Williamsburg, VA. Move to, Retire to, New Town, Cell Phone Service, etc (Newport News: low income, renters) - Virginia - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

denny · 10-03-2006, 08:37 AM

My thanks to both of you for the info. I guess I'm sensitive about the whole subject because our condo board is a worst case scenario: basically a do-nothing board composed of politicians. I do recognize that there are good boards everywhere and I'll do my homework before buying. Thanks again.

denny

Lookingforasafehome · 10-03-2006, 12:55 PM

I had some bad experiences and when it was time for me to sell my home, it was undervalued and we lost money cause of a few of our new neighbors were horrible. So in light of that experience and almost going bankrupt, I now support and participate on my board! And we get alot of negative people who do not even lift a finger to help. I dedicate about 10 hours or more a week to improving my nghorhood here. People throw trash out like pigs and I have to pick it up or else my home and value goes down here. It is sooo easy for people to blame a hoa, but when you think of it, if you want to keep things nice and value up, you have to want it enough to do the work. I already have enough demands on me, and I am too tired at the end of the day, but i can either complain and sell my home only to find another or worse sceario or I can do something bout it. Sad thing is people rather complain, not you here, but others where I live. Well, they can come to our meetings and do something and try to help us out here, but no...no one shows up. I came on board to the hoa out of frustration and I am going to do everything in my power to change things around here...at least try anyhow! Best of luck to you, just remember that if you join a hoa you have to live by the rules like every one else does. Take care.

Lookingforasafehome · 10-03-2006, 01:17 PM

I think one day that newtown will be like a city down the road too, and people will escape to where I live oneday, to the grove area for peace and quiet. Things will change as it builds up over time, as it always does everywhere I believe.

I believe at first it will be very nice, but crime is always found in large towns and cities, and Williamsburg will be no expection, I think that is why people are hesitant to buy into New Towne here, some anyhow, cause with large pouplations, you get more crime naturally. I hope I am wrong but I think that is how it happens across the board anyhow.

GradVT06 · 10-03-2006, 01:34 PM

not a single person in Williamsburg uses EVDO/Broadband from either Sprint or Verizon? How about Alltel's Axess? Anybody else have indoor plumbing yet?

kcrossley · 10-03-2006, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GradVT06

As I stated before, traffic and parking at New Town would be my big conerns.

Hopefully, James City County and the City of Williamsburg will address these issues. They really seem to be on top of their game.

In fact, I couldn't figure out why all of the gates along I-64. Finally, a local told me that it was part of their new hurricane evacuation plan. Quite frankly, I think it's a bit of an overkill, but at least they have a plan.

BTW, I'm not sure how your wife is doing with her new job, but I noticed a posting on monster.com that may be of interest to her. The position is for a pre-school teacher with La Petite academy in Williamsburg, VA. I don't know anything about this private school so I'm afraid I cannot vouch for them. It also sounds like your wife may be overqualified for the position their offering, but if the work environment is better it may be a good thing.

kcrossley · 10-03-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Williamsburg,Va

I now support and participate on my board!

This is the best advice you can get. Get involved in your HOA and I think you'll feel better about your community and the primary objectives of your HOA; which should be protecting your property value and providing a safe environment for your family.

kcrossley · 10-03-2006, 08:10 PM

I disagree. I may be talking out of school here since I'm not a local, but it appears that the City of Williamsburg and James City County know what they're doing. I've read about the various issues and concerns people have (i.e taxes, and assessments-double edged sword there), but overall the area seems to be very well managed.

A great example is the new hospital, new high school currently under construction(Warhill), and various road improvements. Yes, there is a lot of development, but the county services seems to be in check with that development. If you want examples of poor development just check out some of the cities and counties in the Baltimore/Washington area.

In my county in Maryland, we've been promised a new high school for the past decade. The closest we came to one is when our city council entered into a bribery scheme (for the lack of a better term) that would provide funding for the new HS, but would allow a rubble landfill to be constructed within city limits. As you can imagine dumps never fly, regardless of the bait. As a result my kids are bussed 20 miles away. And while our city council was preoccupied with the landfill, Walmart, Home Depot, and Wiggums all musceled their way in. Each building stores in excess of 100,000 square feet. Nice.

tarp · 10-03-2006, 10:53 PM

La Petite Academy is not really a private school. It is like a Kinder Care, it is a chain of preschool/daycare centers. We have a bunch of them here in Fairfax County.

denny · 10-04-2006, 06:09 AM

thanks again. I served on my condo board for 6 months back in 2001. It was a lot different then, and I like to think we did a good job because we really cared about the community. We weren't politicians either: we worked behind thwe scenes and got a lot accomplished.

The biggest problem here is apathy: though i'm off the Board, I have tried to get people interested in the problems of our community and to GET INVOLVED! No luck. Everyone complains but does nothing. I thought of running again, but have gotten so cynical about my fellow unit-owners my attitude has become: if you don't want to help yourselves, what do you expect me to do? I'm sure you've seen some of this yourselves.

denny

GradVT06 · 10-04-2006, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcrossley

Hopefully, James City County and the City of Williamsburg will address these issues. They really seem to be on top of their game.

In fact, I couldn't figure out why all of the gates along I-64. Finally, a local told me that it was part of their new hurricane evacuation plan. Quite frankly, I think it's a bit of an overkill, but at least they have a plan.

BTW, I'm not sure how your wife is doing with her new job, but I noticed a posting on monster.com that may be of interest to her. The position is for a pre-school teacher with La Petite academy in Williamsburg, VA. I don't know anything about this private school so I'm afraid I cannot vouch for them. It also sounds like your wife may be overqualified for the position their offering, but if the work environment is better it may be a good thing.

Thanks for the scoop. I'll mention it to her. She really loves the kids she has, but hates the actual school, teachers, administrators. She FINALLY got the 'approval' for her computer last Friday. Everyone has had their computer since before school started. We contact the Virginia PTA and asked if preschool is included, and they said said yes, yet JCC Schools don't include preschool, and we are still waiting to hear why JCC doesnt include them (but still asks for money). There's at least 1 La Petite in Williamsburg that I can remember, and she loves kids in the preshcool age range, so she might be interested depending on the pay there. Thanks for the info.