Is Virginia Beach THE city to raise a family??

[telemonster]

Iraq has zero to do with our freedom. The powers that be want you to live in fear of terrorists. This is how they control you. Please do your part as an American, and go shopping.

The expensive parts of Virginia Beach are probably okay to raise kids in. The poor parts are not. I had a coworker that moved to 757 from Seattle (from Microsoft). They tried to do research but their kid ended up in a school where the kids all acted ghetto. Kid was miserable (they were in a night hood). Ended up moving to a different neighborhood in VaBeach and the kid moved to First Colonial HS and I believe he was much happier. Now kid is going to HS and they are working on relocating back to Seattle. I think everyone that moved here for the company hated it and moved away.

Just my observation.

This was a tech company, prob mostly 6 figure salaries, stock options, etc.

[Scottfromhouston]

I am looking at a possible retirement areas to live. My idea is to purchase a home in the next year or so, rent the property for 15 years and then retire there. I am looking for an home close to the beach, without to much jet noise, and the ability to walk, swim in, and fish. Are hurricanes a problem in Virginia beach? Ideally I would like to live on the beach but if there was a channel i could put a boat on and get to the ocean, that would be OK too. What area would the local people suggest?

[jhrichmond]

Originally Posted by Scottfromhouston

I am looking at a possible retirement areas to live. My idea is to purchase a home in the next year or so, rent the property for 15 years and then retire there. I am looking for an home close to the beach, without to much jet noise, and the ability to walk, swim in, and fish. Are hurricanes a problem in Virginia beach? Ideally I would like to live on the beach but if there was a channel i could put a boat on and get to the ocean, that would be OK too. What area would the local people suggest?

I suggest the area between the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and First Landing State Park.
Google Maps
You are on the bay rather than the Atlantic and away from most of the tourists. There are neighborhoods on Lynnhaven Bay with boat docks and houses and condos on the ocean. There is no jet noise in that area. I can give you some specific examples if you give me your price range.
*I am a Realtor, but not in Virginia Beach. I have a condo there and am very familiar with the area. Not trying to sell anything

[rtandc]

Originally Posted by Scottfromhouston

I am looking at a possible retirement areas to live. My idea is to purchase a home in the next year or so, rent the property for 15 years and then retire there. I am looking for an home close to the beach, without to much jet noise, and the ability to walk, swim in, and fish. Are hurricanes a problem in Virginia beach? Ideally I would like to live on the beach but if there was a channel i could put a boat on and get to the ocean, that would be OK too. What area would the local people suggest?

Honestly Virginia is not one of the better states to retire in but what it may be like in 15 years is anyone's guess.....The jet noise issue will be your biggest problem as an area that does not see allot of jet noise today may get direct fly overs next week......there are no set flight patterns that the jet base must follow so 100% of the air space is fair game.

Price of homes will be your next biggest issue as homes on the water be it the ocean/bay or inland waterways that have deep water access have lost little value even with today's housing market crash...so attempting to get fair market rent on a home like this in today's market would be very difficult as rental prices have dropped more on single family homes then the actual selling prices...If you are from Houston as your nickname states you will be very surprised at how expensive the home prices are in Hampton Roads compared to Houston

[Scottfromhouston]

Originally Posted by rtandc

Honestly Virginia is not one of the better states to retire in but what it may be like in 15 years is anyone's guess.....The jet noise issue will be your biggest problem as an area that does not see allot of jet noise today may get direct fly overs next week......there are no set flight patterns that the jet base must follow so 100% of the air space is fair game.

Price of homes will be your next biggest issue as homes on the water be it the ocean/bay or inland waterways that have deep water access have lost little value even with today's housing market crash...so attempting to get fair market rent on a home like this in today's market would be very difficult as rental prices have dropped more on single family homes then the actual selling prices...If you are from Houston as your nickname states you will be very surprised at how expensive the home prices are in Hampton Roads compared to Houston

I have never been to Virginia, but the map and pictures seem very nice. The weather is a factor for considering retirement there. Some of the posts I have read seem very positive. A realtor e-mailed and said there are areas to live that don't have the jet plane noise. Is that accurate? I would be looking at a home with access to the ocean by boat. I don't think I could afford a home directly on the ocean. Why wouldn't it be nice to retire in the area? Specific answers would help.

[rtandc]

Originally Posted by Scottfromhouston

I have never been to Virginia, but the map and pictures seem very nice. The weather is a factor for considering retirement there. Some of the posts I have read seem very positive. A realtor e-mailed and said there are areas to live that don't have the jet plane noise. Is that accurate? I would be looking at a home with access to the ocean by boat. I don't think I could afford a home directly on the ocean. Why wouldn't it be nice to retire in the area? Specific answers would help.

I have lived in Virginia for about 40 years but plan to retire elsewhere in 2-3 years, Va does not have very favorable income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, health care plans or tax advantages for retiree's compared to states boarding VA like NC or Tenn. Also the cost of living in Hampton Roads is very high compared to many other cities that offer pretty much the same activities...In fact if you look at most retirement guides Texas is either the 1st or 2nd favorite state to retire in because of things like no state income tax

Not to say anything bad about a Realtor but they just want to sell you a house, just like a car salesman that wants to sell you a car.....It is your job to find out if there are any issues with that car just like it is your job to find out about possible jet noise issues when buying a house.......

Are there places in Va Bch where the jet noise is not bad most of the time.....sure... but search "jet noise" on this forum and look at the number of post where people are complaining about jet noise......You have people that will debate the jet noise issue by saying they like the jet noise and it is the sound of freedom etc but how ever they want to try and paint the picture it is still jet noise.....

I live in an area in Va Bch where loud jet noise is rare (but it has it's days) but I am also not on any type of deep water so my neighborhood would not do you any good.....there are not to many places in Va Bch where you would not hear at least some jet noise, sure we have neighborhoods that the jet noise is so loud the windows of the house rattle when the jets fly over and the jets are so low you can wave at the pilots..... we also have neighborhoods where you would not hear the jets unless you were outside and then it would be just a dull roar in the distance.........now what is a bearable noise level would be a personal decision you would have to make

Depending on the size of your boat and how much water it draws fully loaded will make a big difference on which neighborhoods you would have to choose from....there are plenty of neighborhoods on the water but many of them do not have access to the bay or ocean due to the low mean tide being so shallow