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Old 07-16-2017, 07:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 3,738 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello! I live near Northern Virginia and enjoy hiking, camping, trail running, & outdoor activities but also the convenience of suburban life. I graduate nursing school in December and have been thinking of moving down for work to Norfolk.

At first I was thinking of living in Virginia Beach so that I could pick up surfing and learn to enjoy the ocean. When I visited (VA beach near the boardwalk) and (Norfolk near downtown) both seemed a bit.... urban to me. I was thinking to myself, "Are backyard gardens even a thing here? Or places for dogs to run around and play?" The only forested area I remember was First Landing state park.

People have told me that Newport News has hellish traffic to get into Norfolk and that Suffolk might be too rural for me. I believe someone told me you can have bees and chickens in Chesapeake? I suppose I don't have a specific question but was curious to know the "flavors" of all the different areas down there. I'm a single guy with no family yet. Thanks!
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Old 07-17-2017, 02:09 AM
 
998 posts, read 1,239,759 times
Reputation: 1118
Hmm, I suppose one will find that a metro area of 1.7 million will have some "urban to me" aspects. What do you mean by that statement? Hopefully it's not what I think it is.
Why do you ask the question "are backyard gardens even a thing here?" Of course they're a "thing" here, what gives you the impression that they wouldn't be?

I would suggest you spend more time exploring the area, it sounds like you kind of skimmed the surface of this region and based your conclusions on a drive by. There is much to love about this area and some problems as well.

Do yourself a favor, visit with an open mind and try not to generalize and overthink what you see.

We moved here 11 years ago from the West Coast and love it, as mentioned there are negative issues here as there are anywhere else but IMO the positives totally outweigh the negatives.
Don't have the time to discuss the "flavors" of the area but there are fellow posters on this forum who will flavor it up for you.

Welcome to the area if you decide it's for you.

Last edited by Poquoson7; 07-17-2017 at 03:32 AM..
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Old 07-17-2017, 03:39 AM
 
Location: Roanoke, VA
1,813 posts, read 4,198,063 times
Reputation: 1177
Indorfpf, have you checked into nursing jobs in Norfolk? From prior threads, the impression I have is that nursing salaries are lower in Hampton Roads for various reasons. And housing costs are high for the area.

Poquoson7 loves the area and is a big supporter. You will find people on both sides of the fence on the virtues (or lack thereof) of the HR region.

I lived in Newport News and am glad to be gone for various reasons. Its minuses outweighed its positives for me. Walking through my neighborhood south of the Mariners Museum and CNU, there was only one house that had a backyard vegetable garden. Those folks also had a small chicken coop with four hens. I have no idea if that set up was legal. BUT you do not want to live in Newport News and work in Norfolk. Dealing with one of the tunnels 2X a day is not a good plan.

I am in Roanoke now and backyard vegetable gardens are far more common in my neighborhood here than they were in my section of NN.

HR has its pluses and minuses. Virginia Beach would be a nicer place to live IMO than Norfolk.

I found this online re the keeping of chickens in Norfolk. You would have to verify that it is still in effect:

https://www.norfolk.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10402

Good luck!
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Old 07-17-2017, 10:22 AM
 
979 posts, read 1,768,282 times
Reputation: 661
Quote:
Originally Posted by TN Lily View Post
Indorfpf, have you checked into nursing jobs in Norfolk? From prior threads, the impression I have is that nursing salaries are lower in Hampton Roads for various reasons. And housing costs are high for the area.
This. I'd look into this before making any decisions.

Beyond that, it sounds like you really didn't explore Virginia Beach very much. LOTS of it is suburbs, and some parts (like out in Pungo area) feel downright country-ish.

I'm guessing you're not really in the heart of NOVA if VB seems urban to you. We do have a Town Center that is trying to be similar to, say, a Reston Town Center, One Loudoun, Fairfax Corner, etc. But VB also has awesome rec centers, lots of parks, beaches (obviously), etc. I live in a tree-lined neighborhood (not new construction, so trees are actually big) in the Salem area, and people are always out walking or riding bikes. I have young kids, so I've taken them to lots of different parks to explore various playgrounds. And we've been to the beaches at Croatan and Sandbridge as opposed to the main oceanfront.

I grew up in a very rural town in New England. I lived in NOVA for about 10 years and moved to VB about 2.5 years ago. VB has areas that remind me of each, with the one major exception being that VB doesn't really have much in the way of hills (which I personally find to be a benefit).
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Old 07-17-2017, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Portsmouth, VA
6,514 posts, read 8,398,654 times
Reputation: 3822
Quote:
Originally Posted by indorfpf View Post
Hello! I live near Northern Virginia and enjoy hiking, camping, trail running, & outdoor activities but also the convenience of suburban life. I graduate nursing school in December and have been thinking of moving down for work to Norfolk.

