Hi all! I haven't been on CC in a very long while! I am glad I am back! It appears that my position may be transferring to Ft. Lee. I am trying to find out if any of you live near that area and have any words of wisdom as far as housing/elementary schools. I am scared beyond belief and am hoping there are other CCer's out there with some information.

Also, is VA a cottage law state where it's legal to sale baked goods from your home?

Any advice, tips, words of wisdom, etc would be WONDERFULLY SWEET!!!

~SB~

Welcome to VA! You can bake from your home. The phone number to the department of agriculture is 804-786-3520. They will send you a packet of info on what you need to do to get an inspection.

thanks. where abouts are you located?? i am hoping i can get some area info... so nervous. We are not there yet, but its looking pretty certain it will happen, as our agency has relocated headquarters there!

I am in Chesapeake VA. I think that it is about an hour away from there depending on the traffic.

My daughter-in-law's mother works with Chesapeake's public schools in the administration office. From what I hear, there are some pretty good schools in the area. Her dad and brother both teach in the school system there. Housing in that area can be pretty expensive, but I don't know how it compares to the area you are coming from. We have visited there a few times and really like it.

i think Ft. Lee is closer to Richmond. I have just started looking so I am not sure really.

Ft Lee is actually near Petersburg. I'm originally from Richmond, so I have been that way a fair amount, since my grandparents lived in southern VA. For quite some time, they've had a rather depressed economy down there, but it may be better now, since I moved away from Richmond about 20 years ago.

We do have an ICES chapter in VA, and we tend to meet in Richmond, since it's so central. It would probably be an hour away for you.

cool, thanks so much!

I'm in Richmond, and from what I know about the Petersburg area, there isn't one public school that's accredited by the state there. It's pretty dismal. That might have changed last year, but there's a high number of home-schoolers in the area because of that.

What I would advise you to do is get out a map and look into areas in southern Chesterfield county, since it's a different public school system. Get a realtor who will send you the school scores and go from there. Chesterfield has some good public school options once they get to the upper grades of elementary school and middle school, but I'd stay away from Petersburg if you're looking at public schools.

Are you going to be working at Fort Lee or just in the area?

Edited to add: I just looked it up, and there are two elementary schools that have been accredited in the last two years, and one high school. They're trying but it's slow progress and with the budget cuts our lovely Governor is making to education I don't know how they're going to keep any momentum.