Hampton Roads or Roanoke or somewhere else? (real estate, apartment)

[HLB]

Moving from Phoenix, AZ to Virginia need much help deciding where to live. The mountains are calling my name but so is the city with all the amenities and and water near Hampton Roads. We like older nieghborhoods...history.

We are self employed so we do not need jobs but we do need a population to support a plumbing cleaning and utiility locating company.

Housing cost is a factor too. We are heavily leveraged in real estate so our finances dictate we can only pay $150k for a home or rent. Condos will not work becuase we need secure parking for work truck and trailer is essentail for work; we have three dogs and two cats and a push me pull me (not really the last)....so we need a yard.

I need good micro brewed craft brewed beer monthly! (It can be hard to find in a small town) I love to have a good cask ipa now and then.

We enjoy a diverse group of friends therefore social tolerance of all ethneticities and sexual preferences is a must.

We love to have guest over two to three times a week for dinner and games or visa versa.

Smooth flowing traffic is important as i offer mobile service. It works for us here in Phoenix becuase everyone in going downtown when we/I am travelling out to jobs.

Costco, homedepot, and grocery necessary within 20 miles.

Starbucks or something comparable for emergencies.

We do not have kids so schools are not a big factor other than resale.

We love old homes. No new communities. No gated communities. No home owners associations.

Fresh air.

We love to enjoy our yard as well as the town.

Below is pasted someones criteria with my answers (sorry for not giving credit I forgot where I found this list).

-Where you are working........Where ever people need plumbing cleaning.
-How much you are willing to spend on housing 150K; $1500/month
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate 30 min
-If you have kids: Private school or public school? na
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? Small city excitement close. No suburbia.
-Community amenities important to you Please see above.
-Pie or cake? MMMMMMMMMMmm Boston Cream Pie!

Thanks. I look forward to all replies.

[Erma]

The Hampton Roads area (whichever city you chose) has everything you've mentioned.

[Spiritled]

Is there an Italian area - grocery stores etc. near Hampton, VA?

[runrgirl]

I agree that the Hampton roads area has all of what you have said is important except it is very very expensive to live here. The cost of homes is much higher than other areas, I think the mean is like 247K or something. Also rent is sky high here (a three bedroom home is about 1300). It is also totally ridiculous to keep an automobile or any vehicle here in Virginia. BEWARE if you have mulitple vehicles(you mentioned a trailer). Vehicle registration is extremely high compared to other states (Ohio and Tennessee for sure) and then you get slammed with an additional personal property tax for each vehicle, trailer, etc as well as having to get them inspected every year too which is another 20 bucks per vehicle. We have two vechicles which are not new and we had to pay a total of approx 375 per year just to have them. The water here bill here is very expensive compared to other areas. Also the traffic is very bad and people drive like they need to be on psychiatric medication. Positives are that the scenery(beach) is beautiful and the weather is great in the winter (no snow). However to us the negatives far outweight the positives. We moved to hampton roads this last year and are already getting the heck out of here due to the high cost of living. So before you move to Virginia, esp Hampton Roads do thorough research before you come so you don't have to pick up and move again right away.

[chesapeakesim]

I totally agree. And I still think the mean is higher than 247K, just pick up any real estate guide and it seems like 90% of the properties listed are $275K or above. And shoot, 1300 for a house rental is probably even higher, townhouses around me are going for about 1500 a month and my old one bedroom apartment I think is renting for $940/month. I know I sound like an old man, but it seems like it gets more expensive here every day. Like someone posted earlier, Hampton Roads is in the top 10 of least affordable cities based on cost of living, sharing company with cities like San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York. If you have the choice, choose somewhere else and you will get a lot more for your money. I am glad you are able to get out runrgirl, I wish I could be so lucky .