Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
part of the reason New Town is attracting groups of teens is that there is nothing else for them do at night. I have posted before - we have great outdoor recreation - NO NIGHTLIFE. since these are kinds 14-17, usually no car and no place else to congregate.
MOSTLY they are harmless, there are a few who have been trouble. One 14 yo did push an officer - which is assault - when the officer was working the area. this is wrong and i am heartened that the PD can and will address the situation.
i go to the movies weekly, and never feel unsafe. 10 teen-agers together doesn't bother me. the groups walking along ironbound toward rt 60 are an issue - they have taken the fights off New Town property. this is much more a concern to me.
a few things to consider: since our crime rate is so low, it makes the news when a 14yo pushes an officer. in most other areas like hampton and newport news 1 incident like this would not be headline news. we have a twice a week paper - not daily, so even if evrey other paper had a headline about a fight (it does not) that would be 2 a week.
we have much more crimes related to drugs - as does everywhere. we have very little stranger-on-stranger crime.
as i've said before, crime is low, all areas have problems and all areas have teens. we have a lot of bored teens with nothing to do at night. once the weather breaks i would expect more teens hanging out at night at New Town. The owners and the PD will handle this. The new movie theatre in High street in a few years will go through the same growing pains.
as the weather breaks and it gets warmer and days longer the kids can go to the river, have pick up games, enjoy the skate park, etc so a little more to do - the attraction of "hanging out" at the movies will still be high on the list. this a small community with no nightlife and loads of families with kids.
Williamsburgfan - I don't entirely blame the kids - some parents are really dropping the ball (a universal problem). Do you remember reading about the Pimp and Ho party at Ford's Colony (a teen party) - made the newspaper last year....what were those parent's thinking? Things aren't perfect in Williamsburg, but I completely agree that they are better there than many places. There are more and more good services in Williamsburg and many more planned...just hope the place doesn't lose it's charm. From what I have read they have a pretty good police department...what are your feelings on this?
Personally, I always blame the parents, for children are products of their environments and upbringing, end of story. I thought at first that Newtown was going to be great, now I don't think so. I think that since parents rather not bother..insert reason here...usually selfish ones, we will have a growing problem down the road, as more families move in, more crime...children who are not supervised is my biggest pet peeve. I have lived in nice areas, and you still have to watch your children, not let them fend for themselves against the elements that are out there. I firmly believe in organized activities and visiting the parents when our children play, at all times. I will do so for a long long time...till I can at least educate on my child on predators and their tactics as well perhaps getting a few degrees/belts in the marital arts field. Yes, some call me overprotective, I call myself sane and wise, and at least I know where my children are and aren't...
How about giving some of these kids a little credit? From what we have experienced since relocating here several months ago, many families (like ours) have actually made a very conscious decision to move to Williamsburg to raise their children. From what we have seen, the majority of kids in and around Williamsburg (including those "hanging out" at New Town as this is indeed one of the main places for teens to have fun...movies, etc...) are really well-mannered young men and women just looking to spend time with their friends. The other place we've noticed kids "hanging out" is at the big wooden park across from Monticello Marketplace. We've taken our kids there several times late at night...after long days of house hunting...to get a little of that pent-up energy out of their system before bedtime. We have been VERY thankful that Williamsburg has such a beautiful park/playground for kids of ALL ages and that it's well-lit at night so families can enjoy more time together and kids have a reasonably safe alternative to hanging out at a strip mall. When we were at that park one night a few weeks ago, there was a group of about 12 (probably high school age) teens sitting at the park talking. We were there with our kids for quite awhile and did not observe any wrongdoing or mischeif going on. As the parent of teens, we're usually pretty good at picking up such shinanigans, despite the kids' efforts to disguise things.
My point is, in general Williamsburg seems to be the kind of place where kids are overall pretty decent. Many of their parents have picked this area because of schools or a desire to have more time together as a family (ie...this area compared to Richmond or other cities is far less congested and offers people a lot of leisure activities to enjoy with their kids). I've taken our kids out on the John boats at York River State Park and seen other teens enjoying an afternoon together there, too. I really get the impression that many of these kids come from families where discipline and respect are highly valued. Living here, many of their "role models" are young hard-working students at William & Mary, retired or active duty military men and women, and other successful profressionals.
