virginia beach neighborhoods (Norfolk, Salem, Independence: real estate, housing, rent)

[want2leaveVA]

I live in Chimney Hill which is part of "Gang Run" for 7 years and really haven't experienced any problems. We actually have just placed our 2 story condo on the market so we can move to AZ. If you're interested check it out on Realtor.com, $179,900.00

[want2leaveVA]

Originally Posted by NewAgeRedneck

Cox High School is rated pretty highly, but in truth my daughter hated that school. She was glad to get out of there. She called it the 90210 of Virginia Beach....where some of the students drive fancier cars than most of us will ever drive in our lifetimes.

regards....Franco

Tell your daughter I agree with her. Yes it is a GREAT school and YES they do drive fancier cars then I ever will! I graduated in 1996 and drove a Subaru while other kids drove BMW's, Range Rovers, etc. The teachers are great though!

[Eve03]

Originally Posted by darzz1

I have to say there's alot worse areas than Bayside & Landstown.
What about Chimney Hill, Rosemont area and around South Plaza Trail.
I think those areas are much worse.

where is the south plaza trail?
is it road name, isnt it?
sorry i dunno any of VA beach, im not living there yet but soon so i wanna know where the bad areas and good areas.

[NJ Relocation]

Originally Posted by chanchan

My family and I are moving to the Virginia Beach area in the next couple of months and I wanted to know what neighborhoods are safe and what neighborhoods are not safe.If anybody could help me out I would really appreciate it

I researched the VB area before I sold my house in NJ and moved here extensively. My choice of location was primarily driven by the school system since we had moved from a township with blue ribbon five star schools. The ONLY choice in VB was Kempsville. Chesapeake's Great Bridge area is also a very attractive choice.

But yes Green Run is bad news!

[MovingFromCali]

Hi, I am also moving to VA Beach. We are looking to buy a home for around $300,000 and have one child. We'd like a good school system. My husband will be commuting to Little Creek Naval Base. The areas we've been looking at are Kings Grant, Kings Forest, Thalia, Pocohontas Village, Chicks Beach. Of course, we would love Little Neck or Great Neck, but they seem a little out of our price range. (as is Chick's Beach.)
What would you recommend? Are these places the best bet for the money that would keep us near Little Creek?
Also, what's the traffic situation in those areas?
Thanks!!

[Mark Sr.]

Originally Posted by MovingFromCali

Hi, I am also moving to VA Beach. We are looking to buy a home for around $300,000 and have one child. We'd like a good school system. My husband will be commuting to Little Creek Naval Base. The areas we've been looking at are Kings Grant, Kings Forest, Thalia, Pocohontas Village, Chicks Beach. Of course, we would love Little Neck or Great Neck, but they seem a little out of our price range. (as is Chick's Beach.)
What would you recommend? Are these places the best bet for the money that would keep us near Little Creek?
Also, what's the traffic situation in those areas?
Thanks!!

I have ties in SD as my Grandfather has lived at the base of Cowles Mtn. for almost 40 yrs.

Traffic around Little Creek is not bad, from all areas you mention your husband will travel to work on local roads not highways.

Chick's Beach borders the base, Kings Grant/Little Neck are probably the furthest away. I grew up in Kings Grant/Kingston, and now live east of Chick's Beach. My Dad commuted from Kings Grant to NAS Norfolk from '79 to '91.

Pocohontas Villiage is the sore thumb of your group, it is right across the railroad tracks from my office.

With some work, you can always find a cheaper house in a more expensive neighborhood. How old is your child? Why not short term rent a home that someone can't sell and get acquainted(sp) with the area? - then buy.

Moderator cut: advertising

Good Luck,

-Mark

[MovingFromCali]

Mark, thanks so much for your advice and help!
So, Pocohontas Village (?) is out? Thanks!
I appreciate you looking up some homes in our price range. Some of those I had been looking at myself and a few were new to me. What is this area--Southern Point? It's not familiar to me. Also the Aragona Acres.
I agree that it is a good idea to rent a house until you know the area and find out where you want to live. That ended up being what we did in San Diego, and it worked out really well. We just don't want to move twice. The military will move us the first time. Also, we won't be in VA Beach for too long. We will probably only be there 2 years. Why buy? Well, we've always rented, and we'd love to own. Also, we don't know what will be happening in 2 years. Is that a bad idea in this market? We are comfortable with breaking even. We aren't looking at this as a big investment opportunity. We don't want to lose money, of course. We figure a house at $300,000 would have monthly payments right around my husband's BAH.
I realize Great Neck is really more convenient because it connects at the top unlike Little Neck/Kings Grant. I've found that in San Diego it really helps to live near a freeway. Is that the case in Va Beach?
Thanks for helping me with all of my questions!

[Mark Sr.]

Originally Posted by MovingFromCali

Mark, thanks so much for your advice and help!
So, Pocohontas Village (?) is out? Thanks!
I appreciate you looking up some homes in our price range. Some of those I had been looking at myself and a few were new to me. What is this area--Southern Point? It's not familiar to me. Also the Aragona Acres.
I agree that it is a good idea to rent a house until you know the area and find out where you want to live. That ended up being what we did in San Diego, and it worked out really well. We just don't want to move twice. The military will move us the first time. Also, we won't be in VA Beach for too long. We will probably only be there 2 years. Why buy? Well, we've always rented, and we'd love to own. Also, we don't know what will be happening in 2 years. Is that a bad idea in this market? We are comfortable with breaking even. We aren't looking at this as a big investment opportunity. We don't want to lose money, of course. We figure a house at $300,000 would have monthly payments right around my husband's BAH.
I realize Great Neck is really more convenient because it connects at the top unlike Little Neck/Kings Grant. I've found that in San Diego it really helps to live near a freeway. Is that the case in Va Beach?
Thanks for helping me with all of my questions!

What areas in SD are your favorites?

Most of my rental property owners are Navy or former Navy who originally lived in the homes I now manage as rentals. If any end up not coming back east or just want to sell, I will list and sell their place for them.

Also Joint Forces (NATO) people are always coming here and they are the tenants everyone wants, but they are pretty adamant about particular schools.

Southern Points is in the heart of Great Neck off Old Donation Parkway, which leads east to the hospital on First Colonial Rd. Aragona is in the Independence Blvd. corridor, north of the Town Center.

Traffic here is much easier than in SD. the northern half of VA Beach has 4 main North/South roads. They are Atlantic/Pacific Ave. at the beach, then Great Neck Road, Little Neck (you are correct about the dead end to the north), and Independence Blvd. Then you have Shore Drive for East/West travel to the north, and VB Blvd/I-264 for E/W travel to the south.

-Mark

[MovingFromCali]

Hi Mark,
As far as good places to live in San Diego: We really love where we live now, which is Tierrasanta. It is right off the freeway, right in the middle of a bunch of freeways (off the 15 between the 8 and the 52) so it is easy to get anywhere in minutes. We lived in the northern suburbs when we first moved here, and we were miserably sitting in traffic or going from stop-light to stop-light to get anywhere. Life is smooth sailing now!
I'm the kind of person who likes to be driving fast, even if it means I go further to get where I'm going. I think it's an impatience problem!
Anyway, thanks for all the help with VA Beach. I really hope we find the perfect place the first time around!

[citydweller]

I have been looking at Pocohontas Village myself since I seem to be priced out of Pembroke Manor (east). I think PV is a neighborhood in transition. I found some homes (streets) to be better than some but I also noticed today a brand new home that had been built there. I think the area will continue to improve much like Pembroke Manor because of Town Center.