Military Family moving to Norfolk (Chesapeake, Hampton: apartments, renters, condo)

[missyanne24]

Hey out there!

My husband and I (along with our 16 month old daughter) will be transferring to the Norfolk area in June. He is in the navy and will be stationed at Naval Station Norfolk. We are trying to get a list together of places to look at when we come out that way for house-hunting leave in a couple of weeks, but it's proven to be pretty difficult.

We've heard some horrible things about pretty much all the areas of town, and I have no idea really where to start looking. Mainly we want somewhere that will be safe enough for us to live. My husband will be gone 8 months out of the year, and with my daughter and another on the way (due in May), our safety is my most important concern. We are currently living in Jacksonville, Florida, so while we are used to SOME level of crime, I would prefer not to move to the worst area in town, if you know what I mean.

We will need a 3 bedroom apartment, and we can pay up to about $1100 (high end) for a place. Does anyone have any suggestion of where to start?

We've found a couple of places so far...does anyone have any opinions on these places?
Archer's Green, 261 Suburban Pkwy Norfolk 23505
Crown Point Townhomes, 5369 Wyngate Dr. Norfolk 23502
Merrimack Landing, 8807 Monitor Way, Norfolk 23503
Mill Creek, 201 Mill Creek Parkway, Chesapeake 23323

Thanks so much for your help everyone...

[Crew Chief]

Missyanne24, maybe it's a bit of a curve ball, but when I was stationed at Langley AFB (in Hampton, across Hampton Roads from Norfolk) I lived in some really nice apartments just outside of one of Langley's gates (Heather Lake Apts) Several of my neighbors were stationed in Norfolk and thought the drive was worth it. (And facilities on LAFB were close at hand) At the time (late 80's) that was a pretty nice area, but I'll defer to other members who currently live in VA. Best of luck with your move!

[Alanboy395]

hampton may be a little far to commute to norfolk. sadly crew chief hampton has changed a little bit since the 80's. it's gotten a little trashy (especially phoebus area and south of armistead) but i still consider it a decent place to live. the traffic has gotten worse. hopefully h-town can change for the better. no one wants to see it change it more than this hampton native right here.

[ashbrn4]

It's been over 20 years for us since my husband was on active duty (currently on year 26 as a reserve officer) and stationed at Norfolk, but we lived in VA Beach as did most of the officers and quite a few of the enlisted onboard. I also lived at least 7-8 months out of the year alone as he was deployed on a cruiser, the last year with my oldest son. We bought a small townhouse when he was an ensign and we had great neighbors. I have been back several times in the last few years and the commute hasn't really changed. Traffic from VA Beach to Norfolk could be heavy, but we just worked around it. You can rent a house fairly easily there too as a lot of investors have always bought there to rent to the transient military. What about a condo or a townhouse instead of an apt? My feeling is where people own is usually safer and friendlier than where it's all renters.

[missyanne24]

Thanks everybody for your input so far... do any of you know about the apartments I listed above? Those are the top ones that we will be visiting in a couple weeks, but since I'm 29 weeks pregnant, I'm trying to limit my wandering around Norfolk time to as little as possible.

How about Portsmouth in general?

[Alanboy395]

portsmouth is a little rough but still has OK areas like all the other cities in HR. avoid prentis park.

[Stonecoldharbours]

Portsmouth? Would never reccomend it, live in JCC in Williamsburg, if you can afford 170 or so for townhome or condo, you should be fine, its a world difference from other surrounding areas and you have a great school system too! JCC really can't be beat!

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

hampton may be a little far to commute to norfolk. sadly crew chief hampton has changed a little bit since the 80's. it's gotten a little trashy (especially phoebus area and south of armistead) but i still consider it a decent place to live. the traffic has gotten worse. hopefully h-town can change for the better. no one wants to see it change it more than this hampton native right here.

Sigh... Sorry to hear that, Alanboy. Yes, I guess places do change. Phoebus and South of Armistad weren't that great when I lived in Hampton. I can imagine that they haven't improved with age.

[missyanne24]

Well, it's sounding like the Norfolk area in general is pretty hit or miss with neighborhoods. That's what I was afraid of! Ah well...we'll see when we get out there, I guess!

Thanks everybody!

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by ashbrn4

It's been over 20 years for us since my husband was on active duty (currently on year 26 as a reserve officer) and stationed at Norfolk, but we lived in VA Beach as did most of the officers and quite a few of the enlisted onboard. I also lived at least 7-8 months out of the year alone as he was deployed on a cruiser, the last year with my oldest son. We bought a small townhouse when he was an ensign and we had great neighbors. I have been back several times in the last few years and the commute hasn't really changed. Traffic from VA Beach to Norfolk could be heavy, but we just worked around it. You can rent a house fairly easily there too as a lot of investors have always bought there to rent to the transient military. What about a condo or a townhouse instead of an apt? My feeling is where people own is usually safer and friendlier than where it's all renters.

Well said, ma'am! Couldn't agree more with the advice to buy vs. rent. Missyanne, if hubby will be homeported in Norfolk for a while and your finances will support it, I'd highly recommend buying. Ashbrn4 made a real good point about the neighbors; you will notice that neighborhoods with a lot of renters generally aren't as nice as those where the owners live there... you've probably already though about it, but I'd definitely touch base with the housing folks in Norfolk (and at Langley if you guys decide on the Peninsula...) Best of luck (and congrats, too!)