Moving from LA to Norfolk, is it anything like Northern Colorado?

[Poquoson7]

Originally Posted by TN Lily

Poquoson7, I don't believe there is a perfect Shangri-La. It's all about personal preferences & context. Even with individuals, a "good" place to live when you are 25 may be a "bad" place when you are 60. And places change over time too. I've gathered that many of the bad neighborhoods in the east end of NN featured in the news for crime weren't always like that and at one time were considered good neighborhoods.

I prefer the mountains to the ocean. I would rather be somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley.

Jobber123rd, that's a hefty meals tax!

Do the beaches in Sandbridge have public access?

I don't believe there is a perfect Shangri-La either but you did mention it in passing.
The Shenandoah Valley is gorgeous. Maybe someday you can make your way back there and settle down.

It seems that every larger town/city has genteel areas that have now gone to seed.
The Denbigh section of NN has shown that the process can indeed accelerate and come into newer areas only 40 years old.
Cheap vinyl sided homes were built on top of one another in subdivisions amidst the farm fields in the 60's-70's and are now becoming Section 8 communities. Ironically these "newer" subdivisions were thrown up to house people leaving the older downtown and southeast sections of the city.

I like NN and appreciate it's history but the midtown/Oyster Point area is by far the nicest district in the city and I rarely go to the other areas of town. I think most people on the Peninsula feel the same way. If the amount of energy/synergy involved in midtown could be channeled to the north and south the city of Newport News would be so much more full of possibility.

Spot on with the good and bad "place" feeling relative to age.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by danistarr

Hi everyone,

I moved from northern CO (born in Ft.Collins, city hopped between Greeley, Ft.Collins, Loveland, Windsor area while growing up) to Los Angeles, CA with my boyfriend when he got offered his dream job.

Los Angeles is about the last city I'd ever want to live. My boyfriend LOVES it here though, he would love to spend the rest of his life here, he loves the busy, bustling city life. I've always been more of a country girl, so I hate it, excluding all the vegan restaurants here, and I do appreciate all the diversity here and how it's very vegan and alternative friendly.

I hate the blistering hot summers (and falls, and winters, and springs), seeing all the homeless people (we live near downtown and not too far from Skid Row, just walking 8 blocks to the bus, I walk by easily 50 homeless people in the park. It breaks my heart) that there are no true seasons, NO SNOW (I miss snow so much, I miss shoveling snow), all the horrible traffic and no parking, and how expensive it is for renting here (we went from a $485 600 sq foot one bedroom in CO, to a $800 under 250 square foot bachelor apartment in LA that's infested with roaches in a bad area)

We've been here for over 3 years now, and I just can't see living the rest of our lives here, happily. I'd move back home to CO in heart beat, but unfortunately there aren't any opportunities job wise for him there.

I've found a dream job in Norfolk, VI (the office in Norfolk, and I'd be working in the more rural areas of Hampton Roads), and he would be able to find a job with the same company as well, that would be comparable to the one that he has currently. He would just be transferring basically to their Norfolk office, and it'd be easy for me to get hired.

Any hoo, how is Norfolk, VI compared to northern Colorado and central Los Angeles?

I've been scouring craigslist and other rental sites, and have found many 2-3 bedroom houses with backyards for between $800-$1200 a month, which is crazy cheap and affordable compared to here.

Things that are important to know, we:
-are both atheists. I'm the quiet, don't talk about religion and will go to a church or whatnot with family members without saying a peep about it, my boyfriend is far more outspoken about how he is against religion and when questioned about it, will hold a respectful, but obviously heated conversation with someone about it. Will this be a problem? From what I've read, Norfolk seems to be a small town, more close minded, and gives a churchy feel. I just don't want to worry about feeling ostracized if we don't go to church every Sunday or offend people, kind of thing. If that makes sense?
-are both vegan (how vegan friendly is Norfolk?)
-would be bringing our 2 cats and 1 dog with us
-are 22 years old (we wouldn't be moving to Norfolk for 3 yrs though, as I have to have my driver's license for 3yrs to get the job)
-want to rent a small, 2-3 bedroom house with a big backyard, preferably near a beach (and with a fire place)
-want to live somewhere it snows (okay, that one is just me. Bring on the snowy cold winters!)
-want to live someplace nice (like in northern Colorado, not where trash is spewed everywhere on the ground)
-want to live somewhere where traffic isn't like LA, and not finding parking means having to park in the back of a parking lot
-want to live somewhere that's bike friendly. I use to bike everywhere back in CO, but it's terrifying and a nightmare in LA

Thanks for all the help! I know it's far out in advance, but I want to put a lot of thought and planning into this

Probably. Even though Norfolk is obviously a larger city with a greater metropolitan area than Fort Collins, the weather, and amenities, are probably more alike than they are different. The demographics are a lot different though. Definitely more Blacks and other minority groups in Norfolk than they are in Fort Collins, but having lived in LA you're probably used to that anyway.

As far as politics, religion, etc. you would be surprised it isn't the small town you think that it is. You might be thinking of some small city in Southwestern Virginia, but HR is not at all like what you're thinking, on that front.

