Crime in Norfolk (Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth: renting, neighborhoods, buy)

[summers19]

Good guess...I live in Chesapeake. In fact, many people in my neighborhood leave their windows open at night (and for you prowlers out there I will not state where in Chesapeake we reside) Ha ha. Some even leave their garage doors open, until we knock on each others' door or call them around 11:00pm to remind them to close their doors.

Originally Posted by EMERALDGIRL

Just curious, what part of HR do you reside in? I have lived here for quite sometime in a nice area of Ghent but would NEVER leave my car unlocked, or my windows open at night! Would like to know where there is actually a place like this in the Tidewater area - besides Pungo or maybe Chesapeake.

[msween2007]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

Of course you feel less racial tension, its not hard when you live in a 95% white area. Maybe you should explore Park Place, or how about down town Norfolk when the ships are in? Maybe you should be a white kid and attend 90% of high schools in Portsmouth or Norfolk, or be one of ten white people attending Norfolk State. You tell me about the racial tension then. Actually, you dont even need to go that far, just go in to ANY high school in the area, go in the cafeteria, and it will be neatly divided along racial lines. If you go to a black school, there will be a white table with every white kid in the school huddled at it, and it you go to a white school, it will be the opposite, with very few crossing over either way.

That is precisely what I was alluding to Lethal. I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of ignorance, so I would rather stay away from schools in those areas. What area are you talking about that is 95% white? I have not seen anything even remotely close to that. Mostly all I see are a majority black or a 50/50 split. It doesn't matter to me what races are in the neighborhood as long as they are decent law abiding people, who cares what color they are.

[stacylee926]

Originally Posted by Lethal_Poison

Of course you feel less racial tension, its not hard when you live in a 95% white area. Maybe you should explore Park Place, or how about down town Norfolk when the ships are in? Maybe you should be a white kid and attend 90% of high schools in Portsmouth or Norfolk, or be one of ten white people attending Norfolk State. You tell me about the racial tension then. Actually, you dont even need to go that far, just go in to ANY high school in the area, go in the cafeteria, and it will be neatly divided along racial lines. If you go to a black school, there will be a white table with every white kid in the school huddled at it, and it you go to a white school, it will be the opposite, with very few crossing over either way.


I have a great question for you though, do you ever make yourself sick with the unrealistically rosy picture you refuse to detract from? You are the absolute definition of a "homer". Even if your team goes 0-16, you are still talking about "how great the quarterback played". This might be the best place you ever lived, but its the worst place many of us can ever imagine living.

Lethal - I have no idea why you always bash me personally. If I am a 'homer', then you have got to be the exact opposite. You are negative about EVERYTHING. I am not sure where you got the idea that I live in a 95% white area but you are wrong! Go check the city-data stats on Portsmouth. My son goes to High School in Portsmouth and he has not gotten into any racial fights yet. He has friends that are black and white - AND sits with them at lunch.

This 'place' is definitely not the best place I have lived - nor is it the worst. However, I chose to live here and I will do everything in my power to make my life positive.

[msween2007]

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Lethal - I have no idea why you always bash me personally. If I am a 'homer', then you have got to be the exact opposite. You are negative about EVERYTHING. I am not sure where you got the idea that I live in a 95% white area but you are wrong! Go check the city-data stats on Portsmouth. My son goes to High School in Portsmouth and he has not gotten into any racial fights yet. He has friends that are black and white - AND sits with them at lunch.

This 'place' is definitely not the best place I have lived - nor is it the worst. However, I chose to live here and I will do everything in my power to make my life positive.

Good for you Stacylee!! I enjoy reading Lethal's posts though...you cannot get an accurate picture without looking at the good and the bad.

Here in Big Spring, if you ask the general person, they would say they hate this town and that it has nothing to offer. After you talk to A LOT of people though, you start to understand what is lying underneath the animosity of some and the downright arrogance of others. Big Spring has a pretty high crime rate compared to other cities of its size, that is why my kids go to school in another town. It is my job to screen things over and to protect them. I will do no less in moving to the HR area...that is why I am starting now...trying to talk to as many people as possible so I get the most accurate picture I can. I will take what you have said about the Churchland area into consideration when we start looking for a house to rent.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by msween2007

That is precisely what I was alluding to Lethal. I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of ignorance, so I would rather stay away from schools in those areas. What area are you talking about that is 95% white? I have not seen anything even remotely close to that. Mostly all I see are a majority black or a 50/50 split. It doesn't matter to me what races are in the neighborhood as long as they are decent law abiding people, who cares what color they are.

If you go in to about 85% of the areas that are in the Cox school district in Virginia Beach, you will find 95% white areas. That is really the only place I can think of off the top of my head where you could really find that. There are little extremely high priced pockets of housing around that have that type of demographic, but there is no real vast tract that you will find that.

[Lethal_Poison]

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Lethal - I have no idea why you always bash me personally. If I am a 'homer', then you have got to be the exact opposite. You are negative about EVERYTHING. I am not sure where you got the idea that I live in a 95% white area but you are wrong! Go check the city-data stats on Portsmouth. My son goes to High School in Portsmouth and he has not gotten into any racial fights yet. He has friends that are black and white - AND sits with them at lunch.

This 'place' is definitely not the best place I have lived - nor is it the worst. However, I chose to live here and I will do everything in my power to make my life positive.

