For All looking to Move to Norfolk, Porstmouth, VBeach, Hampton, etc. (Chesapeake: low crime, houses)

[Thoro]

What has caused the spike in prices? There has not been any signifigant improvements in the area to warrant this. Just trickle down from Northern VA I guess.[/quote]

Hasn't there been any explanations in your local RE section of your newspapers? SUrely there must be some RE explanations. What paper do you get there and what part of HR are you in?

[ellar]

Housing prices went up around much of the country in past years--It was not just a Virginia Beach phenomenon. Now housing prices are leveling off or declining in much of the country. It's been in the news-- a lot. Of course if you go to a small town with less demand for housing etc., the costs will be lower. I did find this area to be expensive compared to where we moved from. However, we found the prices were similar or less expensive than where most of our extended family lives.

[CosmicWizard]

Thoro wrote:

Well......you opted for a small town, people who don't like cities will not like Va Beach area.

Yeah, I definitely prefer places with populations under 100,000, or preferably under 50,000. Even so, there were many things that I enjoyed and appreciated about Virginia Beach but I can't remember what they are, but I can easily remember all the crap. IMO, it ( Va Bch ) went steadily downhill from 1990 when I first arrived there until I left in 2006. The air quality got much worse ( the jet fumes ... all the time ), the jet noise all too frequently, the TRAFFIC...that was the worst of all. What a waste of resources having all those cars burning fuel & fouling the air at all those long wait traffic lights. No wonder the drivers are so aggressive, weaving in and out of traffic in a futile attempt to move down the road. On those rare occassions when you are actually moving down the road, you naturally want to make the next light so you don't have to sit there for 5 minutes and twiddle your thumbs. I thank God, I don't have to deal with that crap any longer, that I'm living in a much nicer environment where the pace of life is much slower and far more relaxed.

But then again, if someone is a city/suburban person, you would tend to calmly accept the polluted air, the noise, and the traffic. It just comes with the territory, and at least parts of the Virginia Beach territory are rather pleasant.

blessings...Franco

[Vagal55]

I currently live in Hampton on the water. I love our quaint, quiet, little neighborhood. At home, we are away from the hustle and bustle of everyday living. I was raised in the Hampton Roads area and it does have a lot to offer.

My husband and I will be putting our house on the market next summer only because I want to be closer to my daughter who lives in Florida. We are not looking to move to Florida but half way between Florida and Virginia. I am now researching areas in between.

There are pros and cons with any area, so please don't allow the negativity to influence your decision to move to this area. I have been in Virginia all of my life. There is so much variety for any lifestyle.

[CosmicWizard]

To balance out the negatives I listed in my post #23 , allow me to list some of the positives that come to mind in no particular order except the first one in the list, which is truly number one.

• Many Friendships
• The A.R.E.
• The Heritage Store
• The Great Neck Library
• Living in Great Neck Estates
• First Landing State Park
• The North End beaches in the off season
• A good job @ Amerigroup
• A good job @ Trader Publishing
• Working out @ the Great Neck Rec Center

blessings...Franco

[Thoro]

Originally Posted by NewAgeRedneck

Thoro wrote:

Well......you opted for a small town, people who don't like cities will not like Va Beach area.

Yeah, I definitely prefer places with populations under 100,000, or preferably under 50,000. Even so, there were many things that I enjoyed and appreciated about Virginia Beach but I can't remember what they are, but I can easily remember all the crap. IMO, it ( Va Bch ) went steadily downhill from 1990 when I first arrived there until I left in 2006. The air quality got much worse ( the jet fumes ... all the time ), the jet noise all too frequently, the TRAFFIC...that was the worst of all. What a waste of resources having all those cars burning fuel & fouling the air at all those long wait traffic lights. No wonder the drivers are so aggressive, weaving in and out of traffic in a futile attempt to move down the road. On those rare occassions when you are actually moving down the road, you naturally want to make the next light so you don't have to sit there for 5 minutes and twiddle your thumbs. I thank God, I don't have to deal with that crap any longer, that I'm living in a much nicer environment where the pace of life is much slower and far more relaxed.

But then again, if someone is a city/suburban person, you would tend to calmly accept the polluted air, the noise, and the traffic. It just comes with the territory, and at least parts of the Virginia Beach territory are rather pleasant.

blessings...Franco

You did what was best for you. It just seems that so many seem to forget VB is Virginia's largest city.

It's probably going to get a lot worse (in terms of traffic and prices) so you'll never want to go back. They finally are building and continue to build the downtown around Pembroke that laid low in planning for years. Now it's major big city development there.

Are you aware the population of VB is larger than the city of Atlanta, and other cities? Speaking of the "within" the city limits, not the metro areas.

It wasn't going to be forever the state's largest city was going to have a hollow center and only be have an urban oceanfront area as its focus.

I would bet a lot of what is going on in VB such as high density building has triggered a backup over the area. The area is upgrading in what it is attracting with new developments comparable to Orlando in some areas.

Plus what has continued to feed it is that from DC it's part of Va's own Urban Corridor, extension of the NE Megalopolis, that runs thru N.VA to VB and NE No. Carolina markets, but now also swings back over to Raleigh and Charlotte down to Atlanta.

Coming and going over the years from the area I see the changes, plus I work in that sort of field, Digital Cartography.

