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Jenny~
I have been reading your thread w/much interest bc my husband and I and our kids (4 and 2)) are looking to move FROM texas and are considering the Va Beach/NN/Hampton Roads areas as well as Charlottesville. (We are self-employed and can move anywhere). We will visit next month for a week or so and hopefully have time to check them all out. I live in coastal TX now ... I was born/raised in Houston. Lived in NoVa for several years while I was single.
A few thoughts on Texas -- you can drive for hours and hours and still be ... in Texas. We like to explore so that is a drawback for us. Also, there's a huge cowboy-culture thing going on, and major "texas pride" that I just have never embraced (even though I was born here!). San Antonio is a really neat city, though, w/much to do. And you can make several really neat roadtrips w/in 3 hours or so. There's a huge hispanic/Spanish influence, for what it's worth.
Living on the coast is wonderful. You are never bored, bc you can always go to the beach, go fishing, boating, etc. Personally we love that, which is why we are checking the VaBeach area. Also I hear the schools in Va Beach are stellar. You are also w/in a decent drive to skiing and IMO the most exciting cities in the nation.
Good Luck! I hope you will let us all know where you landed.
Isle-girl, I hope you enjoy your time when you come here!! What I love about the areas you are targeting is how different they are. You will be surprised!! Charlottesville is beautiful, with the mountains and UVA, Monticello, and the downtown area. It has it's own feel. Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads is flat and is really centered around the water, whether the river or the ocean or the bay. And just a couple of hours away, your in the mountains to go skiing. It has a lot to offer. If you get a chance, you should go through Richmond as well. Richmond has some wonderful architecture and is very centrally located. 2 hours west - mountains; 2 hours north - DC; 2 hours east - beach. You can't beat this wonderful State for diversity!!
If you have any questions before coming, please ask.
Hey HR, we're here-- three weeks now, and with our heads spinning! It took forever to straighten out which job hubby was going to go with. We flew out for one quick week in late July, and since our home hadn't (and still hasn't) sold, picked a private school we liked best versus a home... so that we won't have to move the kids mid-year if we pick a neighborhood closer or further from a school. While it is very inconvenient to be in a tiny apartment, with all of our stuff in storage, and paying rent in one place and mortgage in another, it is giving us time to look around and get to know the area a little better. Or, in my case, just get lost a lot! I have never been on such winding roads that change names so frequently, or have multiple road numbers, even in much bigger cities... but I am figuring it out.
We love the people here! There is really something to be said for southern hospitality and we do appreciate that... people have been so nice! We also love how green it is (and are looking forward to seeing all those huge trees along the roads turn fall colors... haven't had a real fall since we left the midwest)! My husband has fallen for the waterfront homes and is actively dreaming of getting a place 'on the water' with a place to dock his old boat. I am of a different mindset, having fairly young children and professional experience with working with post-drowning victims. A pool with a fence, I am all for... a river in the back yard, not so much... we'll see who wins on this one. If we don't sell our home, and have to rent it out, we will either be looking to buy a much smaller fixer-upper, a condo, or renting a place.
The seafood is great here and we are thrilled with how much cheaper it is than it was on the California coast! The produce... well, we haven't had much luck in that department yet. Harder to find fresh, much more expensive and my favorite food, tomatoes, taste like water here, not west coast tomatoes. I am going to check out the Farmer's Markets in hopes of better luck than I had at the grocery store. The price of milk is so expensive here... and organic is much higher than out west and often harder to find... does anyone know why? Groceries, overall are a little pricier here, but gas is less... so, it's a toss-up. Home prices are great if you have the funds freed up to buy right now, due to the current market. Like I said, we are hoping to sell back home so that we can buy here.
Other things we are enjoying... sunsets are so pretty, the ocean air, even inland feels so good, and there is a much more relaxed pace about everything except driving (people drive FAST here even on the little two lane, no shoulder roads and tailgate!). We are excited to start checking out more of the attractions and events.. we are just still unboxing and settling in!
