relocating to nc?? hertford county

[mickeyluvr004]

Hi all wondering we are thinking of relocating to hertford county north carolina and wondering where what town. how the schools are? decent houses? we have 2 school age girls ages 7 and 12 we are thinking of relocating within a year.. i am looking to relocate preferably near hertford as my mom has relocated there and she is now finding herself lonely and with the prices going up here for everything and the snow (we live in CT) we want warmer weather..we are willing to deal with the heat hahah... any help would be great.. thanks in advance...

 

[thespouseandi]

Hi
I live not far form Hertford County (actually in a town called Hertford...but it's in Perquimans Co)
And I have lived around here my whole life....
There are several areas in Hertford county, but I'm sure your mother has already filled you in on that...I hate to repeat what you may already know...Very low income area...a majority of public school kids around there (and here) receive free and reduced lunches, but when Nucor came in a few years ago, things picked up for some.
There is a Walmart in Ahoskie...not a super center, and not 24hrs...there is a Piggly Wiggly there, a Lowes food and a Food Lion...in Murfreesboro there is a Food Lion and a Lowes...Winton doesn't have a grocery store...
There are some beautiful areas around...I love Murfreesboro historic homes (we run a race ther during the Watermelon festival)
farming and fishing are big in the area...The Chowan river runs along the border with Gates county....

There are hills in the area...and the soil gets redder over that way

I feel like I'm letting you in on things you already know...ask me anything, and I'll help if I can...enjoy the move!

 

[Disneefun]

I grew up in Ahoskie and still have lots of family that live there, so I visit often. If you can provide some specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them for you. The public schools are frankly not that great. It's a low income area. Most of my family goes to a private school called Ridgecroft and they seem very happy with that.

Housing runs the gamut from newer construction to old, old, old houses. There is a pretty decent price range, although even the "expensive" homes are probably less than you're used to.

 

[mickeyluvr004]

Thanks for your replys now how is Edenton? I would like to be close to Hertford so can you suggest a town with good schools?? thanks again for any and all help we know absolutely nothing about the area.. except that we do enjoy our times when we are down there..

 

[luvmy3jewels]

Edenton is a very pretty small town with a beautiful waterfront and historic district. Shopping is very limited (no big box stores) but you will find a lot more there than Hertford County. Chowan County (Edenton is the County seat) was having some financial difficulties a couple of years ago after their long term Manager left, but I think they have turned that around for the most part.

I don't know much about the public schools, but there is a private school that has a good reputation in Ahoskie (Ridgecroft).

 

[DisneyScraps]

i live nearby and the schools in this area are TERRIBLE.....coming from CT be prepared to be shocked. The curriculum is dumbed down. Some schools look like inner city slums they have problems with class size.

I have my child in private school. I am from RI and was not prepared for how awful the schools are. My DD had to go to public school for one year when her private school closed. I found that she was doing in SECOND grade the same stuff she did in kindergarten in private school and I had her in the best school in the country. They just don't have the bar raised high.

Hertford NC has a VERY bad drug problem. The police there have had a lot of problems in the department so I would not count on the crime getting better soon. There is no shopping, no decent restaurants it's back woods.

You might want to factor in private education because I find that most people that move here from other places move here because the house prices are great and then they have to put their kids in private schools because the public schools are so bad.

The drop out rate in high school is terrible and the schools routinely fail their standardized testing.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but you specifically asked about schools. Don't expect much.

Lisa


.............I had to add in the snarky remark my DBF said. i told him someone was asking about the schools how good they are.....he said "it depends on if you want them to learn how to read or not".............

 

[AliceinMaryland]

I just visited friends in Hertford last week. They moved there a few years ago. I was told it's one of the poorest places in NC. Just driving through the town, it looked bad, things were not upkept, buildings in disrepair.

We stayed in Elizabeth City which is about 20 min. away. Didn't get a good feeling from there either. While at the Walmart in Elizabeth City,I may have seen someone stealing a lip balm while I was in the aisle right beside him!! Which I know can happen anywhere but it didn't give me a good impression. Can't be sure but he was being shady. I don't ever want to go back to the area.

Please do lots of research!!!!

