Hampton, VA- What do you think? (Newport News, Yorkshire: crime, neighborhoods, schools)

[Glo]

Thanks for ALL your input! It is amazing how varied the responses have been! VALady, I really appreciate your taking the time to give me your personal take on this. Not really a party girl here- but sure appreciate your input too Legssolovely...
So it looks like between Hampton & Newport News some like Hampton & some Newport News. What would be the best for a young family with school age kids?? Any area in particular I should avoid; any I should consider? Tell me more! Thanks- appreciate it very much!

[htlong]

stay away from the east end of news, the denbeigh area has been the main stay of middle class homes but as ole leg said its fast being converted into the new hood for sec. 8 tennants. i would look into lee hall ft eustis area or grafton and yorktown areas. yorktown is pretty expensive though.

[VALady]

I do think that the areas listed above (lee hall ft eustis area or grafton and yorktown areas) are probably nice but you're talking about a pretty good drive to get to the VA every day. Particularly if you move to anywhere in Newport News. Then you'd have to take I64 every day and, as has been pointed out, traffic can be a problem so you might want to try to find a place closer in Hampton. You'd need to double-check to see if the neighborhood is still good but you might want to check the areas off of Boxwood Street both North and South of Pembroke Avenue. There is the Elizabeth Lakes subdivision, it's a little older now but I think it's still nice and they have a community pool. There are some newer subdivisions like Fox Meadows (off Fox Hill Rd) that are very nice. Also, there is the Beach Road area which is a somewhat isolated little community that has some really nice homes, many of which are on the water. Silver Isles and Colonial Acres which are nearby also used to be nice. I believe that most of the areas I'm mentioning would be in the Kecoughtan High zone which is a good school.

The area mentioned in a previous post of having the poor people kicked out and the new condos replacing them is called "Salt Ponds". That's more the new name though, it's actually the Buckroe Beach area. The blocks that aren't actually on the water are still pretty much the same. Mostly modest homes many of which I wouldn't necessarily consider poor although some are definitely beaten-up. Also, the first condos that you come to at the beach have been there for around 20 years so they aren't exactly new. As you head North on 1st St. you'll eventually come to the new developments (this is the Salt Ponds part) and there are lots of new condos there, a new marina and some new beach front homes mixed in with some beach front homes that have been there for decades.

You're best bet will probably be to get a good real estate agent in the area and let them know exactly what you're looking for. They may know of some new subdivisions popping up with a decent drive to the VA. Also, if you want to get an idea of the lay of the land, you can go to removed. You'll get an satellite picture of Hampton (with the streets marked) and you can drag with your mouse all around the city from above. For some reason it doesn't give the property values in Hampton though...

[htlong]

i wasnt talking about buckroe beach , i was talking about east jefferson area...yes east jefferso will eventualy be bay front condos and denbiegh will be the hood....city planners gone awry!

[VALady]

Ah, that makes sense - I can't remember the last time I was in that area of Newport News...

That's funny about that website being the competition... I didn't really think about it because they seem so different to me. The only thing I've really used over there is the satellite imaging.

[Glo]

Thanks so much!! I really appreciate it. And as I go forward on this journey of discovery, when I run into more questions I know exactly where to come for all the answers I need!

[snail415]

I'm moving up to Yorktown in two weeks, and will be staying at the Indian Summer apartments off of Hampton Hwy. If anyone is familiar with that area, please give me your take. I'm not really close to I64, and I'm not at all near Mercury Blvd, so I believe I'm in an alright spot. I need to suck it up for about 6 months until I can afford to look elseware. The job I have is too good not to take, so I went for the 'safest' area I could afford.

Any comments are very much appreciated.

VR,
Justin

[afvet]

Justin,

Are you talking about the Four Seasons apartments on Indian Summer Drive? I did a search for Indian Summer apartments and didn't come up with anything. I lived in the Four Seasons for a year in 2001-2002.

My car was stolen from the parking lot when I lived there. Because that is a nicer area of town and is near the Hampton/Yorktown border, it drew thieves at night from other areas of town (Hampton and Newport News). My neighbors who lived there for four years said every few months there'll be a rash of car thefts and car break-ins. I never heard of an apartment getting broken into though or any violent crime.

Get a club for your steering wheel, a removeable face car stereo and don't leave anything in your car and you should be fine, especially if you don't have a souped up flashy vehicle. The only other annoyance is jet noise.

The apartments at the time were very nice and well kept. My neighbors were friendly and quiet and I never heard noise coming from apartments when I'd walk through the neighborhood. I liked the convenience to the library, Food Lion and Blockbuster up the street. There's a small shopping center across Hampton Highway from the complex with a gas station.

Don't be turned off by the car thefts; you'll have a hard time finding any parts of Hampton Roads where that's not a concern. It seems the nicer the neighborhood, the bigger the draw to thieves.

[snail415]

Thanks a bunch for the info. It puts me a bit more at ease. I don't have flashy cars whatsoever. I'm not gonna have a nice car until I have a garage to put it in...

To be honest, my concern is more for my wife, who will be taking care of our son. He will be born at the end of October, and they will come from Texas around Christmas time. I want her to feel like she can run errands and get out of the house during the day without worry.

We had to pic a place in one weekend, and it was stressful. Granted we did a lot of research, and limited our visits, but we also hope that the place we picked is one we won't be clawing to get out of in a few month's time.

If there are any other concerns you can think of, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, thanks again for the honest info.

[MaryBB]

I have often dreamed of working in Hampton at the VA, but they don't have the same setup in my area of work... but we really like going to VA Beach area on day trips.

Vacation wise you're closer to the Outer Banks there, it's beautiful in OBX. Norfolk has great antiques at lesser prices than Richmond.