alise007

Hubby has a very decent chance in getting a job in Norfolk (near the airport). Housing seems a bit more than I expected for a 4 bd/2ba/2 car garage house but we can deal with that. (up to ~350K would be our range)

Don't have kids but plan to start SOON! So schools may come into play in 6 yrs if we are still there but it does affect re-sale if we have to move before then.

He needs to be within a 30 min drive to the Norfolk airport area for "on call" and I can be flexible (plan to work 7p-7a shift at a hospital or sleep lab). How bad is traffic for an 8a-6p job. Where should we look for housing?

I grew up outside of Charleston SC and hubby in Northern Va...but we currently reside in Pittsburgh. I am not looking forward to the hot/humid summers (again)!!!

Any help/guidance would be appreciated. We are in our early 30's, have 2 dogs, and starting a family soon.

Judyrem

My daughter lives on Broad street in Portsmouth. It seems to be more reasonably priced than other areas. I suggest calling a realtor asap.

Benita

The traffic here is pretty bad when the fleet is in - after all, Norfolk supports the largest naval base in the world. Plus we have Little Creek Naval Base here too. I have lived here all of my life and the trouble with the traffic is that because we have people from all of the United States living here, they all have different driving styles - some slow which can drive you mad and some drive like race car drivers - you'll get used to it. Don't get me wrong I love having the military here - my dad was career Navy, but depending on which battle groups are in port, the traffic levels can really fluxuate. On the bright side, I love the area - the atlantic ocean near by - outer banks of North Carolina an hour away, the blue ridge mountains a few hours away, Williamsburg and Jamestown nearby, DC about three to four hours away. The weather is mild - no extremely long periods of bitter cold nor heat (although July and August are hot and the humidity is pretty high) I cannot vouch for the schools in Norfolk now but many years ago, lots of people moved out to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake for their school systems. Good luck and I hope I haven't given you a "bad" impression but I just wanted you to have a feel for it - of course any large area you go to you is going to have traffic problems - here the military affects it and the fact that Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth all border each other and you have to cross bridges and/or go through tunnels to get most anywhere between the cities. All prices on houses have gone up - especially in Chesapeake where I live have pushed the assessments up at an incredible rate - my little three bedroom, one bath ranch has gone up in assessment in the last five years $23,000.00. I would suggest Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, though, because they are very nice areas to live. The interstate system is all over so getting to work is not hard barring the traffic - you would miss the bulk of the naval base traffic on a job leaving at 8 a.m. but of course that is when everyone else is going to their civilian jobs. Going home at 6 is about the same, but like I said everywhere there is a large population, there will be lots of traffic. If you are coming from a large city like NY, Chicago, etc. the traffic here will probably be a piece of cake to you. The airport area is not far from the interstate so it will be easy to get to depending on the traffic - 30 minutes should do it if you live in Chesapeake or Virginia Beach- Norfolk, probably less. Hope you come though, I welcome you to the area! Growing up near the Ocean has affected me greatly, I cannot imagine living away from it. I spent many childhood hours on the beach and still love it - the seafood here is great too! And if y'all like salt water fishing it is the best! If you grew up near Charleston you should know how good the seafood is living near the source.

alise007

Thanks for the details!!! Hubby is spoiled rotten with his "commute" of less than 10 mins with barely any traffic unless the holiday mall shopping picks up! We live in Pittsburgh and it gets its share. We are used to bridges and tunnels but we were fortunate enough to know where we were working when we bought out house and ended up on the same side of town a few miles away!

This is the farthest I have ever lived from the ocean BUT I married a pale red head!! SO hanging out in the sun isn't our forte. Guess I will have to buy gallons of sunscreen!

My biggest fear now is selling our home and being able to buy a new place within a reasonable time frame!

Benita

Glad I could be of some help - for the beach -lots of sun screen and two words "beach umbrella" I love them and use them all the time. I dont know if you plan to use a realtor or not - I work next door to Long and Foster which is a good one (they all are pretty good) One lady there helped my daughter and son-in-law find a really nice home in Chesapeake. Oh, and I do work for an attorney and do real estate closings. If you need help in that way, I would be glad to assist you. Otherwise, I would be glad to assist you anyway whether you need an attorney to close or not and we are not affliated with Long and Foster. If you don't know anyone in the area - would love to get together when you come and show you around - You are probably in my children's age range - my daughter is 30 and my son is 27. No grandchildren yet - sigh. Something I didn't mention before is there are plenty of hospitals around - Sentara has control of most of them - Sentara Norfolk General in Norfolk is really large - along side of it is the Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters - also next to that is EVMS (I believe it stands for Eastern Virginia Medical School) - The Jones Institute. Also in Norfolk is Sentara Leigh. In Virginia Beach is Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital. In Chesapeake is Chesapeake General Hospital - in Portsmouth is Marview Hospital. In Suffolk (pretty far from the airport) is Obici. Also there is the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth. For working with sleep studies I would think EVMS would be one place to check - they do all kinds of studies there or at the Jones Institute - I am not sure which. The neighborhood I grew up in is nice - an old one in Norfolk about 15 minutes from the airport area - different styles of housing - they are not all built alike - I am not sure about the schools though.

rosebloom

I just recently moved to the area and live in northern Suffolk. It is really nice and Chesapeake very close by. There are some wonderful and beautiful houses right on the water in northern Suffolk. Schools are not so great (just okay) in Suffolk, though, and a lot of people send their kids to Nansemond Suffolk Academy (private). It is an incredible school. I substitute there.