Don't get me wrong...I am not one to live my life with blinders on and don't doubt for one second that kids going out on a pond in a row boat could certainly be out there smoking whatever kids smoke these days or hanging out at the park waiting for one friend to call and say "the coast is clear" at their house tonight. But, that will happen anywhere. In these ways, I definitely agree with the last post about checking up on your kids and being involved in their activities. Still, it's nice to know that if you've trained your kids well and they have their head on as straight as any adolescent can, NOT all will get into trouble and MANY will be an asset to our community. Perhaps as New Town grows, you'll find more young urban families choosing to live in a place where their kids can walk and take the bus to things. My husband, having grown up in NYC, would certainly be an advocate of this. If a community is indeed going to be diverse - which New Town will be if it's truely the modern urban community it's planned to be - then we should be THANKFUL there are kids "hanging out" there and that the sense of community will be such that people will know their neighbors well and kids will grow up knowing that adults other than their parents are keeping a watchful eye on their goings-on.
In regards to New Town, I do think it should be mentioned that the community is far from complete. With only the first permanent residents there now, it's probably too early to determine how much "trouble" there will be with kids left unsupervised. I suspect, as I mentioned before, that once more residents have moved in the community with have a much stronger bond and it will become more and more difficult for kids to cause more than the average "trouble".
To be honest, my major concern about New Town is that not enough families WILL move in and that the kids that are living there won't have enough friends right in the neighborhood to get to know well. It's clear that young professionals will want to live there. Having known several families in Celebration, Florida, I would hope that more families also make the decision to call New Town home. I wish there were a few more floor plans with 3 or 4 bedrooms, or 2800 square feet, instead of the two extremes (1800 sq. ft. and 3000 sq. ft.). I'm sure that would attract families of more diverse size.
Also...does anyone living there already know what the current plan is for the irrigation of the landscaping? We have been there with a realtor twice and were very surprised to learn that there are no in-ground sprinklers! The developer says that the HOA dues include maintenance of the landscaping, but the grass is all dying and there is no plan that we could find for them to add sprinklers. Our fear is that this will be put off until the HOA is taken over by the residents, at which time there will have to be a costly assessment added when sprinklers have to be put in after the fact. Not to mention the hassle and inconvenience of having your landscaping torn up again when they need to go back and put the irrigation in. We noticed a few current residents have chosen to water their lawns with hoses and sprinklers the "old fashioned way", but this seemed dangerous and costly, too. The hoses are draped across sidewalks where someone could trip and fall and the residents should not be paying extra on their water bills to maintain the landscaping they are already paying the HOA to do. If the maintenance-free living is supposed to be an asset to buying in this community, then certainly you should receive maintenance-free living!
For what it's worth...we did notice in-ground sprinklers by the Barnes & Noble. Our suspicion would be that such a big name anchor store insisted on the proper maintenance before signing on. Perhaps this is what individual homeowners should be doing, but if that's not consistant as the community grows, eventually the HOA will want to add that irrigation and even those who have existing systems will likely pay into that cost.
HI...I have lived in Williamsburg since 1982 and I am moving from one subdivision here to another...I stumbled across this site and I see a lot of questions and not really a lot of answers from people who LIVE here, so I thought I'd try to help.
I am married with 3 children (ages 12, 10, 6) just FYI
As far as Powhatan Secondary goes....it's the developement next to where I live. It is nice.......some older some newer homes. It has a clubhouse and a pool and playground.
I am not sure of the schools, BUT for our area...just so everyone out there knows- because Williamsburg is growing so much, we are CONSTANTLY redistricting schools. Not so much that the kids are never making friends, but enough where I would say don't base your developement you choose on what schools you want! My kids have gone to DJ Montague (which we loved) and now are at Clara Byrd Baker (which we love). I have friends at Matoaka Elementary (newest school and the most high-tech, but I've heard they have problems with families feeling 'welcome' ...not sure what that means, but about 4 women have said that to me). My son goes to James Blair...I honestly prefer Berkeley! Jamestown High School is great ....Lafayette not as much...Warhill is brand new.
The only area of Williamsburg I wouldn't really want to live in would be over by Merrimac Trail......that whole side. I prefer areas off of Monticello Ave or places off of Jamestown Rd or John Tyler (rt 5) Also nice :Governor's Land (by far the MOST pricey/affluent), Ford's Colony (but they have a very bad school districting right now that probably will be one NOT to change), and Kingsmill...older homes now, but very nice/guard gate/swim and tennis clubs/beach/boats/etc.
