Need help!! Moving to Williamsburg (Newport News, Hampton: renters, condos, crime)

[williamsburgfan]

powhatan subdivisions are nice. Almost everything in JCC is nice - that is why people want to move here! you probably should ask what schools do children in a neighborhood attend as opposed to what schools are close - sometimes the closest school is not the attendance school. we are in the process of building the 3rd HS and 8th elementary. contact the school division about school zones - once new schools open the redisticting will take effect. the county has about 59K people and is basically older rural areas OR subdivisions. a few pockets of lower end housing and those are also the most crime ridden. not to say that crime doesn't occur in all types of neighborhoods - it does. our overall crime rate is low - especially compared to neighboring areas such as newport news and hampton. schools good and cost of living high. there is a huge difference between the "haves" and "have nots" - many retirees who are past-CEO and military officer types, education level higher than average and many professionals. outdoor recreation is abundant. we have just a few fine restaurants that are not chains, the college offers some events but basically we have almost no nightlife other than 1 movie - another is planned, will be interesting to see if they can both compete. it is 20-30 minutes to hampton or newport news, 45-60 to richmond and va beach, depending on your start and stop locations,

you need to visit the area, drive through neighborhoods and look at houses and find your fit. something for everyone, you can't get more info on the area better than a visit.

check out the websites for The City of williamsburg and james city county.

[Cattknap]

Williamsburg crime is not "non-existent" as has been stated here. The overall crime index is just over the national average. The cost of living is quite a bit (around 25%) higher than the national average.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/Neighbor...illiamsburg,VA

[williamsburgfan]

I'm glad cattknap is pointing out again the cost of living. As i and others have said the cost of living is high - I've read many posts anf get the impression many do not know this. it is hard to move here and rent or buy at the low end of the housing market. supply and demand. our schools and low crime and recreation attract many newcomers. jobs are usually service industry and many of those workers can't afford to live in williamsburg or james city county.

i've always said our crime is low, not non-existent - it is MUCH better than neighboring areas. most of crime is petty stuff, drugs and domestic. very few homocides - a few a year at most and they are usually not stranger on stranger. we had some car break-ins a few week-ends where a group of males from hampton drove up and broke into UNLOCKED cars parked in driveways and took whatever they could. no home invasions on unlocked cars. this group operated in many areas and apparently has been apprehended. some bank robberies. teenage drinking and partying - just about what you would expect from any community. it is safe, you can walk around most anyplace at night, many years ago you didn't have to lock doors - of course now we do. the many tourists to the area are an asset to the economy and rarely see or hear about a crime. perfect? of course not. FAR better than most areas for quality of life issues.

[Cattknap]

Williamsburgfan we always feel safe when we go there - we stay in Colonial Williamsburg and walk all over town - in and out of the historic district - late at night after shows, concerts, etc....we never feel unsafe.

We have looked extensively in Williamsburg for a retirement spot...we do not like new homes, the sameness of subdivisions, the garages in front, the tiny lots, etc....our very favorite places are Queen's Lake and Windsor Forrest (where each home is custom built) for the charm and ambience of the neighborhoods (Queen's Lake in particular has such quiet winding streets (no through traffic, no additional building, mature trees, the marina, the wonderful park next door, the access directly off of the parkway and so close to Colonial Williamsburg)....our realtor, who lives in Queen's Lake says that King's Mill has surprisingly higher crime than you might think - it is absolutely no problem getting through the gates - you just tell the guards you are there to look around, robbing a home or two and then exiting out of one of the side exits and on to the freeway or highway.

[kcrossley]

When you say "it's very expensive to live in Williamsburg" are you primarily referring to housing or is everything more expensive (fuel, groceries, merchandise, taxes, utilities, etc.)? When I did my research on housing, I found that Richmond was more expensive (especially Glen Allen and the close in suburbs), which is why we focused on Williamsburg and the surrounding areas. Was I mistaken?

Also, are local salaries commensurate with the cost of living? If not, what is the closest, highest producing income city (Richmond, Norfolk, etc.)?

[williamsburgfan]

catt - look for a new realtor. yours is either 1) incompetent or 2) lying

you can not get in Kingsmill by saying you want to look around. you can get in by going to the resort - you are given a resort pass for your windshield. if you drive into the residential areas security escorts you out if they get a call or see you while making rounds. the resort is public and many visiotrs a day are in and out. CAN a housebreak happen? sure. DOES it? No, or rarely, from anyone outside the neighborhood.

as in anything do your research, i know this is a big decision for you. call the County PD and get stats. crime does happen everywhere - what type is important. A big problem is tennagers with disposable incomes - a lot of them here. they aren't breaking into homes, they are drinking, doing drugs and petty property damage.

