Military Posting Summer 2012 (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Cana: fit in, transplants, apartment)

[dbartley]

Hello

Not sure if I should start a new thread or add on to one of the many other ones with similiar questions - so to be safe I started a new one.

My husband (Canadian military) has just received his message of posting to NS Norfolk for summer 2012. I have never even been in the USA, and know absolutely nothing of Virginia - which leads to my questions:

1. What is the best (safest, quietest, close to good senior high school) neighborhood within 15 minutes to half hour commute (rush hour) to the base to move to? We are looking for a rental house, 2500 square feet or so, 3 or more bedrooms, 2 or more baths, air conditioning, nice yard, cat allowed, non-smoking, attached 2 car garage, with all appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer) included. Cost is not much of an issue at this point, it's more based on housing size

EDIT: We are now looking at Chicks beach....anyone here live there? We do like the aspect of living near the beach or even right on the beach if possible. Any comments on that area - both good and bad are very welcome

2. I will be looking for work in the admin field - what are the work prospects in the area?(preferably government or educational institutions)

Not sure even what else to think about asking at this point, having only been informed of this move about half hour ago.

Thanks for any input or suggestions!

Diana

[dbartley]

Hoping someone in or near this area can respond. We will be down in the spring to find a place to rent - we have found what seems on the computer to be a great place - but need to know about the area - is it good, bad, high crime, etc - this place is near Page Court and Page Drive, close to Shore Drive in Virginia Beach (northeast zip 23451) Any thoughts?
We are looking for a 3 bedrom, 2 bathroom, newer place, on the beach, easy commute to Norfolk Naval Station, with lower crime and quieter area.
EDIT - cannot be more than 1700 square feet, $2000/m or less (hoping for less as with rent increase cannot go above $2000/m). We need it on or very close to a bus route close by senior high school. Would also really like to have a place with a fitness room and hot tub/pool (if apartment) or a yard (if house/duplex) And we have a very nice well behaved kitty and teenager (also very nice and well behaved haha).

One more thought - we are currently learning Spanish - any places we can continue to learn this language in VB? I have searched online but have not met with any luck....We want to learn this language as we will be moving to Central America in 4 years. I also need to find a school that teaches Human Resources or payroll and offers a 1 year certificate so I can be accustomed to US ways of doing these.

One more thought - any ideas on how easy or hard it may be for Canadians to fit in with Americans....We are a pretty laid back family - husband is more conservative while I am I guess more liberal???

Thanks for any input

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by dbartley

Hoping someone in or near this area can respond. We will be down in the spring to find a place to rent - we have found what seems on the computer to be a great place - but need to know about the area - is it good, bad, high crime, etc - this place is near Page Court and Page Drive, close to Shore Drive in Virginia Beach (northeast zip 23451) Any thoughts?
We are looking for a 3 bedrom, 2 bathroom, newer place, on the beach, easy commute to Norfolk Naval Station, with lower crime and quieter area.
EDIT - cannot be more than 1700 square feet, $2000/m or less (hoping for less as with rent increase cannot go above $2000/m). We need it on or very close to a bus route close by senior high school. Would also really like to have a place with a fitness room and hot tub/pool (if apartment) or a yard (if house/duplex) And we have a very nice well behaved kitty and teenager (also very nice and well behaved haha).

One more thought - we are currently learning Spanish - any places we can continue to learn this language in VB? I have searched online but have not met with any luck....We want to learn this language as we will be moving to Central America in 4 years. I also need to find a school that teaches Human Resources or payroll and offers a 1 year certificate so I can be accustomed to US ways of doing these.

One more thought - any ideas on how easy or hard it may be for Canadians to fit in with Americans....We are a pretty laid back family - husband is more conservative while I am I guess more liberal???

Thanks for any input

That area near Page Court and Page Drive is pretty nice. You can walk to the beach and are close to some good parks and shopping. You are pushing 30 minutes on a good day with the commute from there to Norfolk Naval Station. More likely 30 - 45 minutes from there... especially in the summer.

You shouldn't have any trouble fitting in unless you start telling people about how "things are better in Canada"... if you do that a lot then you may have issues. I don't think anyone will even notice that you are Canadian unless you make a big deal about it. This area is full of transplants, nobody is really concerned where you are from as long as you are nice.

I can't really offer any help on the rest of your questions.

[dbartley]

Great - thank you! I was really hoping this area was a nice one - on the map it looks pretty decent. Keeping my fingers crossed this place has an opening!! Cannot wait to move.

PS - I would not ever think of telling someone how it is better in Canada haha - that would be so rude Every country has its good and bad, I guess for us the excitement of moving to a new country is learning and adapting to a new way of living. Even though both countries have their similiarities I am sure there will be new things to learn and experience.

Diana

[jkhome]

Chicks beach would work, the HS for that area is Cox (AFAIK). You could also try the Thoroughgood area, slightly to the south. More single family residential, the HS for that area is Princess Ann. Both my kids graduated from there, great school.

You will do fine here, this area is more of a melting pot anyway, cause of the military. On a side note, last summer my son spend so much time playing video games on line with some buddies up in Canada, he started to pick up the accent.

[dbartley]

Haha - the accent. Growing up I was always bugged about my Islander accent though I could never detect it, always makes me wonder what I really sound like to others. Do people in Virginia have an accent?

[jkhome]

According to the Wiki we do

Tidewater accent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[dbartley]

JKhome - lol I just read the wiki entry. I guess we have to learn some new lingo. No worries I am sure we will do just fine. And we will probably give a laugh or two when we use words such as 'eh' or 'hey' to end our sentences. Funny, 'eh' is more of an Alberta word, I never used it while growing up in BC...but living here for over ten years it is now natural to use. Probably will pick up a few words here and there from Virginia McDonalds here is called mcdicks or mickey d's. It will be fun to learn new terminology.

[Erma]

Originally Posted by dbartley

JKhome - lol I just read the wiki entry. I guess we have to learn some new lingo. No worries I am sure we will do just fine. And we will probably give a laugh or two when we use words such as 'eh' or 'hey' to end our sentences. Funny, 'eh' is more of an Alberta word, I never used it while growing up in BC...but living here for over ten years it is now natural to use. Probably will pick up a few words here and there from Virginia McDonalds here is called mcdicks or mickey d's. It will be fun to learn new terminology.

Alot of us down here still use that "eh" and I believe you will fit in just fine.

[dbartley]

Someone in VB mentioned that there are some good places on Mariners Mark Way or an apartment called Cape Henry Towers - I think both are on Ocean Blvd or close to. Anyone know of the area and have thoughts as to safety, closeness to bus routes, pubs, grocery stores?

Thanks again for all responses!