 

[shellcruiser]

I would reinforce the advice of a pp...do your research!! I live in another part of NC (piedmont region). We love it! We have all 4 seasons. We can easily travel to the mountains or the beach for a weekend. Disney world is a 9 hour drive, NY Yankee stadium about the same . Our cost of living is low, so folks with even a modest income can typically have a nice home with a little land. So there's my sales pitch, now I'll tell you the other side. NC schools do not have a good reputation. My husband and I were educated in VA public schools and there is a difference. When we moved 10 years ago we chose an area with some of the best schools in the county. The school's "report cards" are available online and I would recommend you review them. There is a HUGE difference from county to county, and from school to school. We have one child in public school and one in private (middle school). In our area there are MANY choices for both. Sounds like that is not the situation in Hertford county. Fortunately, the private schools in the south are much less expensive than the northeast. Factoring in the cost of private school may not be as scary as it sounds. Another good thing... our Universities are still a great value (Huffington post)

 

[Rexfan]

We live in Hertford, NC( not county), and have had kids in VA schools, private schools, and public. I know everybody's mileage will vary, but this school system has been nothing but nurturing to my kids. The letters of recommendation and encouragement that we have gotten made me cry.

Plus, I can walk to the river to kayak in 2 minutes, and be on the Outer Banks in an hr.

I live right beside the "ghetto" and have had had zero problems. My kids even walk to school!

 

[thespouseandi]

We live in Hertford, NC( not county), and have had kids in VA schools, private schools, and public. I know everybody's mileage will vary, but this school system has been nothing but nurturing to my kids. The letters of recommendation and encouragement that we have gotten made me cry.

Plus, I can walk to the river to kayak in 2 minutes, and be on the Outer Banks in an hr.

I live right beside the "ghetto" and have had had zero problems. My kids even walk to school!

Hello from another PQ-er I can't believe there are two of us up here!


And another poster stated that Elizabeth City was 20 minutes from Hertford...and that is true, but it's about an hour to Hertford County...they are two different places.

A few years ago, Hertford County was the poorest county in the state...but I'm not sure now. I have heard great things about Ridgecroft and Lawenrce Academy (in Bertie County)

We have also lived in Gates Co (Hertford Co's neighbor to the NE) and I prefer that...but there are no stores, and only a couple local resturants...and only a couple stoplights in the whole county...but these are the reasons I like it!

 

[mom2travel]

I am not familiar with the area in which you are looking so can't help with areas, but wanted to give you the website link to look up school districts:

http://www.ncreportcard.com/src/

Just a word of warning... I don't recall which year it was, but there was a change fairly recently to something on the standardized tests that I think makes it looks like scores go down from one year to the next. So I wouldn't look at year to year comparisons, more school to school or district to district w/in the same year.

Good luck!

 

[mickeyluvr004]

Wow thanks for all the info i do have a few questions for all that responded.. one i didnt know that hertford county and hertford were 2 different areas. my mom lives in hertford nc not hertford county. being my husbands line of work we can really move anywhere but i want to be somewhat close to my mom. right now we are 12 hours away so id like to only be less than an hour away. we also were looking into virginia so anyone that can give me areas to look at id welcome that too..
Education is very important to me for my girls so that will be the deciding factor as to where we end up. all the information that i have received has honestly shocked me.. i will be checking into Ridgecroft school also.. we are looking within the next year so i do have time to research all this. Thank you to everyone who has responded and anyone eles that would like to give me some info feel free...

 

[AliceinMaryland]

Look into Chesapeake VA. I don't know about crime or schools there but I hear it's an up and coming and the Southern part of Hampton Roads is developing too.

 

[mickeyluvr004]

We live in Hertford, NC( not county), and have had kids in VA schools, private schools, and public. I know everybody's mileage will vary, but this school system has been nothing but nurturing to my kids. The letters of recommendation and encouragement that we have gotten made me cry.

Plus, I can walk to the river to kayak in 2 minutes, and be on the Outer Banks in an hr.

I live right beside the "ghetto" and have had had zero problems. My kids even walk to school!

may i ask how long have you lived here? if you could name a town you would like to live in besides hertford where would it be where the schools are good? i just would like to make sure my girls get a good education.. Oh yes keeping close to hertford also..

