Most desirable areas to live in Norfolk, VA? (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake: real estate, housing)

[OceanAlli]

My fiance and I are looking to move to Norfolk after our wedding in May '09. We have been looking at real estate there and aren't familiar enough with the area to know if any are better than others. He is looking to attend grad school at Old Dominion, so preferably somewhere within 10 minutes of the campus. We are 30-ish and also looking for a nice, safe neighborhood type setting, good for walking dogs and close to restaurants, without being too "college-y".

Any suggestions on what areas might be best for us?

[Erma]

Are you interested in a new community or older? You don't want to live near the campus if you don't want to be around the "collegey" crowd.

[Bong477]

Ghent is the best area in Norfolk and meets all your criteria easily. It is also the most expensive.... no idea what your budget is, whether you want to buy a house, rent an apartment, etc. I wouldn't call it very college-y. West Ghent is also nice, but a little more purely residential. I really loved Ghent when we lived there and miss it a lot, although most of the rest of Norfolk isn't all that great and overall I'm happy to be out of the area.

Larchmont & Edgewater which are the area next to Old Dominion is a very nice community as well, but it is also very residential and not like Ghent where there is a lot of walkable stores and places to eat. It is nice for walking with or without dogs. It is also kind of on the expensive side... there are some really fabulous homes but there are also some more reasonable ones. Don't live directly south of ODU, its a combination of "ghetto" and college student housing. Directly east of ODU on the numbered streets may be tolerable, but its mostly college student housing too.

The only other places I'd consider living within 10 min ballpark of ODU is in the area near DePaul Hospital (talbot park is it called, i can't remember) and Colonial Place/Riverview.

There are some nice VA Beach communities, but you'll definately be more than 10 mins away.

[OceanAlli]

I guess it doesn't matter if it's new or old. We are in upstate NY now and there are tons of charming historic buildings and neighborhoods. I guess maybe I do prefer something with a little more character... ?

And, I guess living within 10 minutes may be too much to ask. Maybe 15 or 20 would be fine. It's more important to be in a place that suits us. Walking distance to restaurants and shops is not a must. We have to drive a few minutes to anywhere from our current place, so that's not a big deal. We are both definitely over the college scene... although we are both lifelong students! And we are looking to buy. Not sure on a budget yet. That is going to depend how well we do on the sale of our current house next year. It just seems that all of the listings that I've seen say a section of Norfolk, which is where I get lost. I'll keep my eye out for Larchmont, Edgewater and Colonial Park/Riverview. Eventually we'll take a trip down to get a feel for the area, but a jumping off point is always good.

Any areas to avoid would also be very helpful. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Bong477]

Unfortunately, you probably want to avoid the majority of Norfolk. I'm sure there are other areas that are okay besides the ones I mentioned, but overall Norfolk isn't a great city where there are tons of nice places to live. Much of it is very urban with the typical urban problems... crime, drugs, run down homes, poverty, welfare culture, bad schools, etc. IMO, the areas I listed are the only ones I think would be worth considering dealing with the problems of Norfolk to live in. Personally, I wouldn't even consider going back to Norfolk unless I could afford a home in Ghent (starts at around 400-500k easily) or Larchmont (starts at around 300-350k). Oceanview I think is nice now as well, at least in parts, but I'm not familiar enough with it to comment on specifics. 4 years ago it was starting to be developed again, but it was pretty spotty. The only "college" area that I'd avoid would be the streets immediately south and west of ODU that I described.

You might want to check out cheasepeake or virginia beach if you don't mind a little longer commute. They will be a little less urban than Norfolk with both the good and the bad associated with that. I don't know enough about them to give you advice on specific sections though... VA Beach isn't universally nice and definately has some bad areas of its own but its not as widespread as they are in Norfolk.

[Erma]

Agree Bong...one thing nice about VB, is every development/neighborhood has what you need close by. Whether a Walgreen/Rite Aid, shopping centers, strip malls, restaurants and sports bars, it's all pretty convenient. We moved 6 miles from our old house to a new neighborhood and it's like a whole different world.

[OceanAlli]

Hmmmm... I'm getting discouraged!

Erma, is it reasonable to commute to the school from where you are in Virginia Beach? It sounds like what you were describing would be prefect. I have a freind that lived down there for a bit and he said that VB was a good 45 minutes from Norfolk... but maybe the beach itself?

[Bong477]

VA Beach is a big area, not just the ocean front. Some spots would be very reasonable, plenty of people do it everyday from VA Beach & Chesapeake. Living in Norfolk would obviously be easier... but its a trade off. In non-rush hour conditions, ODU is about 30 mins from the oceanfront.

If you are only looking to stay a few years during grad school, maybe renting is a better option. The short term real estate market is still pretty uncertain and Hampton Roads had a big run up on property values in the past few years. Even if you are looking to stay for a while, renting for a year (or 6 months if you can get a short term lease) while you get the feel of the area and then buying is worth considering.

I don't want to discourage you, but I don't want you to buy a place in the hood that you aren't going to be happy with either.

[OceanAlli]

I definitely agree. Unfortunately it's very hard renting with two large dogs. It can almost be more of a headache than just owning. We are looking to make a change from New York, so we'd rather try and move somewhere that we'll be happy for some years. In that case, maybe we'll have to commute so we don't have to sacifice living somewhere that we'll really enjoy.

I haven't explored the renting option.... maybe VA is a bit more dog-friendly than NY??? I'll check it out. My full time job is in property management for apartment communities anyway, so it's something I'll have to look into for that reason also.

[stltova]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Norfolk, especially if you can afford Larchmont or Ghent. Cromwell Park is another cute neighborhood too. However, if you plan to start a family, the public schools are not so good so you'd be looking at private.

Virginia Beach (Great Neck)is where we live and we like it. My husband commutes to downtown Norfolk each day- he leaves at 645am so it only takes 25 minutes.
I wouldn't consider Chesapeake, myself b/c I want to be near the ocean and good eating establishments. Plus, most of the neighborhoods lacked character. Not all, but many.

But really, don't rule out Norfolk, not until you have visited!!!! If we didn't love the ocean so much (it's a 5 min drive to the Bay for us), we'd surely consider Larchmont. The homes are so beautiful and with the recent price drops, Larchmont is much more affordable than when we looked at it 18 months ago.