The prices and re values set now are what going to determine the higher density urbanscale developments that are beginning to riddle the area more now. They want to reduce sprawl also so the city managements are more focused on concentrating growth, creating more distinction for higher density so they can maximize efficiency in fuel, heating and air, etc, plumbing, etc.

IOW the area has been on a trend, especially with these prices, of physically going up rather than out anymore. That is very evident on the Peninsula where there is less land anyway.

Cheers

[maan asal]

I send all my thanks to everybody for their thoughts on VA area , but as i am

cosidering this area to move to from the cold hell of cleveland, Oh i realy still could not

get a neutral realistic view on the VA BEACH a rae , can anyone help me with that.

Steve Goldenburg

[gallowsCalibrator]

Originally Posted by EMERALDGIRL

We personally can't afford to live here anymore. My fiance and I make a great living between the two of us and can't find a house to purchase in a decent area in our price range.

That is a concern for a lot of people living in this area. Hampton Roads can be a great place. In fact, I love being able to go watch the sun rise at the Ocean Front, then head up to Busch Gardens for the day.

There's plenty of fun things to do if you know what you want.

However, as soon as the fun is over, reality hits. And it really hits hard to the new homebuyers who are new to the area.

1) Traffic. This area has intense traffic jams every single day. The HOV lanes are an irritant for people who work on base (for the most part). You're driving on 64 West.. and it's like a parking lot. HOV lanes have one or two people go by every minute or so?

The Hampton Roads Magic trick. The HRBT is always backed up. So many cars! Then, as soon as you get out of the tunnel - all the cars disappear! Unless you go through between 2-5am ((even then sometimes it's heavy)) you're usually looking at a minimum 10 minute delay. Hampton and Newport News fought legislation that would create another way for people to bypass the HRBT. They said it would steal "profit."

2) Crime. Crime is so rampant in this area. A lot of it is vandalism. Paintball shootings, BB guns, teens (kids) attacking random people while video taping it. Yes. Most metro areas have crime. But it's usually segregated to a specific area ((Like the lower east end of Newport News *shudder*)). In Virginia Beach and Norfolk - you have "ghetto-like" areas right next to the rich people. It causes a lot of tension and violence. Every year between Feb and April is when the most amount of random vandalism occurs.

3) House and Apartment pricing. This area is disgusting for the housing industry. Does anyone remember the WELL MAINTAINED trailer park off of Bonney Road that was removed a few years back in Virginia Beach ((the city allowed the trashy ones to stay..)) because it was an eye sore? For those who don't know, over by Kempsville Lakes off of Bonney Road, there was a trailer park of about 100 or so low-income families. There were 3 over there, but the city got rid of the nice one and left the two nasty ones there for now. ((they're trying to get rid of those too!)) The city then sold the land to developers who are creating "Condos in the 300's" or something like that.

Another instance off the SAME ROAD - a couple used to have a house on Bonney Road and their property encompassed a small "forest" persay. Well, the couple died, and the city took over the land from the kin and sold it to Developers. With the condos being built, there's going to be 3 Town House Developments, a condo complex, 2 trailer parks ((about 150 or so families)), and a handful of detached homes all using the same two-lane road ((with a ditch on both sides))

Essentially, I've noticed a trend for housing - the cities are getting rid of lower-end housing to make room for expensive housing. They're attempting to "push the riff-raff out." The only failure point is that there are now low-end people living next to the "well-to-do."

Not to mention that the housing prices are ridiculously high. My aunt is selling her 5 bedroom detached home that has an attic and basement and about .4 acres of flat back yard. It has 3 full baths and a half-bath in the basement. There's a two-car garage. She's selling it for 90K - and it's actually competitively priced. What would that cost here? 400's? 500's?

My dad's crappy townhouse was appraised at over $200K. He bought it 15 years ago for $50K. He's actually laughing at me trying to find something under $200K that isn't a high-crime area.

[CosmicWizard]

maan asal wrote:

I send all my thanks to everybody for their thoughts on VA area , but as i am cosidering this area to move to from the cold hell of cleveland, Oh i realy still could not get a neutral realistic view on the VA BEACH a rae , can anyone help me with that.

Steve Goldenburg

Steve...the best thing you can do is to visit the area and get a gut level feeling for the place, get a first hand and personal impression. Anything that any of us tell you about the area is just our own impressions, opinions, beliefs, etc. The ONLY impression that really matters is your own.

best wishes in your search....Franco

[Thoro]

Originally Posted by maan asal

I send all my thanks to everybody for their thoughts on VA area , but as i am

cosidering this area to move to from the cold hell of cleveland, Oh i realy still could not

get a neutral realistic view on the VA BEACH a rae , can anyone help me with that.

Steve Goldenburg

Here's a couple links, you could dig up more on the net to get better perspective.

Here's some of the new developments away from the Beach areas:

The Town Center of Virginia Beach - Virginia Beach Condominiums & Virginia Beach Apartments (http://www.towncenterofvirginiabeach.com/Residences_at_Westin.php - broken link)

Take the Tour good all around perspective
economic development dept Official Virginia Beach Economic Development Home Page

City Data
Official City of Virginia Beach Web Site

Geico recently made it its US Headquarters. That gecko lizard gets around.