Im not bashing you personally, Im not trying to insult you, but I do believe you to be a homer, and yeah, I probably am the polar opposite. This is probably because Ive lived pretty much the worst of what Hampton Roads has.

By the way, I also went to 6 middle/high schools in the area, and every single one of them that didnt require you to sit in a team was racially segregated, and even those that required you to sit in a team were racially segregated within the team.


Speaking of racial fights.....I can say that I have experienced being in numerous racially motivated fights on the defensive end (in other words, I was attacked by black gangs for being white). This is when I lived in a neighborhood that was about 90% black, so I know it happens in the area.

[rtandc]

Originally Posted by msween2007

I am getting concerned about the prospect of moving to Hampton Roads. I see mention of crime in and around Norfolk almost every website that I look at. Since I have two boys that would be attending school, I do not want them located in an area that has kids wandering the streets looking for trouble to get into. I don't need that kind of thing to worry about.

I hear that Western Branch and Hickory are good schools to go to, but what are the drop out rates there? Does anyone know? What are the percentages of gang related activity in and around Norfolk? My husband told me that when he was 18 he got jumped on in Norfolk by a gang of guys (presumably to steal his motorcycle), just for riding down the street. I don't want my kids around that kind of activity.

I have been considering now, moving to NC and commuting to Norfolk to go to ODU. I know that they say the traffic is horrid, but I would rather deal with that, then what comes with gang activity.

How many people would walk down their street, say about 3 in the morning, and not be worried about being jumped, raped, robbed and so forth? Rich neighborhoods do not guarantee safety either. You could have a $600,000 house and the guy living in the house next to you could have a meth lab in his basement.

Are there places there that are safe in and around Norfolk, that people would not be worried to allow their aging mother to live in a house by herself?

What is the racial tension like there, between all the races? These are questions that I would like to know BEFORE I actually move there so I know what to be prepared for.

Thanks

You ask allot of questions and I will try and answer a few of them....

First about gangs....Yes there is a gang problem in this area....Norfolk gets most of the press because it does have the highest crime stats in the area and Norfolk does have a major gang problem.(bloods, crips etc) What many people fail to undestand is that the other cities are almost as bad....Va Bch has one of the largest networks of MS13 gang members outside of Northern VA on the east coast. Certain gangs and gang members are not just confined to one certain neighborhood or even one city..you have a number of gang members that live in one city or neighborhood and belong to a gang from another neighborhood or city...

I live is a pretty nice neighborhood in Va bch and it a very safe neighborhood as far as crime stats and I would not have a problem walking down the street myself at 3 in the morniing but I woud not want my wife or kids doing the same.....Crime can and will happen anywhere and most crime victims are just that....people who are at the wrong place at the wrong time making themself easy victims of "crimes of opportunity"....Many people feel just because they are in a nice high dollar neighborhood that they are safe from crime...that is not true.....

As far as the racial tension in the area....as far as true "tension" you will hear about cases of that more in the lower class neighborhoods or at schools or large events but there are problems elsewhere but not as bad as it is in bigger cities ...One thing you will see allot of in this area is the race card being used...Norfolk city council is famous for using it and there is a great example of it going on in the paper this week.....

No place is perfect, Hampton Roads is a nice place but like anywhere else it does has its problems....

[msween2007]

Originally Posted by rtandc

You ask allot of questions and I will try and answer a few of them....

First about gangs....Yes there is a gang problem in this area....Norfolk gets most of the press because it does have the highest crime stats in the area and Norfolk does have a major gang problem.(bloods, crips etc) What many people fail to undestand is that the other cities are almost as bad....Va Bch has one of the largest networks of MS13 gang members outside of Northern VA on the east coast. Certain gangs and gang members are not just confined to one certain neighborhood or even one city..you have a number of gang members that live in one city or neighborhood and belong to a gang from another neighborhood or city...

I live is a pretty nice neighborhood in Va bch and it a very safe neighborhood as far as crime stats and I would not have a problem walking down the street myself at 3 in the morniing but I woud not want my wife or kids doing the same.....Crime can and will happen anywhere and most crime victims are just that....people who are at the wrong place at the wrong time making themself easy victims of "crimes of opportunity"....Many people feel just because they are in a nice high dollar neighborhood that they are safe from crime...that is not true.....

As far as the racial tension in the area....as far as true "tension" you will hear about cases of that more in the lower class neighborhoods or at schools or large events but there are problems elsewhere but not as bad as it is in bigger cities ...One thing you will see allot of in this area is the race card being used...Norfolk city council is famous for using it and there is a great example of it going on in the paper this week.....

No place is perfect, Hampton Roads is a nice place but like anywhere else it does has its problems....

Thanks rtandc for your comments. I will take them under advisement.

[the4pits]

LP, come on man, its not that bad. This isnt deep south. I was born and raised here and its not nearly as you described. Most kids these days are the opposite. Alot of white kids are "hip-hop" ,and go to any skate park and 1/4 of the kids are black. Sure in areas that are mainly white or black you will see more separation, but the area as a whole in more intagated than most of the country. VB was rated as having the most racially integrated homeowners in the country. Just google it. I understand to some extent what you are trying to say, but racial tension exists everywhere.

[msween2007]

I have come to the conclusion that I am just going to have to see things there for myself. Everybody's responses seem to be colored by their own perception of what is really going on there and none of them really give an accurate picture of what the true reality of it all is. I thank all for their replies though.