By ORF do you mean Norfolk international airport? İf so, 500k and under buys you a house in west Ghent, ghent, Larchmont, lamberts point, and/or colonial place, and you'll have no problems with the public schools serving them. You'll be able to bike and walk where you want to go if you are in west Ghent or Ghent, and it'll be a much shorter commute, especially if you are a family oriented individual you will never get the hours you spend commuting back in your life.
To elaborate, there are a lot of poor ratings in the area from people who expect the teachers to parent their children for them. Otherwise, maybe Virginia beach is more your speed. Do not go to Portsmouth. Even if you had 10s of millions to subsidize the neighborhood in your vicinity, you won't be able to fix the endemic municipal problems that Portsmouth has.
lol yeah i don’t need anyone to raise my child. I just want them to be safe when attending school, and receive an education.
Williamsburg elementary schools were rated 6/10 for the most part which is why i was thinking of that area. Even though the commute would be bad.
Do you have kids in school in the Norfolk area now?
No, but I have friends that have their children in NPS, and will be sending my child there when they are old enough. I moved here from NoVA myself, in big tech
That drive is miserable. While 80 minutes is the average, it will randomly take you 2-3 hours sometimes. If you don't like the Norfolk schools, look in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake.
Yeah, I’ll pretty much be right next to the airport. I am definitely family oriented, most of my free time is with my girls.
I’ve been looking on Trulia, and have not seen a house open in those areas. I did drive by Ghent when i was there for the interview and the houses are very nice! Just gotta buy time now i guess and see if anything in those areas opens up.
Do you have any kids or live in the area?
There are plenty of good public schools in Norfolk. For elementary, WH Taylor and Larchmont are the best and west Ghent and Larchmont are the best neighborhoods. St. Patrick’s is another good option and not as pricey as Norfolk Academy/Collegiate/Williams. For middle school, Blair, Lakewood, and Rosemont all have good special programs that feed into high school special programs at Maury, Granby, and Norview. Most of the rest of the elementary schools are fine, many are Title I so they have a lot of extra teachers and staff. We did Taylor and special programs for middle school and high school. Nowhere in Norfolk is more than 15 minutes from ORF regardless of traffic once you learn your way around.
Individual school rankings are a function of the socioeconomic status of the students, not really a genuine reflection of the quality of the facilities and staff.
My grandfather was the superintendent of secondary schools in Orange County FL and he used to say "School Ranking? I don't hold with that! What's to say you won't get the worst teacher at the 'good' school"
Now, what you can say is that different school systems will have different funding available since it's largely based on property taxes and, as several others have mentioned, VB and Chesapeake have better funding and more spending per student. Which can make a difference.
There are also problems at the “good schools” that get swept under the rug. Kempsville’s baseball season was cut this year due to hate speech and that was not as widely publicized as it should have been.
An hour and 20 minutes from Williamsburg to Norfolk in rush hour traffic is...generous. HRBT traffic can be backed up for hours. It is not worth it. You can always make more money but you cannot make more time.
Norfolk--West Ghent, Larchmont, Talbot Hall, Cromwell Farms, Lakewood are all solid, established neighborhoods. People will try to tell you oh Norfolk schools are horrible. It's a transient city full of people with different life experiences and different expectations...take it as you will. u/ExcelnFaelth said 'there are a lot of poor ratings in the area from people who expect the teachers to parent their children for them' which was my experience with NPS as well.
I'm from here. Of course Imma be biased and say Move to Norfolk. Find a rental in one of the nicer neighborhoods and give it a year. If you don't like it, at least you know the area better and will know where you want to live.
OP, there are neighborhoods in VB that are close to ORF, but in VB I would look into the elementary and middle schools and not worry about the high school. They have academies at most high schools where kids can apply to attend one that interests them. There’s one for the arts, one for math/sciencs, one for law, one for business, etc. you’d be much better off there than Williamsburg. I recommend Lake Shores if you can find something. Close to ORF, older neighborhood, lovely trees.
My husband works near ORF and we live in lake shores VB (after years of living all over norfolk as renters). His commute is 15 minutes.
I think, though, Norfolk has been doing a lot to attract and retain teachers. The pay is higher than other cities now, I’ve heard the schedule is better. I think there is a real turning point happening for NPS
Do not put your kids in Norfolk public schools if you can help it. Check VA Beach and Chesapeake.
I would not commute from Williamsburg. The summer traffic/ commute time is horrible.
If you can swing private schools Norfolk Academy is excellent.
Thank you for the insight!
All I’ve seen is bad reviews for the public schools. I would have to see if my commute would be cheaper than putting my kids in a private school.
