Moving from SC - Advice Please! (Richmond, Mechanicsville: renting, houses, neighborhoods)

[KimmeeA13]

We have an opportunity to move from South Carolina to the Mechanicsville area for my husband's job. We have two daughters at home, ages 9 and 12, and moving them at this age is scary, to me at least. I've done some research and I know that the Hanover county schools are excellent, most of them. I've heard good things about the King's Charter neighborhood and Pebble Creek. We'll be making a drive up to VA this weekend to let our girls take a look around before we make a final decision. Here are some questions/concerns I have:

1) One daughter is a competitive gymnast. Two gyms that are close by are Aerial East and Gym Quest. Does anyone have any experience with either of these gyms?

2) The other daughter is a fencer. I know are two fencing schools nearby. Know anything about them?

3) Right now we live in a subdivision with a big pool and common areas that include a park. Ideally I'd like a pool in my backyard but I think a community pool would be a great place for my kids to meet other kids their age. What other neighborhoods besides King's Charter have a pool and nice amenities? Does Pebble Creek have a pool? Are there others?

4) Our budget for a house is around $250K, and it appears that the biggest sticker shock we're going to experience is going to be in the area of housing. Right now we live in a 10 year old 2700sf house with .3 acres that cost us $189K. From what I've seen online we will not be able to find a similar house at that price in Mechanicsville. That concerns me.

5) We're not firm on Mechanicsville but since it's where my husband's office would be, we'd like to stay in that area if possible. Are there other towns we should be checking out that are within a 20 minute commute?

6) I'm a little confused on what I'd like for a home. I'd like neighbors so maybe we could make some friends, but I'd also like a little space. Our yard now at .3 acres is a bit small. Are there neighborhoods with a pool and amenities that also have bigger yards that would still be in our price range? I know I'm asking a lot. :-)

7) Since all the Hanover county schools are good, are there some that have less enrollment than others? I'm a fan of smaller schools.

I think that's it for now. We moved here from Tennessee 7 years ago and I really never wanted to move again but it appears that we may not have a choice, so I'm trying to find the best of all possible situations in Mechanicsville if we do have to move. Thanks for any help!

[Alicia64]

Hi Kimmee!

I responded to you yesterday but must have messed up because I don't see my response here. I'm just now running out to run the dog, but I'll respond when I return. I have a friend whose kids do comp. gymnastics: she'd say no on Gym Quest. Her favorite coach just moved to a brand new place on Parham that will be do-able from Mechanicsville.

I'll be right back!

Alley

[Alicia64]

Hi Kimmee,

Re: Gyms. My friends whose three boys do competitive gymnastics didn't care for Gym Quest but their favorite coach ended up there. When that coach opened a new gym -- last month -- my friend's kids moved to the new gym which is called Above the Bar: Now Registering for Fall Classes! - Above the Bar Gymnastics VA.

It's not in Mechanicsville, but depending on where you move within Mech. this gym spot should be only ten or fifteen minutes away. My friend would say it's worth the drive.

Re: fencing. I looked into the Richmond Fencing Club for my two sons and we were all very impressed with it. We didn't end up using them, but they're a thumbs up.

Re: where to live in Mech. My husband works in Mech. and I spent a lot of time looking for homes. We ended up renting in Short Pump. I'd suggest staying in the 23116 area code which will be closer to everything like the gym I mentioned and the Fencing Club not to mention other things in Richmond like the Science Museum.

King's Charter is an excellent choice w/ a beautiful community pool. I love many of the neighborhoods off of Shady Grove Rd.

Re: other towns. Ashland is adorable. I'd suggest you look there. It's about ten mins. from Mech., but will also be further from the gym, fencing club. Ashland may have it's own good gym, I'm not sure.

We homeschool so I don't know about the schools other than Hanover being an excellent choice.

Good luck -- Richmond has a lot to offer families! (We're two hours from all the free DC museums, 2 hours from the beach, an hour from Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello, two hours from Washington's home -- the history here is amazing.)

Alley

[KimmeeA13]

Thank you so much! We visited Aerial East while we were in the area this past weekend and liked it OK, but the gym we are using here is brand new so I'm very interested in the one you mentioned. I'll definitely check it out.

We looked at a house in King's Charter and I definitely think that's a neighborhood we would want to target. We like the playgrounds and pools, plus there should be plenty of children the same ages as mine. It's so nice when they have friends who live close by so they can walk/scooter/ride bikes instead of having to be driven there. We did not get to see Pebble Creek but we did see four other houses and get a decent idea of where we want to live. I also liked the Ashland area a lot. My husband's office would be on Atlee Station Rd. and King's Charter would be a 5 minute drive or less, depending on where we were in the subdivision. I'll also look at the Shady Grove Road area.

Again, thanks a bunch!