Moving from NY to VA (Norfolk, Chesapeake: house, job outlook, neighborhoods)

[bmclean1]

Hi all,
My fiance and I are moving from NY to VA. We have made the choice to escape the oppressive taxes and horrible job outlook in NY.
My mother and her husband live in VA beach and we are looking for homes west of there.
We are actually considering the Southampton/Franklin/Suffolk areas. We want to be out a little from the hustle of the larger areas. We've been told that there are lots of industries and jobs growing in the area. Also from looking at the Job sections online, I can see there is much growth in the area. A commute is also very acceptable. I am hoping that my Masters Degree can land me a decent job in the area as well. We are in our mid 30's and have a long history of decent employment as well.
We have been talking about an area called Courtland and Newsoms. There are some very reasonable priced newer homes out there. The VA Beach area is just so expensive for us right now as well. But we also like living out in the country too. Relaxing.
Any thoughts or advice is welcome. Thank you.

[bmclean1]

anybody have any info on the areas mentioned?

[roanoker 4]

To Bmclean1...The Tidewater area of our state is mainly made of military.
My brother lived in Va. Beach but decided to get out of the urban jungle and moved to Suffolk. It is more peaceful, the downtown area is being redeveloped, new subdivisions are going up everywhere, new highways, etc so it is slowly losing its rural way of life. Farmers still sell their produce on the highway. They love it out there.

[citydweller]

Suffolk is more rural however it is catching the sprawl of the area so it has driven up home prices. Perhaps a realtor could tell you more about home pricing there.

[theburro]

Re: NY to VA move. Agree with your assessment of NY taxes. We have a vacation place in NY - really, more of a shack than a house - and the r.e. taxes are higher than our antibellum fieldstone house w/ acreage in VA.

Roanoker 4 is correct about the domination of military and defense industries in Tidewater. I would suggest you find the best possible job(s) and then decide if you like the job location; avoid long commutes if possible.

I recently spent several days in Norfolk, having not been there in about 20 years. I have to admit, I was pleasently surprised. The new bridge-tunnels have really helped traffic and downtown Norfolk is trying to reinvent itself w/ redeveloped neighborhoods and tourist attractions.

NY to Virginia. It's a big move. Guaranteed warmer down here.

[SmithfieldStink]

Originally Posted by bmclean1

Hi all,
My fiance and I are moving from NY to VA. We have made the choice to escape the oppressive taxes and horrible job outlook in NY.
My mother and her husband live in VA beach and we are looking for homes west of there.
We are actually considering the Southampton/Franklin/Suffolk areas. Any thoughts or advice is welcome. Thank you.

My advise DON"T do it! If you are used to the diversity and availability of NY and New England in general you will hate it here. On average, my wife and I have to drive an hour to get to any place worth eating. And that is chain food! The grocery stores are abismal at best. I hope you don't like choice because you will not have any with the grocery stores here. Out in suffolk, you will not have the Fresh Market that your parrents have in VB. The traffic is worse than NY, at least in NY you can predict what people are going to do while driving. Down here they do not know how to drive!

Add that to the fact that if you do not beleive that BUSH and the Republican party are gifts from God then you will be labeled a liberal and be told how little you know about the world.

I made the mistake of moving here 5 years ago. I am now working on trying to figure out how to get the He77 out of the is armpit of the east coast.

BTW my screen name is due to the fact that with any wind out of the north west, you can smell the rendering ponds of the pig slaughter house. The area you are looking to live in has a major paper mill so you have wonderful smells in a lot of that area also.

As far as diversity, there is none. If you are black you are not allowed to speak to whites or you are shunned. If you do not join the baptist church you are not being black enough. I cannot wait to get out of this state!

[carolinajack]

i bet it will be a wonderful place. lots of job prospects though you will have a commute. Look at Stafford area too--lots of diversity there, integrated middle class neighborhoods and decent schools.

[smithfield2]

Please think twice before making a move from NY to southeastern Virginia.
We recently moved to Smithfield from Northern Va. and it has been a nightmare. I am originally from NYC, and this RURAL living is definitely not for us. We will only be here for 2 yrs.
There is absolutely nothing to do and I mean NOTHING in Smithfield or the Isle of Wight County.
From what I hear the schools are mediocre.
Everything is at least 45-60 minutes drive. I am not sure where you will be working, but the commute is long..with draw bridges, congested tunnels, etc.
There is no shopping available from food to clothes.

Good Luck...

[MissNYC]

i am telling you - DONT DO IT!!! I too got married and being a young NYC - ie MANHATTAN girl - moved to Northern VA after we got married this summer. and our marriage has SUFFERED 90% due to the move. VA SUCKS - the traffic is horrible and i would rather just die than move here. we are looking to move elsewhere as my husband hates NYC. but in reality, i would leave him in a second to go back to nyc. i wish i could go back 6 months and change everything :-(

[rjaffeux]

I have lived alot of places (Va, Ca, conn, Wa state, Korea) and this area is busy. If you looking for out in the country your not going to find it here but you can live far enough to hear birds and stuff. The drives to get REAL places is long if you don't know when to leave the house. We currently live in Chesapeake, Va and if we leave the house at the right time can get just about anywhere in 20min. My husband works in suffolk and he gets there in 20min every day and we live almost in norfolk. We are moving to that area soon because it's closer to his work and cheaper to live. Good luck with you move.