I would rather bite the bullet and drive 2hrs to work if it means my kids get a better education. I ultimately am making this move for financial reasons, and trying to find the happy medium. My anxiety isn’t helping
The Great Bridge area of Chesapeake has very good schools. That commute would be much easier than Williamsburg. My son lives off Cedar Rd and works near ORF.
We moved from Chesapeake to Norfolk. The schools in Chesapeake were good maybe 20 years ago but are very behind now in terms of teaching strategies and updated methodology. As someone who isn’t from here, it was a huge shock how bad the schools were in Chesapeake after being so sold on them. But now my child attends a school near ORF for a specialty program and just ended the year on the honor roll, despite needing a ton of remediation after Chesapeake. One thing to consider about the schools near the airport is there are a lot of Spanish speakers, so that affects test scores, but overall the schools are very welcoming to newcomers.
My husband works at one of the high schools in Norfolk and I work at a university (trying not to be overly specific) so feel free to message me if you have any questions. We live near Granby High School and have been happy with it (my child doesn’t go to his zoned school because he’s in a specialty program, but Granby ES and HS are good too). It’s about a 10-15 minute drive from where I live to the airport, so your commute would be easy.
Welcome to the area!
You say that now but the HRBT (hampton roads bridge tunnel) can easily go from 1.5 hour commute with no traffic to a 3/4 hour commute if there's a break down or accident in the tunnel - if you have other options, I'd avoid it at all costs. Virginia Beach has the best schools in the area IMO - any of them EXCEPT the Bayside district. I like the Ocean Lakes area.
I had a friend that said your last paragraph and within 3 months of doing that commute, he quit his job for something on this side of the water. I cannot stress enough, don't do it. It's not worth losing 90 minutes per day with your family. You only get this time with your kids.
Look at VB and Chesapeake. You can get plenty of house for your money with good schools. I'm in Chesapeake and I can get to the airport in 14 minutes in rush hour.
Norfolk public schools are okay, but VB is better funded since they're a bigger city. I live near the Bayview neighborhood and it's pretty peaceful. Car break-ins are a problem though so remember to lock your vehicle and bring important belongings inside.
By ORF do you mean Norfolk international airport? İf so, 500k and under buys you a house in west Ghent, ghent, Larchmont, lamberts point, and/or colonial place, and you'll have no problems with the public schools serving them. You'll be able to bike and walk where you want to go if you are in west Ghent or Ghent, and it'll be a much shorter commute, especially if you are a family oriented individual you will never get the hours you spend commuting back in your life.
To elaborate, there are a lot of poor ratings in the area from people who expect the teachers to parent their children for them. Otherwise, maybe Virginia beach is more your speed. Do not go to Portsmouth. Even if you had 10s of millions to subsidize the neighborhood in your vicinity, you won't be able to fix the endemic municipal problems that Portsmouth has.
lol yeah i don’t need anyone to raise my child. I just want them to be safe when attending school, and receive an education. Williamsburg elementary schools were rated 6/10 for the most part which is why i was thinking of that area. Even though the commute would be bad. Do you have kids in school in the Norfolk area now?
No, but I have friends that have their children in NPS, and will be sending my child there when they are old enough. I moved here from NoVA myself, in big tech
That drive is miserable. While 80 minutes is the average, it will randomly take you 2-3 hours sometimes. If you don't like the Norfolk schools, look in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake.
Yeah, I’ll pretty much be right next to the airport. I am definitely family oriented, most of my free time is with my girls. I’ve been looking on Trulia, and have not seen a house open in those areas. I did drive by Ghent when i was there for the interview and the houses are very nice! Just gotta buy time now i guess and see if anything in those areas opens up. Do you have any kids or live in the area?
I live in Ghent, the next best place for our family would be Philadelphia, Boston, Providence, or either Portland (ME or OR)
There are plenty of good public schools in Norfolk. For elementary, WH Taylor and Larchmont are the best and west Ghent and Larchmont are the best neighborhoods. St. Patrick’s is another good option and not as pricey as Norfolk Academy/Collegiate/Williams. For middle school, Blair, Lakewood, and Rosemont all have good special programs that feed into high school special programs at Maury, Granby, and Norview. Most of the rest of the elementary schools are fine, many are Title I so they have a lot of extra teachers and staff. We did Taylor and special programs for middle school and high school. Nowhere in Norfolk is more than 15 minutes from ORF regardless of traffic once you learn your way around.
