Norfolk private schools

[Anonymous]

When house hunting please be thoughtful about the potential for flooding. Both Norfolk and VB have particular areas prone to flooding in a Nor'easter storm or a hurricane. One would want to avoid that.

In VB the so-called Pungo Ridge runs from N Great Neck to the south. Those houses generally are safest from flooding. The only place in VB higher than the Pungo Ridge is Mt Trashmore, which is man made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When house hunting please be thoughtful about the potential for flooding. Both Norfolk and VB have particular areas prone to flooding in a Nor'easter storm or a hurricane. One would want to avoid that.

In VB the so-called Pungo Ridge runs from N Great Neck to the south. Those houses generally are safest from flooding. The only place in VB higher than the Pungo Ridge is Mt Trashmore, which is man made.

Would the area near CHC be safe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When house hunting please be thoughtful about the potential for flooding. Both Norfolk and VB have particular areas prone to flooding in a Nor'easter storm or a hurricane. One would want to avoid that.

In VB the so-called Pungo Ridge runs from N Great Neck to the south. Those houses generally are safest from flooding. The only place in VB higher than the Pungo Ridge is Mt Trashmore, which is man made.

Would the area near CHC be safe?

DP. You’re going to want to look at specific properties on a FEMA map. It can vary wildly from one house to another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When house hunting please be thoughtful about the potential for flooding. Both Norfolk and VB have particular areas prone to flooding in a Nor'easter storm or a hurricane. One would want to avoid that.

In VB the so-called Pungo Ridge runs from N Great Neck to the south. Those houses generally are safest from flooding. The only place in VB higher than the Pungo Ridge is Mt Trashmore, which is man made.

Would the area near CHC be safe?

Most of that area is very safe. However, look carefully at any waterfront properties. Many of the waterfront properties along that corridor are only slightly above the high tide water level.

If the land is only 2-3 feet above the high tide water level, it might well flood in a storm. If it is 10+ feet above the water level, then it should be fine. If waterfront, also look at the condition of the bulkhead (if any). Bulkhead replacement can cost substantial sums and might (not sure) also require a Chesapeake Bay Act evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Parts of Alanton and Baycliff are well above flood potential, but some properties near the water are prone to flooding.

On the end of River Road (near the water) there are a number of low lying houses, but the neighborhood bisected by River road - near the HS and Rec Center is high up and very unlikely to flood.

Broad Bay Point Greens, Chelsea, Wimbledon, and Green Hill Farms are maybe 20+ feet above high tide, so should be fine.
FEMA maps are worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

OP, tomorrow is the day to house hunt! With the king tide plus a coastal storm, you’ll see exactly where the problem areas are. Bring your hip waders.

[Anonymous]

Oh. In the City of VB, I think there is only one HOA. It is somewhere along that corridor. All other neighborhood associations in the city are voluntary (i.e. no mandatory fees, and no authority to create rules). Houses in that one HoA generally sell at a discount to similar properties.

Unlike Fairfax County, there are *many* well-maintained public parks throughout the city and the city handles trash/recycle collection for all single family homes. So there is no need for an HOA in VB.

There is a "hidden" nice public park licated between Chelsea and Green Hill Farms, btw. Look for it on a map. Likely most people would drive past the two entrances without noticing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh. In the City of VB, I think there is only one HOA. It is somewhere along that corridor. All other neighborhood associations in the city are voluntary (i.e. no mandatory fees, and no authority to create rules). Houses in that one HoA generally sell at a discount to similar properties.

Unlike Fairfax County, there are *many* well-maintained public parks throughout the city and the city handles trash/recycle collection for all single family homes. So there is no need for an HOA in VB.

There is a "hidden" nice public park licated between Chelsea and Green Hill Farms, btw. Look for it on a map. Likely most people would drive past the two entrances without noticing it.

I had no idea there were so many nice areas and perks of living in VB. We hear of Nova families moving to Richmond for better quality of live all the time but surprisingly not as much about VB.

[Anonymous]

"https://parks.virginiabeach.gov/rec-centers/membership"

City Rec Center membership for residents is $120/year. Much lower cost than Fairfax County. VB has several Rec Centers, including one in Great Neck, but it probably should have more of them.

The city parks include small neighborhood parks scattered around and several larger parks.

There is a set of low-cost recreational sports leagues for various sports run by the city using a mix of VBPS school ball fields (outside the school hours) and city owned park ball fields.

We were surprised how few and much worse the Fairfax County Parks turned out to be when we moved north (moved due to a military job change).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"https://parks.virginiabeach.gov/rec-centers/membership"

City Rec Center membership for residents is $120/year. Much lower cost than Fairfax County. VB has several Rec Centers, including one in Great Neck, but it probably should have more of them.

