ADP bringing nearly 2000 jobs to Downtown Norfolk (Hampton: living in, centers)

[randomlikeme]

I don't see people who dislike an area and move continue to frequent the forums to say how awful it was. I don't stalk the Harrisburg, PA forums to talk about how it was a craphole. No, I moved away and moved on. There's better and there's worse out there.

[vboryork]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

vboryork- You really don't have to try to convince anyone here of how great the area is. If you believe all the statistics and figures you're reading, what we say is irrelevant. I also second what Lily said- you don't see this in other forums not only in VA, but other states as well. If you don't find it telling, and you believe all is great, you need not ask any questions about how life is here, no?

I am not trying to convince anyone of anything and I assume the area has negatives (not that all is great), I am just trying to understand what to gather from these comments... what should my response be when I get replies or read posts that are in direct conflict with data as well as my experiences driving around during all hours of the day this past week? If they were specific I might take them as local knowledge but they are just vague comments like "traffic sucks", "crime is terrible", "job market is poor", "place is boring".

At least some folks were nice enough to PM me with some useful info:

- Traffic gets worse during tourist season especially on Fridays. OBX exit, 264 interchange, and tunnels see the largest increase.
- I should be fine going from VB to Hampton at 530am and returning around 2pm aside from the occasional tunnel blockage or heightened security at the navy base.
- I want to avoid the HRBT and high rise bridge between 4 and 6 pm which helped me decide on Kempsville over Harbor View. I don't want my wife to have to drive over high rise during rush hour.
- The 264/64 interchange can get pretty bad in the morning and evening which helped me choose southwest Kempsville over areas closer to Town Center. I don't want my wife going through 264 interchange at rush hour.
- Indian River Rd east exit is much worse than the west exit in the afternoon. This helped me choose an area off Providence Rd.
- Areas off Newtown Rd and Lynnhaven Parkway are probably the sketchiest areas in VB so I was able to avoid those neighborhoods and the schools that they feed into.
- Military housing allowances make the incomes look lower than they really are, that is why rents are kind of high.
- Virginia Beach has academies that your kid can go to regardless of the high school district you are zoned for (which is good because Kempsville High School is just mediocre according to great schools).
- I even found a great crime map of norfolk that a poster named XGrendelx had made a while back. That was great info.

All of these were somewhat critical comments but actually contained useful info that helped me make decisions. Do you disagree with any of the above points? Maybe someone can make a sticky out of stuff like that because trying to search the history in this forum to get info like that is almost useless at this point.

I am new to this site so I can't comment on other forums but all I see when I use the search function on this forum is maybe 3 or 4 people consistently posting negative stuff and periodically getting in pissing matches with folks who defend the area then seem to get tired of arguing. What am I supposed to gather from that? Who do I believe?

[LM117]

Originally Posted by vboryork

The 264/64 interchange can get pretty bad in the morning and evening which helped me choose southwest Kempsville over areas closer to Town Center. I don't want my wife going through 264 interchange at rush hour.

That interchange is a major pain in the ass. Whoever designed that cluster**** was on crack. My cousin lives near that interchange on the Norfolk side near the Newtown Road I-264 exit and nearly every time I come in on I-64 West to I-264 East to Newtown Road and vice versa, it was a parking lot. Construction is supposed to start soon to improve the interchange.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/tr...46ae7084f.html

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by vboryork

- Areas off Newtown Rd and Lynnhaven Parkway are probably the sketchiest areas in VB so I was able to avoid those neighborhoods and the schools that they feed into.

Lynnhaven Parkway is pretty long. There are some great neighborhoods along it, one of which I happen to live in. Some are definitely on the "avoid" list, but I wouldn't discount everything along a 10-mile stretch.

I also personally take the GreatSchools ratings with a grain of salt since they are based solely on standardized test scores. At my last home, the elementary school across the street from our house had wildly swinging GreatSchools scores while we were there. One bad year of testing can bring a score down by a lot. It went something like 6, then 3, then 7 in the three years we were there.

[lovnova]

Originally Posted by randomlikeme

I don't see people who dislike an area and move continue to frequent the forums to say how awful it was. I don't stalk the Harrisburg, PA forums to talk about how it was a craphole. No, I moved away and moved on. There's better and there's worse out there.

