Thinking of relocating to the Hampton Roads area, any advice? (Williamsburg: best city, real estate)

[captain_blade]

I live in the Seattle area currently, have a good job in the service industry. How is the job market in Hampton Roads area?

Also, will the weather be a big deal? I know its hot and humid in the summer but the winters are mild right? Probably even more mild than Seattle seeing as how Seattle can get heavy snow from time to time. Snow in Hampton Roads is seldom and light I have read...how true is that?

Any advice you can give me is much appreciated.

[stacylee926]

I have never been to the NW, but I can assume our winters are better for sure. We rarely ever get snow, and most of our snow is usually flurries that might stick to the grass only for a dusting. Summers are hot and muggy, but this year we didn't get the bad humidity until just recently (fine with me). I will say this - the peninsula (Williamsburg area) sees more snow than the Va Beach area because they are further away from the water.

Overall, this area weathered the recession better than many areas. We definitely had an economic downturn, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. I work in the construction business and we had layoffs, but the co is strong and I see housing on the upswing again.

You say service industry - like hotel, restaurant or tourist? We are a tourist area, but the VA Beach area is mainly a summer attraction. It gets pretty quiet in the winter. You might want to consider the Williamsburg area, including the beautiful Great Wolf Lodge. This area draws more of a year round tourist crowd because our spring and fall are beautiful.

The great thing about this area is that we ARE a tourist spot, but also a fully functioning year round business community. We have lots of military bases too. During the summer our traffic gets crazy, but other than that it is business as usual.

[cityboi757]

Originally Posted by captain_blade

I live in the Seattle area currently, have a good job in the service industry. How is the job market in Hampton Roads area?

Also, will the weather be a big deal? I know its hot and humid in the summer but the winters are mild right? Probably even more mild than Seattle seeing as how Seattle can get heavy snow from time to time. Snow in Hampton Roads is seldom and light I have read...how true is that?

Any advice you can give me is much appreciated.

The weather is definately better than Seattle. For example, today is supposed to be 82 degrees and sunny (what more can you ask for!), Winters are usually mild with the occasional snowstorm, but all and all I love the weather.

IMO the service industry here is one of the best. Our unemployment rate is below both the state/ national average, wages are up, and like the rest of the country, we will eventually rebound stronger than ever.

[captain_blade]

Well I'm in pest control and I'm hoping I can take my experience and find a position out there maybe even before I make my move...at the very least get some good leads. Sounds like you guys got a real nice area there...kind of "slept on" or overlooked by most of the country.

Seems like the weather is great and life is pretty cool out east.

Its funny cause I'm a west coast guy born and raised in california and washington, I never really thought much about heading east for anything really. But I'll tell you california is just so screwed up its unbelievable. And then you head north and you get nothin but rain in seattle. Phoenix and Vegas are way too hot...

What I want is a place with normal weather...seasons and kind of predictable, and cool people.


So who knows maybe I'll see ya out there next year when I make the move! Thanks for the advice!

BTW - its pretty much up to between Hampton Roads area or Charleston, SC at this point... kind of still weighing out the differences, however slight, between the two places.

[oduengineer]

From what I know about Charleston's weather, you don't get all four seasons (one could argue that we really don't get winter in Va Beach) with winter being bypassed.

[chesapeakesim]

Originally Posted by captain_blade

I live in the Seattle area currently, have a good job in the service industry. How is the job market in Hampton Roads area?

Also, will the weather be a big deal? I know its hot and humid in the summer but the winters are mild right? Probably even more mild than Seattle seeing as how Seattle can get heavy snow from time to time. Snow in Hampton Roads is seldom and light I have read...how true is that?

Any advice you can give me is much appreciated.

Summers are very hot and humid (although this summer has not been too bad). Winters rarely yield any snow accumulation. When we do get it it usually melts by the next day. The job market is probably a little stronger than other cities due to the military/government being here.

Honestly, I don't really see anything special about Hampton Roads. This area lacks a lot of the benefits of living in a big city, pro sports teams, decent public transportation, top notch museums and cultural attractions, etc., but still has the high cost of living, traffic, etc. While there are jobs, this area is famous for it's low pay, especially in service jobs. There is a reason that HR is overlooked by most of the country. To me it feels more like a giant military base than a real city (there are over 50 military bases here). If you are male and single, I would definitely not move here, the ratios are awful.

There are worse places to be and the beach is here and the crime is low for a big city. But overall I would not recommend to anyone that this is a great place to live if you have a choice. Is being close to the water a must have? If so, then your choices are somewhat limited. If not, I would say other cities would be a better choice.

