Relocating to Hampton Roads - where to live?
 

My husband and I are relocating to the Hampton Roads area this summer and wanted some local info about where we should look for a place to live - initially an apartment (until we get a feel for the area) and then ultimately a house. We don't have children at present, so school districts aren't our biggest concern.

My husband's job is in Hampton and I am still searching, with a potential lead in Chesapeake. We are moving from the Bay Area (Oakland) where we both enjoy only 10 minute commutes to work and can walk from our apartment to restaurants, coffee shops, etc. We would like to find a place in Hampton Roads where the commute wouldn't be horrible (<30 min) in a community that has old houses with character and a decent night life (restaurants, pubs).

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!

I suggest you start looking in the Ghent area of Norfolk, near downtown. Here's a url which will give you some background:

http://www.norfolk.gov/Planning/come...nt_History.asp

Your husband will almost certainly be in the 30 minute commute window (most days). Harder to say on your part since Chesapeake is a big place and you don't know which traffic arteries you'll be encountering.

The area offers many opportunities for older homes with history & character but they tend to be in small town or rural settings. Norfolk is probably the largest concentration of urban (walkable) night spots and restaurants.

My wife and I moved to Norfolk, near Ghent 5 1/2 years ago. I was working at the Naval Base and she was working in Hampton, traveling through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel twice daily. She was basically going against traffic (everything revolves around the navy base) so in the mornings she could get to work in about 25 minutes but in the evenings it could range from 30 minutes to an hour. In the summertime it would normally be longer. The construction on I-64 on the pennisula (Hampton, Newport News) has been going on for over 10 years with no end in sight - a truly criminal activity. Real Estate taxes are higher in Norfolk than Hampton or Newport News and with home costs skyrocketing that can make a financial difference. My wife now works in Norfolk (Southside) and enjoys her 15-20 minute consistent commute and doesn't miss that tunnel at all. Hope this helps.

I agree with krkurtz. Traffic across the tunnel to the southside can be a bear some days.
Check out hampton, james city county, williamsburg, phoebus. All nice areas on the peninsula side of hampton roads.

If you do get a job on the southside, ghent in Norfolk would probably meet most of your goals.

If you've guessed that traffic congestion is an issue around here you'd certainly be right!

The sorry reality is that unless you live & work in the same community, the likelihood of a <30 minute commute is slim. And, as noted by krkurtz, any commute involving either of the two bridge tunnels separating the Peninsula from Southside has the potential to be a daily travel nightmare.

Phoebus, which is in Hampton, is a good suggestion. Take a look at Yorktown. Tho it's on the southside, Portsmouth has a newly revamped historic downtown on the waterfront.

Williamsburg/James City County is a great place to live (and my home) but it's a 45 minute drive to Hampton (on a good day) and a little light on nightlife.

Check back in and give us a few more criteria to work with and I'm sure people will have more suggestions.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and input. It truly sounds like traffic is a nightmare. And it is definitely something we are trying to make decisions around. I guess our biggest concern is if I get a job on the Southside and his job is in Hampton, then one of us would have to brave the tunnel/bridge commute. If this is the case is it better to go from the Peninsula to the Southside or vice versa?

Also, what is Phoebus like? I've heard about it from some online resources, but my husband was unable to visit the area during his interview. Most of his co-workers suggested living in York Co. or Williamsburg...both of which seem quite far away and a bit too suburban(?) maybe for our lifestyles at this point. Although we are open to looking into anything!

If we could have everything, our ideal community would have: 1)older, historic homes that are not astronomically priced, 2) a strong community "feel", 3) relatively easy (perhaps walkable) access to restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, etc., and 4) a reasonable commute time to Hampton. A lot to ask for, right? :)

An aside question: What is the crime rate like in the various cities of Hampton Roads? Is it perceived as a problem?

Thanks again everyone!

Others have covered the traffic situation fairly well...

Phoebus has charm and a slightly historic feel to it, but it is surrounded by what I consider unsafe neighborhoods. There are far too many shootings/home invasions IMO.

Historic Yorktown is great, but houses there only go up for sale one in a blue moon. There are two bars and a new shopping area open there, but it is very isolated from modern things like grocery stores. The rest of the county is just like the rest of middle america, nothing but Costco, applebees, and mcmansions.

Ghent does seem like the best fit, as it's the only place with nightlife, but the commute to Hampton would be miserable, and it's still not what I would consider safe. I've lived in southeast DC, and felt better there than I do in Norfolk after dark.

Williamsburg-I'm biased, as it's where we live now, and we love it. If you purchased a home in the "downtown" you would be able to walk to the bookstore, farmers market, restaurants, coffee shops, and the arts theater. It is also very very very safe. I commuted from Hampton to Wmsbg for over a year, it's about 40 minutes. There are also lot of alternate routes around 64, which is great if there's a big accident. There's a darling 3 bedroom for sale in walking distance of downtown, I think they're asking $350,000 if that gives you an idea of prices.

Have to add my .02. obxgirl remembers when we were going through the same thing just a bit more than a year ago. We moved to Williamsburg from Amsterdam. We were looking for a town that would allow us to best re-create our lifestyle in Europe - walking, biking, proximity to restaurants, etc. Williamsburg won - we live in town and love it. That said, it is a small town. We have two small kids so we traded in nightlife for safety and ability to bike / walk almost everywhere we need.

In town is fairly diverse - but still homogenous compared to what we were used to and what you will be used to. When we go back to Amsterdam or to Richmond or Norfolk or Charlottesville (get my drift?), we find that we're like crazed people - seeking out every small, local, "dirty" coffee shop or restaurant we can find. Williamsburg is filled with chains, although there are some very nice, creative restaurants.

I can't give advice on any of the other areas, but am happy to share anything about our situation if you want. Good luck!