Thoughts on Indian River? (Norfolk, Chesapeake: to rent, crime, roughest)

[Highscoolisforsmokers]

I've lived in the Indian river area of chesapeake for most of my life (still a teen), though i wasn't born here.

My question is what is the area like to either people also living here or from people living near IR, Do you see it as nice or as a sketchy area like it's neighbor SONO? I've personally always viewed it as 2nd roughest area in Chesapeake after SONO since the rest of Chesapeake it middle class suburbs while IR is more of a working class car dealership/dollar mart cesspool. The crime isn't over the top but I've always been wary of going out alone at night since there have been situations before (Hell, even the swat team was right up the street from me at a house I pass everyday for work, A neighbor said the guy that lived there had sealed himself up inside and was threatening police. Never learned the true story though). Also do you see the area as forgotten by the city? I haven't seen much renewal projects in Indian river except for the occasional paving of a major road, When it's really the neighborhoods that are suffering from poor road condition.

Sorry for the wall post just want to know some thoughts on the area to see if I'm overstating it or understating it.



Cheers.

[NOVAEER]

I used to think it was nice but I haven't lived there in quite sometime. I thought Georgetown/Pinetta was a decent neighborhood. I never felt unsafe in Norfolk Highlands. Always tried to avoid the Foundation Park area.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Highscoolisforsmokers

I've lived in the Indian river area of chesapeake for most of my life (still a teen), though i wasn't born here.

My question is what is the area like to either people also living here or from people living near IR, Do you see it as nice or as a sketchy area like it's neighbor SONO? I've personally always viewed it as 2nd roughest area in Chesapeake after SONO since the rest of Chesapeake it middle class suburbs while IR is more of a working class car dealership/dollar mart cesspool. The crime isn't over the top but I've always been wary of going out alone at night since there have been situations before (Hell, even the swat team was right up the street from me at a house I pass everyday for work, A neighbor said the guy that lived there had sealed himself up inside and was threatening police. Never learned the true story though). Also do you see the area as forgotten by the city? I haven't seen much renewal projects in Indian river except for the occasional paving of a major road, When it's really the neighborhoods that are suffering from poor road condition.

Sorry for the wall post just want to know some thoughts on the area to see if I'm overstating it or understating it.



Cheers.

I preferred South Norfolk, which is where I lived, as it reminded me of home. Super ghetto, very depressing, like the Bronx, or somewhere in Detroit, but it worked for me.

A lot of what was there when I lived there was torn down and rebuilt. So it looks a lot nicer, and it does not have the urban decay that used to exist there but it is still ghetto.

Keep in mind that South Norfolk and Berkely border a very sketchy part of Norfolk. You are literally, on the wrong side of the underpass or on the other side of the train tracks. Look up either of those idioms and there should be a picture of South Norfolk there; it's only right.

Also consider that South Norfolk is the original City of Chesapeake. When South Norfolk merged with the county of Norfolk the City of Chesapeake was created. South Norfolk was already alive as a city. Very urban. And the boundaries of South Norfolk, as a city, was quite small. So what ended up happening is that people moved further into Chesapeake and abandoned South Norfolk, and then that neighborhood of Chesapeake went into decline. The same happened with Berkley, and the City of Norfolk. So there are historical reasons to live in either neighborhood, if that means anything to you.

I never had any problems in South Norfolk. I would hear gunshots occasionally, and it was sketchy, but I was okay and I did go out at night (though not past 11 or anything). To be honest that neighborhood is actually more suspect in the middle of the day than anything.

You aren't understating it. Chesapeake is a city that was created, not one that came about organically. So you will never get the same gritty feel in South Norfolk than you do in the other neighborhoods.

I actually live in Norfolk now. South Norfolk was just that type of place that made you want to slit your wrists. It really does not have to be that way, but my sense is that the City of Chesapeake is merely maintaining that neighborhood, and not doing anything to actually grow the area. All of those decrepit living arrangements should be torn down and replaced with mid rises. But that will never happen because there is not a big enough demand for people to live in the area. The few mid rises that did exist were torn down. The new one, they could not sell out so they built the new South Norfolk branch of the Chesapeake public library into the building.

There are just too many options in HR to deal with South Norfolk, or Chesapeake in general. And South Norfolk is no longer a cheaper alternative, because this new construction goes for $1,100 or more to rent, $200,000 to purchase. If you want a real city feel without the societal ills of Norfolk maybe but you're probably better off someone else in Chesapeake for better amenities as everything in South Norfolk is a dollar store here, an Aldi's, Sav A Lot or Murray's there. You have to leave South Norfolk to get anything decent.