FL vs VA cost difference. Need housing that allows dogs. (Virginia Beach: apartment complex, for rent)

[xkaelie]

Hello! I will be moving to Virginia, the Hampton Roads Area.

I have 2 dogs, one who is a large breed. I am looking for a HOUSE. I do not like apartments, unless you have your OWN fenced in yard, and the LANDLORDS do not breath down your neck everytime someone comes over.

I do not want to live any bad areas. And I do not want to pay more than 900 a month for a place. I highly prefer a fenced in yard.

I am looking for a place in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Cheaspeak, Portsmouth or Suffolk.

I have heard of the tunnels.. Is that just the tunnel on that bridge that connects to Hampton, or are there other tunnels that I should be aware of?

I also need a good vet to go to. My dog has seizures. So I need someone that is available to take same day appts for emergencies. And a vet hospital that is 24 hours.

I also saw a posting on here about going to court for reckless driving.... And that VA is very strict on driving.. Is that correct? I am currently in Florida, and I typically drive 10mph over the speed limit. How are the cops about speeding? How much would it cost at the DMV to get everything switched over, title, registration, etc..

Also, in reference to cost difference- I notice that housing is WAYY more.. My rent where I live now in 475 a month and its a house with fenced in yard. How much are cigarettes in this area? I normally pay 4 dollars and some change for a pack of L/Ms. How much does gas range? And beer? What internet service providers are out there?

Any suggestions, advise, or tips are greatly appreciated. I am from a small town, have been here my WHOLE life. Never moved anywhere and very nervous.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by xkaelie

Hello! I will be moving to Virginia, the Hampton Roads Area.

I have 2 dogs, one who is a large breed. I am looking for a HOUSE. I do not like apartments, unless you have your OWN fenced in yard, and the LANDLORDS do not breath down your neck everytime someone comes over.

I do not want to live any bad areas. And I do not want to pay more than 900 a month for a place. I highly prefer a fenced in yard.

I am looking for a place in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Cheaspeak, Portsmouth or Suffolk.

I have heard of the tunnels.. Is that just the tunnel on that bridge that connects to Hampton, or are there other tunnels that I should be aware of?

I also need a good vet to go to. My dog has seizures. So I need someone that is available to take same day appts for emergencies. And a vet hospital that is 24 hours.

I also saw a posting on here about going to court for reckless driving.... And that VA is very strict on driving.. Is that correct? I am currently in Florida, and I typically drive 10mph over the speed limit. How are the cops about speeding? How much would it cost at the DMV to get everything switched over, title, registration, etc..

Also, in reference to cost difference- I notice that housing is WAYY more.. My rent where I live now in 475 a month and its a house with fenced in yard. How much are cigarettes in this area? I normally pay 4 dollars and some change for a pack of L/Ms. How much does gas range? And beer? What internet service providers are out there?

Any suggestions, advise, or tips are greatly appreciated. I am from a small town, have been here my WHOLE life. Never moved anywhere and very nervous.

A bad area is what $900 will get you unless you go with a private owner or take out a mortgage. Even then, if you move into an actual house you're probably paying a good chunk of their mortgage. If you want a large town I would suggest finding a large city in Florida; HR is rather suburban and will not give you that large town feeling, unless you consider 6 lane roads and highways to be large. That novelty gets old quick.

There are a few tunnels; two going from the Peninsula to the Southside, and a tunnel on the Southside that connects Norfolk to Portsmouth. The cops have quotas to meet; do not pass anyone in Chesapeake and drive the speed limit on Interstate 64 in Chesapeake. Virginia Beach will leave you alone as long as you're not too obvious with what you're doing. Never got pulled over in Norfolk, NN, Hampton, etc. I can't speak on Suffolk.

If you pay your tickets and you have insurance you shouldn't have any issues. If you do not have any insurance, the cop will not let you go anywhere. Once I got caught in Chesapeake I had to have someone else come and drive the car back home. They didn't check that driver's insurance though. They check for everything when they pull you over; it takes them a good 20 minutes to issue the ticket.

Property tax is paid on automobiles. If you move from one city to another you may have issues with getting charged for your prior city after you've moved but that can be adjusted. To be completely honest the bad areas probably are not as bad as you would find in the larger cities in Florida, so you should be okay. 20 or 30 homicides a year is considered bad around here; what you have to worry about, is the little stuff, like robbery, property crimes, etc. The annoying stuff, that if you were in the same place a few minutes earlier or later could have been completely avoided. If you aren't sure, just stay in the house at night you should be find.

[xkaelie]

I'm not from south Florida where it's crazy. I'm in the panhandle close to Alabama.

Thank you for the tip. But renting an apt for 900 wouldn't mean it was in a bad area right?

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by xkaelie

I'm not from south Florida where it's crazy. I'm in the panhandle close to Alabama.

Thank you for the tip. But renting an apt for 900 wouldn't mean it was in a bad area right?

All depends. I was paying $1,280 for a house in South Norfolk. It was supposed to be a bad area, but I never had any problems. Did hear a few gun shots though. But the new construction in that area was going for $1,100, and all of the refurbished housing went for the same amount.

There were no apartments in the area, but there were plenty of houses for rent. I pay $900 now in Norfolk. The area is good, but sketchy 2 blocks away. It is like that in HR; good areas for several blocks, followed by bad areas for several blocks. I paid $850 in an apartment complex out in Virginia Beach. It was okay when I was there, sort of hood now.

This area is pretty expensive, and it is sketchy. If you have any reservations, just move to Atlanta, or some other city in the South that is more urban than HR, that can give you that real experience. The only truly urban places in Virginia are Richmond and Charlottesville; HR is like two or three actual cities followed by counties through which independent cities were created out of by law.

If you want a real city in Virginia, try Richmond, Charlottesville, Alexandria, Roanoke, etc. I just don't want you to waste your time and money, and come all this way from outside of Alabama, not to get the real experience. If you can deal with the weather, the Midwest is cheaper than Virginia, and will give you the urban experience you are looking for. For $900 you can get into a solid middle class area, where you won't have any problems. Norfolk is somewhat urban here, and for what you're used to, could be more than enough, but the rest of the Southside really ruins the experience, as the progress is piecemeal in this metro, and the cities are not cooperating with each other to enhance the quality of life here. Portsmouth is okay if you can afford the nicer areas.

If you are really set on it I would take a week or two to visit the place and speak with a realtor, to get a more realistic idea of what would meet your needs, than we can on C-D.