Suffolk, Smithfield, or others? (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: low crime, buying a house, buying)

[whitepinehokie]

My husband and I were planning on buying a house in Williamsburg (where we live now), but it looks like our jobs are going to Portsmouth and the hour plus drive will be too much.

We'd like something similar to Williamsburg. This is going to sound terrible, but I can't seem to find a mention of a Wal-Mart or similar store in Smithfield. It seems rather nice otherwise.

We're looking for a fairly suburban small town with very low crime rate and some nice restaurants. The hustle and bustle of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, etc. is really not what we're looking for.

Is Chesapeake as busy? There's a guy who lives in Suffolk, but I don't know much about that area. And if anyone knows of what's in Smithfield, I'd appreciate knowing. It seems like a nice town. Does everyone drive to Newport News or to Suffolk or are there WalMarts and Targets there that I can't find?

[damian]

The closest Walmart to Smithfield is either the one in Hampton (rather dumpy and ghetto) or the one in Suffolk near Harbour View (dont know much about that one). There are plans to open one in Smithfield though one day

[whitepinehokie]

My husband and I took a trip to Smithfield on Saturday and found it to be seemingly very nice. Does anyone know anything about living in Smithfield? We're very interested in buying a house there shortly. We'd be looking in the $250,000 range, roughly.

[stacylee926]

Smithfield is rather quaint, but a little remote. The North/east end of Suffolk is still uncongested, yet closer to shopping. Suffolk Walmart is right there at the Monitor Merrimac and there is a Walmart at Chesapeake Square which is just 10 min down the road. I really like the Suffolk/Isle of Wight corridor on Rt 17 - there are still farms and subdivisions (new and old) and a brand new strip mall with grocery and restaurants at Bennett's Creek. Traffic is also still managable in this area. The difference in driving to Portsmouth from Suffolk or Smithfield can be over 30 min. So if you don't mind that (and the remoteness of the area) then Smithfield might be a nice choice.

You might feel closer to civilization in Suffolk if you like convenience. A trip to Walmart from Smithfield will take at least 30 min.