Portsmouth? (Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News: home security, neighborhoods, school district)

[ToughLuv]

You all do realize this thread is 2 years old and most of the responses you are replying too are from 1 or 2 years as well.

[stacylee926]

Originally Posted by ToughLuv

You all do realize this thread is 2 years old and most of the responses you are replying too are from 1 or 2 years as well.

Someone started it up a few days ago because they were coming to town. Should have started a new thread - however things change sloooowwwllllyyyy in HR, so most of the info is current anyway

[gizmobizmo]

I lived in Chesapeake till a few weeks ago and spent plenty of time in Suffolk. Just like any town, they both had good areas, great areas and a few lousy areas.
If you are buying, don't be afraid to ask your realtor to steer you towards nicer areas. I found the housing in Suffolk to be less expensive than Chesapeake and VA Beach. Personally, the only area of Portsmouth I liked was the historic district but I also admit that I didn't explore the city much.
I strongly recommend a short term lease to anyone moving to an area they don't know. It gives you time to assess an area for yourself and determine where you may want to go from there. Everone will have their own opinions about an area but they aren't you. What somebody else is comfortable with may not be what you want or like.

[dhanuphysio]

Hello Folks,
Myself is Dhanaraj, a physical therapist, got job in Maryview medical center,3636 High St, Portsmouth, VA. Graduated frm Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California with Masters degree. Wanna know about housing & Secure pleases near the above mentioned place. Any idea about the hospital & climate. Lastly, do we have an Indian population habituating & any INDIAN MARKETS/STORES over there ? thanks in advance..

[stacylee926]

Maryview has improved over the recent years and is a fine place to start. It is not a large hospital, but it serves the community well.

As far as the immediate area of the hospital goes, you might want to look a bit further out - like Northern Suffolk (near Rt 17 and 664) or the Chesapeake Square Mall area. Both areas are within 10-15 minutes commute and not congested at all.

I am not familiar with Indian markets, however once you are familiar with the area, I am sure you will find what you need. I think Norfolk has an area (Granby Street) that has some ethnic grocery stores and restaurants.

[dhanuphysio]

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Maryview has improved over the recent years and is a fine place to start. It is not a large hospital, but it serves the community well.

As far as the immediate area of the hospital goes, you might want to look a bit further out - like Northern Suffolk (near Rt 17 and 664) or the Chesapeake Square Mall area. Both areas are within 10-15 minutes commute and not congested at all.

I am not familiar with Indian markets, however once you are familiar with the area, I am sure you will find what you need. I think Norfolk has an area (Granby Street) that has some ethnic grocery stores and restaurants.

Thanks Stacylee, that's nice info. What's the room rent stuff around Northern Suffolk & Chesapeake Square. Glad to hear frm u..

[stacylee926]

I am not up on rent prices these days. When I moved here 5 years ago, rents for nicer apts were close to $1100 in Newport News. I ended up renting a ranch SFH in Portsmouth (in the Churchland area) and my rent is currently $1100. I found that a SFH was cheaper than an apt, but I had alot of stuff and a dog so the house worked better anyway.

Look around online and feel free to post about one that interests you. It would be easier to give you more info that way.

Also, you might want to start a new thread too

[millerab78]

I would say that Portsmouth has a very bad reputation from the other cities, but is a diamond in the rough. There are bad parts of Portsmouth, so make sure you don't end up in one of them, but if you stay between downtown and Port Norfolk, or West of Airline Blvd in general, I think you will be ok. The good thing about Portsmouth is the traffic, prices and it is convenient to everything. I like the downtown area of Portsmouth, it is very low key compared to Virginia Beach and Norfolk. The restaurants are nice and the bars are not so crowded, loud, and expensive. Taking the ferry to Tides games used to be one of my favorite things to do during the summer time. Don't be scared of Portsmouth unless you are sending your children to school there. I have heard that the schools are not very good, but I don't have much experience there...

I like Norfolk and Virginia Beach as well, but I never understood why people are so hard on Portsmouth. If you want to buy a house, Portsmouth is probably the best place in Hampton Roads for the price. If you want to rent, I would recommend Norfolk, Portsmouth rents seem to be as high or higher than Norfolk. I never understood that, but it always seemed to be that way.

[mik757]

portsmouth has an extremely high crime rate for a city its size, so does suffolk they are both on the news all the time

[Jewelblossom77]

Portsmouth's I.C. Norcom high school is 96% african american.
the parents on the great schools website had pretty bad reviews about the
behavior of the youth at the school as well.