Living in James City County vs. Williamsburg (rentals, house)

[Caladium]

I notice homes in James City County are much less expensive than homes in Williamsburg. Is it strictly about being closer to the center of activity, or are there other reasons Williamsburg is better (or pricier, not necessarily better) than JCC?

Also, is swampiness an issue in JCC? We really want to avoid mosquitoes as much as possible and I understand the trick is to avoid the swampy areas.

(Yes, we do know mosquitoes are part of life in Virginia, but we still want to do what we can to avoid being eaten alive.)

[Mr Williamsburg]

You pay a price to live close to Colonial Williamsburg and William and Mary. The closer you are the higher the price. Similar to beach homes, the ones closest to the ocean command the higher prices. A huge percentage of the homes are actually rented to college students. This also keep prices up as many investors look to purchase and then rent to students. The property tax is lower as well. Currently .54 per $100 versus .77 per $100.

As for mosquitoes , after long rainy periods we have issues other than that they don't seem to be a problem.

[Caladium]

Good to know. You also bring up a potential benefit to being a little bit away from the college--less rentals means neighbors who are more likely to live in the same house year after year. Which (hopefully) means we would be able to make some long term friends with people on our street.

[Caladium]

Sorry to be so hung up on the mosquito issue. I know it must sound silly. It just freaks me out a little when I read in the history books that the whole reason Jamestown was abandoned was due to mosquitoes and malaria. (And the town burned down a few times.)

But, then again, James City County is not the same as Jamestown. And towns have mosquito eradication programs now (especially places that want to attract tourists.)

[Caladium]

LOL, well now that we're back from our trip I admit my worries about mosquitoes seem rather silly. I got a total of two bites, and those were from little gnats when we were kayaking in the marsh at Warehouse Point (Gloucester area). I get bitten more than that up here in Nova.

I didn't get a single bite over on the Williamsburg side, and we were outdoors A LOT. Not that I'm going to go to the other extreme and declare the area bug free--maybe the vacation gods were just smiling on us. And, I'm sure it's buggier in August, of course. Still, I don't think it's any worse than northern VA (or most of the country).

Another worry bites the dust.