At first I was thinking of living in Virginia Beach so that I could pick up surfing and learn to enjoy the ocean. When I visited (VA beach near the boardwalk) and (Norfolk near downtown) both seemed a bit.... urban to me. I was thinking to myself, "Are backyard gardens even a thing here? Or places for dogs to run around and play?" The only forested area I remember was First Landing state park.

People have told me that Newport News has hellish traffic to get into Norfolk and that Suffolk might be too rural for me. I believe someone told me you can have bees and chickens in Chesapeake? I suppose I don't have a specific question but was curious to know the "flavors" of all the different areas down there. I'm a single guy with no family yet. Thanks!
What is the question?

If you don't like the place because it's urban, then you already have your answer.

Having said that there are plenty of suburban areas here. You might like Chesapeake. Also keep in mind that the Southern portions of both Chesapeake and Virginia Beach might fit your bill. Northern sections of both cities are urban, because they border Norfolk and Portsmouth.
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Old 07-17-2017, 12:37 PM
 
998 posts, read 1,239,759 times
Reputation: 1118
Quote:
Originally Posted by TN Lily View Post
Indorfpf, have you checked into nursing jobs in Norfolk? From prior threads, the impression I have is that nursing salaries are lower in Hampton Roads for various reasons. And housing costs are high for the area.

Poquoson7 loves the area and is a big supporter. You will find people on both sides of the fence on the virtues (or lack thereof) of the HR region.

I lived in Newport News and am glad to be gone for various reasons. Its minuses outweighed its positives for me. Walking through my neighborhood south of the Mariners Museum and CNU, there was only one house that had a backyard vegetable garden. Those folks also had a small chicken coop with four hens. I have no idea if that set up was legal. BUT you do not want to live in Newport News and work in Norfolk. Dealing with one of the tunnels 2X a day is not a good plan.

I am in Roanoke now and backyard vegetable gardens are far more common in my neighborhood here than they were in my section of NN.

HR has its pluses and minuses. Virginia Beach would be a nicer place to live IMO than Norfolk.

I found this online re the keeping of chickens in Norfolk. You would have to verify that it is still in effect:

https://www.norfolk.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10402

Good luck!
I'm glad you got back to the western part of the state TN Lily and I bet you're a lot happier there. We had some differences of opinion from time to time but I always felt that you were a good, honest person.

Good Luck in Roanoke...
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Portsmouth, VA
6,514 posts, read 8,398,654 times
Reputation: 3822
Quote:
Originally Posted by indorfpf View Post
Hello! I live near Northern Virginia and enjoy hiking, camping, trail running, & outdoor activities but also the convenience of suburban life. I graduate nursing school in December and have been thinking of moving down for work to Norfolk.

At first I was thinking of living in Virginia Beach so that I could pick up surfing and learn to enjoy the ocean. When I visited (VA beach near the boardwalk) and (Norfolk near downtown) both seemed a bit.... urban to me. I was thinking to myself, "Are backyard gardens even a thing here? Or places for dogs to run around and play?" The only forested area I remember was First Landing state park.

People have told me that Newport News has hellish traffic to get into Norfolk and that Suffolk might be too rural for me. I believe someone told me you can have bees and chickens in Chesapeake? I suppose I don't have a specific question but was curious to know the "flavors" of all the different areas down there. I'm a single guy with no family yet. Thanks!
Your older more established urban areas are the original cities, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Newport News. The younger cities are more counties turned cities, similar to some of the areas in Northern Virginia.

The Oceanfront is a more urban part of Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are younger cities. Like the fifties and sixties, Baby Boomers, Hippies type of young, so while there are urban areas they're newer and cleaner than anything you'll find in the aforementioned cities. I would check them out. Very, very, young for a city. If Norfolk is a person that's 100 years old Chesapeake is like a pre teen, or like 12. That's how I look at it. Of course the counties go back a lot farther but as a city; I don't know if that helps any.

You also mentioned Newport News. There are two tunnels separating Newport News and Hampton from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake. That is one of the reasons for the traffic delays. The former is separated from the latter by a body of water.
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Old 07-18-2017, 04:06 AM
 
Location: Roanoke, VA
1,813 posts, read 4,198,063 times
Reputation: 1177
Thank you Poquoson7!

Roanoke is a much better fit for me. The James River in NN is beautiful and the variety of wildlife in the city - especially the birds of prey -- amazed me. I love visiting the ocean, but I really love seeing the mountains everywhere and everyday. In most places here, you get a view of at least one mountain. Drive anywhere and you'll have spectacular view. I love going up to the Star here.

Good luck!
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