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Comment by Laura on August 8, 2014 at 2:37am

Hi Amanda.  I will be relocating to Virginia as well, due to the hubby's job.

A friend who lives there told us to stay South of Interstate 264 and East of State route 13.

She also told us that if we want to avoid jet noise, look at the direction of the runways to determine the flight paths.

Like the other folks said, we heard a lot of good things about Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.  I'm looking forward to no more hellish Winters!  Last year's was brutal.

Comment by Amanda&LC+2 on August 7, 2014 at 5:15pm

@abuon @marcy thanks. I started looking in Virginia Beach cuz it said it's a pretty good area. But if you would like to send me that Realtors info that would be great!

Comment by Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom on August 7, 2014 at 1:53pm

Amanda I agree with Abuon, and a referral to a good Realtor is priceless, hope you follow up!  Virginia Beach and Chesapeake cover a large area, so it's helpful to have someone knowledgeable to narrow down to the good places.  There's also a Facebook group to join called "Navy Home Search" where there is some good networking; don't know if this link will work if you're not a member but here it is - https://www.facebook.com/groups/137720826328215/

Comment by abuon18 on August 7, 2014 at 1:22pm

Amanda, I would recommend looking in Chesapeake... I would definitely stay away from Norfolk or Portsmouth as far as safety is concerned, they don't have the best reputation. I live in Virginia Beach and love it. I feel really safe in my location. Moving is so hard when you're unfamiliar with the area, we moved out here from California so did not know the area either. We are renting a townhouse & I used a Realtor who was fantastic. I really would have had a breakdown if I had to do it myself lol! If you'd like I can send you her info in a message. We did not pay her anything, she gets her commission from the owner of the property.

Comment by Amanda&LC+2 on August 7, 2014 at 9:46am

I am looking to rent like an apartment or town house. We just don't know the area at all so we have no clue which areas are good and which are bad.

Comment by John and Yvonne on August 7, 2014 at 8:34am

Amanda, are you looking for an apartment or a house? Renting or buying? we'll keep our eyes open. 

yvonne and john

Comment by Laura on August 6, 2014 at 12:39am

Hi Tracy. 

I believe our sailors are on the same carrier.  My son was on a carrier for his last deployment as well.  We were allowed onto the pier to wait.  probably because there were so many people.

It is a very long day.  Folks started lining up at 6:00am outside the pier gate and waited for hours before we were allowed to go to the pier.  Outside the pier gate there is the food tent with tables and chairs.  The port a potties are outside the pier gate as well.

Inside the gate, on the pier, there were bleachers set up, tents for moms with newborns, a band, and lots and lots of people.  Bring a chair just in case you don't get a bleacher seat.

It's fabulous when the carrier turns the corner and heads in to dock.  Everyone is so excited!  Then you realize that it takes quite a while to secure the carrier and put the gangways in place before anyone departs the ship.  It was almost an hour before the first sailor got off the ship. 

But it's still fun because the sailors are on the flight deck and every outside access they can get to, waving at the crowd.  One sailor even unfurled a banner with a marriage proposal on it!

They get off the ship a group at a time.  New dads, officers, then by rank high to low.  It made it a lot easier to spot our sailor.  fabulous time!  Bring a camera and a video recorder!

Comment by Amanda&LC+2 on August 5, 2014 at 7:45pm

Hello all, new to this and will be going to Norfolk end of September or early October. Any opinions on good safe places to live? His PIR is 8/22. We have a 3yr old. I have no idea about how to go about all of this. Lol.

Comment by abuon18 on August 5, 2014 at 6:49pm

Tracy,

My husband's homecoming was in May.

A few weeks before the ombudsman will send out an email letting you know the deadline that your Sailor has to get his list in. He'll need some info from you. I think it was the full name & birthday of everyone going. The ship will pull in on a work day so make sure you get there early. A few days before you will get another email with more details such as which gate to go through, what time to get there, what pier they are going to Pull in to and where to park. There will also be a list of prohibited items. Traffic getting to Norfolk Naval Base is a beast. Lines are long to get through the gates & they do 100% ID checks at the gates so everyone in the car will need to present their ID (license, state issued ID, passport etc) to the gate guard. I recommend, maybe the day before when you arrive in Norfolk, driving to base and checking where the gate is. There are a few gates that allow entry to the base but not all will allow homecoming guests so this way you don't waste time in the morning!

The day before homecoming there will be a final meeting to discuss all the details in case you don't get the emails or you have questions. They usually have a morning/afternoon one and an evening one for those who arrive later in the day.

Comment by Calirose on August 5, 2014 at 6:27pm

Went to my son's homecoming in April and even though he had provided our names to the list we somehow were left off. We went to the office to get a pass but we're denied but thankfully my husband decided one more time to try to get thru the gate and a very nice sailor let us through so make sure your sailor double and triple checks to make sure your names make it to the list.

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