Is Virginia Beach THE city to raise a family?? (2009, loan)

[anna8567]

I disagree with the others. I have seen an awful side to Virginia Beach. It is transient and the children mature way to early and are exposed to a wide variety of adult themes. I have seen children out with there parents as they were drinking heaviy. The entire community appears to be an extension of high school and the adult tend to gossip defame as children often do. So, if you want your children to grow up too early with a lack of empathy, it's for you.

[hurley89]

If you like the outdoors, good schools, beaches, a mild climate, a diverse population, and endless things to see and do then you'll like Virginia Beach. Also, just because you live in Virginia Beach doesnt mean you dont have access to the whole area. Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the Peninsula are also filled with lots to do. But to live and raise a family I'd choose Virginia Beach. Chesapeake is good too, but I find Chesapeake pretty boring and Stepfordwife-ish. It gives me an uptight, snobby, conservative vibe. Not as laid back as VB. The schools there are excellent though. The choice is yours though.

[chesapeakesim]

Looks like this is a pretty old post so am sure the original poster has already made his choice. But for everyone else that is thinking of moving to VA Beach (or nearby cities), Forbes has rated VA Beach as one of the least family friendly cities in the US.

America's Most And Least Family-Friendly Cities - Forbes.com

The article is more focused on family budgets, but that dictates a lot of how desirable a place is to raise a family. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when a major magazine cites a city as undesirable to raise a family, potential residents of VA Beach should think twice about moving here.

[GoPhils]

Yeah, it seemed like the only aspect that article took into consideration was the percentage of annual income consumed by the budget. I think you guys already established that VB can be an expensive place to live considering the low salaries (on average). Although that would be an important consideration, I'd think there are much more criteria than that.

However, that article lost a lot of credibility to me when it named Detroit as one of the most family-friendly.

It also had a link to another article about the cities where homeowners are losing equity the fastest, and VB was #1. I guess that's a good thing for people looking to buy? But it again seems in contrast to some on here that say that home prices in VB are not declining as much as the rest of the country.

[kellykatscratch]

Here's the thing no matter where you go in Hampton Roads, stay out of these places 1) Portsmouth 2) East Oceanview in Norfolk 3) South Norfolk, and your children will be fine in school. Norfolk has a negative reputation as far as schools, etc. Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and York County are the BEST places to be for schools, events, and overall nice people. There is a lot of Military around here so you will meet people from everywhere just like you do in Chicago. This area isn't as good as Chicago about cleaning up traffic accidents, and with 4 tunnels, traffic can be delayed 2 hours because of a serious accident. Good Luck!

[kellykatscratch]

Originally Posted by anna8567

I disagree with the others. I have seen an awful side to Virginia Beach. It is transient and the children mature way to early and are exposed to a wide variety of adult themes. I have seen children out with there parents as they were drinking heaviy. The entire community appears to be an extension of high school and the adult tend to gossip defame as children often do. So, if you want your children to grow up too early with a lack of empathy, it's for you.

This has a lot to do with the Military populations. But not everyone drinks around their children, your generalizing about an entire city of people.

[kellykatscratch]

Even though you read an article, the value of homes may not be going up as much in VA Beach but it is stable. Due to the amount of Military members who buy homes in this area and stay for their whole career, the market is stable.

[GoPhils]

Originally Posted by kellykatscratch

Even though you read an article, the value of homes may not be going up as much in VA Beach but it is stable. Due to the amount of Military members who buy homes in this area and stay for their whole career, the market is stable.

It's not going up (or stable), it's going down.

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by kellykatscratch

This has a lot to do with the Military populations. But not everyone drinks around their children, your generalizing about an entire city of people.

It's a little ironic that you just complained about generalizing about an entire city of people, right after you generalized about all military people.

[telemonster]

Here, I can do better than all of you.

It comes down to money. Got a bunch of it? Then you can get a house in a higher priced area and send your kids to a school where the kids "act white."

If not, there is plenty of low income areas to ruin the other schools.

Overpriced, highly transient, and little to no soul.

Growth industries always seem to be rim shops, payday loans, and any business that takes advantage of the obviously not-so-wise Military folks that go to these E-1 and up financed furniture/rims/stereos stores that are always advertised. I have a gut feeling that these same people armed with housing allowance are contributing to the real estate bubble in the area as well, but don't care enough about them to investigate.

There is also lots of churches and religion, but it shouldn't be too hard to protect your children from these.