 

[mickeyluvr004]

i live nearby and the schools in this area are TERRIBLE.....coming from CT be prepared to be shocked. The curriculum is dumbed down. Some schools look like inner city slums they have problems with class size.

I have my child in private school. I am from RI and was not prepared for how awful the schools are. My DD had to go to public school for one year when her private school closed. I found that she was doing in SECOND grade the same stuff she did in kindergarten in private school and I had her in the best school in the country. They just don't have the bar raised high.

Hertford NC has a VERY bad drug problem. The police there have had a lot of problems in the department so I would not count on the crime getting better soon. There is no shopping, no decent restaurants it's back woods.

You might want to factor in private education because I find that most people that move here from other places move here because the house prices are great and then they have to put their kids in private schools because the public schools are so bad.

The drop out rate in high school is terrible and the schools routinely fail their standardized testing.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but you specifically asked about schools. Don't expect much.

Lisa


.............I had to add in the snarky remark my DBF said. i told him someone was asking about the schools how good they are.....he said "it depends on if you want them to learn how to read or not".............

Do you mean Hertford County or Hertford itself?? And I thank you for being honest this is exactly what i want to know and i thank you.. If you had to pick a town near Hertford NC where would you pick?

 

[mickeyluvr004]

i live nearby and the schools in this area are TERRIBLE.....coming from CT be prepared to be shocked. The curriculum is dumbed down. Some schools look like inner city slums they have problems with class size.

I have my child in private school. I am from RI and was not prepared for how awful the schools are. My DD had to go to public school for one year when her private school closed. I found that she was doing in SECOND grade the same stuff she did in kindergarten in private school and I had her in the best school in the country. They just don't have the bar raised high.

Hertford NC has a VERY bad drug problem. The police there have had a lot of problems in the department so I would not count on the crime getting better soon. There is no shopping, no decent restaurants it's back woods.

You might want to factor in private education because I find that most people that move here from other places move here because the house prices are great and then they have to put their kids in private schools because the public schools are so bad.

The drop out rate in high school is terrible and the schools routinely fail their standardized testing.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but you specifically asked about schools. Don't expect much.

Lisa


.............I had to add in the snarky remark my DBF said. i told him someone was asking about the schools how good they are.....he said "it depends on if you want them to learn how to read or not".............

Hubby wants to know where in RI are you from?? we are about an hour from Foxwoods and half hour to Hartford CT..

 

[DisneyScraps]

Look into Chesapeake VA. I don't know about crime or schools there but I hear it's an up and coming and the Southern part of Hampton Roads is developing too.

Overcrowded, that traffic is terrible and all the schools have metal detectors I would look in Suffolk.

OP if education is important than Hertford is NOT for you. Even the private schools are mediocre. Don't let anyone tell you to send your kids to The Albermarle School, they use the same curriculum as the public schools. I had my DD there for preschool and she never watched so much TV. I have heard stories about the upper school. One MomI am friend with, their son graduated from there and couldn't do an easy college. Apparently they neglected to teach him math.

How close to your Mom do you want to be? The problem with Hertford is it's an hour and twenty minutes from a major metropolitan area. Edenton is about 15 minutes from Hertford and is much nicer but again the schools, don't expect anything close to what you get in CT. They might look nice but what they teach them and how they teach it is going to leave a lot to desire.

This IS a beautiful area, it's a nice place to live if you don't have kids. I have a nice small town feeling and I like that but I am making plans to move moving, I have no viable high school options for my daughter. There is nothing for them to do in the summer, the county has no programs and this area can be boring as dirt for teens.

I am not native here but there is a joke about all the local girls becoming young mothers, it's an epidemic in my opinion. There is nothing else to do.

I am not a hater, I lived here for almost 20 years but with the situation with the schools being a lot worse than I realized, it's a big, big problem for me.

Feel free to PM me if you like.

Lisa

 

[DisneyScraps]

Hubby wants to know where in RI are you from?? we are about an hour from Foxwoods and half hour to Hartford CT..

East Greenwich....miss it terribly!

Lisa