[lafwitme]

I'm new to the board but have already found UHgrad to consistently provide thought, relevant, unbiased replies you're already in good hands.

I've only lived in the area 5 years but I still give my initial reaction. Without knowing much about Colorado or LA besides my generalized perception, backed up by your OP, I'd expect you to like Hampton Roads better than LA, but not as much as Colorado. It may end up being a great compromise between you and your boyfriend because of that.

To clear it up, I work in downtown Norfolk, but live in the suburbs of Norfolk in a very family friendly neighborhood. They exist, its just spotty, often from one block to the next.

You guys can work in Norfolk and have you pick of small city life in downtown Norfolk (as in city, not town, def small tho, still has its crime like has been mentioned), artsy urban in Ghent with college students, find a safe Norfolk suburb, go into VB and have a larger pick of suburb and family areas, or down into Chesapeake and start getting into rural areas. And your commute will change but its doable. I think that means you have flexibility and may be able to find an area you both agree on.

Check out Chicks Beach area and places off of Shore drive if you'd like to live near the beach but not be in the touristy area. The rents probably will be higher than if lived further out, but you could find a cute place, a little smaller for $1200 I bet.

[xGrendelx]

From a native of Virginia and someone who has lived on the West Coast (in SF) and moved around a bit, here's my take:

Things that are important to know, we:
-are both atheists. I'm the quiet, don't talk about religion and will go to a church or whatnot with family members without saying a peep about it, my boyfriend is far more outspoken about how he is against religion and when questioned about it, will hold a respectful, but obviously heated conversation with someone about it. Will this be a problem? From what I've read, Norfolk seems to be a small town, more close minded, and gives a churchy feel. I just don't want to worry about feeling ostracized if we don't go to church every Sunday or offend people, kind of thing. If that makes sense?

Norfolk's not a small town. It's the urban and cultural hub of the region with about 250,000 residents. However, Southside Hampton Roads in many ways feels like one city because of the way people move and commute throughout the area. For example, I currently live and work in Norfolk, but usually hang out with friends and family in VB, and my fiance likes to shop in Chesapeake. Norfolk's not some isolated city. Think of how Pasadena is its own municipality in the LA area, but really it's all the same thing. With Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth lumped in, Hampton Roads feels more like a sprawling city of 900,000+ people.

For this reason, religion shouldn't be a problem. Are lots of folks religious in Norfolk? Yep. But lots of folks everywhere are religious. I'm an atheist myself, and never come across any issues because I don't make it an issue. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned "respect." Treat people with respect and you won't have to worry about anything. I'd advise your BF to tone it down because, well, who cares.

-are both vegan (how vegan friendly is Norfolk?)

It's not completely impossible to live a vegan lifestyle in Hampton Roads, and it's getting easier. Vegans are cool now, so you'll be fine.

-are 22 years old (we wouldn't be moving to Norfolk for 3 yrs though, as I have to have my driver's license for 3yrs to get the job)

As far as entertainment, Hampton Roads should have just about everything you're looking for. Decent clubs/bars/concert venues, good restaurants, outdoorsy stuff (especially water related), and it's a day-trip from Richmond (real "hipster darling" of a city) and DC. Not a good area for sporting events or super obscure cultural things.

-want to rent a small, 2-3 bedroom house with a big backyard, preferably near a beach (and with a fire place)

They exist, but not in your price range. You MIGHT be able to find a 3 bedroom house for 1200 or 1300, but it won't be on the water and won't be in the most desirable neighborhood.

-want to live somewhere it snows (okay, that one is just me. Bring on the snowy cold winters!)

We get more than LA, but no where near what CO gets.

-want to live someplace nice (like in northern Colorado, not where trash is spewed everywhere on the ground)

We've got places that are nice, and places with "trashed spewed everywhere on the ground" too. What determines which one you live in is what you can afford. There's lots of threads on this forum about "places to avoid in Hampton Roads" and they should give you an idea on what neighborhoods are the trash-spewy type.

-want to live somewhere where traffic isn't like LA, and not finding parking means having to park in the back of a parking lot

Not many places have the traffic issues LA has. But don't come here expecting never to sit in traffic. We have lots of bridges and tunnels in this region and each one sees its share of traffic woes. Most notorious, which you've probably already read about, is the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel that connects Hampton and Norfolk. Backups are there in both directions every morning and every evening, and every time someone breaks down or gets in an accident in or around the bridge-tunnel (which is more often than it should be). These backups can be seriously long sometimes. Last Friday during the evening rush, the Norfolk side was backed up 10+ miles.

This is a sprawled out area, not unlike LA. And it's sprawling out more and more as time goes on, which, among other things, means more traffic.

-want to live somewhere that's bike friendly. I use to bike everywhere back in CO, but it's terrifying and a nightmare in LA

They are a few bike friendly neighborhoods. Namely in Norfolk in the neighborhoods of Ghent and Freemason, as well as Downtown. Bike lanes are sprouting up more and more in Norfolk and VB because our local decision-makers are finally getting that people want to ride their bikes safely (imagine that!).

That being said, you won't find a 3 bedroom house in Ghent or Freemason, or probably in any neighborhood that is super bike friendly.