Should I move to Virginia??? (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake: apartments, for rent, crime rates)

[worldwidebridgette]

I'm considering moving to Virginia from Los Angeles. I am tired of the pollution, crime, ghetto people and so forth. I haven't been to Virginia since I was 13, so I know a lot has changed. My main concern is there won't be as many resources there as there are here in L.A. such as jobs and community college. I also need to know about how much I would pay to rent a one bedroom. Thank you

[kfm667]

I have been researching different areas in VA (NoVA mostly) for the past few months and these are some of the resources I have been using. Take a look at the following websites, they will give you an idea of how much you will be paying for rent and information about different cities. The closer you are to DC, the more rent will be.

For Apartment searching I used:
www.craigslist.org
www.rent.com
www.apartmentfinder.com

Reading opinions about the apartments I used:
www.apartmentratings.com

To see the crime rates, schools, etc. I used:
www.city-data.com

Once I found a possible city, do a google search with the city's name and keywords like crime statistics, cost of living, etc. Most larger cities have websites with this kind of information on it.

ie “Fairfax crime rate”

(By the way, I am not affiliated with nor advertising for any of the above websites)

I am by no means an expert on the area, but these tools helped me find a few nice cities and the good people on these forums helped answer the questions I had.

Hope this help

[DCNative]

NoVA is mostly safe, especially fairfax county. But very expensive. Lots of community colleges, though.

[shellytc]

For community colleges, Virginia has an extensive and very good community college community. In northern virginia there is NOVA community college (is it still called this?), one campus is in Annandale.

In Virginia Beach/chesapeake is Tidewater Community College (2 campuses, one in each city Va. Beach and Chesapeake).

In Richmond is J. Sargeant Reynolds, 3 campuses, one in the westend area and one in Chesterfield, and one downtown.

In Hampton, I believe it is Christopher Newport? someone here will correct me.

And I am pretty sure Roanoke has one, but I don't remember the name...?

As for your rent, you will need to figure out the area. NOVA is more expensive than Roanoke, that is for sure!!

Shelly

[dullnboring]

Where in Virginia are you looking? Things such as cost of living, job opportunities, crime and such vary greatly from one part of the state to the next.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by shellytc

For community colleges, Virginia has an extensive and very good community college community. In northern virginia there is NOVA community college (is it still called this?), one campus is in Annandale.

In Virginia Beach/chesapeake is Tidewater Community College (2 campuses, one in each city Va. Beach and Chesapeake).

In Richmond is J. Sargeant Reynolds, 3 campuses, one in the westend area and one in Chesterfield, and one downtown.

In Hampton, I believe it is Christopher Newport? someone here will correct me.

And I am pretty sure Roanoke has one, but I don't remember the name...?

As for your rent, you will need to figure out the area. NOVA is more expensive than Roanoke, that is for sure!!

Shelly

Christopher Newport is a 4-yr university in Newport News. Hampton's Community College is Thomas Nelson. NOVA also has alexandria, manassas, woodbridge, and loudon county campuses.

For renting an apartment, I would say you need about $1000 for NoVA, $750 for Richmond, $750-$800 for Hampton and VA Beach, and probably Roanoke $650. These will most likely get you a decent one-bedroom.

[SmerkyGrl]

Roanoke's/The New River Valley's community college is called New River Community College.

But yes, I echo previous posts in that we need more information on where in Virginia you're moving to. If you're going to be in the Southwest part of Virginia, jobs/shopping/nightlife may be more limited than what you're used to. However, it works for some people because SWVa has retained a lot of what people call the "southern charm". Such is not the case in NoVA, where jobs, people, shopping, and other opportunities are numerous. The atmosphere here, however, is much more "northern" by definition.

[richmondpics]

Richmond area also has John Tyler Community College (several campuses) in addition to J. Sarge.

[Dingler]

Northern Virginia is nice enough if you have a social network and a good high paying job close to where you live. If you are not paid well and have a long commute to your job, it can be as stressful as CA.

In general it has gone down hill due to overwhelming levels of immigration and growth.

[SmerkyGrl]

Originally Posted by Dingler

Northern Virginia is nice enough if you have a social network and a good high paying job close to where you live. If you are not paid well and have a long commute to your job, it can be as stressful as CA.

In general it has gone down hill due to overwhelming levels of immigration and growth.

I'd argue that it has become as wealthy and as diverse as it has because of immigration Haven't you seen "asiandale" lately?