Chesapeake has some wonderful areas, Western Branch being one of the most desireable. Homes there appreciated rapidly and the schools are top notch. Everyone clamors to be in Western Branch Schools...they really are great. They are building a lot of new homes in the area.

Great Bridge in Chesapeake is also a nice area...but might put you further from Norfolk. Schools there are good also.

I really like Chesapeake...there are some bad areas...you have to research.

Virginia Beach is also very nice. There are some areas off Indian River Road that are only like 8 miles from the Norfolk airport. The schools, like the other poster stated, are really good. Everyone tells me how incredible they are (I am searching for a teaching job). Virginia Beach is a large City, so you could live there and still be a good 20 minutes from the ocean if the sea is not your forte.

As for Norfolk, I am not sure about the schools there, but there are some very nice areas. Homes can be expensive. There is Ghent, which is very historic and expensive, among others. There are also a couple good private schools in Norfolk.

I would recommmend checking out VB or Chesapeake. Most are not far from Norfolk. As I said, I live in N. Suffolk and my fiance works in Norfolk and it does not take him long to get to work.

I really like the area...the traffic is bad, but it is fairly easy to get around.

Good luck and happy house hunting! Let us know how it turns out!

Krista

Try the Cypress Point (VB) neighborhood or a few others in the area east of its location.

K.

vahiker1

Schools in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake would be your best bet, but there are a few school districts within these areas you may want to avoid.
My recommendation would be to rent for a year to become familiar with the area/schools/etc. Then you could make a much better choice of where you want to live (rather than find out where you moved to is less than ideal.) (Previous post for Cypress Point - I wouldn't recommend personally because of that particular school district)

rosebloom

What school district is Cypress Point in?

The schools are not good?

I like the suggestion vahiker had about renting for a year, alise, and that is exactly what we are doing until we know where we want to purchase in a year. I live in Burbage Grant in Suffolk. It is a nice newer area, but I am not sure if I would want to purchase here. Homes are nice, but schools are so so.

Western Branch schools really are among the very best around here...but they are busting at the seams...everyone wants to be in certain districts.

It is best to ask around and do a little research. I hve subbed in some rough schools in Chesapeake that I would never consider sending my children to (when I have some!)

I will try to find out where some of the better school districts are in VB.

Good luck!

Homes in the better school districts appreciate like crazy here

vahiker1

Everyone has different opinions on schools. Generally, in VB, I prefer the First Colonial/ Cox/ Kellam/ Kempsville/ OceanLakes/ Princess Anne/ Tallwood HS districts. (Note, this is very subjective and will vary depending on who you talk to) In Chesapeake, I would only look in the Great Bridge/ WesternBranch/ Hickory H.S. district (Even though overcrowded they are stll good schools)
Good luck with your search!!

Shane

You might try the Pleasure House Road area near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. You can get to the Norfolk airport usually within a half-hour at most times in the day.

Krista

I wouldn't worry about the schools so much since you don't have kids yet. We lived in the Cypress Point neighborhood and none of the houses had any trouble selling. Most sold within weeks of being put on the market. (But now a days, most do I guess.)

The development had much going for it. Very close commute to the airport, close to the Amphib base (good rental to military if you wanted to move and hang on to it.) A wonderful setting. One entrance in and it's surrounded by water. Many homes will be above your price range but some may not. It at least deserves a look-see. There are many folks out there who won't mind if the school district isn't in the top tier esp. if there are other qualities that set it apart.

K.

alise007

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions for schools/neighborhoods. Right now we are waiting to find out what is happening with the job. Supposedly we should know today or tomorrow. I am sick of waiting! I am not a very patient person!! ;-)

I found a really neat neighborhood called Towne Square in VB but the schools are pretty bad...one realtor said that could be changing with all of the new homes moving into the area. We plan to have kids starting school in 6-8 years and a lot can change.

Only problem with renting is finding a place that will let us have our 2 dogs and a fenced in backyard area.

Does anyone know if they have any Off Leash Dog Parks that are completely fenced in in the VB/Chesapeake/Norfolk areas???

vahiker1

Redwing park off of general booth ave. in Va Beach has a dog play area "off leash"

vahiker1

Although Towne Square is nice, I would think twice before buying a house in the Green Run district. Worst school district in VB and would affect selling price in the future. There are no plans for future high schools in VB - and current redistricting plans do not affect this area.