Very true. It's kind of like minding your own business. But it becomes an obsession and game for some. I'm sure one top poster here quit over that kind of BS. To bad, he/she was very helpful to many posters.

[Pyroninja42]

UHgrad? He/she was a good 'un.

[Poquoson7]

Originally Posted by vboryork

I am not trying to convince anyone of anything and I assume the area has negatives (not that all is great), I am just trying to understand what to gather from these comments... what should my response be when I get replies or read posts that are in direct conflict with data as well as my experiences driving around during all hours of the day this past week? If they were specific I might take them as local knowledge but they are just vague comments like "traffic sucks", "crime is terrible", "job market is poor", "place is boring".

At least some folks were nice enough to PM me with some useful info:

- Traffic gets worse during tourist season especially on Fridays. OBX exit, 264 interchange, and tunnels see the largest increase.
- I should be fine going from VB to Hampton at 530am and returning around 2pm aside from the occasional tunnel blockage or heightened security at the navy base.
- I want to avoid the HRBT and high rise bridge between 4 and 6 pm which helped me decide on Kempsville over Harbor View. I don't want my wife to have to drive over high rise during rush hour.
- The 264/64 interchange can get pretty bad in the morning and evening which helped me choose southwest Kempsville over areas closer to Town Center. I don't want my wife going through 264 interchange at rush hour.
- Indian River Rd east exit is much worse than the west exit in the afternoon. This helped me choose an area off Providence Rd.
- Areas off Newtown Rd and Lynnhaven Parkway are probably the sketchiest areas in VB so I was able to avoid those neighborhoods and the schools that they feed into.
- Military housing allowances make the incomes look lower than they really are, that is why rents are kind of high.
- Virginia Beach has academies that your kid can go to regardless of the high school district you are zoned for (which is good because Kempsville High School is just mediocre according to great schools).
- I even found a great crime map of norfolk that a poster named XGrendelx had made a while back. That was great info.

All of these were somewhat critical comments but actually contained useful info that helped me make decisions. Do you disagree with any of the above points? Maybe someone can make a sticky out of stuff like that because trying to search the history in this forum to get info like that is almost useless at this point.

I am new to this site so I can't comment on other forums but all I see when I use the search function on this forum is maybe 3 or 4 people consistently posting negative stuff and periodically getting in pissing matches with folks who defend the area then seem to get tired of arguing. What am I supposed to gather from that? Who do I believe?

The last paragraph says it all. This forum has been hijacked by people wallowing in irrational negativity and the rest of us are dropping out one by one because of the arguing. It's truely a sad state of affairs. Good luck and welcome to Hampton Roads vboryork, life is good here.

[NOVA_guy]

As someone who's parents are from the Hampton Roads area and someone who frequents the area pretty often, I'll say - it's not a bad place at all. Ideally, it's a good place to retire. Having said that, there's just not a lot of opportunity there which is fine for some people. Not everyone is interested in the ratrace but it starts to become a problem when the wages don't match the COL and the job market and local economy continues to lag behind other metro areas of similar sizes.

HR like anywhere has its pros and cons, one has decide what's important to them. It all comes down to personal preference.

[randomlikeme]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

As someone who's parents are from the Hampton Roads area and someone who frequents the area pretty often, I'll say - it's not a bad place at all. Ideally, it's a good place to retire. Having said that, there's just not a lot of opportunity there which is fine for some people. Not everyone is interested in the ratrace but it starts to become a problem when the wages don't match the COL and the job market and local economy continues to lag behind other metro areas of similar sizes.

HR like anywhere has its pros and cons, one has decide what's important to them. It all comes down to personal preference.

Opportunity in Hampton Roads is also very dependent on skillset. If you have the skills that major civilian employers of the region like Athem/Wellpoint and Sentara are looking for, you are good as gold as far as opportunities.


The COL is really heavily inflated due to the military presence. The rent is that high because apartment companies are getting it.


I just saw ADP advertising for its talen acquisition coordinator.

[randomlikeme]

It's been a while. I just had a friend get offered a job for $26.50 per hour (55K) - no degree.