anyone can walk into Kingsmill or any neighborhood. I love both queens lake and windsor forest - have mentioned them on this website. neither is very popular with retirees it seems, most want golf and organized recreation. if you do not both of these neighborhoods offer decent housing. Did your realtor tell you that QL had major water issues for the past years - fire service a mess, hydrants out of order, water in houses suspect, and york county kind of treats it as the wicked stepchild? if you have driven through in the last year you saw the crews working to finally bring the water service up to date. taxes higher in YC and many oldtimers leaving QL due to maintenance. I have many friends who were original owners, they got tired of upkeep on old house - and the need to remodel since the older designs don't fit current lifestyle. personal decision - it is beautiful. the clubhouse is in need or renovating - i hope they do it soon and leave the nice windows. it is much easier to break into WF or Ql than kingsmill or fords colony - but all are rare. i would not base my housing chocie on crime since all of them are VERY low. QL does not appreciate as quickly or sell as quickly so know that.

anyplace is close to CW, as you know FC and kingsmill closer than QL, but in reality what is 5-10 minutes? Unless you are working or volunteering at CW you will find you don't go daily.

QL will be close to the new mall by water country.

KC-
James city county is expensive both in housing and auto gas. always .15-.20 less in roichmond or newport news. gas utility and electric same, water is more, taxes less. is it a wash? Maybe. if the finite diferences are that important i don't know if you can figure it out exactly. how much you drive you can pinpint - will you leave the area daily? will you go to the beach or concerts or fine dining 60 miles away? we pay for a nice, quiet community.

[Cattknap]

Our realtor wasn't lying (what a bizarre thing to say)...she really knows her stuff and has lived in Williamsburg for a long time - she has no reason to lie - she showed us homes in Kingsmill and said it was a lovely place to live but said that crime is higher there than in Queen's Lake which sounds logical given the layout of each development - logical, not suspect.

My husband and I have driven through Kingsmill many times - we just tell the guard we are thinking of moving there and want to drive around - we have never had a problem getting in.

I get copies of the Queen's Lake newsletter and have been keeping up with their problems with putting in sewers, water, etc. They have had a lot of problems with algae in the lake also. There are quite a few retirees that live in Queen's Lake actually (according to their Association president) - the park offers great hiking (we have taken some lovely, long hikes there) and the marina offers boating....golf is 5 minutes away....we have spent a lot of time in Williamsburg and are pretty familiar with it. We have been in some of the unremodeled homes in Queen's Lake and the ones we have seen are made from quality materials...they need new kitchens and bathrooms, paint and the hardwood floors need to be redone....these are things we have done to our current house with no problems, so turning an older home into a treasure is something we have done, like doing and get a lot of satisfaction from. There are also quite a few homes that have been completely remodeled and would fit quite nicely into our lifestyle. Give me an older custom home with all it's warts any day over the boring clone homes they are building now.

If we move to Willimsburg I will be volunteering at CW- my background is in historic house museum education. I feel like Queen's Lake is actually closer to CW because there is less traffic getting there than from King's Mill - the parkway is usually not very crowded although I know that is changing.

[Mr Williamsburg]

Just to clarify a post I made earlier concerning the crime rate. I live in an ungated neighborhood. I cannot remember the last home or auto breakin that occurred. Our zip code is 23188 when you look at the crime rate for that zip code you will find :

Total Crime Index 2.3/ 3.60
Personal Crime Index 3/ 3.43

The second number is the national average. Crime rates for 23185 which is the city of Williamsburg and the eastern part of James City County and York County are slightly higher.

If you look at the city averages for Hampton you find the following:
Total Crime Index 3.7/ 3.60
Personal Crime Index 5/ 3.43

Newport News is:
Total Crime Index 7/ 3.60
Personal Crime Index 7/ 3.43

There are lot of areas in Hampton and Newport News with lower crime rates.

As I said I just wanted to correct my earlier statement.

[Mr Williamsburg]

Powhatan Secondary. Approx 750 homes. Built from 1990 to 2006. There are different areas within. Some have .20 acre lots some over 1/2 acre. Has a community swimming pool, clubhouse, trails, lakes. Non Gated. Lots of kids. Homes range in price from $350k-$800k +. and from 2000-4000 + sq feet in size. Very close to the shopping at Monticello Marketplace which has Target, Ukrops(grocery), resturants, banks, cleaners, etc. Also with a mile of New Town. Approx 3 miles from the Colonial Area. Very convenient access from Rt 199.

Powhatan Crossing: Built from 1990-2000, Homes range in price from $275k-$375k, 1400-2700 sq feet. No neighborhood amenities. Very Close to "Five Forks" intersection of Rt 5 & Ironbound. Farm Fresh/ Starbucks close. Other shopping and New Town is within a few miles . Colonial Williamsburg is close as well.

[kcrossley]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly does "gated community" mean? I know that a lot of communities in the Williamsburg area have nice gated entrances, and even security guard buildings, but you can drive right through.