Hampton Roads Area...advice Please !

[mizzel71]

Does anybody live/familiar with the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. SO and I are considering a move to this area to be closer to family and to live in a more economical area than Central Coast Cali ( as in we wanna buy a house some day ! ) Any details about economy, neighborhoods, schools, and folks welcome.
THANKS ! :rainfro

[SpokenWordz]

I don't know too many details about the area but I live in Richmond which isn't too far away (about 45 mins). Actually, me and my hunni are thinking about moving there next year also. Basically, the area is really laid back :cow: . In Richmond, we have alot of crazy snit going on :fight . As far as I can tell, the Hampton Roads doesn't have that (to the degree that Richmond does - everywhere has it's hangups). The AA's don't seem to be uptight or stuck on image :-P . From what I've seen, Newport News is the "nicest" area (besides VA Beach), then Norfolk, with Hampton last.

My hunni said he heard something about Hampton supposedly either has an excellent school system or they put alot of tax dollars into the schools or something like that.

In Richmond, you can probably get a decent 3-bedroom house for $70k and an entry-level, degree-required job (nothing highly specific) might start at $30k (the cost of living for the Hampton Roads area is not as high as Richmond but you can use this as a scale).

One thing I've noticed about the area is the prevalence of the "Suzie and Rasheed" syndrome (as my friend refers to it - think "Jungle Fever") :-P .

Many concerts and other events come to that area (some that don't even make it to Richmond). Plus there's great shopping outlets & malls.

Check out www.HamptonRoads.com for more info!!

Good luck on your quest! I hope other board members and the website can help with more info than I.

CC
:heart

[niki000]

I live in hampton roads :) fell free to pm me throug out your moving process.

1. despite what others may say, hamptonroads is a very safe place to raise children.

2. the schools are decent, but private school is inexpensive enough to consider especially, religious schools

2. the economy is great here, two people can work at a convience store full time and afford to buy a house and a raise a family comfortably

3. the job market is shaky like the rest of the country, however the military keeps a stedy flow of hospitality jobs, as well as job affiliated with the military such as government and healthcare.

4. The spring and summer are great times to live in HR, there are tons of free things to do and the weather is nice.. you can ever grow most of your own food, or get fresh organic stuff from local farmers. the beaches are not too nice, but they are there.

5. The winters kinda suck... but thats probably because i dont like to be cold.

6. This area can get boring at times, but at least its peaceful, and there really are a lot of thigns to do involving the arts.

[TEASIA]

Hey girl,
Feel free to pm me as well. I lived in 5 different cities for 18 years of my life and I got so happy when I saw someone that is moving to Hampton Roads. I will suggest a website
www.hamptonroads.com has tons of good stuff. I miss it so much!! If you need any advice, please let me know, I will be glad to help!! :bis

[mizzel71]

A big THANK YOU and a HUG to all that have responded thus far ! I value the opinion of like-minded sisters on this site ( didn't want to rely on tech info without info from my peoples ! ). I will be PM'ing as the planning proceeds. :rainfro
:heart Mizz :heart

[mizzel71]

Another question! How is crime and economic disparity, comparison/contrast w/ Richmond and or Fairfax ??? Are there alot of activities for youth ? Inexpensive activities for families ? Is there a feeling of "community" ?

[dasani]

Chesapeake has nice affordable housing. As far as less crime think Va Beach or Chesapeake or Hampton. Portsmouth has some nice older homes but I can't speak much about the school districts. There are certain neighborhoods in Portsmouth that have family and military types. I haven't lived in the Hamptom Roads area since 2001 but I do remember having normal city stuff such as traffic, lots of military and occasional snow. The cost of living definitely less than DC.