anything under $500k that doesnt need to be completely remodeled or at least need a lot of work. So I would say somewhere between $350-$500k. I would love 4-5 bdrms-the rest is not all that important.

[richmondpics]

Living in Chesterfield, I don't think you'd be more than 30 minutes from the airport. Depending on where you'd live in New Kent, it might be more or less. Lucky for you, I don't know of ANY commute within the Richmond area that requires a 1 1/2 hour commute. The average is something like 24 minutes?

Also, it couldn't hurt to recommend western portions of Henrico County. You shouldn't have a problem finding what you want in your price range.

[shellytc]

Originally Posted by postparade

We liked theoption of New kent because my family lives in OBX and this side of town would cut down the commute to the shore. As far as amenities I am not picky. We've lived almost everywhere, rural, urban and in a subdivision. Our daughter is only 2 so we'd like a community where she could meet kids and make friends. I understand that most of the communities down there are planned with golf courses, pools, etc. I think a golf course community would be nice.

Do you have any specific subdivisions in mind? Do they have any websites? I have looked at the parochial websites and checked out the schools. I haven't looked at the public schools yet as I need to narrow down area.

Any suggestions??????????????

check out patriots landing Patriots Landing it is an East West Partners property. From this website you can check out other East West properties. I used to live in Hampton Park in Chesterfield and loved it. I live in Virginia Beach now. If you would like a referal to an agent in the area let me know and I can probably help with that as well. I can say you will be happy in an East West neighborhood!!

Please feel free to ask if you have any additional questions.

shelly

[shellytc]

oh, one more thing. At the website you can check out the featured builders. Orleans is well respected in the area. I had a Stylecraft home and was extremely happy. My floor plan had a very cool bathroom and when I went to sell my home last year.. it sold in less than week. one of the reasons is that model is so highly sought after.

Shelly

[htlong]

if you want to be closer to the obx and airport new kent is for you,you can drive 25 miles to wmburg to walmart/ lowes, or 25 miles to mechanicsville for same. groceries are near by, schools are ok but not great. new kent is more rural than chesterfield. i prefer the rural myself.
lots of new housing going up monthly. far east henrico is nice also!

[Snidow2007]

In the Richmond area, considering what you are used to, I doubt you'll find any area terribly inconvenient. New Kent is, of course, very convenient to the airport. Ironically, it might now always be convenient to the OBX because of the weekend traffic on I-64 and the inevitable delays at the tunnels in Hampton. There is a back way, however, by using Route 460 from I-95 around Petersburg to get to Chesapeake, which avoids the tunnels. We NEVER hit traffic going this way (I have family in the OBX as well and we go there often from Chesterfield). You will probably get more for your money in New Kent and find larger lots easier (especially for new homes), but if you prefer public schools, New Kent is not likely to measure up the the closer counties.

[richmondpics]

Thanks for pointing out the 460 to Chesapeake Expressway route... after years of taking 64, we decided to opt for 460 on the way to OBX a few years ago and it is wayyy better. Let's not let the secret out of the bag though