Reviews & Comments
Roanoke, VA
re: Not a great place to live - 8/12/2014 -
9/16/2014I work in WIlliamsburg and Live in Yorktown and the employment picture really is no different here. It is more subtle and because this is a competing with the Jones kind of place no one will talk about there misfortunes. There is building but all are slow to fill and so many businesses are shutting down throughout the area compared to 5-10 years ago. 8 years ago Yorktown was a city where people bought $4-500k houses whenever the sign went into the front yard,without seeing the inside just to get a house in the York county school districts. Now the papers have not listed a York sale transaction over $350k in a 1-2 months. I am pretty sure Maggy Moos when out of business in New town here as well. But overpriced ice cream is going to be an early casualty of a weak economy.
Yorktown, VA
Odd coming from South Florida to Yorktown -
9/16/2014Economy here is mixed. Zoning is a poorly planned mix of hidden business and houses on the main roads with mixed older dilapidated housing next door to larger, newer construction. The are severely lacks sidewalks and construction projects seem to make no sense. Speed limits are 40 mph on my residential street and 35 mph on the main road (Rt 17). Housing selection is nice but the market is very soft right now. Schools are supposedly great.
Businesses on the Rt 17 are opening and closing like a revolving door with increasing vacancy.
Shopping centers have been slow to update facades but there has been some new construction and renovation.
Overall this is a sleepy bedroom community that is loosing a battle for new residential growth with Williamsburg. From what little I know of local politics, many never wanted the community to become the suburban bedroom community out of a semi rural county.
My review sounds negative, but the draw here is the schools are better than the rest of the area, the Parks are nice with decent Parks and Rec programs that are on par with most metro areas. None of the parks are accessible by bike or sidewalks though.
The area is central to Bush Gardens and the Norfolk/Va Beach metro area.
With the housing market weakness, waterfront property is becoming in reach for more people.
Yorktown historic area is a great place for walks, with a nice small beach and a fishing pier.