Taking a Trip to Job Search (Fairfax, Accomac: crime rates, home, schools)

[mrspink]

My husband and I are teachers and we are coming to Virginia (from Ohio) to apply and search for jobs. I figured this forum might be a good place to get some insight.

We are looking more at the following counties...they're where we've seen the most openings.

Gloucester
Westmoreland
Stafford
Albemarle
Northampton
Accomack

Of course we are open to other areas, but this is just a start for us. If anyone could tell us a bit about the schools that would be nice. We've researched online and know some, but it's always nice to hear from people who reside in the area.

Also, if anyone has any suggestion as to places to avoid for: living and working that would be helpful. We will be looking around at places to live while we're there in case we would get jobs at some point and not being familiar with an area...it would be great if we could get any advice.


A little about us because I know that can help when advising on where/where not to live...
We are young, 23/24
We have a 5 1/2 month old daughter, so safety is a MUST
We'd like to find a good church to go to
And we like a variety of activities...outdoors stuff (i.e. walking, biking, swimming etc.), we are big into sports esp. football, and we like (well I like...to shop)
We usually cook at home but having some restaurants around is nice...

Honestly, we aren't too picky. We can pretty much find something to do anywhere. We live in a small town in rural NW Ohio now so a booming metropollis isn't necessary. We're used to quiet life and finding things to do.

Thank you in advance for any help. I realize this was somewhat long and I apologize, but we just are looking for some info!

[Green Irish Eyes]

Here's what I know about Albemarle County -- the schools RIF'd several teachers this year (K-12 and all subjects), so while you may see openings listed, preference will go to those who were laid off. Also class sizes are increasing and teachers will be expected to handle more sections next year.

[mrspink]

Thank you for letting me know about that.

Does anyone know anything about the other counties and their schools? Or just any general information?

We actually just decided we are going June 8th.

[mrspink]

I realize I put a lot of information on here, but any more advice would be great. I know people get tired of others asking "should I move here" etc. Well....it's a bit different for us. We LITERALLY have our trip planned and are trying to sketch out a route to hit the most areas.

I did some of my own research and it seems Northampton county is probably the safest...is that assumption right? We just don't want to live somewhere that our daughter can't walk our dog down the street when she's older or play in the front yard. I'm just looking for a little advice from Virginina natives, or people who have lived in the area for a while.

[tgbwc]

What are you certified to teach? I know someone who received an early hire contract in Fairfax County. I think she has actually received calls from 5 different principals since interviewing early in May. You are getting a little bit of a late start though with the job search.

[mrspink]

I'm certified in Lang. Arts, Reading and Social Studies for grades 4-9 and I've actually been searching for jobs for a while. But my husband is teaching here in Ohio and he's still not out of school yet so we are going as soon as we can. I've called several schools and we've applied at many and most have said they don't do their hiring until June. At least all the schools we've talked to. My husband actually had an interview 2 weeks ago and should be finding out anytime.

We've actually been job searching for months...sending out resumes and applications etc. I do the best I can with a 5 1/2 month old lol.

Thank you for the response though. It's nice to hear something.

[Green Irish Eyes]

If you haven't already, make sure you're registered with Teachers-Teachers. Enter all your information and make sure you sign up for alerts so that you'll be notified if a job is posted in your geographic/content area.

[mrspink]

I'm already register! That's how we've been finding out about these openings. So we send our resume through there and then go and apply on the school website. It's been a very useful tool!

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by mrspink

I'm certified in Lang. Arts, Reading and Social Studies for grades 4-9 and I've actually been searching for jobs for a while. But my husband is teaching here in Ohio and he's still not out of school yet so we are going as soon as we can. I've called several schools and we've applied at many and most have said they don't do their hiring until June. At least all the schools we've talked to. My husband actually had an interview 2 weeks ago and should be finding out anytime.

We've actually been job searching for months...sending out resumes and applications etc. I do the best I can with a 5 1/2 month old lol.

Thank you for the response though. It's nice to hear something.

Fairfax County won't have their openings posted yet. What I suggested to the person I know who just accepted a job was to call HR and tell them that you will be in the area and would like to interview. She was in the area for a job fair with Prince William County (another you might want to check out) and arranged an interview with Fairfax County. In these counties (I don't know about the others) HR does the hiring and the principals pull from those.

[mrspink]

Thank you for the information. The places I have been calling are the Human Resource offices. Everything is so different from here in Ohio. Here you need to go to the principle or superintendent....Ohio doesn't have county schools. So I've been calling HR offices like crazy, telling them I've filled out my application, sent a resume etc. Northampton seemed interested b/c my husband and I both are looking for jobs and they said since we're a pair, that will be very appealing. But they told me not to expect to hear anything until beginning to mid June.

I will definitely check out Fairfax and Prince William counties though. We weren't really looking into NoVa, but we'll take what we get. I'm not going to be pick! How are they for safety though? It's easy to look up criminal records and see that sort of thing, but it's nice to have the perspective of someone who knows the area (as I've said before). I mean...I live in a small town in Ohio but drive 20 miles south down I75 and it's not too pretty. Crime rates=bad news! So even though it's in the same county as me, I'd never direct someone to live in that city. Suburbs, perhaps...but personally I'd take a 20 minute drive from a small quiet community that is truly safe ANYDAY!