We are looking at homes on the western side (Suffolk, Western Branch, a little in Smithfield, but the conveniences thing has come up a time or two, my husband likes Churchland, though we haven't seen much of it yet). We love VB and Hickory areas when we visited, but the drive for my husband was too much. He has coworkers that also live in southern Chesapeake, near the Suffolk line (64/664 curve) and a little East of there... don't know the name of the area... but I don't know those areas. Let me know if you all have more specific recommendations! We are checking out another church this weekend and the boat show in Norfolk as well as the waterfront area over there!
Okay.. need to go! Thanks for all your input so far-- glad to be here! Jen
Welcome to HR!! I live in Portsmouth (Churchland for 4 years now) and I still get a kick out of going to Chesapeake Square and I see the seagulls and can smell the salt air! I do love that - even though we are not right on the beach it feels like it. One good thing about the Western Branch area/Churchland area - if you look at a map it is right smack in the middle of all of HR. Basically 30 min to the beach or 30 min to Newport News. It is pretty quiet too.
The price of milk... apparently all dairy products have increased in price in the last 30 days... cheese, milk etc. I don't know why, but it is probably a national thing.
As far as organic produce goes, there is a Trader Joe's in Newport News that is all organic. I was there last weekend and the prices are really quiet decent.
Thanks Stacy-- yes, we found the Trader Joe's already (the lady told me they've had tons of requests for one south of the James and to write corporate as they are looking at putting one in down here). We also had to venture that way for Costco while we were up there (I know there is one in Norfolk, but that was further from where we are). Guess we'll have to join Sam's Club if we stay in this neighborhood.
As far as Western Branch/ Churchland, whether we rent a home or buy (Still trying to sell our house back home), are there areas to stay closer to or stay away from? We've found some nice areas that we drive through, and then we'll be in areas that look much more run down. Run-down doesn't always equate to 'crime', but since I'll be alone much of the time with the kids, any proximity to that does matter to me. We've found some nice homes for sale or rent along Bruce Road, Taylor Road and not too far north of there in Churchland... can't remember the street name we were off of.
What about 'Great Bridge'? I don't know how far that is, but some of hubby's coworkers commute from there and there are some rent/sale homes down there. I've heard mixed things about Greenbrier. What about 'Dock Landing' and the smaller subdivisions near there?
We are still holding out to sell our own for a few more weeks, and having the cash straight up to buy opens up more options for us on homes, but for now, I am trying to narrow down safe areas in a decent commuting range that have a 'for sale or rent' option, in case we rent ours back home.
We do like Northern Suffolk and Smithfield and I do think those areas will definitely continue to grow. They are a little further to some conveniences, but not too bad. When we have been over looking at homes in Smithfield twice, we have just hopped across the bridge to Newport News and gone to shops there rather than deal with going into the city traffic on this side. Both times, on the weekend, we had no trouble with traffic and it wasn't too bad a trip, combining several errands. But, if I would just need to run quick errands at night, Western Branch/ Churchland seem closer to immediate 'run out for ten minute' errands with Ches. Square and the shops surrounding there, plus those are closer to the good restaurants in Norfolk and Portsmouth that we've been told about. But the increased population density over there just gives me some uneasiness about which parts are 'safe'. When we lived in Vegas, L.A., and San Fran areas, 'good' vs. 'bad' areas were often much more clearly defined... here, it's harder to tell. Like I said, just because homes aren't as 'nice' looking in some spots doesn't mean that there is criminal activity going on there--I grew up in a very poor, but very safe area, but because I don't know the area, I couldn't tell by sight. Any suggestions?
I've heard hit and miss things about a couple of other areas. I'm just wondering if anyone can delineate for me where our family would feel 'safest' given the areas I mentioned above, but also in a relatively convenient location.
Oh-- as far as good restaurants on this side-- Smithfield Inn and Bennett's Creek Marina's restaurant are both wonderful- we did takeout from Bennett's Creek, and the seafood was perfect! Those are the two we've really liked so far.