I would NEVER live in Newport News. Fine for shopping, but not living. Same with Norfolk.
Also...someone talked about Stonehouse, and it IS nice, BUT.....it's out in the 'boonies'. I would be aggravated living that far out. Yes, it is building up a bit, but unless my kids were going to attend Williamsburg Christian Acadamy and I would have to drive them every day, I can't see a reason to live there...it's pricey and yet far away...I'd sooner choose Ford's Colony, Kingsmill or definitely Greensprings Plantation or Greensprings West (they all have golf courses/clubhouses/pools and are very close to everything and comparably priced.)
Hope this helps someone.
HI...I have lived in Williamsburg since 1982 and I am moving from one subdivision here to another...I stumbled across this site and I see a lot of questions and not really a lot of answers from people who LIVE here, so I thought I'd try to help.
I am married with 3 children (ages 12, 10, 6) just FYI
As far as Powhatan Secondary goes....it's the developement next to where I live. It is nice.......some older some newer homes. It has a clubhouse and a pool and playground.
I am not sure of the schools, BUT for our area...just so everyone out there knows- because Williamsburg is growing so much, we are CONSTANTLY redistricting schools. Not so much that the kids are never making friends, but enough where I would say don't base your developement you choose on what schools you want! My kids have gone to DJ Montague (which we loved) and now are at Clara Byrd Baker (which we love). I have friends at Matoaka Elementary (newest school and the most high-tech, but I've heard they have problems with families feeling 'welcome' ...not sure what that means, but about 4 women have said that to me). My son goes to James Blair...I honestly prefer Berkeley! Jamestown High School is great ....Lafayette not as much...Warhill is brand new.
The only area of Williamsburg I wouldn't really want to live in would be over by Merrimac Trail......that whole side. I prefer areas off of Monticello Ave or places off of Jamestown Rd or John Tyler (rt 5) Also nice :Governor's Land (by far the MOST pricey/affluent), Ford's Colony (but they have a very bad school districting right now that probably will be one NOT to change), and Kingsmill...older homes now, but very nice/guard gate/swim and tennis clubs/beach/boats/etc.
I would NEVER live in Newport News. Fine for shopping, but not living. Same with Norfolk.
Also...someone talked about Stonehouse, and it IS nice, BUT.....it's out in the 'boonies'. I would be aggravated living that far out. Yes, it is building up a bit, but unless my kids were going to attend Williamsburg Christian Acadamy and I would have to drive them every day, I can't see a reason to live there...it's pricey and yet far away...I'd sooner choose Ford's Colony, Kingsmill or definitely Greensprings Plantation or Greensprings West (they all have golf courses/clubhouses/pools and are very close to everything and comparably priced.)
Hope this helps someone.
Any thoughts on the sub division "Wellington"? Have you heard anything about the new HS Warhill?
Thanks
Wellington is a fine subdivision - almost all here are.
A note - the schools are good and not constantly redistricting. We have done that twice in the last 10 years - a preoduct of new schools and growth. We had 1 high school until not quite 10 yr ago, now we have 3.
Warhill HS is a nice campus - new school, growing pains just like anywhere else. The JCC and Williamsburg communties are a nice place to raise a family, retire, go to school. Good quality of life and outdoor recreation. Not much nightlife, can get that 30-60 minutes away.
Wellington is adding a community pool and clubhouse construction should start this year. There are some great values there if you are looking at purchasing. There are 25 homes currently offered for sale priced from $349k to $565K. We have many friend with children at Warhill who are very pleased with the school. Without a senior class they haven't been that successful in sports. That should start changing in a few years. Thomas Nelson Community College should open next year giving Warhill students another option at advanced college level classes . Thomas Nelson Community College
Thank you for your input on Wellington, we closed on Friday and I was looking for some insider information.
I have a 9th grader & 7th grader going into the schools in the fall. Possibly 2 more into colleges (if they get accepted into Thomas Nelson and Old Dominion).
We have been looking for 9 years in different areas of VA and with the current real estate market, it is the perfect time to buy. Williamsburg offered everything we were looking for, and more.
I was wondering if anyone had experiences with moving and how the kids at the Williamsburg schools treated the "new kids"? Also, does anyone have children in the "gifted" program, if so I would love to hear your comments on that program.
Thanks!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
wellington
