Is Portsmouth a decent area to live for white family of 6. (Virginia Beach: low income, real estate)

[ACBarn08]

I am moving to the Norfolk/Portsmouth/VA Beach area after getting out of the military. My family and I (total of 6) are white. We found a very nice looking house that we think would be great for us in Portsmouth but my aunt who is a Real Estate agent in VA Beach said not to go there. Looking at city-data.com it shows that this area is like 2% Caucasian and like 95% African American. The house is near the Norfolk Naval Shipyards. We don't have issues getting along with people of any color/creed/religion but I want my family to be safe walking down the street. The other question I had was concerning crime and if this area is average/better/worse than other parts of Portsmouth, appreciate any feedback, we just want the truth.

[Isabella Tiger Moth]

Oh, how to answer this question without losing my soul. I haven't spent a lot of time in Portsmouth, but, in general, the consensus around here is that it's not a great place--for people of any color. Personally, if I had my pick of areas, I wouldn't pick Portsmouth. Plus, if that shipyard is anything like the one in Newport News, I wouldn't want to live too close. More crime, more pollution. If it were me, I'd listen to my aunt.

But...it never hurts to visit and have a look around the neighborhood for yourself. (I'd want to check it out at various times and on various days.) Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[randomlikeme]

Churchland is pretty nice

[Poquoson7]

The Old Town area of Portsmouth centered around the High Street corridor has several good restaurants and is near the Elizabeth River. The adjacent residential component has one of the largest collection of historic homes between Alexandria and Charleston but tends to be pricy. The rest of Portsmouth not so much. It's one of the last cities in Hampton Roads to "evolve".

[Edwin T.]

It use to be full of drug related crime. But the city has rid itself of many of the low income housing parks that existed there. These days its a nice place to live in.

But, the new problem with P-Town is the ridiculous TOLLS! P-Town is actually losing people and its price for homes have gone down due to the bridge/tunnel tolls. Since its done by camera, you get the tolls thru the mail and it can bankrupt you if you do not pay it with interest fees and such.

There is only one free methed of entering or leaving P-Town, and that method is "Gilmerton bridge, right on Canal drive, and right on George Washington drive" Tottally tax and toll free.

[lammius]

Originally Posted by Edwin T.

It use to be full of drug related crime. But the city has rid itself of many of the low income housing parks that existed there. These days its a nice place to live in.

But, the new problem with P-Town is the ridiculous TOLLS! P-Town is actually losing people and its price for homes have gone down due to the bridge/tunnel tolls. Since its done by camera, you get the tolls thru the mail and it can bankrupt you if you do not pay it with interest fees and such.

There is only one free methed of entering or leaving P-Town, and that method is "Gilmerton bridge, right on Canal drive, and right on George Washington drive" Tottally tax and toll free.

Portsmouth has been losing population since the 1960s. I wouldn’t blame the tolls that have been in place since 2015 for that.

Portsmouth has lots of problems. Crime, bad schools, bad infrastructure, relatively high property tax. All are bigger problems than a $2 tunnel toll.

[Poquoson7]

Originally Posted by lammius

Portsmouth has been losing population since the 1960s. I wouldn’t blame the tolls that have been in place since 2015 for that.

Portsmouth has lots of problems. Crime, bad schools, bad infrastructure, relatively high property tax. All are bigger problems than a $2 tunnel toll.

The tunnel toll is definitely ADDING to the problem.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by ACBarn08

I am moving to the Norfolk/Portsmouth/VA Beach area after getting out of the military. My family and I (total of 6) are white. We found a very nice looking house that we think would be great for us in Portsmouth but my aunt who is a Real Estate agent in VA Beach said not to go there. Looking at city-data.com it shows that this area is like 2% Caucasian and like 95% African American. The house is near the Norfolk Naval Shipyards. We don't have issues getting along with people of any color/creed/religion but I want my family to be safe walking down the street. The other question I had was concerning crime and if this area is average/better/worse than other parts of Portsmouth, appreciate any feedback, we just want the truth.

I wouldn't recommend a white family move to Portsmouth if they have other options.

I wouldn't recommend any color family move to Portsmouth if they have other options.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by ACBarn08

I am moving to the Norfolk/Portsmouth/VA Beach area after getting out of the military. My family and I (total of 6) are white. We found a very nice looking house that we think would be great for us in Portsmouth but my aunt who is a Real Estate agent in VA Beach said not to go there. Looking at city-data.com it shows that this area is like 2% Caucasian and like 95% African American. The house is near the Norfolk Naval Shipyards. We don't have issues getting along with people of any color/creed/religion but I want my family to be safe walking down the street. The other question I had was concerning crime and if this area is average/better/worse than other parts of Portsmouth, appreciate any feedback, we just want the truth.

It sounds like a residential area bordering an industrial area. If I'm correct in this, the area probably has a lot of crime because of the commercial properties and the transient nature of the neighborhood. Yes, a lot of Blacks live in similar areas, in every city, but generally because properties are cheaper and that is what they can afford. Not to mention some of the health and environmental risks that come from living next to industry, power lines, and historically, redlining (refusing loans based on the neighborhood) etc. Those types of areas were never that great to begin with. Now, with gentrification, some of those areas are changing, particularly when the factories close up and they get developed into condos, etc. Probably a lot of renters around somewhere, if you look hard enough.

Its not the worst, its not the best. I would never live over there, because I lived in South Norfolk and spent a lot of time in Portsmouth and am familiar with just how deep it is over there but it may work for you, depending on what you're used to. I would imagine a lot of properties were torn down, rebuilt, or rehabilitated, and look great even though they're not in the best areas, same as is the case with a lot of Norfolk. Depressing for my tastes but I know that there are some gems here and there, as is the case with any city. I'd say Norfolk, which is more like a regular city and not as reminiscent as some areas in cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dayton or Youngstown, but to each their own.

Portsmouth is not the place you want to live at just because you're comfortable living around Blacks. Because being comfortable living around Blacks can mean a lot of different things. Indian River in Chesapeake has a lot of Blacks, and those aren't the Blacks you'll encounter where you're talking about living at, same with some of the better neighborhoods in Virginia Beach. Uppity Blacks, Bourgeoisie Blacks? What are we really talking about here. Portsmouth is not the place to play those types of games, because there are entirely too many things going on in Portsmouth, too much corruption, on all sides, too much nonsense, to even concern yourself with something as trivial as the fact that the neighborhood is predominately African-American. You already have a 9 to 5 that pays well, why take on that other 9 to 5 better known as the job of being a resident of that city?

If you want to live around a lot of Blacks there are other neighborhoods for that.

[Spazkat9696]

No matter your race P-town isn’t a good place to live if you plan to utilize public schools.

ETA:Where will you be working? In this area that’s the biggest factor in determining where to live. You never want to have to use a tunnel to get to/from work.