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Old 06-21-2010, 12:11 AM
 
Location: Appalachian State University
3 posts, read 5,713 times
Reputation: 10

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Since we have very little experience in the Norfolk area, any response to any part of this post is really appreciated.
We are a 25 year old student couple (grad school, but online). We have a cat and a dog, and are trying to live in as "green" a manner as we can. We are visiting Norfolk this coming week to look around, but are open to other suggestions regarding where to live within the area.

Our hopes:
-A house, townhouse, or Apartment with gardenable area.
-In walking/biking distance to grocery, farmers' markets, parks.
-Around $800 or less per month in rent
-In walking/biking/public transit distance to downtown
-A community with concerts in the park (of any genre)
-A vibrant downtown and neighborhood, suitable for just walking around.
-We don't frequent bars or restaurants, so a residential area works as well, if it is near enough to the downtown.

Our Reality:
-We have pets, is this usually a problem?
-We are low income, but as students are often not eligible for gov't assistance. (at least so far in NC. But maybe grad school will change this?)
-We have only one car. Is biking around the city feasible? Is walking in the evening dangerous?
-Are there any rental agencies, styles of housing, or areas to avoid when renting?
-What areas should we be considering (Ghent, Freemason, etc) neighborhood-wise? Is there another city (VA Beach, Newport News, etc) that might suit us better?

Is there something that you wish you knew, or that you think most people should know when looking at or moving to the area?
I'm still working my way through threads about Norfolk, so I apologize if some of this is a little redundant. Thanks!
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Old 06-21-2010, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Key West, FL
129 posts, read 428,335 times
Reputation: 314
Being low income as you mentioned, you can cross Ghent off of your list.
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Old 06-21-2010, 10:59 AM
 
6,292 posts, read 10,564,279 times
Reputation: 7505
800 a month with pets is going to be really hard to find. If you do you probably be limited to a plant in a window for your garden. Your best bet is to find a private town home with a small yard to rent. I'm not sure you'll find one in your price range though. Good luck. Not to be funny because I love it here, but why are you moving? If you're in grad school online why move? Do you have a job offer?
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Old 06-21-2010, 09:09 PM
 
Location: Appalachian State University
3 posts, read 5,713 times
Reputation: 10
No job offer. We have family in VA Beach, and jobs where we can transfer from our current location to a new one. We're sick of western NC (I'm a native CA girl, he's east coast and we both miss living near the beach.) and Va Beach and the surrounding area just seem like the most logical place at the moment. It's different, but also much closer to family than we currently are.
We could probably go to $900, but we're trying to keep initial search prices low so that we don't exceed our budget. The pets are non negotiable unfortunately. We have tons of plants indoors already so if we don't get greenspace then we can deal.
Thanks for the responses thus far.
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Old 06-23-2010, 08:33 AM
 
Location: norfolk
129 posts, read 358,407 times
Reputation: 45
800/ month for justrent is do-able in ghent. i have seen several $400/ month per person apartments,although this is probably the bare minimum.
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Old 06-23-2010, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Virginia
1,938 posts, read 7,110,932 times
Reputation: 878
Colorado Springs! lol... I have a friend who is doing this and paying 450 for a small house in downtown COS and pay is same as here...
I don't have an answer for here...sorry but good luck!
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Old 06-25-2010, 07:33 AM
 
Location: Nowhere'sville
2,339 posts, read 4,393,233 times
Reputation: 714
You might be able to find a 1 bedroom somewhere for $800 but good luck. I'd search for a house or a duplex to rent. That is a very expensive area to live in compared to others. Years ago we rented a 2 bedroom duplex with a yard for $425 but that was about 10 years ago. It probably goes for about $600 now or more. Good luck!
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Old 07-07-2010, 06:17 PM
 
Location: Appalachian State University
3 posts, read 5,713 times
Reputation: 10
Default Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who replied. We still really like Norfolk, but we've decided to take the easy way out and rent an apt in VA Beach that we found on a visit. That way we will be able to dedicate more time finding a place we really like. And hopefully slightly better budgets so we can be sure to get what we want!
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