The city parks include small neighborhood parks scattered around and several larger parks.

There is a set of low-cost recreational sports leagues for various sports run by the city using a mix of VBPS school ball fields (outside the school hours) and city owned park ball fields.

We were surprised how few and much worse the Fairfax County Parks turned out to be when we moved north (moved due to a military job change).

Does VB offer the best neighborhoods east of the tunnel? It looks like some public schools are decent. Not sure if the same could be said for Norfolk, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"https://parks.virginiabeach.gov/rec-centers/membership"

City Rec Center membership for residents is $120/year. Much lower cost than Fairfax County. VB has several Rec Centers, including one in Great Neck, but it probably should have more of them.

The city parks include small neighborhood parks scattered around and several larger parks.

There is a set of low-cost recreational sports leagues for various sports run by the city using a mix of VBPS school ball fields (outside the school hours) and city owned park ball fields.

We were surprised how few and much worse the Fairfax County Parks turned out to be when we moved north (moved due to a military job change).

Does VB offer the best neighborhoods east of the tunnel? It looks like some public schools are decent. Not sure if the same could be said for Norfolk, etc

DP. Depends on what kind of neighborhood you’re looking for. VB has newer, typical suburban neighborhoods like you find all over NOVA. Big box stores and strip malls everywhere.

Norfolk has older, more established neighborhoods with a bit more character. The latter is my preference so I live in Norfolk. I have to drive to VB frequently and I kind of hate it, but many feel the opposite.

[Anonymous]

I live in Norfolk, in the East Beach neighborhood, and our kids have gone to NA from the start (1st grade). We love the school and are happy to have them there.

They attended Cape Henry for PreK 4 and K. We liked that school and the facilities are nice but NA is definitely the #1 school in this area. I would put CHC second but it is so much younger than NA and, to an earlier point, tends to draw from a smaller footprint than NA.

One of my daughters' friends just transferred to NA from Norfolk Collegiate. Their attendance is way down (their grade sizes are tiny!) and I think the school has really taken a turn the last several years. I would put CHC far above it.

I only know about NSA and HRA from people who had kids there, we never considered them due to location.

Public schools in VB are way better than in Norfolk. Our entire neighborhood basically attends private schools, with a few charter schools thrown in there. (Catholic schools and Norfolk Christian in addition to NA, CHC, and Collegiate).

Definitely come visit both the schools and the neighborhoods! I couldn't love where we live more. I can see the beach from my home office and have my toes in the sand in under 30 seconds from my front door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh. In the City of VB, I think there is only one HOA. It is somewhere along that corridor. All other neighborhood associations in the city are voluntary (i.e. no mandatory fees, and no authority to create rules). Houses in that one HoA generally sell at a discount to similar properties.

Unlike Fairfax County, there are *many* well-maintained public parks throughout the city and the city handles trash/recycle collection for all single family homes. So there is no need for an HOA in VB.

There is a "hidden" nice public park licated between Chelsea and Green Hill Farms, btw. Look for it on a map. Likely most people would drive past the two entrances without noticing it.

I had no idea there were so many nice areas and perks of living in VB. We hear of Nova families moving to Richmond for better quality of live all the time but surprisingly not as much about VB.

I've lived in NoVA, Richmond, and now Norfolk. I'd pick Norfolk every time (and I loved Vienna and Richmond).

[Anonymous]

Cox HS and First Colonial HS are often considered the top-2 public HS in VB.

There is also an IB option HS, if one wants IB instead of AP, but I forget which one that is.

VB public schools or Chesapeake public schools usually are better than either Norfolk or Portsmouth public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Norfolk, in the East Beach neighborhood, and our kids have gone to NA from the start (1st grade). We love the school and are happy to have them there.

They attended Cape Henry for PreK 4 and K. We liked that school and the facilities are nice but NA is definitely the #1 school in this area. I would put CHC second but it is so much younger than NA and, to an earlier point, tends to draw from a smaller footprint than NA.

One of my daughters' friends just transferred to NA from Norfolk Collegiate. Their attendance is way down (their grade sizes are tiny!) and I think the school has really taken a turn the last several years. I would put CHC far above it.

I only know about NSA and HRA from people who had kids there, we never considered them due to location.

Public schools in VB are way better than in Norfolk. Our entire neighborhood basically attends private schools, with a few charter schools thrown in there. (Catholic schools and Norfolk Christian in addition to NA, CHC, and Collegiate).

Definitely come visit both the schools and the neighborhoods! I couldn't love where we live more. I can see the beach from my home office and have my toes in the sand in under 30 seconds from my front door.

Very snobby area which lacks in diversity as well. Friendly to others in their socieconomic class but not to others - including members of their own family. That should tell you all you need to know about the values of the people.