Most desirable areas to live in Norfolk, VA?

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by OceanAlli

Hmmmm... I'm getting discouraged!

Erma, is it reasonable to commute to the school from where you are in Virginia Beach? It sounds like what you were describing would be prefect. I have a freind that lived down there for a bit and he said that VB was a good 45 minutes from Norfolk... but maybe the beach itself?

Even the beach itself is NOT 45 min from Norfolk. I attended ODU, and lived in Va Bch, never took me more than 30 to be parked and IN class. Obviously it depends on WHERE you live in Va Beach, but just know that Norfolk and most areas of Va Beach are very close. Now if you are talking about Sandbridge, or Creeds areas, then yes - definitely a 45 min trek.

That said, I agree with a couple of the others...I'd never want to live in Norfolk myself. Not to say that there are not some VERY nice areas, but they are all very VERY expensive.

[millerab78]

I personnally think the whole area around Hampton Blvd is great besides Park Place. Please correct me if I am wrong, since I have not lived in Norfolk long, but if you come up from the midtown tunnel, you first hit Ghent, which is awesome because of its location to Downtown and ODU, plus there are stores, restaurants and bars within walking distance, then you get to Park Place, which unless you are a real estate invester and want to both fix up a house and deal with college kids and crime, it probably is not the best place to move. I personnally don't mind Park Place, especially if you are buying, but there is more crime in this area. Then Colonial Place is a very affordable neighborhood that is great. There are no bars within walking distance, which makes it a little more peaceful than Ghent, the houses are not as large, so it is more affordable, and I find the people very nice. Then Larchmont, I would call Larchmont an upper scale Colonial Place, the houses are bigger and more expensive, the people are still very cool and it is still pretty low key. Then Meadowbrook, I would consider Meadowbrook to the be the highest end neighborhood of all, the houses are absolutely beautiful, the streets are awesome and quiet and it is still convenient to everything. The good thing about Meadowbrook is that it is pretty close to the highway. The other neighborhoods are pretty far from the highway, making it harder to travel around, but much less expensive than Meadowbrook.

Here is the key to Norfolk in my opinion, I love to go boating and Norfolk offers a fantastic opportunity, if you have the money, to have a job in Norfolk and when you get home from your job, hop in a boat and either go fishing or water skiing. What I am trying to say is that for being in the middle of a city, the deep water property is not that expensive. You can get a house with a private dock in Norfolk for under 1 million. That is reasonable in my opinion for being with in city and I think it would offer a fantastic lifestyle, but I can't afford it yet...

[millerab78]

Originally Posted by OceanAlli

Hmmmm... I'm getting discouraged!

Erma, is it reasonable to commute to the school from where you are in Virginia Beach? It sounds like what you were describing would be prefect. I have a freind that lived down there for a bit and he said that VB was a good 45 minutes from Norfolk... but maybe the beach itself?

Don't get discouraged. First of all, I used to live in Norfolk and now I live in Virginia Beach, and I can assure you that you will like Norfolk much, much better than Virginia Beach. The neighborhoods around ODU are awesome and very convenient. The buildings are historic, the neighborhoods have much more charm that Virginia Beach and if you want to go to the Beach it is only 30 minutes away if there is no traffic. The place that I lived was the north side of Little Creek road by Hampton BLVD. My wife and i paid $700 for a 2br apartment and it was in a nice area and convenient to everything, ODU, Downtown, Navy Base and I honestly could make it all the way to the ocean front in 25 minutes if there was no traffic. Downtown Norfolk would take about 10 minutes and the Navy Base was about 5. I loved living in this area and regret buying a house in Virginia Beach. My wife and I both agree that we liked living in the 2 br apartment in Norfolk better than our 4br/2.5 bath house in Virginia Beach, even though our house now is much bigger and nicer, it just is not as convenient, and I don't want to use the word 'hip', but I think that is pretty much want I mean. West Norfolk is a 'hip' cool place to live and East Norfolk and Virginia Beach is very, how do I want to say this...Suburbia. Home Depots, Walmarts, Malls, Car Dealerships, etc...West Norfolk is where you want to be, just avoid Park Place if you can, but honestly that is not that bad either for a starter neighborhood.

[annie at the beach]

call Beacon Realty and talk with Wilma Clay about renting in VB. We are moving to norfolk in a couple of months to buy an historic home, but have lived in VB since june. our landppl are great, the condo we live in is a duplex, built in 2005. right off general booth. HUGE backyard with a privacy fence and the landlady is a dog lover. we pay 1650 per month in rent and there is an lease to own option on our condo. we just want an historic home and those are very hard to come by in VB

[Erma]

Originally Posted by OceanAlli

Hmmmm... I'm getting discouraged!

Erma, is it reasonable to commute to the school from where you are in Virginia Beach? It sounds like what you were describing would be prefect. I have a freind that lived down there for a bit and he said that VB was a good 45 minutes from Norfolk... but maybe the beach itself?

Yea, from the oceanfront area it is 45. I live past the interchange and I make it to Norfolk in 30. Just the other day, I had a class at the Radisson by the Scope. Left the house at 7:15 at the Radisson by 7:45! This is a busy time of day, since the 9-5 peeps are on the road by then. There are different ways to take also to bypass the McCarther center areas at City Hall.

[christinarivera]

im 24 with two kids both very young im looking to relocate . ive looked into florida but crime rate and school isnt the best . i also considered VB , now is that somewhere to raise kids and affordable to live ?

[christinarivera]

is chesepeak a good place to raise a young family ? im not looking to come along country atmosphere ..

[curiousjeff]

You wouldn't like it here in VB(or HR for that matter). I've lived here for 40 years, and I'm leaving next year to a smaller city(like VB used to be when I was a kid).
It's all because of the worsening overcrowding,traffic,noise,boom cars, urban feel(gets worse every year since 1983), and because of the skyrocketing robberies and homocides over the past 4 years. Bad element and gangs are moving here from LA,Detroit,Pittsburgh PA,NYC,NORFOLK,PORTSMOUTH,NEWPORT NEWS,etc. And they hang out all over VB(even the upper class areas). I know, I've had people tell me that's who they were.I don't feel safe here anymore. This is a military town, and most of the military people tell me that they resent having to live here. So here for the most part there is a dominant and underlying negative attitude.
Yes, the ocean is nice(the only thing going for VB), but ask yourself if it's really worth it, having to deal with all the other BS. Most people with whom I've discussed this regret having moved here.
I wouldn't value your negative response and won't even read it, so don't waste your time. Since five years ago when I first started surfing the Internet, I've noticed how people love to bash other people's opinions in forums. Cowards. I never did that.