Relocating to Virginia Beach! (HOA, houses, neighborhood)

[telemonster]

You should have no problems finding a rental for sub-$2000 in the Great Bridge school district.

Heck, for $2000 it better be a new McMansion, all brick in a snooty neighborhood (the kind filled with housing contractors going broke because the gravy train ended).

[Lovin'Life00]

Originally Posted by telemonster

You should have no problems finding a rental for sub-$2000 in the Great Bridge school district.

Heck, for $2000 it better be a new McMansion, all brick in a snooty neighborhood (the kind filled with housing contractors going broke because the gravy train ended).

Not exactly what I had in mind, haha. I am a very friendly person by nature, but I do have a bite. No way do I want to be surrounded with people who think they are better than anyone else. Surprisingly, it has been more difficult than I imagined. On Craig's list, there is often links for google maps, which has an interactive street view. Well, a few properties that I thought would be perfect, turned out horrible. I was able to look around the neighborhood, down the streets, and I was shocked at how many boarded up houses there were. Also, it was like everything was in disarray, not the clean lawns that I am used to. By no means did I grown up in a huge mansion, but even the lower priced houses in Michigan have nice lawns. It is a city thing and is thoroughly enforced. I guess it is not quite what I pictured, unless I am completely looking in the wrong area, which would not be surprising. I am just extremely stressed out at the moment. It seems that there are many bad neighborhoods and then good neighborhoods right next to them, in a strange pattern. It is hard to understand, considering I am not used to it. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be great. I am tempted to just rent a furnished place for a few months, and then take a look myself. Since my fiance works all the time, there is no way he can do it all himself and I am doing the best I can from 850 miles away...

[jhrichmond]

Try Realtor.com in zip 23451. Many are condo's, but on (or close to) the beach for under $2,000/mo., some with utilities included. You would have a 20-30 minute commute to Chesapeake, but the area would be very nice with great schools and very low crime.

[Cheerdiva]

A commute from Virginia Beach to Chesapeake is not a bad commute, depending on the locations. Virginia Beach is full of nooks n crannies. I moved here 10 years ago from Maryland, having been born n raised in northern New Jersey. I love VA Beach!

I have lived in the Hilltop area of Va Beach my entire time here and love it. My daughter will soon be 10. I have lived in the Maple Bay townhomes. I love this area, its a great area for families, its quiet, we are literally 3 miles from the Oceanfront. I worked in the greenbriar area of chesapeake and my work commute was 20-25 min, 18 miles each way, all highway driving. Schools in this area are great as well.

There are lots good family oriented neighborhood areas in Va Beach:

Red Mill
Christopher Farms
Alanton
Glenwood
Rosemont Forest
Lagamar
Courthouse Estates
Great Neck
Indian River Farms

check out greatschools.net for great info about area schools. feel free to dm if you have anymore questions.

HTH

[Belle77]

Courthouse Estates is a great neighborhood in Va Beach near Chesapeake. There are a few houses there in your price range. North Landing Elementary is nearby and a wonderful school. Other neighborhoods in 23456 wouldn't be too far from Chesapeake.

Good luck in your search.

[chesapeakesim]

Originally Posted by Lovin'Life00

Well, a few properties that I thought would be perfect, turned out horrible. I was able to look around the neighborhood, down the streets, and I was shocked at how many boarded up houses there were. Also, it was like everything was in disarray, not the clean lawns that I am used to. By no means did I grown up in a huge mansion, but even the lower priced houses in Michigan have nice lawns. It is a city thing and is thoroughly enforced. I guess it is not quite what I pictured, unless I am completely looking in the wrong area, which would not be surprising. I am just extremely stressed out at the moment. It seems that there are many bad neighborhoods and then good neighborhoods right next to them, in a strange pattern. It is hard to understand, considering I am not used to it.

This is common in Chesapeake. During the boom, developers would often just take an empty farm field and build 15-20 $600K+ houses and throw up a fancy sign calling the development Forest Estates or Bay Colony or whatever. However, the surrounding houses were pretty run down and they never had a true neighborhood feel. So if you saw the house by itself, it would look great, but then you look in the backyard and you had a crack house. Some developers would even intermingle the McMansions with the run down places on the same street. Really no thought to the overall aethetics of the neighborhood. That is why you can't just go by the house itself.

[hurley89]

The commute on I64 from Chesapeake in the morning and the commute back in the afternoons are outrageous. Especially at the 64/264 interchange. But yeah Chesapeake definetely is suburbia all the way. Some people like that sort of thing (I think it's boring), and I find the city a great place for families, and couples settling down and ready to start a family.

Good Luck to ya

[telemonster]

Originally Posted by Belle77

Courthouse Estates is a great neighborhood in Va Beach near Chesapeake. There are a few houses there in your price range. North Landing Elementary is nearby and a wonderful school. Other neighborhoods in 23456 wouldn't be too far from Chesapeake.

Good luck in your search.

Courthouse is still overpriced as far as buying, but perhaps there are rentals in there? I know the prices are fall fall falllling on the joints for sale.

[Belle77]

I saw a few rentals in Courthouse between $1800-$1900.

[rtandc]

Courthouse Estates is a pretty cheaply built neighborhood, at least the majority of it is...small lots, most houses built of slabs, pretty high HOA fee etc.... and I would not recommend it for someone looking to buy a home but it would be fine as far as a rental I guess. Your best bet at the beach if you are looking in the Kellam district might be a neighborhood called Christopher Farms and see if you can find a rental in that neighborhood as I have heard many people talk very highly about Christopher Farms elementary school.