[cityboi757]

Originally Posted by chesapeakesim

Summers are very hot and humid (although this summer has not been too bad). Winters rarely yield any snow accumulation. When we do get it it usually melts by the next day. The job market is probably a little stronger than other cities due to the military/government being here.

Honestly, I don't really see anything special about Hampton Roads. This area lacks a lot of the benefits of living in a big city, pro sports teams, decent public transportation, top notch museums and cultural attractions, etc., but still has the high cost of living, traffic, etc. While there are jobs, this area is famous for it's low pay, especially in service jobs. There is a reason that HR is overlooked by most of the country. To me it feels more like a giant military base than a real city (there are over 50 military bases here). If you are male and single, I would definitely not move here, the ratios are awful.

There are worse places to be and the beach is here and the crime is low for a big city. But overall I would not recommend to anyone that this is a great place to live if you have a choice. Is being close to the water a must have? If so, then your choices are somewhat limited. If not, I wou
ld say other cities would be a better choice.

Hmmm... Let's see. Yeah, we don't have pro sports, but I find the Tides (AAA) and the Admirals (AHL) games pretty fun. Our public transportation system is actually decent conidering we our such a large area and have many different cities to cover (light rail is changing that), in my comings and goings I almost never see a military base.. Why would I go in that direction? The area was just ranked the 20th best city for singles by Forbes magazine.Methodology - Forbes.com . So it's not as bad as you'd like to think.

[rtandc]

Originally Posted by captain_blade

Well I'm in pest control and I'm hoping I can take my experience and find a position out there maybe even before I make my move...at the very least get some good leads. Sounds like you guys got a real nice area there...kind of "slept on" or overlooked by most of the country.

Seems like the weather is great and life is pretty cool out east.

Its funny cause I'm a west coast guy born and raised in california and washington, I never really thought much about heading east for anything really. But I'll tell you california is just so screwed up its unbelievable. And then you head north and you get nothin but rain in seattle. Phoenix and Vegas are way too hot...

What I want is a place with normal weather...seasons and kind of predictable, and cool people.


So who knows maybe I'll see ya out there next year when I make the move! Thanks for the advice!

BTW - its pretty much up to between Hampton Roads area or Charleston, SC at this point... kind of still weighing out the differences, however slight, between the two places.

Both Hampton Roads and Charleston SC are nice places, I have family in Charleston SC so I am down that way often. Big difference between these two areas so it is hard to compare one to the other......because it like comparing apples to oranges.....

Charleston is much smaller and laid back, lots of barrier islands and low country.... Charleston also has allot of history but much of it was wiped out back it the late 80's when the town was hit by a major hurricane...Very cool place and I enjoy my visits there

Hampton Roads is much larger and has more to offer, weather size you will find more of a 4 season feel here.

Both areas got caught up in the high increase of real estate, and both are seeing prices drop back down some but Charleston is taking a much bigger hit then HR's due to the larger number of town homes and condos build in the surrounding areas over the last few years.....

Both places will be dramatically different then Seattle, both places will seem a little more red neck and blue collar with SC much worse then HRoads so expect that when you head this way....Hampton Roads will have a bigger influx of different cultures then Charleston due to the larger military influx from around the world

[captain_blade]

Originally Posted by rtandc

Both places will be dramatically different then Seattle, both places will seem a little more red neck and blue collar with SC much worse then HRoads so expect that when you head this way....Hampton Roads will have a bigger influx of different cultures then Charleston due to the larger military influx from around the world

thats kind of what I'm worried about...I'm actually a conservative... an orange county conservative from california...most people have never heard of us but if you've ever watched the wally george show back in the 80's you can see that there is a regimen of conservatives down in orange county south of LA. I'm not staunch but I am mostly conservative..

the thing I worry about is that I have met people in seattle that were from "the south" and they were just so damn foreign to me. It was like they were from another planet. I am a west coast guy...not a metrosexual or gay but...It's just a culture shock you know?

but I really feel like most west coast guys are actually wimps...we think we have it all out here but we really don't. We think we are "the man" but we haven't ever really experienced any other kinds of cultures.

I for one have the balls to try something different an I'm just so damned sick of the west that I will really do it and go to the east coast and be the "different guy"...

I just hope that you guys aren't too hostile towards west coasters.

[misueno]

Socially and politically the Williamsburg area is probably more akin to Orange County than Seattle and the weather is what everyone else has said (except there has never been more than a dusting of snow that is gone within a few hours since I've lived here). Summers can be painfully hot and humid, but SC is worse... and, as mentioned, we've been spared the worst of it this year.

Service industry jobs are plentiful here, but unless you have a high level service industry job, most of those jobs do not pay enough to afford to live here. I would recommend finding a short term rental and spending a month or two here (if that's possible) before making the commitment to move the whole way across the country. Good luck.