mover

I posted here about a week ago regarding relocation to the southeast. Based on stupid bar rewquirements (I am an attorney) it appears Virginia will be my destination.

I am looking for specific info regarding living and working in Richmond or Norfolk. I am 30 yo professional female recently divorced no children. I like trendy restaurants, good shopping, as well as cultural activities. I prefer to rent an apartment or condo for at least the first 6 months to get my bearings before buying a home in a city I have never visited.

Don't know where specifically I will be working but I am sending resumes to law firms in both cities, I assume they are in the "downtown" areas. Need recommendations for specific neighborhoods. I do not want to live in a suburb and prefer not to commute more than 20 min. each way by car though I do want to live in a "newer" area with plenty of young professionals.

Thanks in advance for your kind replies.

Gail

E-mail me at above and I'll try to give you some personal opinions!

Don

Neighborhoods:
Ghent in Norfolk.
The Fan in Richmond.

Richmond: a bit more cosmopolitan.
Norfolk: a harbour/port downtown.

Richmond: think old money, history, tradition.
Norfolk: think Navy, shipping, seafood.

Relatively low cost of living in both. Norfolk/Va Beach/Newport News (aka "Hampton Roads") scored #1 best place to live in one of those majour magazine rankings a couple of years ago.

Topper

ttt!

mover

Thanks Don, I looked at soem apartments on the internet in both cities to get a feel for prices. I saw some nice ones in the Ghent area of Norfolk. There were 2 really nice complexes on Westover avenue, Ghent Square and Ghent Village, I believe. Neither was extremely pricey.

As for Richmond, I could find no apartments in the Fan area, though there were several homes. I did find several apartment complexes in an area called the "West End", it was described as being ajacent to the Fan. Is this a good location? What is traffic like there and how is crime? I know some areas of Richmond have an extremely high crime rate for a city its size, so I want to be careful.

xxx

Hi Mover

As a native Virginian, I'd pick Richmond for the culture, history and beautiful neighborhoods.

When I was in graduate school in Richmond in the early 70's, it was a fantastic place for a single to live. I lived in the VCU area in an apartment in an old converted house. Cobblestone street out front. Their were many young professional people (government and banking workers) in the city and I loved it. Have no idea what it's like now, though.

Jenny

Good luck in your job search. I put my vote in for Ghent if you end up in Norfolk. The Freemason Area, also close to downtown, is a nice area. These two areas are some of a very few areas where a car is not necessary, and there are many cultural events you can walk to as well as a few good restaurants. I live in Ghent, and we also walk to MacArthur Center (new mall) on the weekends occasionally. There are lots of young people in Ghent, associated with the medical school or Old Dominion University. If you do end up here, please check out some of the local rental companies for an apartment instead of Ghent Square, which has a generic apartment feel to it. You can find something with much more charm. Good luck!

Jenny

Oops- just reread your post, and saw you wanted a new area, which Ghent is not, mostly refurbished old area, but still very charming, in my biased opinion. Virginia Beach has more new and modern condos and neighborhoods, and there are many law firms there. There are also cities like Hampton and Newport News, north of Norfolk, which I'm sure have some nice neighborhoods, too, but I don't know much about them having only lived here a few years.

topper

to the top!

mover

Thank you for all the replies. As for new vs. old and charming, I am not that picky. I won't be living in the aprtment more than 6-9 months most likely. I plan on buying a home right away but want to get a "feel" for the community before I make that huge of a purchase, regardless of the city. I only said modern because I want all the conveniences that most downtown Chicago apartments don't have like parking, washer/dryer in unit, garbage disposal, dishwasher, swimming pool etc. I don't care if a place is generic or charming, I just want a good close location to downtown (again 20 min. or less commute in rush hour) low crime and plenty of things to do in the area.

Ann

Most definitely, Richmond over Norfolk.

linda

Hi-
I live in Richmond. The West End is very nice, and upscale. Good luck!

marilynn

My thought is Richmond...it is rich in culture and history..lots of concerts things to do etc....housing is reasonable with lovely homes. I love Richmond

Mover

Thanks for the additional replies! Just wanted to clarify though I'm not asking WHICH one to move to, I am sending resumes to both cities and whichever city I find a job in, I will move to. Thus, I need info on both. I have found some great websites for apartment in Richmond and plenty of good complexes in the near west end (inside Parham Road)close to I-64. I still need help with Norfolk apartments though. Other than Ghent square and Ghent village I have yet to find anything very nice. Looking to spppend about $700/month or less for one bedroom, any info? How far is Virginia Beach from downtown Norfolk? What would that commute be like in rush hour?