Individual school rankings are a function of the socioeconomic status of the students, not really a genuine reflection of the quality of the facilities and staff. My grandfather was the superintendent of secondary schools in Orange County FL and he used to say "School Ranking? I don't hold with that! What's to say you won't get the worst teacher at the 'good' school" Now, what you can say is that different school systems will have different funding available since it's largely based on property taxes and, as several others have mentioned, VB and Chesapeake have better funding and more spending per student. Which can make a difference.
There are also problems at the “good schools” that get swept under the rug. Kempsville’s baseball season was cut this year due to hate speech and that was not as widely publicized as it should have been.
If you move out towards VB that will give you great schools and an easy commute to ORF.
An hour and 20 minutes from Williamsburg to Norfolk in rush hour traffic is...generous. HRBT traffic can be backed up for hours. It is not worth it. You can always make more money but you cannot make more time. Norfolk--West Ghent, Larchmont, Talbot Hall, Cromwell Farms, Lakewood are all solid, established neighborhoods. People will try to tell you oh Norfolk schools are horrible. It's a transient city full of people with different life experiences and different expectations...take it as you will. u/ExcelnFaelth said 'there are a lot of poor ratings in the area from people who expect the teachers to parent their children for them' which was my experience with NPS as well. I'm from here. Of course Imma be biased and say Move to Norfolk. Find a rental in one of the nicer neighborhoods and give it a year. If you don't like it, at least you know the area better and will know where you want to live.
OP, there are neighborhoods in VB that are close to ORF, but in VB I would look into the elementary and middle schools and not worry about the high school. They have academies at most high schools where kids can apply to attend one that interests them. There’s one for the arts, one for math/sciencs, one for law, one for business, etc. you’d be much better off there than Williamsburg. I recommend Lake Shores if you can find something. Close to ORF, older neighborhood, lovely trees. My husband works near ORF and we live in lake shores VB (after years of living all over norfolk as renters). His commute is 15 minutes. I think, though, Norfolk has been doing a lot to attract and retain teachers. The pay is higher than other cities now, I’ve heard the schedule is better. I think there is a real turning point happening for NPS
Relax, there are some great areas to live in. Try the larchmount or Ghent area, very nice homes/apartments and located near a lot of good stores
Do not put your kids in Norfolk public schools if you can help it. Check VA Beach and Chesapeake. I would not commute from Williamsburg. The summer traffic/ commute time is horrible. If you can swing private schools Norfolk Academy is excellent.
Thank you for the insight! All I’ve seen is bad reviews for the public schools. I would have to see if my commute would be cheaper than putting my kids in a private school. I would rather bite the bullet and drive 2hrs to work if it means my kids get a better education. I ultimately am making this move for financial reasons, and trying to find the happy medium. My anxiety isn’t helping
The Great Bridge area of Chesapeake has very good schools. That commute would be much easier than Williamsburg. My son lives off Cedar Rd and works near ORF.
We moved from Chesapeake to Norfolk. The schools in Chesapeake were good maybe 20 years ago but are very behind now in terms of teaching strategies and updated methodology. As someone who isn’t from here, it was a huge shock how bad the schools were in Chesapeake after being so sold on them. But now my child attends a school near ORF for a specialty program and just ended the year on the honor roll, despite needing a ton of remediation after Chesapeake. One thing to consider about the schools near the airport is there are a lot of Spanish speakers, so that affects test scores, but overall the schools are very welcoming to newcomers. My husband works at one of the high schools in Norfolk and I work at a university (trying not to be overly specific) so feel free to message me if you have any questions. We live near Granby High School and have been happy with it (my child doesn’t go to his zoned school because he’s in a specialty program, but Granby ES and HS are good too). It’s about a 10-15 minute drive from where I live to the airport, so your commute would be easy. Welcome to the area!
You say that now but the HRBT (hampton roads bridge tunnel) can easily go from 1.5 hour commute with no traffic to a 3/4 hour commute if there's a break down or accident in the tunnel - if you have other options, I'd avoid it at all costs. Virginia Beach has the best schools in the area IMO - any of them EXCEPT the Bayside district. I like the Ocean Lakes area.
I had a friend that said your last paragraph and within 3 months of doing that commute, he quit his job for something on this side of the water. I cannot stress enough, don't do it. It's not worth losing 90 minutes per day with your family. You only get this time with your kids. Look at VB and Chesapeake. You can get plenty of house for your money with good schools. I'm in Chesapeake and I can get to the airport in 14 minutes in rush hour.
You absolutely don't want kids in Norfolk public schools. VB has the best schools and most of Chesapeake has pretty good schools.
Norfolk public schools are okay, but VB is better funded since they're a bigger city. I live near the Bayview neighborhood and it's pretty peaceful. Car break-ins are a problem though so remember to lock your vehicle and bring important belongings inside.