So..I'm getting the impression I should stay far away from Hampton (Jefferson: for rent, crime rates)

[EdgeOnline]

My situation:

I have received approval to telecommute in September for my office in DC. I'm considering moving back to the Hampton Roads area where I have friends and family (and lived briefly in my 20's).

I visited it over Memorial Day weekend. At first glance and research seemed to have everything I was looking for:

- Beach (I've been wanting to get back to a beach town forever)
- No tunnel (I don't have a commute, true. However, I want to go back to DC at least once a month and have certain people come see me. Hampton fit the bill for this so neither of us have to deal with the tunnel in this case. Plus, Hampton is closest town I can think of [to NoVa] still on water.)
- Seemed to be a mix of small town and developing city (historic downtown, marina, IMAX, peninsula town center, coliseum, baseball games, etc.) In other words, stuff to do.

Then I came home and started googling. I started reading about how Hampton was "ghetto" and the gangs and drug problem. Yet, I found some decent looking neighborhoods.

Having lived in DC metro for 20+ years, I'd like to know how much is true and how much is exaggeration? For example, I think nothing of walking in certain neighborhoods in DC at night where people who have not lived here might think you would be shot on sight because of its reputation. Is this true of Hampton as well?

I don't much care about the traffic because I'll be working from home most days (and nothing you can throw at me in Hampton Roads will even come close to DC metro traffic commutes), the schools (single female), or any of that. But I DO care about crime. And I'm seeing a lot of posts about that but a lot of them are also old.

Will I feel safe going down to Buckroe at night and walking alone? I understand that, like anywhere, where you live counts for a lot so I'll have to find a good neighborhood. But what about the general areas? The downtown, the shopping districts, etc.? Are you all huddled up inside? Or is it like where I am now. You figure out where to go and where not to go? I guess I'm worried that's MOST of Hampton based on what I'm reading here!

Thanks for any insight from residents.

[EdgeOnline]

Oh, I will say I considered looking into Poquoson as well as an option. However, there doesn't seem to be very many houses for rent there that are not mansions. And since I'm not going to be selling mine anytime soon, I'll be renting a house for the foreseeable future.

[LilyLady]

I'm not a resident of Hampton, but try not to judge a whole area based on what you read. All the cities in Hampton Roads have their own problem areas. If you find a place you like, I think you're exactly right when you said 'you figure out where to go and where not to go'.

There are databases with crime stats that are more objective than what we might find on Google. Having said that, I'm a big fan of using Google but I have learned that more people go on there to report their negative thoughts about a place, or a town, etc than there are folks that go on to say how pleased they are.

You might try this link. Maybe it'll help.
Hampton VA crime rates and statistics - NeighborhoodScout

There's a city database here on City-Data, but the information looks like it hasn't been updated since 2009 so I don't know how accurate it would be.
//www.city-data.com/

[EdgeOnline]

Thanks Lily. I appreciate the reply.

Having worked in the tech industry for awhile now, you are exactly right when you say that most people will be quick to post their negative experiences about just about anything first. Be it a town, a restaurant, a customer experience, etc. Far before they will post any positive thoughts. So I was trying to keep that in mind as well. However, I was getting really concerned when I was getting hard pressed to find hardly "any" positive thoughts on Hampton versus some of the other Hampton Roads towns! Thanks for the links!

[artistatheart]

Ugh. This is hard because I don't like to judge a place unless I've had a lot of personal experience there, and I haven't spent all that much time in Hampton. As something of an outsider, the problem I see with Hampton is not that it's bad, but that there's just not a lot to recommend it. When we first moved here, we were thinking about moving to Fox Hill, but then one day my husband and I just kind of looked at each other and asked, "Why?????" There's just nothing all that great (that we could see--and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) about Hampton.

There is an area of Hampton that's called Grandview. It's right on the water and seems very nice. It's very prone to flooding, though.

Honestly, if I could move anywhere in Hampton Roads, Hampton wouldn't be my first choice.

[thesolution]

If your highest priority is the beach, then why not live in VB? The HRBT, the tunnel you would travel through to and from DC, is really only bad during rush hour and very major holidays (4th of July). Other than that, it's free flowing. You also have the option of taking the MMBT, though that would add 30 or so minutes to your commute.

[EdgeOnline]

Hi Solution -

You are right, I've somewhat come to that conclusion as well. (Just trying to use the tunnel during off hours when I must go back to DC.) I guess I was trying to cut some time off of that "commute" back to DC for both myself and friends when traveling back and forth and Hampton is an entire hour closer. In other words, trying to have the best of both worlds with the beach and less travel time back to DC when I need to go.

Based on some helpful messages and tips from the community here, I've narrowed my search down now to Poquoson, Yorktown (no beach but a nice "river beach" I'm told and still relatively close to VB I think) and VB itself which was my original plan. I'll search in these three areas as the September move gets closer and let the cards fall where they may.

[thesolution]

Another point, if you plan to travel to DC during rush hour times, 64W gets backed up around Jefferson Ave when it starts going from 4 to 2 lanes. Alternatively, you could take 17 but there's a ton of stop lights on that route, albeit with less congestion. I frequently travel to DC and I make sure to either leave in the morning/early afternoon or late evening (after 7). It would not be wise to leave anytime around 3-6pm.

I'm not very familiar with Puquoson or Yorktown, but they're generally more for the older crowd.

[lunetunelover]

I lived in Hampton for the past 20+ years and just recently relocated to PA for employment.

Where I lived in Hampton, my husband and I felt perfectly safe walking our dogs after dark in our neighborhood.

Yes, there are certain areas of the city that are definitely not especially "safe" (the one that comes immediately to mind is the downtown area).

Buckroe Beach doesn't get a whole lot of "after dark" traffic, and I have gone down there at 3 am and there was a whole lot of nothing going on.

I loved living in Hampton and miss it terribly.

[lunetunelover]

Originally Posted by artistatheart

Ugh. This is hard because I don't like to judge a place unless I've had a lot of personal experience there, and I haven't spent all that much time in Hampton. As something of an outsider, the problem I see with Hampton is not that it's bad, but that there's just not a lot to recommend it. When we first moved here, we were thinking about moving to Fox Hill, but then one day my husband and I just kind of looked at each other and asked, "Why?????" There's just nothing all that great (that we could see--and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) about Hampton.

There is an area of Hampton that's called Grandview. It's right on the water and seems very nice. It's very prone to flooding, though.

Honestly, if I could move anywhere in Hampton Roads, Hampton wouldn't be my first choice.

Fox Hill is an "older" neighborhood that was (at one time) fairly upscale for Hampton. I lived there for awhile. It's mostly quiet and relatively safe, but wouldn't be my first option if I were to move to Hampton. It's on the eastern side of the city and is more flood prone.

Farmington has beautiful homes and is one of the more upscale areas for Hampton now. Michaels Woods is close and has newer single family homes. Hampton Woods is where I lived. These are all on the northwestern part of the city near Sandy Botttom Nature Park.