What do you LOVE/HATE bout your town? (Hampton, Alexandria: condo, low crime)

[Lookingforasafehome]

I thought this would create more of a balanced informative format for those who are looking for the truth bout communities they are considering to moving too... I also encourage people to SPEAK their minds in a polite way but please do feel free to elborate, as people who are searching for a safe home, like myself, want the truth! Blessing to all.

[Lookingforasafehome]

LOVE....about Williamsburg? There are some things, however most of what I love is not in my neck of the woods, but I do know that I Am in much safer area than most of HamptonRoads/NN. The school district could be worse, it actually not all that bad, but it could improve some. The weather is nice too. I do have a few nice neighbors where I live and we help each other out when we can. There are choices for recreation, lots of outdoor family friendly events and places to eat and shop...when we can afford it anyhow. Not often!

What I hate! Housing is very expensive, you can't get a single family home, at least not in price range and we would like to live in one...never will happen as long as we live here, cause it is not in our price range, we can only afford the bad areas here...and we spent close to 189 for our home!

Crime seems to be on the uprise here, at least where we live, then again, we have no where to hide, but we can move out of state, and that we must do if we ever want to livein a nice home in a nice safe neighborhood. There are nicer safer areas away from here...I am tired of living in a shoebox and I tired of the crime and I fear for my childrens lives...drug dealers live all over our neighborhood!

I could go on, but it is past my bedtime, more later!

[The Dissenter]

Hampton (my hometown): pros: good military and christian presence, reasonable housing, low crime rate compared with NN, norfolk, and portsmouth. decent scoring schools
Cons: getting more expensive, crossing that HR tunnel, reputation is questionable

Alexandria (current residence)ros: low crime, good schools, close to dc, metro system
cons: traffic being south of dc, outrageous housing prices, very segreated housing(excluding delray)

[Lookingforasafehome]

I would love to hear from others here!

[Lookingforasafehome]

I Hate Know It All Snobs Who Think They Are Better Cause They Have Money And Afford A Safe Home In A Nice Area And Then Tell Me To Move To A Crime Ridden Area Cause I Am NOT Rich Like Them< How Eltiest Can One Get.

[arudd427]

Huh? It's not elitist. It's the truth. Move to the safest place you can afford, obviously.
If you can't afford to live in the safest & nicest places... Well, what the hell do you want someone to say? Go broke trying to live somewhere you can't afford?
I hope you find something great.

[b333]

If people judge you by the neighborhood you can afford to live in, let that be of little concern. It's a waste for you to be bothered by that. Your'e doing the right thing in coming here to get information so you can make a well informed decision. I hope you find the perfect place for you and your family. Best of luck to you and God Bless You, Pamela

[Caladium]

Pros about Lowes Island:
Very safe area, we walk 2-3 miles late at night and feel very safe doing so. There are very few areas in NVA like this.
Excellent Shopping within 1-3 miles (although it would be even better if you could walk to it).
Excellent schools.
Miles and miles of hiking trails (since we are along the Potomac and between Algonokian Park and Seneca Park) and also extensive walking paths between neighborhoods.
Neighborhood spirit--christmas cookie parties, book clubs, caroling, halloween parade, July 4th block party, etc. are the norm. On Sept. 11, all neighbors in a 3 block radius got together and made sure everyone who worked at the Pentagon was accounted for, and we later had a sandwich making event to help feed volunteers.
Investment value of our property didn't fall even when the market went south--this is a desirable area.

Cons--not much for teens and 20's to do around here.
There is occasional talk about building a bridge across the Potomac at the end of our road (although we believe this has been permanently thwarted).
Long commute to D.C.

[Lookingforasafehome]

I really appreicate the kind and Compassionate feedback, I really wish I could afford a nice safe area, but I am not rich, far from it. I thought by investing in the less desirable area of Williamsburg, I would of been ok, not so, my poor child is stuck in her home, can't go outside, and drugs are all around us...this is not how I wanted my child to grow up, we should not have to live in fear.

At least she has a decent school to go to, at least we can do that for her..its nice to know that not every one is so coldhearted and mean out there and that they understand that I just want what is best for my child and that now we just have to pray to god we can get transfered to a safe place to live and sadly its not here, cause there is not where affordable that is safe and nice to go too, but we have found somewhere else where you can actually get a home, not a condo, and have a yard for a swingset too and live in a safe place that is not the ghetto.

Thanks again, it gives me hope to see that kind people still exist out there.

[The Dissenter]

i'm surprised you are having all your crime trouble in williamsburg especially me being from hampton. is it true about crime rising in hr? where did you find this house?