Ragnar

Richmond would be the better place to live. It's a little more cosmopolitan. Confederate museums and battlefields are near. You're within striking distance of Charlottesville and Monticello. For recreation, you're within striking distance of Virginia's Northern Neck on the Chesapeake and lower Potomac; the Virginia Blue Ridge is not far away and Lake Anna is not far if you like to fish. Williamsburg and Jamestown is about equidistant between Norfolk and Richmond. Norfolk and the far larger Virginia Beach are fairly ugly. Cities in Tidewater tend to have a run down feel. Virginia Beach is suburban sprawl at it's worst, virtually all the way to the Dismal Swamp. The Pleasure House area near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is nice if you can find a place on the water. Positively, in Norfolk you are closer to Cape Charles and the more rustic watermen areas of Virginia's eastern shore. You're also closer to North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Doug

Look for apartment in Norfolk along Virginia Beach Boulevard between Norfol and Virginia Beach, that is where most of the new complexes are going up but I don't know the names. I just pass through each day.

Lynn

Have you checked out these websites for info regarding apartments in the Norfolk area? -

http://www.gohamptonroads.com
http://www.pilotonline.com (local newspaper)

In regards to the commute from VA Beach to Norfolk and vice versa, this area can get quite congested at times (I live in the Hampton Roads area). I'd say through the week an average commute can be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on traffic. If you secure a job in downtown Norfolk, if you don't like being in the car a lot, then try to find a place to live in Norfolk. Also consider the eastern part of the city of Chesapeake (Greenbrier/Great Bridge area), as those areas are close to the I-64, which connects to I-464, a 10 minute drive into downtown Norfolk.

There are unlimited apartment complexes in this area and if you're willing to do the legwork to search, I'm sure you'll find something to satisfy your needs. I don't know anything about the downtown Norfolk area, though, in regards to availability/price.

Good luck.

Don

Whoever said downtown Norfolk is "ugly" (about 3 replies up) has not been there in about 15 years. It is a neat little harbor city with a nice skyline, water taxis over to Old Town Portsmouth, Waterside Festival Marketplace (lots of inexpensive fresh seafood, live entertainment), waterfront pro-baseball at Harbour Park (AAA baseball, voted best ballpark several times), the Chrysler Museum of Art--a real gem, the Harrison Opera House home of Virginia Symphony and Virginia Stage Company, Nauticus National Maritime Museum, the USS Wisconson permanently moored and open to the public to roam it's decks, MacArthur Center the largest upscale mall between Raleigh and DC, Norfolk Scope arena (concerts, majour sport events), OpSail and Harborfest festivals, harbour cruises and naval base cruise/tours, lots of waterfront property, a beeline to the oceanfront, a very good international airport, the nation's best HMO (Sentara Optima), antique shops, art galleries, a bright and relatively safe dowtown.

Don't get me wrong--Richmond is great, too. But each city definitely has it's own "feel." (Richmond has earned #1 per capita murder rate several times over the past decade, but maybe not such a bad location for a defense lawyer!)

Jack

Go through Norfolk all the time, Don. Much of it has the feel of Newark or Bedford-Sty in New York. Of course, Richmond has some vicious neighborhoods. But Richmond isn't as conjested and has some very liveable, crime-free Brady Bunch-like suburbs. Very Republican.

amy

As a native Virginian, I'd say you've got two good choices on your hands. If you're looking for a non-suburb location, don't live in the West End. I grew up there and would move back in a second, but it's definitely the suburbs. Nice, established, character-filled, suburbs, but suburbs all the same.

If you're looking online for an apartment in the Fan, you probably won't find much. Most are subdivided old Victorians-- beautiful places, but you won't find them on apartments.com. Check out the Times Dispatch-- timesdispatch.com-- and look in the real estate section. You may have more luck there. There's also an area near Shockoe Bottom on the Kanawha canal where they have been renovating old warehouses into lofts... they've just been renovated in the past two years or so... you may also want to check there. Good luck and I hope you enjoy Virginia!