Jen,
Tyre Neck Road, Bruce Road - Nice, safe neighborhoods. Very desirable areas (normally) but right now very little is selling. Dock Landing is also a very nice area with newer homes closer to 664. I would definitely check out the Harborview area too.
You will learn the 'safe' areas. The area on High Street between Frederick Blvd and down toward the water is not a great area. Once you get into Old Towne Portsmouth though it is fine. That is the one crazy thing about this whole area - bad neighborhoods, then a good one, and then a bad one. It is neighborhoods - not necessarily big areas so you come up on them quickly.
If you are looking for good seafood - go down 17 toward the James River Bridge and past Bennetts Creek area and right past Eclipse. There is a big red barn on the left and attached to it in front is T's Steak and Fish Barn. Home cooking and fresh seafood - the owner's own a big seafood business on the Outer Banks. I just happen to work there part time on the weekends and I can really recommend it! (Not open Sunday's though).
Oh Great Bridge.... yes it is a nice area. However, the biggest issue is TRAFFIC!!!!! The Greenbrier and Great Bridge area is just a traffic nightmare all the time compared to Portsmouth/Churchland and Western Branch.
When they eventually finish the roadwork on the highway, it might be better - but it has been bad for the 4 years I have lived here.
I do go over there for shopping maybe once every 2 or 3 months and I can deal with the traffic to get to some of the shops I like, but I would hate that traffic on a day to day basis.
Thanks again... yes, we've been surprised by the traffic sometimes. The area doesn't look as crowded as other places we've lived, but you get on the interstate in the morning and it's "Oh, wow, we're not going anywhere". I quickly learned backroads and back-up backroads to the kids' schools!
I've seen the barn! We'll have to try it! We also like Eclipse and have looked at a couple of homes for sale in there... tons of history there!
Thank you for all the input... like I said, we have a lot to figure out in the next couple of weeks with selling vs. renting.
My average commute thru the DOWNTOWN TUNNEL is now approaching 35 minutes. This is for a 5 mile commute from Waterview in Portsmouth to Downtown Norfolk.
If you are willing to give up 5 to 6 hours of your week in commuting, than by all means live on the opposite side of a tunnel from where you work.
Oh Great Bridge.... yes it is a nice area. However, the biggest issue is TRAFFIC!!!!! The Greenbrier and Great Bridge area is just a traffic nightmare all the time compared to Portsmouth/Churchland and Western Branch.
When they eventually finish the roadwork on the highway, it might be better - but it has been bad for the 4 years I have lived here.
I do go over there for shopping maybe once every 2 or 3 months and I can deal with the traffic to get to some of the shops I like, but I would hate that traffic on a day to day basis.
I would have to concour! I left a teaching gig at GB high school to work closer to home here in Chruchland area of Protsmouth. The traffic was bad back in 2002 and is worse now. Chesapeake has a lot to offer but they need to come to grips with sprawl (as does Northern Suffolk and Southern Virginia Beach) As others have said, the Churchland/Western Branch areas are centrally located in tidewater. I have friends who have built in Dock Landing and they love it. It is a great development. If you like a more traditional town setting, consider the new homes at Victory or in the Olde Town area near the Naval Hospital.
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Hey HR, we're here-- three weeks now, and with our heads spinning! It took forever to straighten out which job hubby was going to go with. We flew out for one quick week in late July, and since our home hadn't (and still hasn't) sold, picked a private school we liked best versus a home... so that we won't have to move the kids mid-year if we pick a neighborhood closer or further from a school. While it is very inconvenient to be in a tiny apartment, with all of our stuff in storage, and paying rent in one place and mortgage in another, it is giving us time to look around and get to know the area a little better. Or, in my case, just get lost a lot! I have never been on such winding roads that change names so frequently, or have multiple road numbers, even in much bigger cities... but I am figuring it out.
Which areas?
