Just Got Orders To Norfolk....Where To Live?

[Eva]

So we are currently stationed in San Diego and just got orders to Norfolk. It was definitely our last choice but thats what my husband got, so I need help. I know nothing of the area and would like to live somewhere nice. Is military housing good here? I know some places its absolutely beautiful and some, its less than desirable. We have a dog and a cat, no children, yet.

[abuon18]

We moved to Norfolk from San Diego last year. It is a HUGE change. We have never lived in military housing but that was a conscious decision because we had heard so many bad things about it being unsafe, not taken care of and not in the best neighborhoods.

When we first moved here we lived in Virginia Beach. It was okay. We are both from Florida, then we spent 3 years in SD and were really looking forward to more beach living out here but it really didn't meet our expectations. I was disappointed, and it was so costly for what you get.

Now we live in Chesapeake. I feel much safer here, and I also feel like it's more affordable. It's about 15-20 minutes to get to downtown Norfolk or Virginia Beach (although going to base during commute times is a much different story). I think we get more for our money as far as where we live than we did in Virginia Beach, and I think the neighborhoods are safer. There are some parts of Chesapeake I really wouldn't recommend - I'd be happy to give you more specifics if you're interested.

Living in Norfolk was never really an option for us because there are a handful of neighborhoods I would feel comfortable in but they were just much more than we wanted or could afford to spend. We really liked the Ghent neighborhood but finding a place with 2 parking spaces and a yard for our dog was impossible. Larchmont is an area downtown as well but farther from the things to do - definitely not walking distance like we wanted.

I recommend looking up school districts - it will give you a good idea of what the neighborhoods are like. This is a good website: http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/va/norfolk/

[Eva]

Thanks so much for the information.I'll definitely check out that website. We're definitely spoiled here in San Diego, we live in a very nice, new apartment 1.5 miles from the beach and the dog beach and its in a very safe area. I know I won't find anything this good in VA but I'm desperately going to try! We like being outside, running, hiking, walking the dog....but also like being able to go downtown to a brewery if we want to.

I'm noticing that I'm torn between living in ghent, but paying a ridiculous amount for a nice 1 bedroom apartment, with no yard or patio OR living further from base, possibly in a good or bad neighborhood but spending less. I found a few places in Ocean View/Willoughby Beach that looked ok, but I can't tell if its an ok area. Are you familiar with these areas?

[abuon18]

When my husband's contract is up, we are moving back to San Diego! Whether he re-enlists and gets stationed there or gets out and we move there on our own, we just totally fell in love with it. In San Diego, you definitely had definitively "safe" and "unsafe" areas... here, not so much. I had the opportunity to spend a week in Norfolk and look at areas and housing before we committed to a lease, which I really do recommend, but if you don't have that chance I would suggest maybe signing a short term lease, like 3 or 6 months, so you can look around in the different areas out here and see where you will feel comfortable and what the neighborhoods have to offer. We are both runners, we used to hike all the time in San Diego, and you'll definitely notice a lifestyle change out here... hiking is through swamps, marshes and woodlands, not mountains! I would suggest this website to help you determine what the crime rates are like in the neighborhoods you're looking in.

Ocean View is touch and go, there are parts of it that are really nice, and safe but they will be more expensive. There isn't much around as far as restaurants, things to do, and not really much within walking distance... you'll need a car to do anything around there. That is one of the things we really loved about Ghent when we were searching... overall it's a really safe neighborhood so I didn't mind that it was more expensive, plus the money we would save on gas, parking and cabs! But ultimately we were turned off by the lack of private outdoor space we would have (we have a dog too and she loves her sun), and our own parking was a big deal for us, since we both have cars and we both work, we didn't want to have to be fighting our neighbors to park on the street every night.

[Eva]

Thanks for all the info! We have the same plan to move back to San Diego. We currently live in Point Loma and its just so beautiful. I'm trying to figure out if we can get out there at least a couple days before he has to report so we can at least get a feel for the areas. The short term lease is a great idea and was actually my plan until we found out he's going underway for 9-12 months a week after he reports to his ship so I really don't want to move everything myself.

[abuon18]

That happened to my husband, so I decided to stay in San Diego until he came home. I had a job and friends and a great support system out there, it just made the most sense to me. He reported there and literally left within the week. I got another 11 months in San Diego before he came home and we had to move out there. I didn't have to settle into our new home by myself, unpack, find a job, make friends, deal with his first deployment, etc.

On a side note, he may be able to request up to 10 days  of house hunting leave beyond, so look into that. That could give you the extra time you need to find a place and not stress as much especially with his deployment immediately upon arrival!

[Eva]

I wish I could do that!!!! My job doesn't pay enough to cover our rent because Norfolk BAH is so much less. And he requested the house hunting leave but it got denied because they're leaving so soon. We're having really bad luck! haha 

[abuon18]

You would receive San Diego BAH. He would have to put in a chit, but it would get approved. It took about a month for ours to get straightened out because they transferred his over to Norfolk BAH then back to SD but I received SD BAH for the entire time I was there, including the back pay from when they had him switched to Norfolk.

It helped us tremendously because I moved to a smaller apartment (from a 3 bedroom to a studio) so we saved a lot of money, I had extra time to prepare for the move and we were able to manipulate some extra time for me to fly out there and house hunt - I flew out here for his homecoming a day or two early, looked at places with a Realtor and took him out when he came home to the places I liked. Then I flew back to SD, packed up my apartment, and he took second POM and flew to SD and we had about 2 weeks to drive out to Norfolk because his house hunting leave was approved also.

[Eva]

hmmm that is something I am definitely going to look into!!

[abuon18]

good luck! let me know if you would like more information either about that or about Norfolk!